Live chat for Shopify: 7 best apps compared (2026)
TL;DR: Quick Summary
- Shopify Chat and Ping are now Shopify Inbox, the free starting point before you choose a live chat app by bottleneck.
- Baymard Institute's average across 50 studies puts cart abandonment at 70.22%, so a stuck shopper without an answer is lost revenue.
- Live chat apps bill per user, ticket, billable conversation, or AI resolution, so seat count alone won't predict your monthly cost.
- Pick by bottleneck, then compare Shopify data depth, AI capability, channel coverage, and pricing model before you commit.
- Before you buy, test whether the app's AI reads your live catalog and whether your key messaging channels share one inbox.
Author's note: This roundup reflects SleekFlow's assessment; product details are accurate as of publication and may change, so verify with each provider.
A shopper with a full cart is stuck on sizing, delivery, or returns, and your Shopify store has no salesperson to catch them. Your chat widget has to do that job.
Maybe a website widget and one inbox are all you need. Or your shoppers have started asking questions on WhatsApp and Instagram, and your team is answering from three places at once.
Either way, it is easy to pay for a seat count or a ticket limit that doesn't match how your store actually works, because every app counts and charges differently.
Below are 7 live chat apps for Shopify, and a simple way to choose between them.
What is the best live chat app for Shopify?
There isn't one best app for every store. In our view, SleekFlow suits stores that sell over messaging, Shopify Inbox is the simplest free start, Gorgias suits high-volume ticket teams, and Tidio suits small stores adding AI. The other three apps are covered below, in no particular order.
What is a live chat app?
A live chat app lets your team hold real-time conversations with shoppers on your storefront. A widget appears for visitors, and most apps now add an AI agent that handles routine questions and hands off to a person when a case gets complicated.
Why does your Shopify store need a live chat app?
Live chat answers shoppers while they're still deciding, which protects carts that are already full. It also lets one agent handle several chats and lets AI take repetitive questions, so your team can focus on conversations that need a person.
Baymard Institute's average across 50 studies puts cart abandonment at 70.22%, so even small blockers cost real orders. That makes your live chat choice a revenue decision as much as a support one.
Live chat apps for Shopify compared at a glance
Live chat for Shopify comes with many billing models, so the 7 apps below are compared on best fit, channels, AI, what you're billed for, and free options. Shopify Inbox, tawk.to, Tidio, and JivoChat have free plans, while Gorgias and Text by LiveChat start on paid plans.
SleekFlow plans and pricing vary by country; see SleekFlow pricing for your country.
These options are listed in no particular order.
1. Shopify Inbox, best for stores that want native chat at no cost
Shopify describes Inbox as "An AI sales associate for your online store." It was formerly called Ping and Shopify Chat, and it learns from your catalog, policies, and store content.
Pros
It connects to your catalog, inventory, and policies automatically.
Built-in analytics show orders assisted and buyer satisfaction.
There is no third-party billing to manage.
Cons
Its listing names live chat and email chat. It doesn't name messaging channels such as WhatsApp or SMS.
How it charges
Nothing. Its Shopify App Store listing shows the price as free.
What this means for you: it costs nothing to find out whether chat lifts orders on your site, so it is a natural first step if your shoppers mostly stay on your storefront.
2. Gorgias, best for high-volume support teams
Gorgias pitches "Helpdesk + AI Agent. One platform. One inbox. One bill." In our view it suits teams whose main job is working through a high volume of support tickets.
Pros
AI Agent is on every plan.
Plans aren't priced per agent, so adding a teammate doesn't change the plan price.
Voice and SMS can be added to any plan.
Cons
AI Agent resolutions are charged separately from the plan.
Voice and SMS cost extra, and their pricing scales with call and text volume.
How it charges
Monthly tickets, with plans that scale from 50 to 5,000 tickets a month.
AI Agent, paid per resolved conversation.
What this means for you: your bill follows ticket volume and how many conversations the AI resolves, so estimate both from last month's numbers.
3. SleekFlow, best for sales, marketing, and support over messaging
SleekFlow describes itself as "The AI suite for revenue-driving conversations." For Shopify chat it connects the website widget, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and SMS to one inbox, then adds AI agents for sales, marketing, and support.
Pros
Per its Help Center, the Shopify integration syncs customers, orders, abandoned carts, and active products, and AI agents can answer order and product inquiries using that data.
AI agents learn from sources you add to the AI Knowledge Base, including website pages, and follow playbook scenario instructions for cases such as refund requests or product inquiries.
Broadcast campaigns send WhatsApp messages to opted-in contacts, and Flow Builder has Shopify templates for abandoned cart recovery, order updates, and post-delivery feedback.
Cons
AI agents and broadcasts need a higher plan than the starting plan, which covers the inbox and simple automations.
Plans are sized by monthly active contacts, and the Essential plan is rolling out by country.
How it charges
Monthly active contacts, with AI agent credits counted as monthly usage.
SleekFlow starts from US$49 a month, and AI agents and broadcasts come on the higher plans. Plans and pricing vary by country, so check SleekFlow pricing for your country before you budget.
What this means for you: your bill follows how many shoppers you talk to in a month, so count monthly active contacts rather than seats.
How Pristine Aroma used WhatsApp marketing for cross-border sales
Pristine Aroma, a Singapore home fragrance brand selling from Shopify into Malaysia, Indonesia, the USA, and Canada, added SleekFlow's website chat widget and WhatsApp Broadcast after email campaigns drew low engagement. Its 9.9 sale campaign delivered these results, per the case study.
Peak conversion rate of 18%, the best result the case study reports
56% open rate
16% click-through rate
4. Tidio, best for small stores adding AI
Tidio's pricing page says "Combine AI and human conversations on the Tidio Platform." It has a free plan, and its Lyro AI Agent can be bought on its own.
Pros
The free plan includes 50 billable conversations, and paid features come with a 7-day free trial.
Lyro AI Agent and Flows, its proactive chat automation, can be bought separately or bundled.
Its plan table lists Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and email integrations, and native Shopify actions.
Cons
Lyro AI conversations are counted separately from billable conversations, and only the first 50 are free.
Removing Tidio branding is a paid add-on.
How it charges
Billable conversations, which are conversations that include a message from a human agent. Replies from Flows and Lyro don't count.
Flows are billed by visitors reached.
What this means for you: AI-only chats don't use up your human limit, so estimate human replies and AI chats separately before you pick a plan.
5. Text by LiveChat, best for sales-focused chat teams
LiveChat, now branded Text by LiveChat, headlines its pricing page "Live chat pricing with AI Agents included." It isn't built only for e-commerce, and its entry plan lists selling through Shopify.
Pros
The entry plan includes an omnichannel inbox and ticketing system.
It also includes AI Copilot, one AI Agent, and 10 AI resolutions.
Higher plans add chat supervision and takeover, and team performance reports.
Cons
It bills per user, so the bill grows with each seat you add.
AI resolutions are metered by plan.
How it charges
Per user per month, with a discount for yearly billing.
AI resolutions are capped by plan, from 10 on Essential to 200 on Growth.
What this means for you: with a small team, seat count is your main cost lever, and with heavy AI use, compare each plan's resolution allowance.
6. JivoChat, best for stores selling in several languages
JivoChat's pricing page describes its free plan as "Attend to customers via chat and social networks in a single application." The chat widget is customizable in 25 languages.
Pros
The free plan covers website chat, with Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, and Viber.
You can install it on unlimited websites at no extra fee.
Desktop, mobile, and browser apps are included on the free plan.
Cons
WhatsApp connects through a paid module.
AI Agent is priced per agent on top of the plan.
How it charges
Per agent per month, with a free plan and paid plans above it.
Paid modules for WhatsApp, video calls, telephony, and AI.
What this means for you: write down the modules you need before you compare plans, because the plan price alone leaves them out.
7. tawk.to, best for stores that want free chat
tawk.to says on its own site that it offers "completely free chat software." It also lists ticketing, a knowledge base, and contact management among its free products.
Pros
Core live chat is free, and its sign-up banner says free forever.
It offers a paid hired-agent service if you don't want to answer chats yourself.
Cons
Removing the "Powered by tawk.to" branding is a paid add-on.
AI Assist, its AI chatbot, is a paid add-on.
How it charges
Core chat is free, and the optional add-ons are paid: branding removal, AI Assist, and the hired-agent service.
What this means for you: you can run free and pay only when you add branding removal, AI, or hired agents.
Live chat for Shopify pricing: what each app counts
The unit an app counts decides how its bill behaves as your store grows. Per each vendor's own pricing pages on 26 October 2026, these are the units.
Contacts: SleekFlow counts monthly active contacts.
Tickets: Gorgias counts monthly tickets and isn't priced per agent.
Conversations: Tidio counts billable conversations, the ones a human agent replies to.
Seats: Text by LiveChat bills per user, and JivoChat bills per agent.
Free: Shopify Inbox is a free app, and tawk.to's core chat is free.
Two questions help you compare them. Does the bill rise as you grow, and does it rise when the product does more of the work? Here is how each app answers the second one.
SleekFlow counts AI agent credits as monthly usage on the plans that include AI agents.
Gorgias charges per resolved conversation.
Tidio counts Lyro AI conversations separately.
Text by LiveChat meters AI resolutions by plan.
JivoChat prices its AI Agent per agent.
tawk.to sells AI Assist as an add-on.
Shopify Inbox is listed as free.
How to choose the right live chat app for Shopify
Decide the outcome you want this year first, then check which channels your shoppers use, and only then compare how each app charges. In our view, these matches are a fair starting point:
You sell over WhatsApp, Instagram, and SMS as well as your website, and want sales, marketing, and support in one place: SleekFlow.
You want to answer shoppers on your site at no cost: Shopify Inbox or tawk.to.
You work through a high volume of support tickets: Gorgias.
You run a small store and want to add AI: Tidio.
You run a sales-focused team, or sell in several languages: Text by LiveChat or JivoChat.
Then put these 6 questions to any vendor on your shortlist before you commit.
Which live chat app for Shopify is right for you?
Start with where your store loses shoppers. For shoppers who stay on your site, at no cost, Shopify Inbox or tawk.to is a sensible start. Gorgias is built for teams that work through many tickets, and Tidio fits a small store adding AI.
If your shoppers also message you on WhatsApp, Instagram, and SMS, and you want sales, marketing, and support in one inbox, SleekFlow fits that need. See how the SleekFlow live chat widget works with your store.
Start for free!
Grow your revenue and turn chats into conversions with AI agents. Try SleekFlow for free.
Author's note: This roundup reflects SleekFlow's assessment and is for general information. Product details are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publishing, drawn from each provider's public information, and change often, so verify the latest with each provider directly. Each provider's published pages were checked on 26 October 2026. We may update this article from time to time. Opinions are our own. Think we've got something wrong? Contact us and we will review and correct it promptly.
