To determine the best live chat software, Forbes Advisor looked at a number of factors important to small businesses. These included features, ease of use, customer satisfaction, support options, API access, integrations and value for money. We also considered real user experiences and reviews. After assigning a weight to each factor, we calculated a score for each live chat software.
Here are some of the categories we used to rank the providers that made it to the top of the list.
Pricing
In terms of pricing, we considered the affordability of a chat software’s lowest and highest price tiers and the value that each high price tier brings to users. Companies that offer free versions or free trials of their software scored higher here than those that only offered paid plans. This accounted for 15% of our weighted score.
Functions
While our reviews mention a number of features that are attractive to small businesses, we maintained consistency in our ratings by looking for these specific features for each provider. These included custom branding, chatbots, team collaboration, integrations, and ticket and conversation management. Features made up 35% of our total score.
Third party reviews
We researched reviews from real users to gauge their opinion of each platform. This involved looking at ratings from customers on popular review sites Capterra, G2 and Trustpilot, which stood at 3.5 out of 5. These made up 15% of the overall score.
Expert analysis
Based on the categories above and market research, we also ranked additional criteria from customer reviews, such as ease of use, standout or detailed features, popularity and value for money. These final criteria make up 35% of the total score.
* conversion correct per 21 November 2023
