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Customer Support · head to head

LiveAgent vs Telesign

LiveAgent logo

LiveAgent

Customer Support

All-in-one help desk software

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Telesign logo

Telesign

Telecommunications

Phone number verification and fraud scoring rather than general purpose messaging

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only LiveAgent has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Telesign risk scoring is probabilistic, so tuning thresholds trades fraud caught against genuine users blocked, and somebody has to own that trade-off continuously.
  • They diverge on capability: LiveAgent covers Ticketing system, Telesign covers Phone number verification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LiveAgent and Telesign actually diverge.

Attributes where LiveAgent and Telesign differ
AttributeLiveAgentTelesign
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer message and per verification, priced by destination country
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, APIs, Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, C#
CategoryCustomer SupportTelecommunications
Founded2004Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Telesign

  • Phone number verification
  • Phone number intelligence
  • Risk scoring
  • Published SMS rate card
  • Delivery routing

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 Telesign
  • Ticketing and shared inbox for customer support teamsnot Telesign

Telesign

  • Consumer platforms blocking fake account creation at signupnot LiveAgent
  • Fintechs and marketplaces checking SIM swap history before a high value actionnot LiveAgent
  • Businesses suffering promotion and free trial abuse from disposable numbersnot LiveAgent
  • Products needing passcode delivery optimised for completion rather than lowest costnot 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

Telesign

  • Risk scoring is probabilistic, so tuning thresholds trades fraud caught against genuine users blocked, and somebody has to own that trade-off continuously.
  • No voice pricing is published at all: every one of the 233 destinations in its public rate card lists voice as quote only, so voice cost cannot be modelled in advance.
  • It is a verification and risk product, so a business that also needs general purpose messaging will run a second vendor for that traffic.
  • Number intelligence quality varies by country because it depends on operator data availability, and coverage in some markets is thinner than the global claim implies.
  • The underlying carrier assets belong to its sibling companies rather than to Telesign, so network questions route back to a parent whose principal business is not developer APIs.

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

Telesign

On request
  • Telesign$undefined/month
    • SMS prices published for 233 destination countries
    • Every voice destination listed as quote only
    • Enterprise agreements normally tied to volume commitments

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 Telesign if

  • You need phone number verification.
  • You work on Web, APIs, Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, C#.
  • You also want phone number intelligence.
Telesign review

Questions people ask

Is LiveAgent or Telesign better?
Neither clearly leads. LiveAgent starts at Free and Telesign at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LiveAgent or Telesign?
LiveAgent has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for LiveAgent and On request for Telesign.
Does LiveAgent or Telesign run on more platforms?
LiveAgent runs on Web, Ios, Android. Telesign runs on Web, APIs, Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, C#.
Can I use LiveAgent for free?
Yes. LiveAgent has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Telesign starts at On request.
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 Telesign is typically brought in for.
What can LiveAgent do that Telesign cannot?
LiveAgent covers Ticketing system, Live chat, Call center, Social media. Telesign covers Phone number verification, Phone number intelligence, Risk scoring, Published SMS rate card.

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
Telesign: Who owns Telesign?

Proximus, the Belgian telecommunications operator. It acquired Telesign in 2017 through its subsidiary BICS and has owned it outright since February 2021. Telesign now sits in Proximus Global alongside BICS and Route Mobile.

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
Telesign: Did Telesign go public?

No. A merger with the North Atlantic Acquisition Corporation special purpose vehicle was announced in December 2021 at around 1.3 billion dollars and terminated on 1 July 2022, so it remained within Proximus.

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
Telesign: Is Telesign a cheaper way to send one-time passcodes?

No, and that is not its purpose. It routes for verification completion and adds a risk judgement about the number. If you only need cheap message delivery, compare rate card vendors instead.

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