No matter what industry your business operates in, you’ll agree with me that excellent customer service is a non-negotiable part of your business success. 

While there are many channels available to interact with your customers – email, phone call, social media – some nifty issues like longer wait times, network downtimes, poor internet connections and after-business hours services make it challenging to deliver on the excellence that every business service provider should aim for.

Therefore, it’s become important to expand customer interactions over live chat, being that our technologically-driven world is run by products and services that offer instant or near-instant gratification.

Live Chat for Customer Communication

Live chat offers many businesses a way out of the issues that affect asynchronous communication. It gives your customers the chance to communicate in real-time. While live chat does hold many benefits, a common factor that deters most businesses from adopting live chat is the pricing factor.

Fret not – because that’s all about to change with this blog post that shows you the best freemium live chat apps that offer robust features and capabilities for scaling customer service interactions.

Chatway

First up is one of the latest additions to the live chat industry. Chatway does exactly what it promises – streamline real-time customer interactions. 

This live chat app is very easy to use and set-up, requiring no technical experience whatsoever. From its installation to the very first conversation on the app, Chatway makes it seamless and easy for chat agents to set up their first widget and begin customer interactions as quickly as possible.

Features that make Chatway Stand Out: 

• Auto responses – Show pre-designed messages in response to a customer’s query
• Agent availability – Let customers know when your agents are available
• Chat routing – Transfer chats between agents for enhanced specialized support 
• Multi- channel communication – Bring conversations from email, Facebook Messenger etc under one dashboard. 
• Proactive chat – Offer assistance and nudge website visitors to begin interactions via the chat widget
• Real-time notifications – Email & dashboard notifications to help you provide quick & efficient support at the right time.
• Analytics – Break down your conversations, agent interactions and chat resolutions to see what’s been working and what can be improved upon.
• Mobile access – Mobile apps are available on App store & Play Store for on-the-go assistance 
• Third- party integrations – Expand your live chat’s functionality by integrating with your favorite software tools

Free Plan Available?

Yes. Chatway is currently available for free. Paid plans will be introduced in the future according to their website.

Chaty

Second on the list is Chaty – an intuitive chat app that is really one for the books. Chaty is a unique chat tool that aims to improve your interactions with customers across several channels and stands out in the crowded market for customer care solutions. 

If your customers reach out to you on channels like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Tiktok, Viber etc, and you’re looking for an easy way to consolidate all those channels into one single widget, then this chat app is for you.

It is an excellent addition to your customer care arsenal due to its extensive functionality.

Features That Make Chaty Shine:

• Multichannel Magic: Chaty connects you to over 20+ social and communication channels, consolidating all your customer interactions in one convenient widget. 
• One Widget, Many Channels: Display multiple communication channels on a single widget, making it easy for customers to choose their preferred method of engagement.
• Analytics: Track interactions across different channels, helping you fine-tune your customer engagement strategy.
• Beyond Chat: Go the extra mile by offering additional communication options, including contact forms and phone numbers directly on the chat widget.
• Marketplace Integration: Whether you’re running your business on Shopify, Duda, or WordPress, Chaty seamlessly integrates with these popular marketplaces, making it a breeze to set up and manage.
• Unified Chat Experience: Chaty offers integration with Chatway, ensuring you can provide live chat support on your website effortlessly.

Free Plan Available?

Yes, a free plan is available with paid plans starting at $15

LiveChat

When it comes to delivering exceptional customer service in real-time, LiveChat is a popular option that resonates with businesses worldwide. 

This is another option that offers a quick setup and installation process, so you can focus on delivering on your promise of streamlining customer interactions in a fast and efficient way. 

With a suite of features designed to streamline your interactions and enhance customer satisfaction, this is a great option for instant customer support.

Features That Set LiveChat Apart:

• Instant Content Sharing: Share files, documents, images, and more in real-time during chat sessions, facilitating efficient issue resolution and enhancing visual communication.
• Real-Time Chat: Engage with your customers instantly through live chat, providing them with immediate assistance and answers to their queries.
• Canned Responses: Save time by using pre-designed messages to respond swiftly to common customer inquiries, ensuring consistent and efficient communication.
• Specialized Support: Provide specialized support by transferring chats between agents who possess the expertise needed to address specific customer needs.
• Proactive Engagement: Extend a helping hand to website visitors by initiating conversations via the chat widget, boosting engagement and conversion rates.
• Notification Alerts: Stay on top of customer inquiries with real-time email and dashboard notifications, allowing you to provide timely support when it’s needed most.
• Actionable Insights: Dive deep into your customer interactions, agent performance, and chat resolutions with comprehensive analytics, enabling continuous improvement in your support strategies.
• Mobile Accessibility: With mobile apps available on both the App Store and Play Store, you can provide on-the-go assistance to customers, ensuring you’re always there when they need you.

Free Plan available?

Free trial available for 14 days. Paid plans start at $20 per month.

Lucky Orange

Lucky Orange doesn’t just offer live chat features, it is a robust live chat solution that not only facilitates real-time conversations but also unveils valuable insights about your website visitors. 

Features To Love:

• Live Chat: Provides a live chat feature that lets you engage with customers instantly, ensuring no question goes unanswered.
• Session Recordings: Gain profound insights by watching session recordings of your website visitors, understanding their behavior, and identifying areas for improvement.
• Chat Transcripts: Keep track of conversations with customers by accessing chat transcripts, ensuring you have a complete record of all interactions.
• Detailed Analytics: Go beyond basic metrics, offering you detailed analytics to understand how visitors navigate your site, where they drop off, and what pages they engage with the most.
• Conversion Funnels: Optimize your sales funnel by visualizing customer journeys and identifying the steps where visitors are most likely to convert.
• Heatmaps: Understand user interactions at a glance with heatmaps that reveal where users click, move, and spend the most time on your website.
• Form Analytics: Improve form conversions by analyzing form engagement, drop-offs, and user behavior.
• Real-time Notifications: Stay on top of customer interactions with real-time notifications that ensure you never miss an important chat or event.
• Integrations: Lucky Orange plays nice with other tools, offering seamless integrations with popular platforms like WordPress, Shopify, and more.

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Free Plan Available?

Free trial available for 7 days. Paid plans start at $32/per month.

Jivochat

Want a robust live chat app that is easy-to-use and provides a great interface? Then you should consider this option. 

Features That Make It Great:

• Proactive Chat: Initiate conversations with website visitors, offering assistance and personalized support. 
• Visitor Monitoring: Gain real-time insights into visitor behavior on your website, allowing you to tailor your interactions. 
• File Sharing: Seamlessly share documents, images, or other files during chat sessions and resolve issues more effectively with visual aids.
• Agent Ratings: Collect feedback from customers after chat sessions to evaluate and enhance your support team’s performance. 
• Integration Galore: Jivochat integrates with a variety of popular tools and platforms, including WordPress, Shopify, and Facebook. 
• Mobile Accessibility: Stay connected on the go with Jivochat’s mobile apps, available for both Android and iOS. 
• Real-time Translation: Break language barriers with real-time translation capabilities, allowing you to assist customers in their preferred language. Benefit: Expand your global reach and serve a diverse customer base.
• Customizable Widgets: Tailor chat widgets to match your brand’s look and feel, ensuring a consistent user experience. Benefit: Reinforce brand identity during customer interactions.

Free Plan Available?

Yes, their basic plan is free. Paid plans start from $19.

Final Thoughts 

Customer service is still king, and these five freemium live chat apps help you serve your customers even when on a tight budget. With their wallet-friendly pricing, you’ll be scaling your customer service faster.