- You can start for free with Talkoly, Jivo, tawk.to, Tidio and SendPulse (in SendPulse the free plan covers chatbots; live chat on the website is in the paid Pro plan).
- HelpCrunch, LiveChat and Binotel have no free plan — only a trial period or a paid licence.
- Most international services charge per operator and in dollars; Talkoly charges per plan and in hryvnias (₴).
- For a store in Ukraine, it is not only features that matter, but also details: air-raid alerts, power outages, Nova Poshta, payment through monobank.
Live chat on a store website is not a widget you add just to tick a box. People use it to ask about sizes, stock and delivery, and that is often where they decide whether to buy. So choose a service not by the colour of the button, but by how convenient it will be to reply every day and how much it will cost when your team grows.
We picked eight services that Ukrainian stores most often consider. Prices and terms are as of October 2026 — check them on the services’ websites, because plans change more often than we would like.
How we compared
For an online store, we looked at five things:
- Is there a free plan, and what actually works in it — not just a trial period.
- How payment is calculated — per operator, by number of chats or subscribers, or a fixed plan per account.
- Currency. For a Ukrainian sole proprietor (FOP), paying in hryvnias by invoice is not a small thing — it means calm bookkeeping.
- Where you reply from — browser, phone, messengers.
- What is built for selling: products in the conversation, payment, delivery, reviews.
Comparison table
| Service | Free plan | How you pay | Approximate price | Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talkoly | Yes, 1 operator | Per plan (up to 3 or up to 10 operators) | 499 ₴/month or 999 ₴/month | Air-raid alerts, “No power” mode, monobank, Nova Poshta, replies from Telegram |
| Jivo | Yes, with a limit on the number of operators | Per operator per month | Depends on region and plan | Many channels, mobile apps, calls |
| Binotel (online chat) | No | Per operator | $13 per operator per month | Binotel phone system and CRM alongside |
| HelpCrunch | No, 14-day trial | Per team member | From $15 per person per month | Chat, email, knowledge base and automation in one |
| SendPulse | Yes, for chatbots; website chat is in Pro | By number of subscribers | Depends on your list | Chatbots in messengers, mailings |
| Tidio | Yes, 50 conversations | By number of billable conversations | From about $24/month | Lyro AI agent, Shopify and WordPress integrations |
| tawk.to | Yes, unlimited operators | Free + paid add-ons | Removing branding — about $29/month | Completely free core |
| LiveChat | No, 14-day trial | Per operator | From $19 per operator per month (billed annually) | Mature product, many integrations |
1. Talkoly — for stores operating in Ukraine
Talkoly is a new Ukrainian service, and we will not pretend otherwise. Its strength is that it was built for the real conditions of a Ukrainian store, not translated from another market.
- “Air-raid alert” mode. During an air-raid alert in the selected region, the chat explains to the customer that the team is in a shelter and collects a phone number. More on the chat during air-raid alerts page. There is also a “No power” mode with the outage schedule.
- Payment in the conversation. The operator creates a monobank or LiqPay invoice (popular Ukrainian payment services), the customer pays, and a “Paid” mark appears in the chat. The money goes straight to your own card acquiring (your card payment account). How it works — in the article on payments in chat.
- Nova Poshta (Ukraine’s largest delivery service). A waybill (TTN) with its status right in the conversation, plus a form to choose the city and branch.
- Replies from Telegram. A message from the website arrives in a bot, and you answer with a reply. More on this in Telegram chat for your website.
- Prices in hryvnias, fixed per plan rather than per operator: Start — 0 ₴, Business — 499 ₴/month, Pro — 999 ₴/month. Details on the pricing page.
Honest downsides: the service is young and has fewer integrations than big international players so far; there are no native apps in the App Store or Google Play (there is a web app you can install on your phone); there are no calls and no WhatsApp integration — only a link button.
2. Jivo — the main alternative everyone is compared to
Jivo (the international version is JivoChat) was the standard live chat for stores in the region for a long time, which is why searches for “jivosite alternative” are still popular. The service has a free plan with a limited number of operators; paid plans are charged per operator per month.
Strengths: many channels in one inbox (messengers, email), apps for computer and phone, callback and telephony for an extra fee, and a widget in several dozen languages. It is a mature product with lots of features.
Things to consider: the cost grows with your team, and some features are sold as separate modules. If you are thinking of moving, we have a step-by-step guide: how to switch from Jivo and an article on moving without losing customers.
3. Binotel — if you already use their phone system
Binotel is known mainly for its virtual phone system (PBX), and online chat is part of their ecosystem. The product page lists a licence of $13 per month per operator; there is no free plan.
Strengths: welcome messages and chat invitations, an auto-reply outside working hours, call-back requests, reply templates, per-operator statistics and an iPhone app. Conversations are stored in your Binotel account — handy if you already manage calls there.
Things to consider: you pay per operator and in dollars. For a store without Binotel telephony, the main advantage of the ecosystem is lost.
4. HelpCrunch — a support platform with a Ukrainian team
HelpCrunch has an office in Kyiv and offers not just a chat but a support platform: chat, email, a knowledge base, automated messages and pop-ups. There is no free plan, but there is a 14-day trial. Prices start at $15 per team member per month, with a 20% discount for annual billing.
Strengths: well-thought-out automation, several widgets on higher plans, a knowledge base. A good fit if you need a proper support desk with tickets and mailings.
Things to consider: for a small store with one or two managers, it may be more than you need. There are no Ukraine-specific features such as Nova Poshta.
5. SendPulse — if mailings and bots come first
SendPulse is a service with a Ukrainian website and interface, known for email marketing and chatbots. There is a free plan for chatbots (up to 3 bots and 500 subscribers), while live chat on the website is part of the paid Pro plan. The price depends on the number of subscribers.
Strengths: chatbots in messengers, including WhatsApp, mailings and chat in one system, ChatGPT integration.
Things to consider: it is first of all a marketing tool. If you need a simple live chat where a manager replies quickly, rather than chains of bots, the setup may feel like too much. On choosing between a bot and a human — see the article chatbot or live agent.
6. Tidio, tawk.to and LiveChat — international options
Tidio
The free plan gives you 50 conversations with operators. After that you pay for the number of so-called billable conversations — the ones a human answered — rather than for the number of operators. The Lyro AI agent is sold separately. A strong choice for stores on Shopify. The downside for us: the dashboard is available in six languages, and Ukrainian is not one of them.
tawk.to
The best-known completely free chat: no limits on operators, conversations or websites. It makes money from add-ons: removing the tawk.to label costs about $29 per month, the AI assistant has separate plans, and you can even hire operators by the hour. A good start for a very small budget, but it has few e-commerce features.
LiveChat
A mature and expensive product: from $19 per operator per month with annual billing, 14 days free, no free plan. The widget can be switched to Ukrainian. Many integrations and good analytics — a choice for large support teams with a dollar budget.
Which chat to choose: quick scenarios
- You want a free live chat for your website. Talkoly Start (1 operator, replies from Telegram), tawk.to (unlimited operators), or the free plan of Jivo or Tidio. Compare what exactly each free plan includes.
- A store in Ukraine using Nova Poshta and monobank. Talkoly has the most ready to use out of the box here.
- You already use Binotel telephony. It makes sense to look at their chat.
- A large support team with email, tickets and a knowledge base. HelpCrunch or LiveChat.
- Focus on bots and mailings. SendPulse.
Whatever you choose, the chat itself will not make sales. Fast replies and ready-made phrases do — read how response time affects sales and grab 30 ready-made chat scripts. And to install any of these services, use our guide for Horoshop, Prom, OpenCart and WordPress.
For detailed side-by-side comparisons of Talkoly with Intercom, Tidio, LiveChat, HelpCrunch, tawk.to and JivoChat, see our live chat comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Which live chat can I put on my website for free?
Talkoly, Jivo, Tidio and tawk.to have free plans; in SendPulse the free plan covers chatbots. The limits differ: number of operators, number of conversations or how long chat history is kept. HelpCrunch and LiveChat only offer a trial period.
What should I choose as a Jivo alternative?
It depends on what matters to you in Jivo. If it is messengers and live chat, look at Talkoly or HelpCrunch. If it is telephony, look at Binotel. Talkoly has a step-by-step migration guide: you just need to replace the code on your website.
Why can per-operator pricing be a bad deal?
As your team grows, the price is multiplied by the number of people. A fixed plan per account is easier to plan: you know the amount in advance, even if you add another manager.
Can I try Talkoly’s paid features without paying?
Yes, for the first 14 days all Pro plan features are available without linking a card. After that the account automatically moves to the free Start plan, and your data is kept. You can sign up on the registration page.
