tawk.to

tawk.to is a live chat platform that is free to use. A business adds its widget to a website, and agents can chat with visitors in real time, monitor who is on the site, and answer from web, desktop and mobile apps - without per-agent licence fees for the core product. The free model is the reason most people find it. Where many chat tools charge per seat, tawk.to offers unlimited agents and chats at no cost and earns money from optional paid add-ons, such as removing its branding from the widget, video and voice calls, and its Hire an Agent service, which provides outsourced chat agents billed by the hour. For small businesses, non-profits and early-stage startups, that makes real-time chat available with no budget at all. The free feature set is broad: visitor monitoring, triggers that open chats proactively, canned responses, file sharing, departments and routing, chat history, a ticketing inbox, a knowledge base for self-service articles, multi-language widget support and integrations with common website platforms. AI-assisted features are available as add-ons. The trade-offs are what you would expect from free software at scale. The interface and customisation are less refined than premium tools, advanced reporting and automation are limited compared with paid platforms, and companies with strict requirements around support, security reviews and data handling may prefer a vendor with a paid contract. Alternatives include Tidio and Crisp, which offer free tiers with paid upgrades and stronger AI features; LiveChat for a premium dedicated chat product; Intercom and Zendesk for full support platforms; Chatwoot, open source and self-hostable; and Smartsupp for small e-commerce stores. Choose tawk.to when you need website live chat with no licence cost and can accept a simpler experience. Choose a paid tool when polish, automation and vendor support matter more than price.