LiveChat alternative

A LiveChat alternative with no agents to bill.

LiveChat is a strong agent workspace — with per-agent pricing that grows with every person you add, and someone still has to be sitting in the chat. The Night Reception doesn't need a team at all. It answers, books, and briefs you on its own.

See it with your website See the comparison

Free forever for our first 25 signups — chat widget and morning briefings. No credit card.

Side by side

LiveChat vs The Night Reception

LiveChat's price is honest about what it is: a seat for a human. The Night Reception is priced like a service, not like headcount.

	LiveChat	The Night Reception
Pricing model	Per agent. Starter $19–20/mo (1 user only, 60-day chat history); Team $41–49; Business $59–79; Enterprise custom. No free plan — a 14-day trial. The ChatBot is a separate product from $52/mo and isn't included in any LiveChat plan.	Free forever for the first 25 signups. No per-agent pricing.
Someone has to staff it	Yes. LiveChat is an agent workspace — a person sits in the chat and replies.	No. The front desk answers on its own from facts you approve.
After-hours coverage	Covered if you staff it. The separate ChatBot product can automate some replies.	Answers after hours with nobody on the desk.
AI answers	ChatBot is a separate product from $52/mo, sold apart from every LiveChat plan.	AI front desk answers from the facts you approve. Part of the free tier.
Booking	200+ integrations and analytics; an agent on the desk handles the next step.	Visitors can request an appointment straight from the chat, using the booking link you give us.
Morning briefing	—	A short email briefing of every conversation, in your inbox.

LiveChat pricing and features checked on livechat.com, 2026-09-26. A dash means the feature wasn't in that vendor's listed core product when we checked — an add-on or integration may still exist. Five agents on Team is roughly $245/mo before you pay for ChatBot. Check the vendor's current page before you decide.

Honest fit

Who should switch — and who shouldn't

Switch to The Night Reception if…

You're the only person who would ever answer. Paying per agent for a team of one is the expensive way to run it.
Your enquiries arrive after hours. LiveChat's bill covers the seat, not the midnight shift — you'd still need someone awake.
You want AI included, not a second subscription. LiveChat's ChatBot is a separate product from $52/mo; here AI answers are part of the free tier.
You'd rather get a briefing than open a dashboard. Analytics are useful; a short morning email is faster.

Stay on LiveChat if…

You have a support team. A polished agent workspace with 200+ integrations and analytics is worth the per-agent price to a real team.
You live in your integrations. If chat needs to sit inside your CRM and helpdesk, LiveChat's 200+ integrations may be the deciding factor.
You run support on the numbers. If analytics are how you manage the team, LiveChat's are part of the product rather than an add-on.

How to switch

From LiveChat to a front desk, in about 10 minutes

See it with your website. Enter your website and try the front desk for yourself. Start here.
Send us your approved facts and booking link. Services, hours, the questions visitors actually ask, and the link you use for appointments. The front desk answers only from these.
Paste one snippet on your site. Add the JavaScript snippet we send you just before the closing </body> tag. On Wix that's Settings > Custom Code; on WordPress it goes in your theme or a header/footer plugin. We walk you through it.
Remove the LiveChat snippet when you're ready. Run both for a few days if you like, then delete the old widget and cancel your per-agent seats. No exports or migrations — it's one line of code.

Questions

LiveChat alternative FAQ

Does LiveChat have a free plan?

No. LiveChat runs a 14-day trial. Plans are per agent: Starter $19–20/mo (one user only, 60-day history), Team $41–49, Business $59–79, and custom Enterprise. We checked livechat.com on 2026-09-26.

Is the AI included?

No. ChatBot is a separate product from $52/mo and is included in no LiveChat plan. On The Night Reception, AI answers are part of the free tier.

What if I have a team of five?

Five agents on LiveChat's Team plan is roughly $245/mo before AI. If everyone genuinely sits in the chat, that can be worth it. If it's just you most of the time, you're paying for empty seats.

Do I need to staff The Night Reception?

No. The front desk answers on its own from the facts you approve. If it doesn't know something, it says so and takes a message for you.

What does the free tier include?

The chat widget on your site and the morning briefings. It's free forever for the first 25 signups. No credit card, no account to create.

Cover the shift without hiring the team.

Keep LiveChat if you run a support desk — or hand the after-hours shift to a front desk that answers, books, and briefs you. See it with your website first — no signup, nothing installed.

See it with your website