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Indie alternatives to Zendesk Chat

8 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what Zendesk Chat does, 6 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

Product	Price	Open source	Self-host	Platforms
Chatra	Free plan	–	–	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
Chatwoot	Free plan	Yes	Yes	Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android
Crisp	Free plan	–	–	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
Smartsupp	Free plan	–	–	Web, iOS, Android
tawk.to	Free plan	–	–	Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
Tidio	Free plan	–	–	Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
LiveChat	Paid	–	–	Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
Olark	Paid	–	–	Web

The alternatives

1. Chatra

Live chat and messaging for small online businesses

Chatra is a live chat app for websites and online stores, with chatbots, saved replies and a shared inbox for messages from multiple channels.

Free plan · Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android · Website ↗

2. Chatwoot

Open-source customer engagement and live chat

An open-source omnichannel support platform with website live chat, email, social and messaging channels, cloud-hosted or self-hosted.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android · Website ↗

3. Crisp

Live chat, shared inbox and help center for small businesses

Crisp is a customer messaging platform with website live chat, a shared team inbox, chatbots and a knowledge base for small and medium businesses.

Free plan · Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android · Website ↗

4. Smartsupp

Live chat, chatbots and shopping assistant for online stores

A live chat and chatbot tool for e-commerce websites, with AI assistance and conversation analytics.

Free plan · Web, iOS, Android · Website ↗

5. tawk.to

Free live chat for websites

A free live chat app for monitoring and chatting with website visitors, with ticketing and a knowledge base; paid add-ons are optional.

Free plan · Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows · Website ↗

6. Tidio

Live chat and AI chatbot for websites

A customer service tool combining live chat, AI chatbots and help desk features for small and mid-size online businesses.

Free plan · Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows · Website ↗

7. LiveChat

Live chat software for websites

A live chat tool for customer service and sales teams to chat with website visitors, with ticketing and integrations.

Paid · Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows · Website ↗

8. Olark

Live chat software for sales and support teams

Olark provides a website live chat widget with chat transcripts, CRM integrations and reporting for small sales and support teams.

Paid · Web · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Zendesk Chat?

Yes. 6 of the 8 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Chatra, Chatwoot, Crisp, Smartsupp and 2 more.

Is there an open-source alternative to Zendesk Chat?

Chatwoot is open source.

Can I self-host an alternative to Zendesk Chat?

Yes: Chatwoot can run on your own server.

Which Zendesk Chat alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?

On Mac: Chatra, Crisp, tawk.to and 2 more. On Windows: Chatra, Crisp, tawk.to and 2 more. On iPhone and iPad: Chatra, Chatwoot, Crisp and 4 more. On Android: Chatra, Chatwoot, Crisp and 4 more.

What makes these alternatives to Zendesk Chat “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as Zendesk Chat.

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