Best Free WordPress Live Chat Plugins (2026): 5 Compared
Plugin Pros
A good free live chat plugin lets visitors start a conversation and lets your team answer, with no subscription on day one. All five plugins below do that.
They differ in three ways: where your inbox lives, how many people can reply for free, and whether WhatsApp, email, and other apps land in the same queue. Some now add AI replies too.
Prices are published rates as of September 2026. Check each vendor’s site before you decide.
Quick picks
| If you need… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Every channel in one WordPress inbox, with optional AI replies | Kinetix Messaging |
| Unlimited website chats and agents at $0 | Tawk.to |
| A polished shared inbox for two people | Crisp |
| A hosted chatbot on the free plan | Tidio |
| Chats logged on a free CRM contact | HubSpot |
LiveChat, Intercom, and Olark are strong products, but their useful plans are paid. That puts them outside this free roundup.
Comparison at a glance
| Kinetix Messaging | Tawk.to | Crisp | Tidio | HubSpot Live Chat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where you reply | WordPress admin | Tawk.to dashboard | Crisp app | Tidio app | HubSpot |
| Where chat history lives | Your WordPress database | Vendor | Vendor | Vendor | HubSpot CRM |
| Free agents | As many WordPress users as you give the Messaging Agent role | Unlimited | 2 | Up to 10 seats | Included with free CRM |
| Free chat volume | 100 live-chat conversations / month | Unlimited | Unlimited | About 50 billable conversations / month | Generous for most small sites |
| Other channels in the same inbox | WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, LINE, Viber, WeChat, SMS, email | Tickets, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, SMS, Instagram | Email free; messaging apps paid | WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, email | Chat tied to the CRM |
| Departments | Yes | Yes | Paid | Paid | CRM pipelines |
| AI replies | Yes, optional. Bring your own OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or OpenAI-compatible key. Hands off to a human. | Paid add-on | Limited free; fuller on paid | Lyro, small free quota | Chatflows on free CRM |
| Knowledge base | For AI answers (your articles, plus posts and pages if you choose) | Yes, free | Paid | Help content for Lyro | Knowledge base in the widget |
| Mobile agent app | Use wp-admin in a mobile browser | iOS and Android | iOS and Android | iOS and Android | HubSpot mobile app |
On Tidio, a “billable” conversation is one where a human agent replied. Unanswered visitor messages don’t count.
Pricing
| Plugin | What’s free | What costs money |
|---|---|---|
| Kinetix Messaging | The plugin (GPLv2), including AI Support. A free live-chat account, no card: 100 conversations a month and unlimited API keys. | More live-chat volume (Billing on livechat.pluginpros.co). WhatsApp, SMS, other networks, and your AI provider bill you directly. |
| Tawk.to | Unlimited agents, chats, and sites, plus ticketing and a knowledge base. | Branding removal (about $29/month, billed yearly), AI Assist (from about $29/month), voice and video, hired agents. |
| Crisp | Widget and shared inbox for 2 agents. | About $45, $95, or $295 per workspace per month for more seats, messaging apps, and AI. |
| Tidio | About 50 human conversations a month, the widget, and social channels. A one-time batch of Lyro AI conversations. | Customer-service plans from roughly $24–$49/month (billed yearly), plus separate Lyro and Flows quotas. |
| HubSpot | Live chat on the free CRM. | Starter CRM from about $15/month, then the marketing and service hubs. |
The 5 best free WordPress live chat plugins
1. Kinetix Messaging
Best for: teams that work in WordPress and hear from customers on more than just the website.
Kinetix Messaging by Plugin Pros puts your whole inbox inside wp-admin. Website chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, LINE, Viber, WeChat, SMS, and email all show up in one conversation list.
You can assign threads, set status and priority, and sort work into departments. Support, Sales, and Billing are created on install.
New: AI replies with human handoff
Version 1.2.0 adds AI Support, an optional assistant that answers new conversations no one has picked up yet. It replies on the same channel the customer used, whether that’s live chat, WhatsApp, email, or another connected app.
- Answers from your content. You add knowledge-base articles in settings. You can also let it index your published posts and pages, which re-index automatically when you update them.
- Routes to the right team. It works out which department the conversation belongs to and assigns the least-busy agent there. If that department has no agents, it assigns an administrator to route it by hand.
- Hands off to a human. When a customer asks for a person, the AI posts a wait message you write and steps back. It stops replying as soon as an agent is assigned.
- Stays visible. AI replies carry an “AI” badge in the inbox. The sidebar shows whether the AI is handling a conversation or has handed it off.
You choose one provider: OpenAI, Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), Grok (xAI), or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint such as Azure OpenAI, Groq, or a self-hosted Ollama server. You paste your own API key, so AI usage is billed by that provider.
AI Support is off by default. Nothing goes to an AI provider until you turn it on and add a key. Conversations that already have a human agent, or where the customer asked for one, are never sent.
Team and widget
- Messaging Agent role: staff can reply without full administrator access. WooCommerce shop managers can use the inbox too.
- Branded widget: set your brand name, tagline, welcome line, starter prompts, color, and screen corner.
- Known visitors: logged-in users are recognized by their WordPress name and email.
- Auto-replies: each channel can send an automatic first reply.
The real-time widget connects to livechat.pluginpros.co. Messages are also saved to your WordPress database, so transcripts stay on your site. The free live-chat plan covers 100 conversations a month.
How to set up Kinetix live chat
- Go to Plugins → Add New, search for Kinetix Messaging, then install and activate it. On WordPress.org it’s listed as Kinetix Messaging by Ppros.
- Open Kinetix Messaging → Settings → Live Chat.
- Create a free account at livechat.pluginpros.co/register. No card needed.
- Confirm your email, sign in, and open Dashboard → API Keys.
- Name and create a key. Copy it right away, because it’s shown only once.
- Paste the key, turn Live Chat on, and save.
- Visit your site. The chat window appears on every page, no shortcode needed.
- Reply from the Kinetix inbox. Your reply goes back to the same visitor.
Optional: turn on AI replies. Open Settings → AI Support, enable it, pick a provider, paste your API key, and add a few knowledge-base articles.
Live chat works on a local site because the browser connects out to Plugin Pros. Other channels need a public HTTPS site so their webhooks can reach you, plus each provider’s credentials.
Want a WhatsApp, Telegram, or email button on a page? Use the shortcode . To add a teammate, create a WordPress user with the Messaging Agent role.
Keep in mind: the 100-conversation free allowance suits small or new sites. A high-traffic shop will outgrow it. There’s no dedicated mobile app; agents use wp-admin.
2. Tawk.to
Best for: unlimited free website chat, if your team is happy to answer outside WordPress.
Tawk.to has the most generous free plan here. Agents, chat volume, and sites are all unlimited.
You also get visitor monitoring, canned replies, ticketing, a knowledge base, and iOS and Android apps. WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, SMS, and Instagram can connect to the Tawk inbox.
How to set up Tawk.to
- Install and activate Tawk.to Live Chat from Plugins → Add New.
- Create a free Tawk.to account.
- Connect the plugin to your property and choose a widget.
- Reply from the Tawk dashboard or mobile app.
Keep in mind: removing Tawk.to branding and AI Assist both cost extra.
3. Crisp
Best for: one or two people who want a modern, polished chat app.
Crisp’s free plan gives two people a shared inbox with unlimited website conversations. It includes a light chatbot and desktop and mobile apps. The widget is clean and quick to brand.
How to set up Crisp
- Install and activate the Crisp plugin.
- Create a free Crisp workspace.
- Paste your website ID into the plugin settings.
- Reply from the Crisp inbox.
Keep in mind: WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, LINE, Viber, Telegram, and SMS are on paid plans (from about $45/month). Look elsewhere if you need messaging apps for free.
4. Tidio
Best for: an automated first answer while your chat volume is still small.
Tidio pairs its widget with two bots. Lyro is an AI that answers from your help content. Flows is a rule-based bot.
The free plan covers the widget, email, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. It includes about 50 human replies a month and a small one-time Lyro allowance.
How to set up Tidio
- Install and activate Tidio.
- Create a Tidio account. The free plan needs no card.
- Connect your site from the plugin.
- Turn on the widget. Add Lyro only if you want the AI quota.
Keep in mind: after the free allowance, Lyro and Flows are separate paid quotas. The free plan works more like a trial than an unlimited inbox.
5. HubSpot Live Chat
Best for: sites that already keep leads in HubSpot.
HubSpot’s free CRM includes a chat widget. Each conversation lands on the contact record, next to form fills and page views. Chatflows can greet visitors based on the page they’re on.
How to set up HubSpot Live Chat
- Install HubSpot All-in-One Marketing.
- Create a free HubSpot account and connect it.
- Turn on live chat and publish a chatflow.
- Reply in HubSpot.
Keep in mind: you work in HubSpot’s dashboard, and the product often nudges you toward paid hubs.
Which free live chat plugin should you install?
- One WordPress inbox for many apps, with AI that hands off to people: Kinetix Messaging. Budget for the 100-conversation live-chat cap, plus any WhatsApp, SMS, or AI provider charges.
- Unlimited free website chat: Tawk.to.
- A proper shared inbox for two: Crisp.
- A hosted bot that answers FAQs: Tidio, until the free allowance runs out.
- Chat plus a CRM: HubSpot.
Only need a button? A click-to-chat plugin such as Chaty or Click to Chat is free and lighter. It opens WhatsApp or Telegram on the visitor’s phone, but your team gets no shared transcript. Choose Kinetix when those same apps should land in WordPress next to your website chat.