Table of Contents
- Key takeaways: the best HubSpot live chat alternatives at a glance
- What is HubSpot live chat?
- How much does HubSpot live chat cost?
- Problems with HubSpot live chat that send teams to alternatives
- How HubSpot live chat alternatives solve these problems
- How these HubSpot live chat alternatives were ranked
- The 10 best HubSpot live chat alternatives in 2026
- 1. Text by LiveChat: best for dedicated live chat
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 2. Crisp: best flat-price alternative with a HubSpot sync
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 3. SiteGPT: best for AI answers from your own content
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 4. Tidio: best for small sites that want chat and AI
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 5. Intercom: best for adding AI while keeping HubSpot
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 6. Zendesk: best for large service teams
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 7. Freshchat: best free option for up to 10 agents
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 8. Help Scout: best for email-first teams
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 9. Tawk: best free live chat
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 10. Chatbase: best AI agent with a built-in helpdesk
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- HubSpot live chat alternatives compared
- How much do HubSpot live chat alternatives cost for 5 agents?
- The stack: which tool does which job
- How to choose a HubSpot live chat alternative
- Use-case cheat sheet
- How do you move from HubSpot live chat to SiteGPT?
- FAQ about HubSpot live chat alternatives
- Basics
- Is HubSpot live chat free?
- Does HubSpot live chat support AI answers?
- Is HubSpot a good live chat tool?
- Comparisons
- What is the best free alternative to HubSpot live chat?
- Is Crisp or Text better than HubSpot live chat?
- Does SiteGPT replace HubSpot live chat?
- Pricing
- What is the cheapest HubSpot live chat alternative for 5 agents?
- Why does HubSpot cost more at Professional?
- Compliance
- Which HubSpot live chat alternatives work for HIPAA?
- Do these tools sign a DPA for GDPR?
- Sources

- HubSpot live chat is free for up to 2 users. Most teams leave for one of two reasons: the jump from $7 to $90 a seat, or a CRM they do not otherwise use.
- Text by LiveChat is the closest dedicated chat tool. Crisp is the cheapest for a team: $95 a month covers 10 seats.
- SiteGPT is not a live chat inbox and has no HubSpot integration. It answers visitors from your own content, from $59 a month or $39 a month billed yearly.
- Healthcare teams should check HIPAA terms first. Intercom lists HIPAA support on Expert, Help Scout on Pro, and SiteGPT signs a BAA on Enterprise only. Tidio's terms say it is not a HIPAA business associate.
- Five agents cost $95 a month on Crisp Essentials or Text Essential, against $450 on HubSpot Professional plus a $1,500 onboarding fee.
Key takeaways: the best HubSpot live chat alternatives at a glance
Tool | Best for | Entry paid price | G2 rating |
1. Text by LiveChat | Dedicated live chat for sales-led teams | $19 a user a month billed annually | 4.5 (818 reviews, LiveChat listing) |
2. Crisp | Flat pricing with a HubSpot sync | $45 a month per workspace | 4.5 (207) |
3. SiteGPT | AI answers from your own content | $59 a month, or $39 a month billed yearly | 4.9 (12) |
4. Tidio | Small sites that want chat and AI | $24.17 a month billed annually | 4.6 (2,076) |
5. Intercom | Adding AI while keeping HubSpot | $29 a seat a month billed annually, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome | 4.5 (3,949) |
6. Zendesk | Large service teams | $55 an agent a month paid yearly | 4.3 (7,120) |
7. Freshchat | Free chat for up to 10 agents | Free, paid prices vary by region | 4.4 (504) |
8. Help Scout | Email-first teams that need chat too | $25 a user a month billed annually | 4.4 (431) |
9. Tawk | Free human live chat | Free, Pro is $39 a seat a month | 4.5 (202) |
10. Chatbase | AI agent with a built-in helpdesk | $120 a month billed yearly for the helpdesk | 4.8 (42) |

What is HubSpot live chat?
How much does HubSpot live chat cost?
Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Included credits | One-time fee |
Free | $0 for up to 2 users | $0 | None listed | None |
Starter | $7 a seat a month | $20 a seat a month | 500 | None |
Professional | $90 a seat a month | $100 a seat a month | 3,000 | $1,500 onboarding |
Enterprise | $150 a seat a month | Not listed | 5,000 | $3,500 onboarding |
Problems with HubSpot live chat that send teams to alternatives
- The price jumps at Professional. A seat goes from $7 to $90 billed annually, about 13 times more. The first year also carries a $1,500 onboarding fee.
- The AI agent sits behind that jump. Customer Agent is listed from Professional, so five agents pay $450 a month before any credits run out.
- The free chat widget carries HubSpot branding. HubSpot lists branding removal for live chat as a Starter feature.
- The value depends on the CRM. Contact records are the main reason to use the tool. A team whose sales data lives elsewhere pays for a link it does not use.
How HubSpot live chat alternatives solve these problems
Problem | Type of alternative | Examples |
Seat price jump | Flat workspace price | Crisp |
Seat price jump | Free chat | Tawk, Freshchat Free |
AI agent behind Professional | AI included in the plan | Text, Crisp |
AI agent behind Professional | AI added to HubSpot | Fin, Chatbase |
Weak answers from thin bot flows | Bot trained on your content | SiteGPT, Chatbase |
CRM you do not use | Standalone chat tool | Text, Crisp, Tidio |
How these HubSpot live chat alternatives were ranked
- Live chat fit. Does the tool give agents a real-time inbox?
- HubSpot path. Can you keep your CRM data, or do you start over?
- Cost for 5 agents. What is the monthly bill before AI usage?
- AI answers. Is an AI agent included, and how is it billed?
- Compliance. Does the vendor publish HIPAA, SOC 2, or GDPR terms that a buyer can check?
The 10 best HubSpot live chat alternatives in 2026
1. Text by LiveChat: best for dedicated live chat

Key features
- Website chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, and email in one inbox
- Ticketing in every plan
- AI agents with a set number of monthly resolutions
- Proactive campaigns and live visitor tracking
- Shopify selling inside chat
Pros
- An AI agent is included on both self-serve plans
- 14-day free trial with no credit card
- The vendor lists SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, and CCPA
Cons
- Per-user pricing adds up: 5 users on Growth cost $395 a month billed annually
- Essential includes only 10 AI resolutions a month
- Extra resolutions cost $49.50 per 50, which is $0.99 each
- The white-label widget is Enterprise only
- The HubSpot app is labelled for LiveChat, so confirm that it works on a Text plan
Pricing
Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | AI resolutions a month |
Essential | $19 a user a month | $25 a user a month | 10 |
Growth | $79 a user a month | $99 a user a month | 200 |
Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Rating
Best for
2. Crisp: best flat-price alternative with a HubSpot sync

Key features
- Website chat widget and shared inbox
- Shared email inbox from Mini
- Omnichannel inbox, knowledge base, and workflow builder from Essentials
- Hugo AI agent, with AI credits included on paid plans
- HubSpot contact sync
Pros
- Essentials includes 10 seats for $95 a month, which is $9.50 a seat
- Free plan for 2 seats
- 14-day free trial of paid plans
Cons
- The ticketing system and 100+ integrations are listed on Plus at $295 a month
- AI use beyond the included credits costs extra
- Check which plan includes the HubSpot sync before you buy
Pricing
Plan | Price | Seats | AI credits a month |
Free | $0 | 2 | None |
Mini | $45 a month per workspace | 4 | $5 |
Essentials | $95 a month per workspace | 10 | $25 |
Plus | $295 a month per workspace | 20+ | $75 |
Rating
Best for
3. SiteGPT: best for AI answers from your own content

Key features
- Trains on websites, sitemaps, files, YouTube, GitHub, Notion, Google Drive, and other sources
- Auto refresh: monthly on Growth, weekly plus a daily scan on Scale
- Escalation to a person, with team notifications
- Lead collection and quick prompts
- 95+ languages
- Chat integrations from Growth: Crisp, Slack, Messenger, Google Chat, Freshdesk Messaging, and Zoho SalesIQ. Zendesk from Scale
Pros
- Answers come from content you control
- Can run inside Crisp or Freshdesk Messaging, so agents keep that inbox
- SOC 2 Type II examined and GDPR certified
- Data is never used to train AI models
Cons
- No HubSpot integration, so leads do not sync to the CRM natively
- Not a replacement for a live chat inbox
- No free plan. The 7-day trial needs a credit card
- Starter has no chat integrations
- A HIPAA BAA and a signed DPA are Enterprise only. In a HIPAA workspace, chat integrations are off and training content must stay free of patient data
- No EU data residency
Pricing
Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Messages a month | Chatbots |
Starter | $59 | $39 a month ($468 a year) | 4,000 mini or 400 GPT-4.1 | 1 |
Growth | $129 | $79 a month ($948 a year) | 10,000 mini or 1,000 GPT-4.1 | 2 |
Scale | $429 | $259 a month ($3,108 a year) | 40,000 mini or 4,000 GPT-4.1 | 3 |
Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Rating
Best for
4. Tidio: best for small sites that want chat and AI

Key features
- Live chat and ticketing
- Lyro AI agent
- Flows for proactive chat automation
- Free plan with 50 conversations
Pros
- Free plan with a one-time 50 Lyro conversations
- The largest G2 review base among the small-team tools here
- 7-day free trial
Cons
- Lyro is priced separately on the paid plans
- Billable conversation limits can raise the bill as traffic grows
- Tidio's terms say it is not a HIPAA business associate
Pricing
Plan | Billed annually | Billable conversations |
Free | $0 | 50 |
Starter | $24.17 a month | 100 |
Growth | From $49.17 a month | From 250 |
Plus | From $300 a month | Custom |
Lyro AI Agent | From $32.50 a month | From 50 AI conversations |
Rating
Best for
5. Intercom: best for adding AI while keeping HubSpot

Key features
- Messenger, shared inbox, and ticketing
- Fin AI agent on every plan
- Workflow builder from Advanced
- Standalone Fin with no seats required
Pros
- Fin can run on top of HubSpot, so the CRM and helpdesk stay in place
- HIPAA support is listed on Expert
- 14-day free trial with no card
Cons
- Two meters: seats plus $0.99 per Fin outcome
- Five seats on Essential cost $145 a month at the list price, before outcomes
- SSO and HIPAA support need Expert at $132 a seat
Pricing
Plan | Billed annually | Per Fin outcome |
Essential | $29 a seat a month ($19 for new customers) | From $0.99 |
Advanced | $85 a seat a month | From $0.99 |
Expert | $132 a seat a month | From $0.99 |
Fin AI Agent only | No seats required | From $0.99 |
Rating
Best for
6. Zendesk: best for large service teams

Key features
- Messaging and live chat from Suite Team
- Ticketing, routing, and analytics
- AI agents on Suite plans
Pros
- Built for large teams and complex routing
- The largest G2 review base in this list
Cons
- Five agents on Suite Team cost $275 a month paid yearly
- The $19 Support Team plan covers email and ticketing, so chat needs a Suite plan
Pricing
Plan | Paid yearly |
Support Team | $19 an agent a month |
Suite Team | $55 an agent a month |
Suite Professional | $115 an agent a month |
Rating
Best for
7. Freshchat: best free option for up to 10 agents

Key features
- Chat widget for web and mobile apps
- Shared inbox and email connection
- Freddy AI Agent, sold per 100 sessions
- Social messengers and text messaging from Growth
Pros
- Free for up to 10 agents
- Annual billing saves 20%
- SiteGPT can answer inside Freshdesk Messaging from its Growth plan
Cons
- AI is a paid add-on
- Reports and social channels need Growth
Pricing
Plan | Price |
Free | $0 for up to 10 agents |
Growth | Per agent, shown in local currency |
Pro | Per agent, shown in local currency |
Rating
Best for
8. Help Scout: best for email-first teams

Key features
- Shared inbox and Docs help center
- Beacon website messaging
- Envoy AI agent, billed per resolution
Pros
- Free plan for 5 users, with 1 inbox and 1 Docs site
- HIPAA compliance is listed on Pro
- Envoy has a 3-month free trial
Cons
- Chat is a second channel to email, so sales-led chat teams may want more
- HIPAA compliance needs the $75 Pro plan
Pricing
Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly |
Free | $0 | $0 |
Standard | $25 a user a month | $30 a user a month |
Plus | $45 a user a month | $54 a user a month |
Pro | $75 a user a month | $90 a user a month |
Envoy add-on | $0.75 per resolution | $0.75 per resolution |
Rating
Best for
9. Tawk: best free live chat

Key features
- Free chat widget and shared inbox
- AI Assist for answers from a knowledge base
- Optional paid hired agents
Pros
- The core product is free
- The lowest possible bill for a large team
Cons
- AI and other extras are paid
- Add-ons are billed per property
Pricing
Plan | Price |
Starter | Free |
AI Assist | Paid plans from $29 a month |
Pro | $39 a seat a month at list price |
Rating
Best for
10. Chatbase: best AI agent with a built-in helpdesk

Key features
- AI agents trained on your content
- Chatbase helpdesk inbox with manual takeover, from Basic
- HubSpot, Zendesk, Salesforce, and other integrations, from Basic
- Voice and API access from Basic
Pros
- A native HubSpot integration, which SiteGPT does not have
- 7-day trial
- HIPAA-eligible on Enterprise
Cons
- Message credits run out and top-ups cost $40 per 1,000
- Hobby has no helpdesk or HubSpot integration
- Branding removal costs $1,188 a year
Pricing
Plan | Billed yearly | Message credits a month | Seats |
Hobby | $32 a month | 700 | 2 |
Basic | $120 a month | 4,000 | 3 |
Business | $400 a month | 15,000 | 5 |
Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Rating
Best for
HubSpot live chat alternatives compared
Tool | Live chat inbox | Billing | Free option | HIPAA position |
Text by LiveChat | Yes | Per user | 14-day trial | Not listed on pricing page |
Crisp | Yes | Per workspace | Free plan | Not listed on pricing page |
SiteGPT | No | Per plan | 7-day trial with card | BAA on Enterprise only |
Tidio | Yes | Per conversation | Free plan | Terms say not a business associate |
Intercom | Yes | Per seat plus outcome | 14-day trial | HIPAA support on Expert |
Zendesk | Yes | Per agent | Free trial | Not listed on pricing page |
Freshchat | Yes | Per agent | Free for 10 agents | Not listed on pricing page |
Help Scout | Yes, Beacon | Per user | Free for 5 users | Listed on Pro |
Tawk | Yes | Free, paid extras | Free | Not listed on pricing page |
Chatbase | Yes, helpdesk | Per plan | 7-day trial | HIPAA-eligible on Enterprise |
How much do HubSpot live chat alternatives cost for 5 agents?

Option | Math | Monthly cost | Against HubSpot Professional |
Tawk | Free core product | $0 | $450 less |
HubSpot Starter | 5 x $7 | $35 | $415 less |
Crisp Essentials | Flat | $95 | $355 less (79%) |
Text Essential | 5 x $19 | $95 | $355 less (79%) |
Help Scout Standard | 5 x $25 | $125 | $325 less (72%) |
Intercom Essential | 5 x $29 | $145 | $305 less (68%) |
Zendesk Suite Team | 5 x $55 | $275 | $175 less (39%) |
Text Growth | 5 x $79 | $395 | $55 less (12%) |
HubSpot Professional | 5 x $90 | $450 | Plus $1,500 once |
The stack: which tool does which job
Layer | Job | Tool |
CRM | Holds contacts and deals | HubSpot, if you keep it |
Live chat inbox | Lets agents reply in real time | Text, Crisp, or Freshchat |
Answer layer | Answers repeat questions from your content | SiteGPT, Fin, or Chatbase |
Handoff | Moves a chat to a person with context | Built into each inbox. See AI chatbots with human handoff |
How to choose a HubSpot live chat alternative

If you need | Pick | Why |
A dedicated chat tool for sales | Text by LiveChat | AI agent and visitor tracking in every plan |
One flat bill and a HubSpot sync | Crisp | $95 a month covers 10 seats |
Fewer repeat questions | SiteGPT | Answers from your own content |
AI on top of HubSpot | Intercom Fin | Runs on HubSpot with no seats |
A BAA for patient chats | Intercom Expert, Help Scout Pro, or SiteGPT Enterprise | Each vendor names HIPAA on that plan |
Chat at no cost | Tawk or Freshchat | Free core chat |
Use-case cheat sheet
Scenario | Best choice | Reason |
5-agent sales team leaving HubSpot | Text Essential | $95 a month with an AI agent |
10-person team on one budget | Crisp Essentials | $9.50 a seat |
Team that keeps HubSpot and wants AI | Intercom Fin | No seats required |
Team that wants HubSpot tickets from an AI agent | Chatbase Basic | Native ticket routing |
Docs-heavy product with repeat questions | SiteGPT | Trains on docs and refreshes them |
Shop with low chat volume | Tidio | Free plan and conversation billing |
Clinic website | Help Scout Pro | HIPAA compliance listed on the plan |
Team of 8 with no budget | Freshchat Free | Free for up to 10 agents |
Team of 20 with no budget | Tawk | Free core chat |
Large service team | Zendesk Suite | Routing and analytics across channels |







