Customer Support · head to head
Missive vs LiveAgent
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Missive each plan caps users rather than only pricing them, at 5 on Starter and 50 on Productive; 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
- They diverge on capability: Missive covers Shared inbox, LiveAgent covers Ticketing system.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Missive and LiveAgent actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (subscription), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Customer Support).
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 Missive
- Shared inbox
- Team chat
- Tasks
- Calendar
- SMS
- Asana
Only in LiveAgent
- Ticketing system
- Live chat
- Call center
- Social media
- Knowledge base
- Customer portal
- WordPress
- Shopify
Both cover
- Zapier
- GDPR
- SSL
- 2FA
- Web support
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Missive
- Shared team inbox across email, SMS and social messagesnot LiveAgent
- Collaborating on customer conversations with internal comments and tasksnot LiveAgent
LiveAgent
- Multichannel help desk covering email, chat, calls and social messagesnot Missive
- Ticketing and shared inbox for customer support teamsnot Missive
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Missive
- Each plan caps users rather than only pricing them, at 5 on Starter and 50 on Productive
- Integrations, automation rules and API access all require the Productive plan at $24 per user per month
- Rules are capped at 1,000 per workspace even on the paid tiers
- SAML SSO and IP restriction are Business only at $36 per user per month
- AI features need either Missive AI credits or a bring your own key arrangement rather than being included
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
Pricing, plan by plan
Missive
Free- FreeFree
- 3 users
- Basic features
- Email & chat
- Starter$14/month
- Unlimited users
- Shared inboxes
- Rules & automation
- Productive$18/month
- Starter + Calendars
- SMS
- Business$26/month
- Productive + API
- SAML SSO
- Priority support
LiveAgent
Free- FreeFree
- 7-day ticket history
- 1 chat button
- 1 email account
- Small$9/month
- Unlimited ticket history
- 3 email accounts
- Customer portal
- Medium$29/month
- Call center
- 10 email accounts
- Advanced reporting
- Large$49/month
- Everything unlimited
- Senior account manager
- White glove setup
Which should you pick?
Choose Missive if
- You need shared inbox.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Mac, Windows.
- You also want team chat.
Choose LiveAgent if
- You need ticketing system.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want live chat.
Questions people ask
- Is Missive or LiveAgent better?
- Neither clearly leads. Missive starts at Free and LiveAgent at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Missive or LiveAgent?
- Missive starts at Free and LiveAgent at Free.
- Does Missive or LiveAgent run on more platforms?
- Missive runs on Web, Ios, Android, Mac, Windows. LiveAgent runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use Missive for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Missive best used for?
- Missive is most often used for shared team inbox across email, sms and social messages, collaborating on customer conversations with internal comments and tasks. Of those, shared team inbox across email, sms and social messages and collaborating on customer conversations with internal comments and tasks are not what LiveAgent is typically brought in for.
- What can Missive do that LiveAgent cannot?
- Missive covers Shared inbox, Team chat, Email, Tasks. LiveAgent covers Ticketing system, Live chat, Call center, Social media. Both handle Zapier, GDPR, SSL, 2FA.