Best live chat app for Shopify: the short list
The best live chat app for a Shopify store is LiveChat when the store wants its AI Agent to read the live Shopify catalog and its staff to see the cart. LiveChat Essential is $25 per user a month, billed monthly, or $19 billed annually, as read on 7 October 2026. tawk.to suits a store that needs chat at no cost.
LiveChat sells new trials as Text plans, and its pricing page describes Text as "the next product from the team behind LiveChat". Its Shopify listing is named LiveChat: AI live chat by Text. Its AI Agent is software that answers chats on its own from the knowledge you give it. The table sets LiveChat beside Tidio, Gorgias and tawk.to, each priced on its own basis.
| App | Price | Store features | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveChat Essential | $25 per user a month, billed monthly; $19 billed annually | AI Agent reads live catalog; agents see cart | 14 days, no card |
| Tidio Starter | $29 a month, billed monthly, for 100 conversations | Team sees orders and live cart, per its listing | 7 days; Free plan available |
| Gorgias Starter | $10 a month for 50 tickets; monthly billing only | Live chat and order tracking, per its listing | 7 days; no free plan named |
| tawk.to | Free on its listing; add-ons from $29 a month | View and manage Shopify orders in chats | No trial needed |
We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you.
Try LiveChat free for 14 days →What LiveChat does inside a Shopify store
LiveChat lists Shopify on every plan. Its AI Agent reads the live Shopify catalog, and agents see what sits in the shopper's cart. Cart recovery campaigns are on every plan too, within 3 proactive campaigns on Essential and 30 on Growth, and LiveChat says one account can run every Shopify store you own.
For order questions, LiveChat's Last order label shows a customer's latest order and supports Shopify only. The limit is checkout: chat on Shopify's Checkout page needs Shopify Plus, while the Thank you page works on every Shopify plan.
Paying by seat, conversation or ticket
LiveChat charges per user, so a store pays for each person who logs in to answer. Tidio charges by billable conversations: Starter is $29 a month, billed monthly, for 100, and its Shopify listing shows the same $29 for 100 conversations. Gorgias charges by tickets and never per agent: Starter is $10 a month for 50 tickets, with monthly billing only, or $40 a month with its AI Agent switched on.
Gorgias's listing puts live chat, 3 agents and a 7-day trial on Starter, with $0.40 for each extra ticket. Tidio's listing says its AI agent, Lyro, can act on order status, refunds, cancellations and order edits. LiveChat vs Tidio compares seats with conversations, and Tidio alternatives adds more options.
Free options for a new store
tawk.to's Shopify listing prices the app as Free, and its own add-ons page charges for four add-ons from $29 a month. Tidio's listing says a free plan is available, and tidio.com counts that plan as 50 billable conversations. Gorgias's listing names a free trial but no free plan, and Shopify's own Inbox app is also listed as free.
LiveChat has no free plan; Essential or Growth can be tried for 14 days with no credit card. For a store that only needs chat at no cost, tawk.to's listing promises unlimited messaging, ticketing and agent seats.
Adding the app to your store
Install LiveChat from Settings, then Website widgets, and review the permissions Shopify shows before you click Install, or add it from the Shopify App Store like any other app. After you add the widget, Shopify opens its theme editor, where saving makes the widget visible to customers.
A store can install LiveChat and check its catalog answers during a 14-day trial with no card. The steps are in how to add live chat to Shopify store.
We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you.
Start a 14-day LiveChat trial →Sources used for this page
The facts above come from the pages below, read on 7 October 2026. We have not used these products hands-on. Prices and terms change, so confirm them on the vendor's site before you buy.
- LiveChat pricing: Text plans — Vendor pricing page · livechat.com · read 7 October 2026
- LiveChat listing, Shopify App Store — Platform listing · apps.shopify.com · read 7 October 2026
- Connecting the website widget using Shopify — Vendor documentation · text.com · read 7 October 2026
- Shopify customers' last orders in chats and tickets — Vendor documentation · text.com · read 7 October 2026
- Text integration for Shopify — Vendor product page · text.com · read 7 October 2026
- Tidio pricing — Vendor pricing page · tidio.com · read 7 October 2026
- Tidio listing, Shopify App Store — Platform listing · apps.shopify.com · read 7 October 2026
- Gorgias pricing — Vendor pricing page · gorgias.com · read 7 October 2026
- Gorgias listing, Shopify App Store — Platform listing · apps.shopify.com · read 7 October 2026
- tawk.to add-ons — Vendor pricing page · tawk.to · read 7 October 2026
- tawk.to listing, Shopify App Store — Platform listing · apps.shopify.com · read 7 October 2026
- Shopify Inbox listing, Shopify App Store — Platform listing · apps.shopify.com · read 7 October 2026