LiveAgent vs SparrowDesk (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SparrowDesk grades higher than LiveAgent: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
SparrowDesk grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
LiveAgent
Help desk with email tickets, live chat, call center and AI agents
SparrowDesk
Help desk with shared inbox, live chat and a per-resolution AI agent
Which one is for you
Pick LiveAgent if
- Fits if your team answers email, chat and phone and wants one help desk for all three
- Works for small support teams paying per agent, at $15 billed yearly or $19 monthly on Starter
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want social channels, phone support or reports on the entry plan, as they start on Team at $29 an agent
- Tight if you're on Starter, with 5 agents at most, 3 email accounts and 2 chat buttons, and Team stops at 15 agents
- Watch out: the AI runs on your own AI provider account, at about 1 to 2 cents a chat by LiveAgent's estimate, and each extra knowledge base is $19 a month
- Pricey if you're a big team, as Enterprise is a flat $3,199 a month for 80 agents billed yearly
- Not for you if you want a free plan: after the 30-day trial you pay
Pick SparrowDesk if
- Fits if you want a free help desk for a team of 3 or fewer
- Works for a small team that wants phone apps
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you use the AI, as Zoona is $0.49 a resolution and Copilot $8 an agent a month
- Tight if you stay free, since it stops at 500 conversations a month and has no portal, CSAT or teams
- Skip it if you need workflows or SLAs on the cheap plan, because they start at Professional, $49
- Watch out: Salesforce needs Enterprise, and Lite seats are capped from 5 on Starter
How we grade them
| 2.6GPALiveAgentGood | 2.8GPASparrowDeskGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $15 an agent a month billed yearly ($19 monthly), inside the cheaper quarter of help desks, with email tickets, live chat, a knowledge base and an AI agent. But it caps at 5 agents and leaves out social channels, calls and reports, which start on Team at $29. | B$16 an agent a month billed annually, inside the category's cheaper quarter of $19. Professional is $49. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day free trial with no card needed, which is one of the longer ones here. There's no free plan, so after the month you pay or leave. | BFree for up to 3 users and 500 conversations a month, plus a 14-day trial with no card. |
| Features | BEmail tickets, live chat, a call center with IVR, AI agents, a knowledge base and customer portal, and Facebook, Instagram, X, Viber, Telegram and WhatsApp in the same queue from Team up. That covers the whole job. | BInbox, live chat, AI, workflows, SLAs and a help center. The listing shows no gap in the core support job, though workflows and SLAs start at Professional. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. There's a lot in one product, email accounts, chat buttons, phone queues and automation rules, so expect a learning curve before it all runs. | CNo store rating on record. Channels, workflows and the AI need setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Zapier, WordPress, Stripe, BigCommerce and Asana, plus WhatsApp and Telegram as channels and an API. There's no desktop app, so it stops at a B. | BWeb plus iOS and Android, with Slack, Linear, HubSpot, Salesforce and WhatsApp. |
| Best for | email, chat and phone support on a budget | a help desk with a free plan for 3 users |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: LiveAgent and SparrowDesk. How we grade
Price against what you get
LiveAgent starts at $15 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SparrowDesk starts at $16 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and LiveAgent starts $1 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than LiveAgent for less, and 1 scores higher than SparrowDesk for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- LiveAgent also covers reports.
- SparrowDesk also covers shared inbox, workflow automation and whatsApp messaging.
At a glance
| LiveAgent | SparrowDesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per agent / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly) | $16 per agent / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | Free plan for up to 3 users: live chat, email ticketing, shared inbox, prebuilt reports, public help center, 500 conversations a month. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Quality Unit, LLC | SurveySparrow Inc. |
| Price read from | liveagent.com | sparrowdesk.com |
| Checked | Nov 2, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
LiveAgent
- Starter has no social channels, call center or reports, and is capped at 5 agents; Team is capped at 15.
- Starter is limited to 3 email accounts and 2 chat buttons, and each extra knowledge base costs $19 a month on Starter, Team and Business.
- AI runs on the buyer's own AI provider account; LiveAgent puts the cost at about 1 to 2 cents per AI-resolved chat and adds no fee of its own.
- Enterprise is a flat fee for 80 agents, $3,199 a month billed annually or $3,999 monthly, with extra agents at $39 or $49 each.
SparrowDesk
- Zoona costs $0.49 per resolution, Copilot $8 per agent a month for 1,000 credits, and Account Intelligence $8 a month for 1,000 credits.
- The free plan is limited to 500 conversations a month and no customer portal, CSAT or teams.
- Slack, Linear and HubSpot integrations start at Starter; Salesforce needs Enterprise.
- Lite seats are capped per plan, from 5 on Starter to 50 on Enterprise.
Key features
LiveAgent
- Email ticketing
- Support emails become tickets with collision detection, merging, splitting, tags, custom fields and canned replies.
- Live chat
- A chat button for websites with a real-time visitor monitor and satisfaction surveys. Proactive chat invitations start on Team.
- Call center
- From Team up: call queues, IVR, call routing and transfers, and call recording inside the help desk.
- AI agents
- An AI chatbot that hands chats to a person, an answer assistant for agents, and AI that replies to, sorts and summarizes tickets.
- Self-service
- A knowledge base, customer portals and a customer forum on every plan. Extra knowledge bases cost $19 a month each.
- Social and messaging channels
- Facebook, Instagram, X, Viber, Telegram and WhatsApp messages land in the ticket queue. WhatsApp works through Twilio or 360dialog.
SparrowDesk
- Shared inbox
- Email, chat and channels such as Slack, WhatsApp, Facebook, Discord and Instagram arrive in one inbox with macros and merging.
- Zoona AI agent
- Answers customers in 40+ languages, hands off to a person with context, and trains on your site, PDFs and help center.
- AI Copilot
- An in-inbox assistant that summarizes conversations, drafts replies for agents to review and translates as you read.
- Workflows and SLAs
- Advanced workflows, round robin assignment, SLA policies and business hours are available from the Professional plan.
- Help center and portal
- A public help center on every plan; a customer portal where customers submit and track tickets starts at Starter.
- Account Intelligence
- Groups conversations into topics, flags problem ones early and drafts help center articles from resolved conversations.
Plans
LiveAgent
Starter$15
per agent / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Up to 5 agents. Email, live chat, contact forms, a knowledge base, 1 AI agent and SSO; 3 email accounts and 2 chat buttons. No social channels, calls or reports.
Team$29
per agent / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
Up to 15 agents. Adds Facebook, Instagram, X, Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram and calls, 5 AI agents, reports and CSAT surveys, SLA rules and custom roles.
Business$49
per agent / month, billed annually ($59 billed monthly)
Any team size. Adds 50 AI agents, an MCP server, branding removal, an audit log, department roles and a dedicated account manager from 20 agents.
Enterprise$3,199
per month for up to 80 agents, billed annually ($3,999 billed monthly)
A flat fee with 80 agents, unlimited AI agents, departments and channels, priority support and custom billing. Extra agents are $39 each a month on annual billing.
SparrowDesk
Free$0
Up to 3 users with live chat, email ticketing, prebuilt reports and a public help center.
Starter$16
per agent / month, billed annually
Unlimited conversations, teams, ticket forms, customer portal and CSAT surveys, with 5 Lite seats.
Professional$49
per agent / month, billed annually
Adds workflows, round robin assignment, SLAs, business hours and 20 Lite seats.
Enterprise$89
per agent / month, billed annually
Adds SSO, custom roles, password policy and multiple brands, with 50 Lite seats; sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
LiveAgent
- Annual discount
About 21% off with annual billing
LiveAgent lists Small at $15 per agent a month billed annually against $19 billed monthly, with lower annual rates on every plan.
- Other savings
Special offer until November 22, 2026
Starter is $11 per agent a month billed annually ($15 monthly), Team $22 ($26) and Business $38 ($44). Buyers keep the offer price for as long as they keep the plan.
SparrowDesk
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page shows yearly billing as saving 20% against monthly billing; the prices listed here are the yearly ones.
- Startups
Startup program for 90% off
SparrowDesk's pricing page advertises a startup program that takes 90% off; eligibility terms are not shown on the page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, LiveAgent or SparrowDesk?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LiveAgent is cheaper to start with: $15 a month for each person, against $16 a month for each person for SparrowDesk. LiveAgent starts at $15 per agent / month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly), and SparrowDesk starts at $16 per agent / month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, LiveAgent or SparrowDesk?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only SparrowDesk has a free plan. LiveAgent does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.