Live chat for your website: what does it cost in 2026?
In short
- A chat tool is paid first per seat (19 to 55 per agent per month depending on the tool) or per workspace (Crisp).
- The AI agent is then paid per resolution: from $0.50 (HubSpot) to $0.99 (Intercom), up to €2.00 at Zendesk.
- For 3 agents and 300 conversations resolved by AI each month, the math ranges from about $300 (Help Scout) to nearly €600 (Zendesk).
- All prices were read on October 10, 2026 on the official pages.
The three ways a chat is billed
Before comparing numbers, you need to know what you are comparing. Chat vendors combine three models:
- Per seat: each person who answers visitors pays a subscription. This is the model of Intercom, Zendesk, Help Scout, Freshchat, LiveChat and HubSpot.
- Per workspace: a monthly price for a number of included seats. This is the model of Crisp (4 seats in Mini, 10 in Essentials) and Tidio.
- Per resolution: the AI agent is billed every time it settles a conversation without a human. Almost every vendor adds it on top of seats.
The third model changes everything: it makes the bill variable. A busy month, a successful campaign or a more effective AI agent push the bill up.
Prices read on October 10, 2026
First paid plan that includes chat on your website, and the AI agent price. Amounts as shown on the official pages; “calculated” marks our own division of official figures.
| Tool | First plan with chat | Listed price | AI agent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intercom | Essential | $29 per seat per month | Fin: $0.99 per outcome |
| Zendesk | Suite Team | €55 per agent per month (annual), €69 (monthly) | 5 resolutions per agent per month included, then €1.50 (committed) or €2.00 |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Starter | $7 and $20 per seat per month shown, without saying which is annual | Customer Agent: $0.50 per resolved conversation |
| Help Scout | Standard | $25 per user per month | AI Answers: $0.75 per resolution |
| Crisp | Mini | $45 per month for 4 seats | $5 of AI credits included, about 90 conversations |
| Tidio | Starter | $24.17 per month, 10 seats, 100 conversations | Lyro: from $32.50 for 50 conversations ($0.65, calculated) |
| Freshchat | Growth | $19 per agent per month (annual) | Freddy: $49 for 100 sessions ($0.49, calculated) |
| LiveChat | Essential | $19 per user per month (annual), $25 (monthly) | 10 resolutions per month included, then $49.50 for 50 ($0.99, calculated) |
Sources: Intercom and Fin, Zendesk, HubSpot and its per-resolution announcement, Help Scout, Crisp, Tidio, Freshchat, LiveChat.
What we could not verify: the billing period of the Intercom, Help Scout and Tidio prices (the page shows one price per plan), which of HubSpot’s two prices is the annual one, the price of extra AI credits at Crisp, and Brevo’s chat prices, whose page loads prices with JavaScript.
The math for a small team
Take a team of 3 people answering on the chat, and an AI agent that settles 300 conversations a month on its own. Computed from the listed prices above, excluding tax and options.
| Tool | Seats | AI agent | Total per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Help Scout | 3 × $25 = $75 | 300 × $0.75 = $225 | about $300 |
| Intercom | 3 × $29 = $87 | 300 × $0.99 = $297 | about $384 |
| Zendesk (annual) | 3 × €55 = €165 | 15 included, then 285 × €1.50 = €427.50 | about €593 |
Two takeaways. First, the AI costs more than the seats past a few hundred conversations. Second, that total does not include the CRM: you still pay for the tool where your contacts and deals live, and often for a connector to move conversations from one to the other.
What pushes the bill up
- Resolutions count even when the answer is simple. “What are your opening hours?” costs the same as a real product question.
- Conversation caps. Tidio limits billable conversations per plan; beyond that, you move up a plan.
- Options. Agent copilot, removing the vendor’s branding, longer history, several websites: each can be an extra.
- The CRM integration. Without a native integration, conversations stay in the chat tool, or go through a connector with its own subscription.
How to choose
Ask three questions before comparing prices:
- How many conversations a month? Count the ones the AI could settle on its own: that is the variable part of the bill.
- Where should conversations end up? If the answer is “on the customer record, with their emails and deals”, a separate chat makes you connect two tools.
- Who stays in control? Check that you can choose what the AI does on its own and what it only prepares.
Further reading: connecting your website chat to your CRM.
The Arcane CRM approach: chat inside the CRM
In Arcane CRM, your website chat is part of the CRM. Conversations land next to the contact record. Verdict sorts every request (Sales, Support, Billing, Spam, Other). Atlas, the AI agent, answers on its own, drafts a reply or does nothing, depending on what you choose for each category. Your workflows can start on a received message.
The customer chat, Atlas and Verdict are included in the Growth and Scale plans, with no add-on and no price per conversation or per resolution. No counter to watch: if your conversation volume gets very high, contact support and we will adjust with you.
FAQ
How much does a live chat tool for a website cost?
The first paid plan with chat usually costs between $19 and €55 per agent per month, read on October 10, 2026: $19 at Freshchat and LiveChat (annual billing), $25 at Help Scout, $29 at Intercom, €55 at Zendesk (Suite Team, annual). Crisp bills per workspace: $45 per month for 4 seats.
What is a per-resolution price?
It is the price paid every time the AI agent settles a conversation without a human. It comes on top of seats: $0.99 at Intercom (Fin), $0.75 at Help Scout, $0.50 at HubSpot, €1.50 to €2.00 at Zendesk beyond included resolutions.
Why is the cost of an AI chat hard to predict?
Because the AI part depends on the number of resolved conversations, which varies with your traffic, your campaigns and the quality of Atlas’s answers. The better Atlas, the more it resolves, and the higher the bill.
Is a chat included in the CRM cheaper?
Often, because it avoids a second subscription and the connector between the two tools. In Arcane CRM, the customer chat, Atlas and Verdict are included in the Growth and Scale plans, with no add-on.
Are competitor prices excluding tax?
The amounts above are those shown on the official pages on October 10, 2026. Most are in US dollars; only Zendesk showed euros on its French page. Always check the vendor’s page before choosing, prices change often.
Try the Arcane customer chat
Arcane CRM offers a 14-day Growth trial, with no credit card, with an automatic return to the Free plan at the end. Start the Growth trial or see the customer chat page.