Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

LiveAgent vs Telnyx

LiveAgent logo

LiveAgent

Customer Support

All-in-one help desk software

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Telnyx logo

Telnyx

Telecommunications

Voice, messaging and connectivity APIs on a private global IP network

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; Telnyx the advertised per-message price excludes US 10DLC registration fees and carrier surcharges, so American A2P traffic costs more than the rate card row suggests.
  • They diverge on capability: LiveAgent covers Ticketing system, Telnyx covers Published per-destination rate card.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LiveAgent and Telnyx actually diverge.

Attributes where LiveAgent and Telnyx differ
AttributeLiveAgentTelnyx
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer message and per minute, priced by destination country
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, APIs, Python, JavaScript, Java, PHP, Ruby, .NET
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 Telnyx

  • Published per-destination rate card
  • Private IP backbone
  • SIP trunking
  • Programmable messaging
  • Wireless and IoT SIMs

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 Telnyx
  • Ticketing and shared inbox for customer support teamsnot Telnyx

Telnyx

  • Teams moving off a larger aggregator to reduce per-message cost at steady volumenot LiveAgent
  • Applications with international voice traffic where per-minute rates vary sharply by destinationnot LiveAgent
  • Platforms needing SIP trunking and programmable voice from a single suppliernot LiveAgent
  • Products combining messaging with cellular IoT connectivity on one accountnot 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

Telnyx

  • The advertised per-message price excludes US 10DLC registration fees and carrier surcharges, so American A2P traffic costs more than the rate card row suggests.
  • Support and the partner ecosystem are smaller than the market leader, which matters most during an incident rather than during evaluation.
  • The cost advantage only becomes material at volume, so low-traffic projects save little while giving up ecosystem breadth.
  • Toll fraud controls need configuring properly, because a misconfigured voice account can accumulate serious cost quickly.
  • Product breadth is strong for voice and messaging but thinner for adjacent channels such as video, so multi-channel products may still need a second vendor.

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

Telnyx

On request
  • Pay as you go$undefined/month
    • Published rate card by destination country
    • No monthly minimum for standard usage
    • Volume pricing negotiated above published tiers

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 Telnyx if

  • You need published per-destination rate card.
  • You work on Web, APIs, Python, JavaScript, Java, PHP, Ruby, .NET.
  • You also want private ip backbone.
Telnyx review

Questions people ask

Is LiveAgent or Telnyx better?
Neither clearly leads. LiveAgent starts at Free and Telnyx at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LiveAgent or Telnyx?
LiveAgent has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for LiveAgent and On request for Telnyx.
Does LiveAgent or Telnyx run on more platforms?
LiveAgent runs on Web, Ios, Android. Telnyx runs on Web, APIs, Python, JavaScript, Java, PHP, Ruby, .NET.
Can I use LiveAgent for free?
Yes. LiveAgent has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Telnyx 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 Telnyx is typically brought in for.
What can LiveAgent do that Telnyx cannot?
LiveAgent covers Ticketing system, Live chat, Call center, Social media. Telnyx covers Published per-destination rate card, Private IP backbone, SIP trunking, Programmable messaging.

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
Telnyx: How much do per-message rates vary between countries?

By more than an order of magnitude. US A2P SMS is priced in small fractions of a cent per segment, while some international destinations run to several cents or more per message. Always price your actual destination mix rather than a headline US rate.

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
Telnyx: Are 10DLC fees included in the published price?

No. US A2P messaging requires brand and campaign registration, and those one-off and monthly fees plus per-segment carrier surcharges are added on top of the per-message rate.

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
Telnyx: Why does the private network matter?

Voice quality degrades with jitter and packet loss on the public internet. Carrying traffic on a private backbone with direct carrier interconnects is what the quality claim rests on.

Share

Related pages

More on LiveAgent

More on Telnyx

Keep looking

Other head to heads