What it actually does
LiveChat is a product of Text S.A., Wroclaw (US: Text, Inc., Boston). Still live at livechat.com. The parent renamed from LiveChat Software S.A. in 2023. WSE ticker TXT, not Nasdaq. About 35,000 companies in marketing copy. July 2026 earnings used 35,000 customers.
The 2026 homepage is live chat software with a LiveChat 2.0 inbox banner. That is a per-seat website widget, agent-assist AI they call Text Intelligence, and optional sibling products: ChatBot, HelpDesk, KnowledgeBase. ChatBot on the LiveChat pricing page starts at $52 a month. ChatBot.com now prints Text Essential $19 and Growth $79. Do not mix those grids. WhatsApp is a marketplace app at $99 or $199 per number, not native.
It is not Tidio. Tidio is a cheaper widget with Lyro and a real free plan. It is not Crisp. Crisp is a Nantes helpdesk with WhatsApp on Essentials at $95. It is not Chatbase. You are not pasting PDFs into a bot you own. It is not ManyChat. Comment-to-DM is a different aisle. It does not answer the shop phone. Twilio SMS in the inbox is not missed-call text-back. No reviews SKU. No GBP. No Jobber, Housecall Pro, Dentrix, Mindbody, or Clio. Native names are Shopify, WooCommerce, HubSpot, Salesforce.
Who should buy it
Buy Starter only if one person will live in the widget. Monthly cash is $25 a user. Annual is $19. Team is $59 monthly, $49 annual, per person. Business is $89 / $79. Enterprise is Custom. Trial is 14 days. Do not invent a 15 percent annual discount. The FAQ on the same site still says 15 percent and an old $41 plus $52 bundle. The cards do not.
Do not buy it if you are a plumber, HVAC shop, salon, dentist, or law firm. If you needed a widget, Tidio at $29. If you needed a helpdesk plus WhatsApp, Crisp. If you needed a DIY bot, Chatbase. If you needed the phone, OpenPhone or Ruby.
The reason not to buy is the seat math, then the paper. Two people answering is not 2 times $19. It is Team at $59 each, monthly. ChatBot is another bill. HelpDesk from $29 and KnowledgeBase from $49 stack on the LiveChat path. Terms: Massachusetts law, auto-renew, no refunds, cancel through support chat. Help Center says you keep access until period end. ToS may cut it immediately. Capterra, Robert E., 1-star, February 2025: charged after cancel, chargeback. Trustpilot indexed: cancelled, charged anyway, twice, LiveChat plus KnowledgeBase. Michela d, Legal Services, 1-star, December 2025: missed chats, disconnects.
The verdict
Capterra and Software Advice 4.6 from 1,727 (same Gartner pool, live HTML August 25, 2026). Ease 4.6, value 4.5. Mix 70 percent five-star. 72 percent small business on the FAQ; top industries are software, IT, retail. Lisa T., Construction owner, 5-star, March 2026, bake-off versus Tidio and Pure Chat. That is the only trade card retrieved. G2 live HTML DataDome 403; indexed about 4.5, counts 751 to 810. Trustpilot live HTML WAF 403; largest unit about 2.7 to 2.9 from 203 to 210. BBB A+, accredited, zero customer reviews, one answered complaint in three years (misdirected ChatGPT case). TrustRadius indexed 8.4 from 135, also 7.1 on a compare snippet. Reddit: none retrieved.
Official list August 25, 2026: Starter $25 a user a month, $19 on annual. Do not use directory $16 or the FAQ 15 percent line.
Skip. The 4.6 is ecommerce teams that staff a site. The 2.7 is cancel. If the job was a plumber widget, Tidio. If the job was the phone, not this.