LiveChat
LiveChat is a customer service platform that helps you connect with website visitors in real-time to provide instant support, capture qualified leads, and increase your online sales conversions.
osTicket
osTicket is an open-source support ticket system that routes inquiries created via email, web-forms, and phone calls into a simple, easy-to-use, multi-user web interface for your team.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | LiveChat | osTicket |
|---|---|---|
| Website | livechat.com | osticket.com |
| Pricing Model | Subscription | Freemium |
| Starting Price | $20/month | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 14 days free trial | ✓ 30 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2002 | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Wroclaw, Poland | Alexandria, USA |
Overview
LiveChat
LiveChat is a versatile communication tool designed to help you engage with your customers the moment they land on your website. Instead of waiting for emails, you can solve problems instantly through a sleek chat widget that fits your brand. You can manage multiple conversations at once, use canned responses for speed, and see what customers are typing before they even hit send.
The platform is built for teams of all sizes, from solo entrepreneurs to large support departments in retail, tech, and service industries. It helps you move beyond simple messaging by providing detailed customer profiles and chat transcripts that integrate directly with your CRM. You can also track agent performance and customer satisfaction levels to ensure your support team stays efficient and helpful.
osTicket
osTicket is a flexible help desk solution designed to streamline your customer support without the high costs of proprietary software. You can manage, organize, and archive all your support requests in one place, ensuring no customer inquiry falls through the cracks. The platform automatically converts requests from emails, web forms, and phone calls into easy-to-track tickets that your team can collaborate on instantly.
You can customize the software to fit your specific workflow using custom fields, help topics, and automated routing rules. Whether you choose the self-hosted open-source version for total control or the managed cloud-hosted version for convenience, it provides the essential tools to scale your customer service. It is particularly effective for small to mid-sized businesses and IT departments that need a reliable, no-frills system to handle high volumes of incoming support traffic.
Overview
LiveChat Features
- Sneak Peek See what your customers are typing in real-time before they send the message so you can prepare faster answers.
- Canned Responses Save and reuse answers to common questions with simple keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow.
- Targeted Greetings Set up automated triggers that send personalized messages to visitors based on their behavior or current page.
- Chat Tags Categorize your conversations with custom tags to identify trends and organize your support data for better reporting.
- File Sharing Send and receive documents, screenshots, and guides directly within the chat window to resolve issues more effectively.
- Rich Messages Use clickable buttons and product cards to guide your customers through your website and boost sales.
osTicket Features
- Ticket Filtering. Define rules to automatically route incoming tickets to the right department or agent based on your specific criteria.
- Custom Fields. Create custom data fields for your web forms to collect the exact information you need from users upfront.
- Service Level Agreements. Set up SLA plans to track ticket deadlines and receive alerts when tickets are overdue to maintain high standards.
- Customer Portal. Provide your users with a dedicated web portal where they can view ticket status and history without contacting you.
- Canned Responses. Save time by creating pre-defined responses for frequently asked questions to ensure consistent and fast communication.
- Internal Notes. Collaborate with your team by adding private notes to tickets that remain hidden from the end user.
- Thread Action. Manage ticket conversations effectively by redirecting or transferring individual entries to different departments as needed.
- Task Management. Create internal to-do lists within tickets to break down complex support issues into manageable steps for your team.
Pricing Comparison
LiveChat Pricing
- 14-day chat history
- Basic widget customization
- Ticketing system
- Data encryption
- Daily performance summary
- Unlimited chat history
- Full widget customization
- Agent groups
- Basic reporting
- Multiple brand support
osTicket Pricing
- Completely free forever
- Community-based support
- Full source code access
- Unlimited agents
- Unlimited tickets
- Requires your own server
- Everything in Self-Hosted, plus:
- Managed hosting and backups
- Daily software updates
- Email technical support
- Free migration assistance
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
Pros & Cons
LiveChat
Pros
- Extremely easy to set up and customize
- Sneak peek feature significantly reduces response times
- Reliable mobile app for managing chats on-the-go
- Clean and intuitive interface for support agents
Cons
- No forever-free plan available for small users
- Pricing can become expensive for large teams
- Advanced reporting is locked behind higher tiers
osTicket
Pros
- Completely free self-hosted version with no hidden fees
- Highly customizable fields and forms for specific workflows
- Lightweight software that runs efficiently on basic servers
- Simple interface that is easy for agents to learn
- Reliable email-to-ticket conversion for automated request handling
Cons
- User interface feels dated compared to modern SaaS
- Self-hosted version requires technical knowledge to install
- Limited native integrations with third-party business apps
- Reporting tools are basic and lack advanced visualization