Tawk
Completely free live chat software used by millions of websites
Overview
Tawk has an unusual business model in SaaS: the core product is completely free. No per-agent fees, no message limits, no feature gates. They monetize through optional paid add-ons like removing branding and hiring chat agents. This makes Tawk the obvious choice for bootstrapped startups that need live chat without budget impact.
Despite being free, Tawk is not a toy. It includes ticketing, a knowledge base builder, chat triggers, visitor monitoring, and a basic CRM. You can see who is on your site in real-time, proactively engage visitors on key pages, and track the entire conversation history.
The knowledge base feature is particularly valuable for lean teams. Create help articles once, and Tawk surfaces them to visitors before they even start a chat - deflecting tickets while improving the customer experience.
Key Features
100% Free Chat
Unlimited agents, unlimited chats, no hidden costs
Ticketing System
Track and manage support requests beyond live chat
Knowledge Base
Self-service help center to deflect common questions
Visitor Monitoring
See who is on your site in real-time and initiate conversations
Chat Triggers
Automatically start conversations based on visitor behavior
Mobile Apps
Respond to customers from iOS and Android apps
Why We Recommend Tawk
For startups with zero support budget, Tawk provides a remarkably complete solution. It is not the most polished option, but the price-to-value ratio is unbeatable.