Live Chat · alternatives
Alternatives to Ada
21 live chat tools sit alongside Ada in this directory. Below is what separates each from Ada on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 10
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Ada starts at
- Free
Why people look past Ada
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. Ada has a free tier. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
AWS conversational AI service
- Publishes an entry price of $0.004/per speech request, where Ada does not.
- Sold on a usage-based model rather than subscription.
- 2 tiers to Ada's 3.
Omnichannel messaging and customer engagement platform
- No free tier, where Ada has one.
Open-source chatbot platform and framework
- Publishes an entry price of $9000/year, where Ada does not.
- 1 tier to Ada's 3.
Customer messaging platform for startups and SMBs
- Publishes an entry price of $45/month, where Ada does not.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 5 tiers to Ada's 3.
Chatbot and automation platform for Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS
- Publishes an entry price of $15/month, where Ada does not.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 2 tiers to Ada's 3.
No-code chatbot builder for websites, WhatsApp, and lead generation
- Publishes an entry price of €32/month, where Ada does not.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
Every Ada alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ada (this page) | Free | Subscription | 3 | |
| Amazon LexAWS conversational AI service | Free, then $0.004/per speech request | Usage-based | 2 | vs Ada |
| Zendesk Sunshine ConversationsOmnichannel messaging and customer engagement platform | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
| BotpressOpen-source chatbot platform and framework | Free, then $9000/year | Subscription | 1 | vs Ada |
| CrispCustomer messaging platform for startups and SMBs | Free, then $45/month | Freemium | 5 | vs Ada |
| ManyChat | Free, then $15/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Ada |
| Landbot | Free, then €32/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Ada |
| Conferbot | Free, then $19/month | Freemium | 4 | vs Ada |
| Jivochat | Free | Subscription | 4 | vs Ada |
| Freshchat | Free, then $19/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Ada |
| Google Dialogflow | Free | Usage-based | 3 | vs Ada |
| IBM Watson Assistant | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
| Kore.ai | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
| Conversica | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
| LiveChat | $20/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Ada |
| Comm100 | $29/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
| Kayako | $30/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
| Bold360 | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
| Capacity | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
| Gorgias | $10/month | Usage-based | 4 | vs Ada |
| Haptik | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
| Acquire | $50/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Ada |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Ada badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (10)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
What you would be giving up
Ada is most often brought in for ai-powered customer service automation, chatbot deployment and management, support ticket automation and resolution, multi-channel customer communication. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Ada is broadly right and the question is cost, the Ada pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Live Chat category lists everything the directory holds, and best live chat tools ranks them.
Ada runs on web, mobile, sms, messaging apps. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Ada alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Ada?
- 21 other live chat tools are listed in this directory, led by Amazon Lex, Zendesk Sunshine Conversations, Botpress, Crisp. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Ada?
- 10 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Amazon Lex, Botpress, Crisp, ManyChat, Landbot.
- Is there a reason to switch away from Ada?
- Nothing in the data flags one. Ada has a free tier. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from Ada?
- Ada is most often brought in for ai-powered customer service automation, chatbot deployment and management, support ticket automation and resolution, multi-channel customer communication. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Ada?
- None of the live chat tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Ada alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Live Chat, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Ada against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Ada covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every live chat tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Live Chat category, 21 tools beside Ada. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.