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Customer Support · head to head

Playvox vs tawk.to

Playvox logo

Playvox

Customer Support

Contact centre quality management, coaching and workforce management, now sold by NiCE

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
tawk.to logo

tawk.to

Live Chat

100% free live chat software

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only tawk.to has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Playvox niCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.; tawk.to removing the Powered by tawk.to branding costs an extra $29/month even on the free plan
  • They diverge on capability: Playvox covers Quality management, tawk.to covers Live chat.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Playvox and tawk.to actually diverge.

Attributes where Playvox and tawk.to differ
AttributePlayvoxtawk.to
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android, Windows, Mac
CategoryCustomer SupportLive Chat
FoundedUnknown2013

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 Playvox

  • Quality management
  • Agent coaching
  • Workforce management
  • Performance management
  • Agent motivation
  • Helpdesk connectors
  • Interaction analytics

Only in tawk.to

  • Live chat
  • Ticketing
  • Knowledge base
  • CRM
  • Video chat
  • Screen sharing
  • WordPress
  • Shopify

What people use each for

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

Playvox

  • A 200-agent support team on Zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platformnot tawk.to
  • A CX operations group running chat, email and voice queues that needs one forecasting model across all three rather than a voice-only rota toolnot tawk.to
  • A BPO that must evidence quality scores per client and needs calibration workflows to prove reviewers score consistentlynot tawk.to
  • A support organisation with high first-year attrition that wants coaching assignments tied directly to the criteria an agent failednot tawk.to

tawk.to

  • Website live chat and visitor engagementnot Playvox
  • Customer support automationnot Playvox

Where each one falls short

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

Playvox

  • NiCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.
  • Playvox WFM carries a minimum agent commitment reported around 35 seats, so a team of 20 either pays for agents it does not have or cannot buy the module at all.
  • The suite is modular and priced modularly, so the quality, performance, coaching, WFM and analytics pieces each carry a line item and the advertised mid-market saving disappears once you licence three or four of them.
  • Forecasting was built around digital and omnichannel volume, and teams with complex voice requirements such as skills-based routing with heavy shrinkage rules routinely find the scheduling engine less precise than dedicated voice WFM tools.
  • Because it sits on top of another vendor helpdesk rather than owning the interaction data, scoring depends on connector fidelity, and when a source platform changes its API or its recording retention the scorecards go stale before anyone notices.

tawk.to

  • Removing the Powered by tawk.to branding costs an extra $29/month even on the free plan
  • Enhanced AI Assist chatbot is a paid add-on starting at $29/month rather than included free
  • Human staffed chat agents are billed at $1/hour as a separate add-on

Pricing, plan by plan

Playvox

On request
  • Playvox by NiCE Workforce Engagement Management$undefined/year
    • Quality management and scorecards
    • Coaching workflows
    • Performance dashboards

tawk.to

Free
  • Free Core SoftwareFree
    • Live chat software with no feature limitations
    • Chat pages
    • Knowledge base (hosted help center)
  • Branding Removal$29/month
    • Remove Powered by tawk.to widget branding
  • AI Assist Premium$29/month
    • AI-powered chatbot automation
  • Hired Chat Agents$1/hour
    • Professional trained agents 24/7/365

Which should you pick?

Choose Playvox if

  • You need quality management.
  • You also want agent coaching.
Playvox review

Choose tawk.to if

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

Questions people ask

Is Playvox or tawk.to better?
Neither clearly leads. Playvox starts at On request and tawk.to at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Playvox or tawk.to?
tawk.to has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Playvox and Free for tawk.to.
Does Playvox or tawk.to run on more platforms?
Playvox runs on Web. tawk.to runs on Web, Ios, Android, Windows, Mac.
Can I use tawk.to for free?
Yes. tawk.to has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Playvox starts at On request.
What is Playvox best used for?
Playvox is most often used for a 200-agent support team on zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platform, a cx operations group running chat, email and voice queues that needs one forecasting model across all three rather than a voice-only rota tool, a bpo that must evidence quality scores per client and needs calibration workflows to prove reviewers score consistently, a support organisation with high first-year attrition that wants coaching assignments tied directly to the criteria an agent failed. Of those, a 200-agent support team on zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platform and a cx operations group running chat, email and voice queues that needs one forecasting model across all three rather than a voice-only rota tool are not what tawk.to is typically brought in for.
What can Playvox do that tawk.to cannot?
Playvox covers Quality management, Agent coaching, Workforce management, Performance management. tawk.to covers Live chat, Ticketing, Knowledge base, CRM.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Playvox: Is Playvox still sold as its own product?

Yes, as Playvox by NiCE. It is a distinct SKU beneath NiCE CXone, not a discontinued brand, but it is sold by NiCE sales rather than an independent company.

tawk.to: How much does tawk.to cost?

tawk.to is free for core live chat, knowledge base, ticketing, and CRM. Premium add-ons start at $29/month for branding removal or AI Assist, and $1/hour for hired chat agents.

Source
Playvox: Do I need NiCE CXone to use it?

No. Playvox connects to Zendesk, Salesforce, Freshdesk, Genesys and others. Running it against a competitor platform is supported, though it is not where the vendor makes the most money.

tawk.to: Is tawk.to free forever?

Yes, tawk.to's core software including live chat, knowledge base, ticketing, and contacts is free forever with no feature limitations.

Source
Playvox: What does it actually cost?

Nothing is published. Full-suite list pricing reported by buyers sits around 70 to 120 US dollars per agent per month, with WFM alone around 30 to 60, before volume discounting.

tawk.to: How are tawk.to's hired chat agents priced?

Hired chat agents are billed at $1 per hour with professional trained staff providing 24/7/365 support.

Source
Playvox: Can a 15-agent team buy it?

Not realistically for WFM, which carries a minimum seat commitment. Quality management alone is more accessible but still sold on an annual quoted contract.

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Related pages

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