Free Live Chats: Channel Talk vs Tidio
Anna • Content Marketing Manager US Team
6month 7days
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Free Live Chats: Channel Talk vs Tidio
If you’ve moved on from Shopify Inbox and are looking for a free live chat option with more features that can support your business’s growth, you’ve come to the right place.
There’s a reason why growing e-commerce stores end up switching to other live chat tools and it’s because as you gain more customers, you need more tools to help you communicate with them.
Other major players like Gorgias, Zendesk, and Intercom all do not have a free plan. Making a decision to start paying their hefty prices can be a difficult decision.
Using a platform that offers a free plan with the option to upgrade if you need it is the best way to test which live chat platform works for you.
Both Tidio and Channel Talk are prominent solutions in the live chat market that offer a completely free plan.
Tidio: Lots of Features but Limited Chats
Tidio is a popular live chat tool because it offers a free plan where you can test out a wide range of features.
Pros:
Free
Unlimited seats
Integrations with external messengers (for ex. Instagram messenger)
Calling through live chat widget
Cons
Limited chats (50 per month)
No custom branding
No customer event history
Cannot set up operating hours
No 24/7 live chat support
Not many strong live chat tools offer a completely free plan and that’s why Tidio stands out with its free plan with unlimited seats and external messenger integrations. You are also able to use their video calling feature to help customers who need extra assistance.
Chat Limitations
The greatest con of Tidio’s free plan is that chats are limited to only 50 conversations a month across all channels (live chat, email, social media). If you have a small amount of customers coming to your site and aren’t active in engaging in conversations, this plan could be a fit for you.
Branding & Customer Infomation
The branding for your live chat interface is limited to a simple color and icon.
Basic customer information like their location, if they are new and returning, are not viewable with the free plan. Event history is also unavailable. You’ll just be able to chat with your customers without knowing any information about them.
However, all these features are available if you upgrade to their paid plans.
Channel Talk: Unlimited Chats & Customer Data
Channel Talk offers a free plan that lets you talk to customers as many times as you need and provides valuable customer data so you can have more meaningful conversations.
Pros:
Free
Unlimited chats & seats
Team messenger
External messenger integrations (for ex: Instagram messenger)
Customizable chat interface
Customer event history
Calling features
Cons
Additional features are available on a paid plan
Unlimited Chats
Channel Talk offers unlimited seats and chats on the free plan. If your business is just starting out, you may not have many inquiries but you don’t want to limit the possible chats you may have. Especially when you’re in the beginning, talking the customers is extremely vital to help you grow and unlimited chat conversations can help you get there.
Team Messenger
Many businesses use Slack or Microsoft Teams to handle internal communication which can cost money and is also a separate tool. Channel Talk offers a free internal team messaging tool that’s within the same platform so you can switch easily between talking to your team and customers.
Branding
Creating an experience that matches your brand elevates the user experience. The free plan allows you to update the basics like colors and logo as well as add header images and integrate with your Instagram feed for an aesthetic chat interface.
Customer Information
The free plan also includes customer information outside of basics and allows you to view event history such as product page view. Understanding their journey on your website allows you to give more personalized help to your customers.
Advanced Features
Calling through the chat interface is a recently released feature to help you connect with customers when a problem is easier solved over a voice call.
And finally, Channel Talk’s platform is designed to help you grow. The free plan helps you start out talking to customers. When your business starts to take off and there’s more customers to talk to, there are paid features available to help you retain those customers and turn visitors into regulars.
Features like support bot, AI, automation, and marketing can help elevate your businesses. So when you’re ready to upgrade, there are add-ons available to support your growth.
Conclusion
Tidio and Channel Talk are both great free live chat options with options to move onto a paid plan with additional features.
Tidio has a robust free plan that helps you start getting connected to your customers but has a limit in the amount of conversations you can have.
Channel Talk offers unlimited chats and provides additional customer data.
Talking to your customers helps you understand what your business needs to continue to grow. Using Channel Talk and being free of chat restrictions along with insight into each customer is how you can get there.
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