The best WordPress Live Chat plugins for your site

If you’re on this page, it's because you’re looking for a Live Chat plugin for your WordPress site. We hear you: better conversion rates, improved user experience, shorter customer journey... Live chat will become your ultimate customer relationship ally! But be careful not to choose just any Live Chat plugin! There are many choices on WordPress and it's easy to quickly get lost. To help you, we've compiled a ranking of the best Live Chat extensions for your website! Positive points, negative points... Below is our selection of the best WordPress live chat plugins plus our reviews! But first, let's go over why it's useful to have a Live Chat plugin on your website. 

Why install a WordPress live chat plugin on your website? 

A WordPress live chat plugin for better conversion rates 

Contrary to what you might think, Live Chat has a direct impact on your sales volume. This is what several studies have shown when trying to quantify the effect of this conversational channel on sales. If you're a faithful reader of the ChayAll blog, you've probably noticed our love of performance indicators. When it comes to Live Chat, it’s not understatement to say that the numbers simply speak for themselves:  

• 77% of consumers say they aren’t willing to buy from a site that doesn't offer Live Chat support (Source); 
• 63% of consumers say they're more willing to return to a website that offers Live Chat (Source). When you consider that customer loyalty is probably the fastest way to profitability, you can see how much potential there is in using a (good) Live Chat WordPress plugin;
• Live Chat aficionados spend, on average, 60% more on every purchase (Source).

This trifecta alone can propel your WordPress site's sales performance to unprecedented heights! Loyalty, trust, conversion... with the right WordPress Live Chat plugin, you'll be one step ahead of the competition!

A WordPress live chat plugin to improve customer relations 

Once again, the numbers leave no room for doubt: Live Chat and instant messaging more generally, is a must for customer relations. According to a study carried out by eDigital, Live Chat is the customer service channel generating the highest level of satisfaction (73%). This far exceeds email (51%) and phone calls (44%). We have to say that the WordPress Live Chat plugin saves your customers a lot of hassle:

• No need to wait motionless while listening to repetitive hold music;
• No need to multiply channels: phone support will inevitably resort to email to send a document for example. With the right WordPress Live Chat Plugin, you can send customers images, links and PDFs;
• Instant messaging is most likely already part of your customers' or prospects' daily lives. They’re in their comfort zone, which puts them in a better position to interact with you.

Eliminate the hidden costs of customer service

Like all business processes, customer service can be riddled with hidden costs. Expensive, time and energy consuming customer service will impact your competitive edge. The WordPress Live Chat plugin allows you to optimize customer service costs across the entire value chain:

• You'll be able to effortlessly handle multiple customer or prospect requests. According to this case study, Live Chat can increase five-fold the number of interactions an agent can handle as compared to phone support;
• No training is required, given that you (and your employees) most likely already use instant messaging on a daily basis;
• No specific infrastructure is required to use a Live Chat WordPress plugin.

Best WordPress Live Chat Plugins in 2020 

1. ChayAll

ChayAll is a French startup that recently created its plugin. It enables you to add a Live Chat button on your website so that users can reach you in one click. But that's not all! You can also integrate other instant messengers like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iOS Messages, Google's Business Messages and Instagram. This is something that will appeal to all Internet users, regardless of their favorite social network. What's the main advantage of this plugin? It gathers all of your customers' Live Chat and Instant Messaging messages in one interface, making it easy to manage your customer relationships.

Why we like the ChayAll plugin:

• There's a free version. 
• Besides Live Chat, you can install all instant messengers.
• No IT know-how required.  
• All received messages on a single platform. 
• Ability to retrieve the history of your posts. 
• Performance data available.
• Customized chat color. 
• Creation of automatic messages. 
• Ability to create a chatbot. 
• Quick setup. 
• Even after leaving the site, customers are notified that you have responded to their request. 
• Ability to be assisted by a consultant.

ChayAll plugin points to improve

• Specific settings for each messenger.
• Reduced number of features. 
• No search bar to find conversations.

2. WP Live Chat - Tidio

Founded in 2013, Tidio is a Polish startup created in Szczecin. In 2014, it launched its Live Chat tool. It focuses primarily on automating the chat service and develops bots to recognize and answer customer requests. This requires little human intervention. Alongside this solution, it also offers a simplified e-mail marketing service. It's possible to create one-off or recurring campaigns... Its plugin supports companies in their marketing strategy.

Why we like the Tidio plugin:

• Chatbot capability. 
• Email marketing. 
• Ability to contact customers visiting your site. 
• Integration with Zendesk, GetResponse, SalesForce, MailChimp...
• Ability to choose the Widget's placement.
• Saved conversation history.
• Live Chat, email and Facebook Messenger all on the same platform.

Tidio plugin points to improve

• No free version, only a 7-day trial version. 
• While the plugin is free, many features are not. 
• Only offers Live Chat and Facebook Messenger.
• English only website. 
• No tracking: when customers leave your site, they aren't notified if you respond. 
• Manual integrations.

3. 3CX

3CX's core business is VoIP technology and unified communications. The Anglo-Dutch company is one of the leaders in this market. Their Live Chat tool allows visitors to your website or Facebook page to chat with you. If the messages aren't enough to answer the request, the tool then offers a call or a video conference. That way, there's no need to dial a phone number. 

Why we like the 3CX plugin:

• There's a one-year free version.  
• You can receive messages offline. 
• Live Chat, call and video conference communications are unified. 
• Detailed performance reports. 
• Live Chat organization by department. 
• Numerous features.
• Ability to add a survey to your chat box.

3CX plugin points to improve

• French isn't available. 
• Unintuitive tool. 
• Few customization options.

4. Crisp Live Chat

Founded in 2015, Crisp is a Nantes-based startup that aims to make multi-channel customer relationship management easier, primarily for small and medium businesses. Its plugin includes an instant chat system, real-time notifications and chat time customization. You can also install this extension on a computer or cell phone. The startup also offers to connect its Live Chat plugin to Slack business messaging, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Telegram, email and SMS.

Why we like the Crisp plugin?

• There' s a free offer. 
• Ability to define availability slots: the Live Chat won't be available when you' re away. 
• You can choose to receive notifications when you get a message. 
• Available extensions. 
• Enhanced user profile (last name, first name, location, social networks used, pages visited).

Crisp plugin points to improve

• To access the response history, you need to subscribe to a paid plan. 
• Different conversations with the same customer appear in sequence without separation. 
• Some settings aren't very intuitive.

5. Tawk.to Live Chat

The Tawk.to plugin allows you to track and connect with your website visitors. On top of a Live Chat, the extension also offers real-time tracking of your website's customer journey. Some other features can be helpful for customers like direct payment through Live Chat, email response notifications or message translation in the user's native language.

 Why we like the Tawk.to plugin?

• Free plugin. 
• 27 available languages. 
• Message localization to answer users in their own language. 
• Possible predefined messages. 
• Payment through Live Chat. 
• Detailed reports on the user's behavior.

Tawk.To plugin points to improve

• Requires a paid subscription to remove the "Powered by tawk.to" from products.
• Extra cost to integrate a custom logo.
• The dashboard takes some time to get used to.

6. HubSpot - CRM, email marketing, live chat, forms and analytics

The Hubspot Live Chat WordPress plugin isn’t just a live chat extension. It also brings together contact management (CRM), email marketing, forms and analytics. The US-based company was founded in 2005 with the goal of turning marketers into real references and support for customers. The company has come up with numerous features to interact with customers in an agile way. So, the HubSpot live chat WordPress plugin is a package that brings together some useful tools. 

Why we like the HubSpot plugin?

• Customizable chat window. 
• Automatically archived conversations. 
• Ability to create a chatbot without coding. 
• Easy chat conversation follow-up thanks to different tools (note taking, calls, task scheduling...) 
• Free integration between Slack and Live Chat.

HubSpot plugin points to improve

• No free offer. 
• Unintuitive interface. 
• Limitations on some features.

7. LiveChat - WP live chat plugin for WordPress

LiveChat was founded in 2002, at the dawn of Live Chat for customer relations. As a result, this Live Chat WordPress plugin has a very wide range of features. Automatic answers to frequently asked questions, notifications, catchphrase suggestions, reporting and analytics, customizations, security options... just too many to mention. 

Why we like the LiveChat plugin?

• 14-day free trial. 
• Ability to get a rating at the end of each conversation. 
• Each agent can have a personal profile with name, title and profile picture. 
• Eye-catching images to indicate your Live Chat. 
• Lots of data provided daily: number of chats, missed chats, surveys, engagement, response time.

The LiveChat plugin points to improve

• Only offers Live Chat, no instant messaging. 
• No spell checker in the chat. 
• Higher prices than competitors.

How to choose the right WordPress Live Chat plugin?

Choose the instant chat plugin that meets your needs 

Each sector and industry has its own customers and needs in terms of customer relations. This means that the Live Chat solution you select will be different from another company's. We've given you our own ranking: now it's up to you to decide which Live Chat tool to use. Here are some criteria that might help you make the right choice! 

A WordPress live chat plugin that’s both versatile and scalable

Picture this: you install your Live Chat plugin and you notice, after market research, that your target audience prefers WhatsApp. You have two options: 

• Install a new WhatsApp Business API plugin;
• Enable the WhatsApp Business API feature of your Live Chat plugin (if possible).

The first solution is problematic because multiplying plugins will slow down your site and harm the customer experience. I mean, after all, if you install an instant messenger, it's to go faster! That's why we suggest going for a scalable and versatile WordPress Live Chat plugin. Choose, for example, a plugin that supports Live Chat, WhatsApp Business API, Facebook Messenger, Apple Business Chat, Google's Business Messages and Instagram. That way you can choose the combination of instant messengers that works for you without multiplying the tools.

A Live Chat WordPress plugin that’s intuitive

Who said that versatility was synonymous with complexity? A streamlined Live Chat interface that centralizes all incoming messages is ideal to simplify your management. You'll have excellent internal visibility so you won't miss any business opportunities.

A WordPress Live Chat plugin that’s both safe and reliable 

Installing and using a badly coded WordPress plugin can be troublesome: 

• Reduced loading speed of your website (negatively impacting your SEO and bounce rate);
• Exposure to hacking risks;
• Poor message flow, with messages getting lost on both sides.

So make sure you have a WordPress Live Chat plugin that complies with current regulations (RGPD and DSP2) and is ultra-practical! By integrating the right one, you'll be boosting your sales performance!