Text by LiveChat vs Provide Support (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Text by LiveChat and Provide Support share a 2.4 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on which platforms you need.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
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
Provide Support
Live chat for websites, priced by the number of agent seats
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 Provide Support if
- Fits if you only want a chat box on your site, for one or a few agents
- Works for small teams that want every feature on every plan
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for support teams who need tickets, a help center or an AI agent
- Watch out: chat translation is $249 a year and a custom-domain chat link $49 a year per domain
- Watch out: after the 10-day trial, agent logins lock until you pay
- Not for you if you need bigger teams quickly, as the page shows prices for 1 and 3 seats only
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAText by LiveChatFair | 2.4GPAProvide SupportFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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$24 a month for 1 seat on monthly billing ($156 a year), above the $19 that ends the cheaper quarter of customer-support tools. Every feature is included, so there are no upgrades to buy. |
| 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 10-day trial with all features and no card. There is no free plan, and logins lock when the trial ends. |
| 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. | CChat does its job fully, with visitor monitoring, invitations and statistics. It is a smaller job, though: the pages describe no ticketing, help center or AI agent. |
| 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. You add the chat code to your site and set up agents. |
| 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. | AWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android apps, with WordPress, Shopify, Wix and other plugins. |
| Best for | website chat with an AI agent included | website live chat with no extras |
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 Provide Support. 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. Provide Support starts at $24 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Text by LiveChat starts $5 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 2 score higher than Provide Support 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
- Text by LiveChat also covers help desk and AI support agent.
- Provide Support also covers chatbots.
At a glance
| Text by LiveChat | Provide Support | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) | $24 per month for 1 seat, billed monthly ($156 billed yearly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Essential or Growth, no credit card required | 10-day free trial with unlimited seats and all features, no card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Text, Inc. | Provide Support, LLC |
| Price read from | livechat.com | providesupport.com |
| 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.
Provide Support
- It is live chat only: the pages describe no ticketing, help center or AI agent.
- Automatic Chat Translation costs $249 a year and a chat link on a custom domain $49 a year per domain.
- After the free trial ends, agent logins are locked until you pay; the account and settings are kept.
- The page shows prices for 1 and 3 seats; larger teams are on the Enterprise pack or custom plans.
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.
Provide Support
- Same features on every plan
- The vendor says all paid plans include every feature and differ only in the number of agent profiles.
- Unlimited chats and domains
- Chats per agent are not limited, and the chat button can be added to multiple domains at no extra cost.
- Agent apps on every platform
- Agents can use a web app, desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux, and iOS and Android apps.
- Visitor monitoring and statistics
- Real-time visitor monitoring plus statistics on agent performance and on the pages where the chat button was clicked.
- Platform plugins
- Integration guides cover WordPress, Wix, Shopify, Joomla, BigCommerce, OpenCart, PrestaShop and other site builders and carts.
- Chat invitations
- Agents can send chat invitations, and an eye-catcher bubble can draw attention to the chat button automatically.
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.
Provide Support
Small Business$24
per month for 1 seat, billed monthly ($156 billed yearly)
One agent seat with every feature included and no Provide Support branding.
Corporate$53
per month for up to 3 seats, billed monthly ($310 billed yearly)
Three agent seats with every feature included and no Provide Support branding.
Enterprise$108
per month for a seat pack, billed monthly ($713 billed yearly)
A bigger seat pack, with the FAQ listing packs of 1, 3 and 10; the pricing page shows no seat count.
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).
Provide Support
- Annual discount
Yearly billing costs less than 12 months
Yearly totals of $156, $310 and $713 are shown beside the monthly prices of $24, $53 and $108 on the pricing page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Text by LiveChat or Provide Support?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Text by LiveChat starts at $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly), and Provide Support starts at $24 per month for 1 seat, billed monthly ($156 billed yearly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Text by LiveChat or Provide Support?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Text by LiveChat nor Provide Support has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Text by LiveChat and Provide Support run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Provide Support lists a Linux app. Both list a web app and macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. 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.