Tawk.to Competitors & Alternatives
With over 3 million global users, Tawk.to is one of the most popular live chat software platforms on the market. It’s an entirely free solution that we found to be a reliable, yet relatively basic, customer support tool. Tawk.to received a SoftwarePundit Analyst rating of 90 because it offers detailed chat capabilities, ticketing, and a knowledge base free of charge.
There are many excellent competitors in the live chat space that are worth considering. While most of Tawk.to’s top competitors are not entirely free, they offer more functionality, more advanced features, and modern interfaces that are easier to work with.
Throughout this article, we’ll provide an overview of the main Tawk.to competitors and alternatives, which are:
- Freshchat
- Olark
- Tidio
- Gist
- HelpCrunch
If you’d like to read an in-depth analysis of Tawk.to before learning about its main competitors, check out our full Tawk.to review. To learn more about our research and reviews, read about our unbiased review process.
Table of Contents
- Tawk.to Features
- Tawk.to Competitor Overview: Features
- Tawk.to Competitor Overview: Pricing
- Top Tawk.to Competitors
- Bottom Line
Tawk.to Features
The main features offered by Tawk.to are live chat, ticketing, and a hosted knowledge base. Tawk.to doesn’t have some advanced features offered by more expensive alternatives, like email marketing or chatbots. However, Tawk.to offers the best range of features for free. Other solutions include a free plan, but those are often so restricted that they won’t benefit your business in the same way. Our table below provides brief descriptions of Tawk.to’s features.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Live Chat | With Tawk.to’s live chat feature, you get many details for free that competitors charge for, such as:
|
| Ticketing | With Tawk.to, businesses receive a built-in ticketing system that allows agents to track customer concerns. Agents will be able to assign status, the priority level, and assign an agent to each ticket. |
| Unlimited Chat Agents | Many live chat solutions offer plans that are priced per agent or will have limits on the number of agents you can have using the software. Tawk.to hosts unlimited agents for free. |
| Agent Chat Pages | A fairly unique feature to Tawk.to, the agent chat pages are individual pages assigned to your company’s agents. These pages are customized with your agent’s photos, chat URL, and more. These are great ways for your team to provide direct lines of communication between your customers and the specific agents they’re trying to reach. |
| Knowledge Base | A knowledge base is a resource designed to address customer concerns and questions with FAQs, blog articles, and more. With Tawk.to, you’ll have access to a hosted landing page that has a built-in chat widget where you can route your customers for a self-help option. |
There are also a few additional features that customers can pay for. These features include:
- Hired chat agents
- Hired virtual assistants
- Remove Tawk.to branding
- Video, Voice, & Screen Sharing
Tawk.to Competitor Overview: Features
Below is a chart that compares the features found in Tawk.to, Freshchat, Olark, Tidio, Gist, and HelpCrunch. You’ll notice that major features like website pop-ups and chatbots are found in some competitors but not in Tawk.to, so opt for more advanced tools if your goal is to have a more well-rounded solution.
Tawk.to Competitor Overview: Pricing
As mentioned above, Tawk.to is entirely free. You’ll be able to purchase a few additional features for between $1 per hour and $29 per month.
For the top Tawk.to alternatives, we’ll provide a breakdown of pricing plans and estimated monthly costs per plan.
| Company | Pricing Details |
|---|---|
| Freshchat |
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| Olark |
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| Tidio |
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| Gist |
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| HelpCrunch |
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Top Tawk.to Competitors
Below are one-to-one comparisons between Tawk.to and the top alternatives. We’ve researched and hand-tested these tools ourselves and our comparisons are based on that firsthand research.
#1: Freshchat
Freshchat is the competitor on this list that’s closest to Tawk.to in terms of the user experience and included features. Tawk.to is more basic, while Freshchat offers email marketing and a chatbot for a high price. Both are ideal for those who are looking for a support-focused tool rather than a combined marketing-messaging option.
- You’d like to hire chat agents
- You want to offer a knowledge base
- You’d like a free solution that still offers detailed features
- You want more detailed reports
- You’d like email marketing or a chatbot
- You already utilize other Freshworks software products
#2: Olark
Olark is a very basic live chat tool that costs between $12 per person per month to $19 per person per month. Olark recently added their own chatbot product, called CoPilot, which is something that Tawk.to doesn’t have. Overall, Tawk.to is simply a better value for the money, because you get a very similar product for free.
- You’d like similar features free of charge
- You’d like a knowledge base
- You want unlimited users
- You’d like to try a chatbot
- You’re okay with a 2-year plan
- You want a more modern interface
#3: Tidio
Tidio offers flexible live chat with add-ons such as email marketing, chatbots, and additional visitor insights. Tidio’s chatbot is a reasonable price and is easy to configure, though we found that chat notifications can be unreliable. Tawk.to is preferable for those who are looking to use live chat primarily for support, while Tidio should be for those looking for a more modern solution that can tackle support as well as marketing.
- Your main goal is to provide support
- You’d like a free tool
- You require reliable message notifications
- You want more advanced features
- You want a flexible pricing model
- You won’t mind less reliable notifications
#4: Gist
Gist is another chat-and-marketing tool like Tidio, but that offers the best free plan among all Tawk.to competitors. With the free plan, customers get basic live chat, website pop-ups, and email marketing features. Tawk.to will be preferable for those who are searching for ticketing and a knowledge base for free, while Gist will offer a broader set of features.
- You want to have more than 2 agents in the free plan
- You need a ticketing tool
- You don’t mind a slightly clunkier interface
- You want to utilize chatbots and website pop-ups
- You want software that’s easier to use
- You’re looking for an all-in-one tool
#5: HelpCrunch
HelpCrunch was given one of the highest ratings in our live chat category because it offers fantastic value with features like email campaigns, up to five separate chat widgets, website pop-ups, a help desk and knowledge base, and more. HelpCrunch would likely benefit a slightly smaller organization, as it can cost up to $49 per team member, while Tawk.to is an ideal choice for a large customer support team.
- You’re focused on customer support, not engagement
- You don’t mind a less intuitive interface
- You want a ticketing feature
- You want a powerful and intuitive tool
- You can pay up to $49 per team member
- You want particularly detailed reports and analytics
Bottom Line
Tawk.to is a fantastic free live chat tool that will allow you to provide reliable support for your customers. It’s basic, though detailed enough that it outperforms all competitors’ free plans. We recommend it for those looking to provide their website visitors with top-notch support.
We recommend alternatives to Tawk.to for anyone looking to take support a step further with email marketing, chatbots, website pop-ups, and more. Other solutions, like HelpCrunch or Gist, come at a relatively high monthly cost but will afford your organization much more flexibility and functionality.
If you’re interested in signing up with Tawk.to, click here.