Help Desks & Live Chat

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Help Desks & Live Chat page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.

One shared queue for customer emails and chats, a help center people can search, and AI that can answer the easy questions.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about help desk and live chat tools, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 23 help desk and live chat tools

   6 of them are free or have a free plan, and 16 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $21.59 a month in the middle

   From $7 (Zoho Desk) to $335.06 (Trengo), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Zoho Desk

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than it without costing more.

4. 4

   18 of 23 have iPhone and Android apps

   23 run in a web browser and 5 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.4

   3 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Zoho Desk, at 3.4.

6. 6

   Best free option: Zoho Desk

   Zoho Desk has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.4. Low-cost ticketing help desk with a free plan for three users.

7. 7

   23 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 23 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three help desk and live chat tools we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   3.4GPA

   Zoho Desk

   Free plan · from $7/mo

   For: Most small support teams

   Zoho Desk turns email, social posts and web forms into tickets, and adds live chat, WhatsApp and a public knowledge base on Standard and phone support on Professional. The Free edition covers email ticketing for up to 3 users, Express is $7 a user a month billed annually ($9 monthly), and Standard is $14 ($20 monthly). It runs on the web, iPhone and Android, and ties into Zoho CRM, Salesforce, Slack, Jira and Zapier. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 from about 1,600 ratings. Know the limits: Free has no knowledge base, automation or AI, Express stops at 5 users, and smart replies need your own OpenAI API key, with Zia's built-in AI only from Professional at $23 a user.

   The Zoho Desk Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   3.2GPA

   Tidio

   Free plan · from $24.17/mo

   For: Small online stores that support customers by chat

   Tidio puts website chat, email, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp into one inbox with ticketing, and charges by conversations a person answers rather than by seat: the free plan covers 50 a month for up to 10 seats, and Starter is $24.17 a month for 100, billed annually ($29 monthly). It has apps for the web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and links to Shopify, WordPress, Zendesk, Salesforce and Zapier. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 from about 4,800 ratings. It is second because it does less of the help desk job than Zoho Desk: the listing has no help center or phone support, and the Lyro AI agent is an add-on from $39 a month once its 50 one-off free conversations are used.

   The Tidio Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   3.0GPA

   tawk.to

   Free plan · from $29/mo

   For: Anyone who wants website chat for free

   tawk.to gives you a website chat widget, a shared inbox, ticketing, a hosted knowledge base, chat pages and a simple CRM for nothing, with no charge per seat. It runs on the web, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. It is third because the free price comes with conditions: a "Powered by tawk.to" badge stays on the widget, chat page and knowledge base unless you pay $29 a month per property, AI Assist is free only for limited volume, and the listing names only Shopify and WordPress as integrations. Voice agents were waitlist-only when read, so there is no phone support yet.

   The tawk.to Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Zoho Desk gives the most for the money among help desk and live chat tools: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $21.59 a month across the 22 that charge, from $7 (Zoho Desk) to $335.06 (Trengo).

2 of the 22 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 9 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded help desk and live chat tools, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Zoho Desk	A	B	B	A	B	3.4
Tidio	A	C	C	A	A	3.2
tawk.to	A	A	C	C	B	3.0
Gorgias	A	C	B	C	B	2.8
Crisp	C	C	B	C	A	2.6
Helpwise	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
LiveAgent	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
Re:amaze	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
respond.io	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
Chatwoot	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Freshdesk	C	C	C	B	B	2.4
Freshservice	C	C	C	B	B	2.4

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where help desk and live chat tools land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 23

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every help desk and live chat tool we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1Zoho DeskFree plan · from $7/mo3.4
2. 2TidioFree plan · from $24.17/mo3.2
3. 3tawk.toFree plan · from $29/mo3.0
4. 4GorgiasFree trial · from $10/mo2.8
5. 5CrispFree plan · from $45/mo2.6
6. 6HelpwiseFree trial · from $12/mo2.6
7. 7LiveAgentFree trial · from $15/mo2.6
8. 8Re:amazeFree trial · from $26.10/mo2.6
9. 9respond.ioFree trial · from $79/mo2.6
10. 10ChatwootFree plan · from $19/mo2.4
11. 11FreshdeskFree trial · from $19/mo2.4
12. 12FreshserviceFree trial · from $19/mo2.4
13. 13IntercomFree trial · from $29/mo2.4
14. 14SmartsuppFree plan · from $17/mo2.4
15. 15SupportBeeFree trial · from $17/mo2.4
16. 16Text by LiveChatFree trial · from $19/mo2.4
17. 17ZendeskFree trial · from $19/mo2.4
18. 18KommunicateFree trial · from $34/mo2.2
19. 19RichpanelFree trial2.2
20. 20TrengoFree trial · from €299/mo2.2
21. 21ChatbaseFree trial · from $32/mo2.0
22. 22eDeskFree trial · from $39/mo2.0
23. 23DeskproFrom $39/mo1.8

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 3,189

  tools graded

• 94

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries