respond.io alternatives · Help Desks
Free alternatives to respond.io
respond.io has no free plan. 6 of the 22 other help desk and live chat tools in this directory are free or have a free plan.
respond.io is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly). All of them pair the free plan with paid ones.
6 tools · Listings checked up to Oct 18, 2026 · Where the facts come from
How each one differs from respond.io
- Free plan · from $24.17/mo
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
What is free: 50 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, with live chat, ticketing, email, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, 50 one-off Lyro AI conversations and 100 Flows visitors a month.
- Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly). respond.io starts at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Tidio has a free plan. respond.io does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Tidio lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Tidio also covers help desk.
- Free plan · from $45/mo
Crisp
Live chat and shared inbox priced per workspace, not per seat
What is free: 2 seats, the website chat widget, a contact form and shared inbox, mobile and desktop apps, store integrations and 100 customer profiles. No AI credits.
- Crisp starts at $45 per workspace / month, with 4 seats. respond.io starts at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Crisp has a free plan. respond.io does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Crisp lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Crisp also covers help center.
- Free plan · from $19/mo
Chatwoot
Open-source support inbox you can self-host or use in the cloud
What is free: Hacker cloud plan: up to 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, live chat only, 30 days of history. The self-hosted Community Edition is also free.
- Chatwoot starts at $19 per agent / month, billing term not stated. respond.io starts at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Chatwoot has a free plan. respond.io does not, though it has a free trial.
- Chatwoot is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Chatwoot also covers help center.
- Free plan · from $17/mo
Smartsupp
Live chat, WhatsApp and email inbox with the Mira AI shopping agent
What is free: 1 operator, 25 conversations a month across live chat, WhatsApp and Messenger, and 14 days of chat history.
- Smartsupp starts at $17 per month for 1 operator, billed annually ($24 billed monthly). respond.io starts at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Smartsupp has a free plan. respond.io does not, though it has a free trial.
- respond.io also covers workflow automation.
- Free plan · from $7/mo
Zoho Desk
Low-cost ticketing help desk with a free plan for three users
What is free: Free edition: email ticketing for up to 3 users with one support email address. No knowledge base, automation, SLAs or AI features.
- Zoho Desk starts at $7 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly). respond.io starts at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- Zoho Desk has a free plan. respond.io does not, though it has a free trial.
- Zoho Desk also covers reports, help desk and help center.
- respond.io also covers shared inbox and workflow automation.
- Free plan · from $29/mo
tawk.to
Free live chat, ticketing and help center, with paid add-ons
What is free: The whole platform is free: live chat, inbox, ticketing, knowledge base, chat pages and CRM, with no seat charges. A "Powered by tawk.to" badge stays unless removed for a fee.
- tawk.to starts at $29 per month for the AI Assist or Whitelabel add-on. respond.io starts at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
- tawk.to has a free plan. respond.io does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only tawk.to lists Windows and macOS apps.
- tawk.to also covers help desk and help center.
Common questions
Is there a free alternative to respond.io?
Yes. Tidio, Crisp, Chatwoot, Smartsupp, Zoho Desk and tawk.to are free or have a free plan.
Does respond.io have a free plan?
respond.io has no free plan. respond.io is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
When was this checked?
Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 17, 2026 to Oct 18, 2026. Vendors change prices and plans without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.
This page is built from the listings. A tool is here because its listing says so, and the order is how close each is to respond.io: the alternatives its listing names first, then the tools that share the most features with it.