tawk.to alternative for teams that want AI answers, not only free live chat
Stay on tawk.to if you have people online to answer chats and you want free live chat with a knowledge base, ticketing and a contact list at $0 for life. It is a generous free product. Switch to Chatonbo if you want the chat to answer on its own from your website content around the clock, sell products on Shopify and hand off to you only when needed. Free plan, then $19/mo flat with AI and branding removal included, where tawk.to lists AI Assist from $29/mo and branding removal at $29/mo.
Verdict: Chatonbo is the better fit for a site that wants the chat to answer on its own from the website content and sell on Shopify; tawk.to is the better fit for a team with people online to answer chats that wants free live chat, a knowledge base and ticketing at $0 for life.
| At a glance | Chatonbo | tawk.to |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price with AI answers | $19/mo flat (Pro: 5,000 AI chats a month) | Live chat free; AI Assist from $29/mo; branding removal $29/mo |
| Price at about 5,000 chats a month | $19/mo, same flat price (Business $59/mo for 10,000) | AI Assist volume tiers are not stated on the pricing page; see the vendor site |
| AI answers from your own content | Yes. Drafted from your website in about 2 minutes, answers from your pages, documents and catalog | AI Assist add-on; a limited free AI Assist plan exists for low-volume sites |
| Shopify cart and order lookup | Yes. Shopify app with product cards, add to cart and order lookup, included in paid plans | Not stated on the vendor pricing page we checked; see the vendor site |
| Languages | 50+ languages, auto-detected from what the visitor writes | Support offered in 27 languages; widget language count not stated |
| Install time | Median 6 minutes from signup to live; one script tag or the app; white-glove install included | Script tag, then agents answer in the dashboard |
| Free plan | Yes. 1 assistant, 250 chats a month | Yes. Live chat, knowledge base, ticketing and contacts free for life |
Competitor prices as listed on the vendor's own pricing page or app listing, checked September 2026, and subject to change. Chatonbo prices as of October 2026. Full Chatonbo plans: chatonbo.com/pricing.
Why teams look for a tawk.to alternative
tawk.to has earned its reputation: the live chat, chat pages, knowledge base, ticketing and contacts are free, and the company says so plainly on its pricing page (viewed September 11, 2026). What costs money is the layer around it: Branding Removal is $29/month, the AI Assist chatbot starts at $29/month with a limited free tier for low-volume sites, hired chat agents are $1/hour and virtual assistants start at $7/hour.
So the common story is a small team that started free, found nobody was online to answer at 11pm, and now faces $29/mo for AI plus $29/mo to remove the badge. At that point the question changes from "free live chat" to "who answers when we are not there".
Chatonbo starts from the other end: the assistant is drafted from your website in about 2 minutes and answers 24/7 in 50+ languages, with human handoff, lead capture and branding removal included on Pro at $19/mo.
Every Chatonbo plan is covered by a written Fair Billing Guarantee that your bill will not change because you had a good month.
Chatonbo vs tawk.to at a glance
| Chatonbo | tawk.to | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat monthly: Free, Pro $19/mo, Business $59/mo | Free live chat; paid add-ons: Branding Removal $29/mo, AI Assist from $29/mo, hired agents $1/hour, virtual assistants from $7/hour* |
| Per-seat or per-resolution fees | None. No per-seat, per-ticket or per-resolution fees | No per-seat fee listed; add-ons are billed monthly or hourly* |
| AI answers from your own site content | Yes, drafted from your website URL, documents and product catalog | AI Assist chatbot add-on from $29/mo (limited free plan for low-volume sites)* |
| Shopify add-to-cart in chat | Yes, product cards with pictures and add-to-cart inside the chat (official Shopify app) | Not listed on the pricing page |
| Order tracking | Yes, shoppers get order status in the chat (Shopify app) | Not listed on the pricing page |
| Languages | 50+ languages | Support offered in 27 languages; widget languages not itemized on the pricing page* |
| Setup time | About 2 minutes from a website URL | Widget install plus dashboard configuration |
| Free plan | Yes, plus a 30-day free trial on paid plans | Yes, free for life with tawk.to branding* |
*Based on tawk.to/pricing as viewed on September 11, 2026. tawk.to pricing may change; check tawk.to for current terms.
Reasons to switch from tawk.to
AI and branding removal for less than one tawk.to add-on
tawk.to lists AI Assist from $29/mo and Branding Removal at $29/mo. Chatonbo Pro is $19/mo with 5,000 AI conversations and branding removal included, and there is a free plan to start.
It answers when nobody is online
Live chat only works when someone is there. Chatonbo drafts an assistant from your website content and answers questions 24/7 in 50+ languages, then hands off to a person when it should. Visitors get answers instead of an offline form.
Selling, not only chatting, on Shopify
With the official Shopify app the assistant shows product cards with pictures, adds items to the cart inside the chat and tracks orders. One US massage chair store saw $107,725 in orders over seven weeks from shoppers who talked to the assistant first.
About 2 minutes to set up
Paste your website URL and Chatonbo drafts the assistant. Install the Shopify or Wix app or the WordPress/WooCommerce plugin, or paste one script tag on any site.
When you should stay on tawk.to
We would rather you pick the right tool than sign up and leave. Two honest cases where tawk.to is the better fit.
You want free human live chat, forever
If your team answers chats live and the tawk.to badge does not bother you, the core product is free with no time limit, and it includes ticketing, a knowledge base and contacts. Chatonbo has a free plan, but its paid plans exist because AI answering is the product.
You want to hire humans by the hour
tawk.to lists hired chat agents at $1/hour and virtual assistants from $7/hour. If staffing the chat with people is your plan, that is a service Chatonbo does not offer.
Moving from tawk.to to Chatonbo in 3 steps
- 1
Draft the assistant from your site
Enter your website URL. Chatonbo reads your pages and drafts a brand-aware assistant in about 2 minutes. Upload your knowledge base articles if they live outside the site.
- 2
Install where you sell
Use the official Shopify or Wix app, the WordPress/WooCommerce plugin, or one script tag on any site. Remove the tawk.to widget from the same pages so visitors see one chat bubble.
- 3
Keep answering the hard ones yourself
Chatonbo answers first and hands off to a person when needed, so your team handles fewer chats without disappearing. Paid plans include a 30-day free trial to compare.
tawk.to alternative FAQ
Is Chatonbo a good tawk.to alternative?
Chatonbo is the better fit for a site that wants the chat to answer on its own from the website content and sell on Shopify; tawk.to is the better fit for a team with people online to answer chats that wants free live chat, a knowledge base and ticketing at $0 for life.
How much does tawk.to cost compared with Chatonbo?
tawk.to live chat is free for life with tawk.to branding; branding removal is $29/mo and the AI Assist chatbot starts at $29/mo, with hired chat agents from $1/hour. Chatonbo is $19/mo flat for 5,000 AI conversations (Pro) with AI and branding removal included, or $59/mo for 10,000 (Business), with a free plan of 250 chats a month.
Is tawk.to really free?
The core live chat, chat pages, knowledge base, ticketing and contacts are free, as stated on tawk.to/pricing in September 2026. Paid add-ons include Branding Removal at $29/month, AI Assist from $29/month, hired chat agents at $1/hour and virtual assistants from $7/hour.
How is Chatonbo priced compared to tawk.to?
Chatonbo has a free plan, then Pro at $19/mo for 5,000 AI conversations and Business at $59/mo for 10,000, flat, with branding removal included on Pro and a 30-day free trial. tawk.to lists AI Assist and branding removal as separate $29/mo add-ons.
Does Chatonbo have live chat with humans?
Yes. The assistant answers first and offers a handoff to a person when it should; your team replies from the Chatonbo inbox. It is not a hire-an-agent service like the one tawk.to lists.
Can Chatonbo learn my knowledge base like tawk.to AI Assist?
Yes. Chatonbo drafts the assistant from your website URL, documents and, on Shopify, your product catalog. It keeps learning as your content changes and hands off when it is unsure.
How long does switching from tawk.to take?
About 2 minutes to draft the assistant from your website, then install the app or plugin and remove the old widget. No export is needed because Chatonbo learns from the source pages.
The Fair Billing Guarantee
Flat price. No meters. No surprises.
No credits, no per-resolution fees, no forced upgrades. Your bot never goes silent, you can cancel in one click, and your first charge is covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
See all six promises