The best WordPress chat plug-ins compared
Even if your website already provides plenty of information about a particular product or service, users often have individual questions that they don’t always get an answer for. If they don’t find what they need, many users will abandon a website. If you have a live chat feature, you can give your users the opportunity to ask questions. Not only does this create more trust in your company, it strengthens your relationship with potential customers and can even increase your conversion rate.
If you made your website using WordPress, you have a range of different WordPress chat plug-ins at your fingertips. We tested out the best plug-ins so we could compare them for you.
WordPress chat plug-ins: an overview of the best providers
Many providers of live chat support programs offer a WordPress chat plug-in for a quick and easy way to integrate a chat feature into your WordPress website. Depending on the requirements of the site in question, some plug-ins may be better than others. We recommend you test two to three plug-ins so you can see whether they meet your requirements. To help narrow down your choice, we present some of the best-known providers of WordPress chat plug-ins below.
LiveChat
LiveChat is an extraordinarily well-known and popular live chat support program, not least because of the simple user interface and installation combined with its wide range of features. For example, you can greet your users with an automatic message and proactively encourage them to participate in the chat in order to set up contact with them.
The company also places a lot of value on data protection, by storing all data and files from European customers on servers in the European Union, for example.
You can download the LiveChat WordPress chat plug-in directly from the WordPress admin area. However, to use it, you will need to make a premium account at the end of the 14-day trial period. Prices start at $16 per month for the starter pack. Business packs will set you back $50 per month. If you need a little extra, there is also the enterprise option, for which you can receive an individually tailored quote for all the features you require.
LiveChat WordPress chat plug-in: overview of pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Unlimited archiving for chats | No lite/free version |
| Saved chats can be sent by e-mail | No Android/iOS app |
| Customizable chat window | |
| Ticket system | |
| Data security | |
| Offline chat tips | |
| Automatic greetings | |
| Pre-saved answers | |
| Choice of language for customers, including RTL support | |
| CRM integration | |
| Mobile chat window | |
| Facebook and Twitter integration | |
| Repartition of agents in teams | |
| Questionnaires before and after chats | |
| File sharing | |
| Data security |
Olark
Just like LiveChat, Olark will win you over with its simple and quick set-up. Its $12 per user per month price tag makes it a little cheaper. As well as chat reports, CRM integration and white label support, Olark offers you a comprehensive range of features. You can test their offer for free for two weeks before deciding to go for the premium subscription.
You can easily install Olark’s WordPress chat plug-in from the WordPress admin area. This video shows you how:
Olark WordPress chat plug-in: overview of pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Unlimited archiving for chats | No lite/free version |
| Rules for automatic live chats to reach more customers and streamline workflows | No ticket system |
| Customizable chat window | No choice of language for customers |
| Offline chat tips | Android/iOS app available through a third party only |
| Chat reports | |
| Automatic greetings | |
| Pre-saved answers | |
| CRM integration | |
| Repartition of agents in teams | |
| Questionnaires after chats |
Zendesk Chat
Zendesk Chat is a popular WordPress chat plug-in that lets you interact with customers in real-time. With the free version, your advantages include an active chat and the possibility to save chats for 14 days. For more in-depth features, Zendesk offers four different plans starting from $19 per user per month.
As well as the user-friendly desktop dashboard, Zendesk also offers its own app for Android and iOS. This lets you easily respond to your customer chats on the go.
Zendesk chat WordPress chat plug-in: overview of pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Unlimited archiving for chats | No social media or Mailchimp integration |
| Individual triggers to activate the chat window | No ticket system |
| Customizable chat window | |
| Chat reports | |
| Automatic greetings | |
| Pre-saved answers | |
| CRM integration | |
| Mobile chat window | |
| Repartition of agents in teams | |
| Questionnaires after chats | |
| Business hours integration so you can set the days that the chat window will be active |
Tidio Live Chat
Tidio’s WordPress chat plug-in lets you set up a live chat quickly and for free on your WordPress website. You can choose from three different designs for the chat window and adapt it to your company’s color scheme. Tidio is not quite as flexible as other providers, but still offers a satisfactory amount of user situations.
The free version lets you have up to three users and an unlimited number of chats. The premium version – starting at $18 for the first user (each subsequent user costs $10) – can be trialed for free for seven days. The paid version offers additional features such as live typing, e-mail templates, and a list of active site visitors.
Tidio WordPress chat plug-in: overview of pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Unlimited archiving for chats | No social media or mailchimp integration |
| Automatic chat messages | No ticket system |
| Desktop version and Android/iOS app | Chat window only partially customizable |
| Supports many different languages | |
| Chat reports | |
| File-sharing | |
| Offline chat tips | |
| Extensive free version available |
WordPress chat plug-ins: a direct comparison
Whether you want the free version of Tidio or Zendesk or you’d rather go straight for the premium version, your choice will depend on the features you need. If you want access to detailed analyses and be able to answer to several active users in chats, investing in a paid plug-in is worth it.
The direct comparison in the table below should give you a good overview of the most important features provided by each of these live chat support WordPress chat plug-ins.
| Feature | LiveChat | Olark | Zendesk | Tidio Live Chat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individually customizable chat window | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, but limited to specific options |
| Unlimited archiving for chats | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Chat reports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Chat evaluation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline chat tips | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic chat messages | No | Yes | Yes, using AI chatbots | Yes |
| File sharing | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Repartition of agents in teams | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Integrated ticket system | Yes | No | No, but extensions possible | No, but extensions possible |
| CRM integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile chat window | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Different languages | Yes | No | No, but the chat can be translated by Google Translate | Yes |
| Social media integration (such as Facebook Messenger) | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Sales/goal tracking | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Android/iOS app | No | Yes, but from third parties | Yes | Yes |
| Free version | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Price (July 2020) | From $16 per user per month and agent | From $12 per user per month and agent | From $19 per user per month and agent | From $18 per month for one agent (each subsequent agent costs $10) |
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