Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

LiveAgent vs Scratchpad

LiveAgent logo

LiveAgent

Customer Support

All-in-one help desk software

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Scratchpad logo

Scratchpad

CRM

Faster workspace over Salesforce for sales reps to update pipeline, take notes and manage deals

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: LiveAgent social and messaging channels are separately priced add ons rather than plan features, at $19 to $39 a month each on top of the seat price; Scratchpad scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • They diverge on capability: LiveAgent covers Ticketing system, Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LiveAgent and Scratchpad actually diverge.

Attributes where LiveAgent and Scratchpad differ
AttributeLiveAgentScratchpad
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Chrome extension
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM
Founded2004Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in LiveAgent

  • Ticketing system
  • Live chat
  • Call center
  • Social media
  • Knowledge base
  • Customer portal
  • WordPress
  • Shopify

Only in Scratchpad

  • Spreadsheet pipeline views
  • Call recorder and notetaker
  • AI field updates
  • Deal and account agent
  • Hygiene monitor
  • Notes linked to records
  • Custom prompts
  • Kanban and forecast views

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

LiveAgent

  • Multichannel help desk covering email, chat, calls and social messagesnot Scratchpad
  • Ticketing and shared inbox for customer support teamsnot Scratchpad

Scratchpad

  • A 60-rep Salesforce team whose forecast is unreliable because opportunity fields are updated once a week in a panic before the pipeline callnot LiveAgent
  • A rep who wants to update twenty opportunities in a grid rather than opening twenty Salesforce recordsnot LiveAgent
  • A sales manager wanting stale and incomplete pipeline records flagged automatically instead of chased by emailnot LiveAgent
  • A revenue operations lead trialling AI notetaking that writes back to CRM fields before committing budget, using the free tiernot LiveAgent

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

LiveAgent

  • Social and messaging channels are separately priced add ons rather than plan features, at $19 to $39 a month each on top of the seat price
  • The entry plan is limited to 3 email accounts, 2 live chat buttons and 3 contact forms
  • WhatsApp numbers are rationed by plan, at 5 on Large Business and 20 on Enterprise
  • The advertised prices require annual billing, and monthly billing raises the entry plan from $10 to $13 per agent
  • Every published price is a discounted rate against a higher regular price

Scratchpad

  • Scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • AI credits are metered per user per month at 400 on Solo and 800 on Team, which means heavy notetaking use pushes teams towards Enterprise for capacity rather than for features.
  • There is no proper native mobile application, so representatives who wanted to update records from a car park between meetings are back in a mobile browser.
  • Sync with Salesforce and call processing can lag, and a pipeline view showing yesterday state during a forecast call undermines the exact meeting the tool was bought to improve.
  • It creates a second notes surface alongside native Salesforce notes, so organisations end up with deal history split across two places unless they explicitly ban one of them.

Pricing, plan by plan

LiveAgent

Free
  • Small Business$10/month
    • Ticketing
    • Live chat
    • Knowledge base
  • Medium Business$19/month
    • Everything in Small
    • Call center
    • IVR
  • Large Business$33/month
    • Everything in Medium
    • Social channels (Facebook, Instagram, X, WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber)
  • Enterprise$46/month
    • Everything in Large
    • Dedicated account manager
    • Priority support

Scratchpad

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Workspace limited to 3 views
    • 10 hours a month of call recording and notetaking
    • AI field updates
  • Solo$19/month
    • Unlimited views with sheets and notes
    • Call recorder and notetaker
    • AI field updates
  • Team$49/month
    • Everything in Solo
    • 800 AI credits per user per month
    • Gong integration
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited AI credits
    • White-glove agent services included
    • Enterprise security and administration

Which should you pick?

Choose LiveAgent if

  • You need ticketing system.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want live chat.
LiveAgent review

Choose Scratchpad if

  • You need spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Chrome extension.
  • You also want call recorder and notetaker.
Scratchpad review

Questions people ask

Is LiveAgent or Scratchpad better?
Neither clearly leads. LiveAgent starts at Free and Scratchpad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LiveAgent or Scratchpad?
LiveAgent starts at Free and Scratchpad at Free.
Does LiveAgent or Scratchpad run on more platforms?
LiveAgent runs on Web, Ios, Android. Scratchpad runs on Web, Chrome extension.
Can I use LiveAgent for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is LiveAgent best used for?
LiveAgent is most often used for multichannel help desk covering email, chat, calls and social messages, ticketing and shared inbox for customer support teams. Of those, multichannel help desk covering email, chat, calls and social messages and ticketing and shared inbox for customer support teams are not what Scratchpad is typically brought in for.
What can LiveAgent do that Scratchpad cannot?
LiveAgent covers Ticketing system, Live chat, Call center, Social media. Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views, Call recorder and notetaker, AI field updates, Deal and account agent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LiveAgent: How much does LiveAgent cost?

LiveAgent charges per agent on annual billing: Small Business at $10/agent/month, Medium at $19/agent/month, Large at $33/agent/month, and Enterprise at $46/agent/month (regular rates are $15, $29, $49, and $69 respectively). Monthly billing costs 30% more.

Source
Scratchpad: Does Scratchpad work with HubSpot?

No. It is Salesforce-only.

LiveAgent: Does LiveAgent offer a free trial?

Yes, LiveAgent provides a 30-day free trial with no credit card required, offering full access to all features including AI agents.

Source
Scratchpad: Is the free plan usable in production?

Yes for an individual: full workspace with three views, 10 hours of recording and 100 AI credits a month. Teams outgrow it on views and credits.

LiveAgent: Are AI agents included in all LiveAgent plans?

Yes, all LiveAgent plans include free AI agents with features like chatbots, answer assistants, human handover, and autoresponders.

Source
Scratchpad: Does it replace Salesforce licences?

No. Every user still needs their own Salesforce licence; Scratchpad is an interface on top.

Scratchpad: What are AI credits spent on?

Notetaking, summarisation, field update suggestions and agent queries. Enterprise removes the cap.

Share

Related pages

More on LiveAgent

More on Scratchpad

Keep looking

Other head to heads