Text by LiveChat vs Pure Chat (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Text by LiveChat and Pure Chat 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 whether you care more about platforms, where Text by LiveChat grades higher, or value for money, where Pure Chat does.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on the free plan, features 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
Pure Chat
Live chat for websites with a flat price per plan
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 Pure Chat if
- Fits if two to four people share chat duty on one site
- Works for a small shop that wants a flat monthly price
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want ticketing, a help center or an AI agent, which the pages don't list
- Tight if you run more than one site, since Growth covers one and PRO at $79 is unlimited
- Tight if you send SMS alerts: 100 a month on Growth, 1,000 on PRO
- Watch out: no live demos are offered, so the trial is the only way to look
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAText by LiveChatFair | 2.4GPAPure ChatFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | B$39 a month billed annually covers 4 operators, about $10 each, which is under the cheapest quarter ($19) per head. A solo user still pays all $39, and extra operators are $13. |
| 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 30-day trial of PRO with no credit card. 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. | CLive chat with unlimited chats, canned responses and mobile apps. The listing's gap: no AI agent, ticketing or help center is listed, so it is a smaller job. |
| 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, and the widget and triggers need setting 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 plus iOS and Android apps. Only 2 integrations are listed, and there is no desktop app. |
| Best for | website chat with an AI agent included | flat-price live chat for a small team |
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 Pure Chat. 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. Pure Chat starts at $39 a month and scores 2.3.
Text by LiveChat scores higher and 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 18 score higher than Pure Chat 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.
- Pure Chat also covers reports.
At a glance
| Text by LiveChat | Pure Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) | $39 per month for 1 website and 4 operators, billed annually ($49 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Essential or Growth, no credit card required | 30-day free trial of the PRO plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Text, Inc. | Pure Chat |
| Price read from | livechat.com | purechat.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
Pure Chat
- Growth covers one website and 4 operators; more websites need PRO at $79 a month billed annually.
- SMS notifications are capped at 100 a month on Growth and 1,000 on PRO.
- The pages describe live chat only; they list no AI agent, ticketing or help center product.
- The vendor says it does not offer live demos; the 30-day trial is the way to try it.
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.
Pure Chat
- Unlimited chats
- Both plans list unlimited chats and unlimited chat history transcripts, with the plan fee covering a set number of operators.
- Visitor tracking
- A visitors view shows who is on the site, the page they are on, how often they have visited and where they came from.
- Widget editor
- The chat box can be customized for mobile and desktop, including design, size, position, text fields and behavior.
- Mobile apps
- iOS and Android apps let operators answer chats away from a desk, with push notifications.
- Canned responses
- Saved replies can be shared with the team or kept private.
- Triggers and file transfer
- Trigger-based actions and alerts, security roles, file transfer and an email form for when no one is available are listed.
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.
Pure Chat
Growth$39
per month for up to 4 operators, billed annually ($49 monthly)
One website and 100 SMS notifications a month. Extra operators are $13 a month billed annually ($15 monthly). Unlimited chats.
PRO$79
per month for up to 10 operators, billed annually ($99 monthly)
Unlimited websites and 1,000 SMS notifications a month. Extra operators are $8 a month billed annually ($10 monthly). Unlimited chats.
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).
Pure Chat
- Annual discount
Lower price when paid annually
The pricing page shows Growth at $39 and PRO at $79 a month paid annually against $49 and $99 paid monthly, and extra operators cost less too.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Text by LiveChat or Pure Chat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Text by LiveChat starts at $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly), and Pure Chat starts at $39 per month for 1 website and 4 operators, billed annually ($49 billed monthly). 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 Pure Chat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Text by LiveChat nor Pure Chat has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Text by LiveChat and Pure Chat run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Text by LiveChat lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app and 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.