Text by LiveChat vs LiveHelpNow (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Text by LiveChat and LiveHelpNow share a 2.4 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Text by LiveChat starts cheaper, at $19 a month for each person against $39 a month for each person.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Text by LiveChat grades higher on platforms. LiveHelpNow grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Text by LiveChat
Website chat, ticketing and an AI agent from the LiveChat team
LiveHelpNow
Live chat, ticketing and knowledge base with a built-in AI agent
Which one is for you
Pick Text by LiveChat if
- Fits if you sell online and want chat that shows what a shopper has in their cart
- Works for teams who answer from desktops as well as phones
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need unlimited chat history or multilingual chat, as both wait on Growth at $79 a user
- Not for you if you want a help center or phone support in the same tool
- Tight if your AI agent gets busy, since Essential has 10 resolutions a month and 50 more cost $49.50
- Watch out: Essential gives 5 AI reply suggestions per user a month, tracks 50 live visitors and allows 3 campaigns
- Skip it if you're on an older LiveChat plan and want Text features, as they aren't part of those plans
Pick LiveHelpNow if
- Fits if your support team wants chat and tickets in one place
- Works for teams that also take calls and social messages
Look elsewhere if
- Tight on Essential: ticketing, call logging and workforce tools need Professional at $59
- Pricey if you want AI, since Hue add-ons start at $99 a month and go to $799
- Skip it if you want to start on your own, as the trial is set up after a call
- Watch out: the page does not say if seat prices are billed monthly or yearly
- Not for you if you want phone apps, as only the web workspace is listed
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAText by LiveChatFair | 2.4GPALiveHelpNowFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEssential is $19 a user a month billed yearly ($25 monthly), between the cheaper quarter and the middle of help desks. It already has chat, tickets and an AI agent, but only 10 AI resolutions a month, and the next plan, Growth, is $79 a user. | C$39 a seat a month for Essential, which sits between the middle ($29) and the dearer quarter ($45) of the category. Tickets need Professional at $59. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day free trial of Essential or Growth with no card needed. There's no free plan, and once it ends every person who answers chats or tickets needs a paid seat. | CA free trial set up after a short call; its length and any card requirement aren't stated. There is no free plan. |
| Features | CWebsite chat that shows who's browsing and what's in their cart, one inbox for chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS and email, tickets, an AI agent and reply help. The gaps: no help center or phone channel on the listing, and Essential keeps 60 days of history. | BLive chat, tickets, a knowledge base, phone, social channels, automations and an API. The listing shows no gap in the core job, though ticketing is on Professional. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You add the chat box to your site, connect each channel and point the AI agent at your knowledge sources before it does much on its own. | CNo store rating on record. A trial is arranged by a call, and channels and routing have to be set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android apps for agents, with Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Webflow, WhatsApp, Instagram and Klaviyo, and an API. Every device type is covered. | BWeb only, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Slack and Shopify connections. No desktop or phone apps are listed. |
| Best for | website chat with an AI agent included | live chat and a help desk in one workspace |
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: Text by LiveChat and LiveHelpNow. How we grade
Price against what you get
Text by LiveChat starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. LiveHelpNow starts at $39 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Text by LiveChat starts $20 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Text by LiveChat for less, and 4 score higher than LiveHelpNow 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
- LiveHelpNow also covers shared inbox and help center.
At a glance
| Text by LiveChat | LiveHelpNow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) | $39 per seat / month, billing basis not stated |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Essential or Growth, no credit card required | Free trial, set up for your team after a short call |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Text, Inc. | LiveHelpNow LLC |
| Price read from | livechat.com | livehelpnow.net |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Text by LiveChat
- New sign-ups now get Text plans; the older LiveChat plans stay only for existing customers, and Text features are not part of them.
- AI resolutions beyond the monthly allowance (10 on Essential, 200 on Growth) cost $49.50 per pack of 50.
- There is no free plan, and every person who answers chats or tickets needs a paid seat.
- Essential keeps chat and file history for 60 days and tracks 50 live visitors; unlimited history and multilingual chat need Growth.
LiveHelpNow
- Ticketing, call logging and workforce management need Professional or higher.
- Hue AI add-ons cost extra: Knowledge AI from $99 a month, Conversational AI from $499 and Conversational AI Plus from $799.
- The pricing page does not say whether seat prices are billed monthly or annually.
- The pages list no desktop or mobile apps; agents use the web workspace.
Key features
Text by LiveChat
- Website chat with visitor tracking
- A chat widget for websites and stores that shows who is browsing, which pages they view and, for Shopify stores, what is in their cart.
- One inbox for several channels
- Website chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS through Twilio and email arrive in one inbox, with a ticketing system for follow-ups, on every plan.
- AI Agent
- Answers customers from your knowledge sources and hands over to a person. Essential includes 1 agent and 10 resolutions a month, Growth 10 agents and 200.
- AI Copilot for agents
- Suggests replies and edits text for the team: 5 suggestions per user a month on Essential and 50 on Growth, which also adds chat and ticket summaries.
- Proactive campaigns
- Chat invitations and cart recovery messages shown to visitors, with sales reports tied to chats. Essential allows 3 campaigns and Growth 30.
- Apps for desktop and phone
- Agents can work in a browser or in apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
LiveHelpNow
- Live chat and ticketing
- Website chat, SMS and email tickets sit in one agent workspace; ticketing starts on the Professional plan.
- Knowledge base and portal
- Essential includes a knowledge base with unlimited articles, a customer support portal and secure forms.
- Phone and social channels
- Call flows, callbacks and Zoom Phone, plus Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Google Business Messages and Slack.
- Hue AI assistant
- Hue answers from your knowledge base, past chats and uploaded documents, in chat, on tickets and on the phone, and suggests replies to agents.
- Automations and routing
- Conversations are routed by skill, availability and context, with automations that grow more advanced on higher plans.
- API and developer tools
- A REST API, OAuth, webhooks and a JavaScript SDK for the chat widget are documented for developers.
Plans
Text by LiveChat
Essential$19
per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
Chat, inbox and ticketing, 1 AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions a month, 50 live visitors tracked, 3 proactive campaigns and 60 days of chat history.
Growth$79
per user / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Adds 10 AI Agents and 200 AI resolutions a month, chat supervision, shared canned replies, unlimited history, 400 live visitors and team reports.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI agents built for you, flexible usage limits, a white-label widget, SSO and audit logs, SLAs and a dedicated account team. Sold through sales.
LiveHelpNow
Essential$39
per seat / month, billing basis not stated
Live chat, knowledge base, support portal, surveys, social channels, basic automations and reporting; one chat domain.
Professional$59
per seat / month, billing basis not stated
Adds ticketing, workforce management, advanced automations, KPI dashboards, data export and call logging.
Premium$79
per seat / month, billing basis not stated
Adds onboarding, a monthly success call, priority support, no LiveHelpNow branding and higher limits.
EnterpriseCustom
For large or complex requirements. Priced through sales.
Ways to pay less
Text by LiveChat
- Annual discount
About 20% to 24% off with annual billing
The pricing page puts the annual saving at about 24% on Essential ($19 against $25 per user a month) and about 20% on Growth ($79 against $99).
LiveHelpNow
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Text by LiveChat or LiveHelpNow?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Text by LiveChat is cheaper to start with: $19 a month for each person, against $39 a month for each person for LiveHelpNow. Text by LiveChat starts at $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly), and LiveHelpNow starts at $39 per seat / month, billing basis not stated.
Which has a free plan, Text by LiveChat or LiveHelpNow?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Text by LiveChat nor LiveHelpNow has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Text by LiveChat and LiveHelpNow run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Text by LiveChat lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.