Understanding your visitors is crucial to providing the best customer service possible. Live chat software can help you improve satisfaction because you’re reaching out to people when they need you most.

Though phone and email support are also great ways to communicate, some people want answers in real-time, and you can do that with live chat. You’re making it easy, hassle-free, and instantaneous to speak to someone. Plus, it’s possible to use knowledge base articles within the system so that users can help themselves.

Two of the leading live chat solutions are LiveChat and JivoChat. Either one might work for your company and needs, though it can be hard to determine the most suitable option. This blog post offers a side-by-side comparison between these products, allowing you to make a more informed decision. Let’s get started!

Feature Face-Off: LiveChat vs. JivoChat

When choosing a live chat solution for your SMB, website, or digital marketing agency, the features available are the main focus. You must ensure that it does what you need without the hassle of upgrading to a new tier level. Here is a look at LiveChat and JivoChat in-depth:

Chat Functionality

LiveChat is a feature-rich tool, and its chat functionality has everything you need. Its canned messages allow you to save responses to the most common questions. Simply reuse them with a few clicks or keystrokes.

You’ll also find file sharing capabilities with LiveChat. Drag and drop your documents right in the chat. This includes catalogs, offers, and screenshots. Ultimately, customers get information without having to visit another page.

Another great feature of LiveChat is its chat transcripts option. Save those important messages for future reference. They are sent to your (or the customer’s) email address.

Let’s turn our attention to JivoChat. It also offers chat transcripts, but the customer must request this within the message. If they don’t, it doesn’t stay in the system.

Likewise, JivoChat allows file sharing, such as photos of receipts, screenshots, GIFs, and documents. Whether it’s to another employee or a customer, you can send whatever you want, as long as the item is less than 10 MB in size.

You’ll also find canned message capabilities with JivoChat, though it calls them “quick phrases,” and it’s only available in the PRO version. Ultimately, these responses are saved so that all account operators can use them.

Based on user reviews from Capterra and other forums, both live chat options are easy to use. They receive 4.7 out of five stars, meaning they’re similar to each other, though you may have a slight learning curve.

Agent Management

You must also focus on how well the live chat solution helps with agent management. Here are a few things that JivoChat offers:

With JivoChat, there are many agent availability features to enjoy, such as a dedicated mobile app (both Android and iPhone) and online/offline statuses. Know when someone signs in to work, allowing you to see that they’re doing their job.

There are many great features available, such as chat routing. This allows you to distribute work to operators fairly, ensuring more productivity. 

Likewise, you can internally chat with other agents behind the scenes. That could be helpful when you must make notes or talk to an operator who had the same customer once before. 

However, JivoChat doesn’t offer agent collision detection, which prevents two operators from picking up the same ticket. Still, this may not be a problem since it provides chat routing.

Now, let’s look at LiveChat’s agent management capabilities. It offers a dedicated mobile app, as well. Plus, you can see which agents are online or offline.

Many features will help you manage your team. For example, it’s easy to set up chat routing rules on LiveChat. This will direct customers to the appropriate agent or team.

Another great tool is the internal chat feature. Called “supervision,” it allows the supervisor to leave a private comment that only the agent sees. It’s a way to help out without being directly involved in the situation.

Though LiveChat doesn’t offer agent collision detection, it’s available in the marketplace through HelpDesk.

Reporting and Analytics

It’s important to ensure that your live chat solution allows you to generate reports easily. LiveChat offers robust reporting capabilities. You’ll enjoy a dashboard that keeps everything in one place and can filter information based on your current needs. Here are a few of the options available:

• E-commerce reports
• Customer reports
• Agent reports
• Data export
• Chat reports
• Data summary

While JivoChat also offers reporting options, they are more limited. You can analyze your audience to know who’s on your website, collect customer feedback through surveys, and monitor how well your agents are doing.

However, most reports are generated through Google Analytics, though you can export data to Excel.

Integrations

Most business owners already use specific software and tools, so it’s important for the live chat solution to work with those. LiveChat offers over 200 integrations, including:

• WhatsApp Business
• Message Translator
• Zoom for LiveChat
• Super Trainer
• Agents Performance Report
• Chat Notes
• Private TODOs
• Stripe
• Facebook Messenger
• Mailchimp
• HelpDesk
• Insights
• Google Analytics
• KnowledgeBase
• ChatBot

It’s important to understand that some are only offered as a free trial. You’d have to pay for those if you choose to keep them.

Alternatively, JivoChat only offers about 48 integrations, which include:

• UChat
• ChatMe
• MindBehind
• Shopify
• WordPress
• Wix
• Zyro
• BigCommerce
• Unbounce
• SquareSpace
• WooCommerce
• ZOHO CRM
• Pipedrive
• Google Analytics
• Webhooks
• Zapier

Though there are fewer apps that integrate with JivoChat, it also has an API, which can help you bridge the gap. Still, it requires IT knowledge, so it might not be suitable for all companies.

Pricing Knockout

Learning about the features of both products is important, but pricing is the ultimate focus for most businesses. 

LiveChat offers four plans, but there’s also a 14-day free trial period. It’s wise to sign up for that to get an idea of what it provides and then upgrade to a paid tier level. These include:

• Starter – At $20/month (billed annually), you’ll enjoy the perks of the Starter plan. This includes One Assistant, traffic tracking for 100 visitors, various ways to contact support, inactivity messages, email transcripts, and certain stats/reports.
• Team – Upgrading to the Team plan costs $41/person (billed annually), and you’ll get three sources for reply suggestions, traffic tracking for up to 400 visitors, and more stats/reports.
• Business – The Business plan is next and costs $59/person (billed annually). It offers more reply suggestions and includes text enhancement, chat summaries, and traffic tracking for up to 1,000 visitors.
• Enterprise – Enterprise is the last plan, and it’s customizable to meet your needs. You must request a call to get more information.

JivoChat has a forever-free plan called Basic. It includes Instagram Direct, storage for up to two months of chat histories, unlimited chats/websites, customizable widgets in 25 languages, callbacks, email integration, and much more.

Upgrading to the Professional plan costs $19/agent/month (billed annually). There’s also a 14-day trial period. With it, you get WhatsApp integrations, smart triggers, pre-chat buttons, advanced statistics for agent activity, and much more.

You’ll also find Enterprise, which is $38/agent/month (billed annually). It comes with a 14-day trial period and offers more advanced features for companies with 10+ agents.

Deciding the Winner: It Depends

The live chat solution you pick will depend on the strategies you use for business. However, here are a few things to consider:

• Team Size and Budget – A small team and budget might indicate that JivoChat is more suitable because it offers a forever-free plan. Still, it doesn’t track visitors like LiveChat.
• Feature Needs (Basic/Advanced) – Ultimately, LiveChat offers more features. While JivoChat claims to have advanced options at the higher tier level, it doesn’t list them to give you a better idea of what’s available. 
• Existing Integrations – LiveChat definitely wins when it comes to integrations, with over 200 available. 

Overall, small businesses and digital marketers will probably benefit more from JivoChat, while large agencies and corporations might prefer LiveChat.

However, there’s also a bonus option that you can consider for your live chat needs.

Chatway: Robust Live Chat App

A newcomer to the scene, Chatway is packed with features that rival even the most established live chat solutions. And the best part? It’s completely free.

That’s right, you can integrate Chatway into your website at no cost. With both basic and advanced features, Chatway simplifies communication with your customers every step of the way.

It comes with many amazing features that make live chat interactions smooth and hassle-free. Some of them include: 

Uncapped Conversations: Chat with website visitors and customers limitlessly. Chatway lets you handle endless chats, making it a standout feature for budget-conscious businesses.

Organized Communication: Segment chats using tags, custom data, and categories. Group conversations by topic, customer location, or assigned agent for effortless management.

Never Miss a Message: Stay on top of customer inquiries with real-time notifications. Receive alerts via email, web browser, or mobile app, ensuring prompt responses and customer engagement.

Scale Your Support Team: Empower multiple agents (support representatives) to handle chats simultaneously. This is especially valuable during peak hours, allowing you to efficiently manage customer service.

Expert Matching: Assign chats to the most qualified agents. Route chats based on agent expertise or availability, ensuring customers connect with the best person to solve their issues.

Supervisory Oversight: Supervisors can monitor ongoing chats and intervene when needed. This ensures consistent delivery of high-quality customer service.

Data-Driven Insights: Gain valuable insights into live chat activity with Chatway’s analytics. Track metrics like resolved vs. unresolved chats, total chats within a timeframe, and more.

All-in-One Communication: Seamlessly integrate Chatway with existing email and Facebook Messenger accounts. Manage all customer conversations within a single, unified platform.

Mobile Workforce, Engaged Support: Empower agents to stay connected and responsive on-the-go with Chatway’s mobile app. Access and manage chats from anywhere, anytime.

Confidential Collaboration: Agents can add private notes directly to chats. This keeps sensitive information or internal discussions hidden from customers, facilitating efficient tracking and information sharing among agents.

Branded Chat Experience: Customize the live chat widget’s appearance to match your website’s branding. Create a cohesive and professional user experience that aligns with your brand identity.

Global Reach: Chatway’s live chat interface supports multiple languages. Cater to diverse customer bases and facilitate smooth communication across different regions.

Conclusion

While LiveChat and JivoChat are both excellent live chat products, the former has more integrations and features. Ultimately, the latter is designed more for the basics. Since each platform offers free trials, it’s wise to try them out before making a final decision.