Best Live Chat App for Shopify: Apps Compared by Price Unit
The best live chat app for Shopify is the one whose pricing unit fits your support volume. Start with Shopify Inbox, which is free. Move to Tidio if you want chat plus an AI bot priced by conversations, to Chatra or Re:amaze for a small team priced per agent, and to Gorgias when chat is one channel of a ticket helpdesk priced per ticket. Work out the bill for your busiest month before you choose.
All prices, plans and ratings below are as the apps’ Shopify App Store listings showed them on October 23, 2026, for example Tidio and Chatra. MITS builds Shopify apps but sells no chat app.
Shopify live chat apps compared
| App | Free plan | First paid plan | Priced by | AI | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Inbox | Free app | None needed | Free | Inbox agent included | 4.6 (5,805 reviews) |
| Tidio | Live chat for 50 users | Customer Service $29/month for 100 conversations; $59 for 250–1,000 | Conversations | Lyro AI $39/month for up to 200 Lyro conversations | 4.8 (1,358) |
| Chatra | Up to 5 conversations a month | Essential $31/month, Pro $41/month | Per agent | Chatbot listed | 4.6 (307) |
| Re:amaze | 14-day trial | Basic $29/month, each extra staff user $29 | Staff users (one plan by conversations) | Listed in its name (“AI Helpdesk & Chat”) | 4.4 (181) |
| Gorgias | Not on the listing | Starter $10/month for 50 tickets and 3 agents | Tickets | AI Agent add-on | 4.3 (705) |
| Fin AI Agent & Intercom | 14-day trial | Essential $39 per seat/month | Seats; Fin $0.99 per outcome | Fin AI Agent | 3.7 (18) |
Channels differ too. Tidio lists Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger next to chat and email; Chatra lists Facebook chat, Instagram DMs and email; Re:amaze lists email, live chat, social, SMS and calls; Gorgias email, SMS, chat, phone and social. Shopify Inbox is chat on your online store.
What the same month costs in each app
Take a store with two people answering about 300 chats a month:
| App | How the price adds up | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Inbox | Free | $0 |
| Re:amaze Basic | $29 plus $29 for the second staff user | $58 |
| Tidio Customer Service | Listed from $59 for 250–1,000 conversations | From $59 |
| Gorgias Basic | $60 includes 300 tickets, unlimited agents | $60 |
| Chatra Essential | $31 per agent × 2 | $62 |
| Intercom Essential | $39 per seat × 2, plus $0.99 for each Fin outcome | $78 plus AI |
At this size the paid apps sit within a few dollars of each other, so the choice comes down to channels and fit. The differences appear when volume or team size changes: per-agent apps stay flat when chats double, per-conversation and per-ticket apps rise. In a busy December, a ticket-priced bill rises with the tickets while a per-agent bill stays the same.
Pick by situation
- Solo owner, chat on the store only: Shopify Inbox. Set your real hours and an outside-hours reply, and let the Inbox agent take evening chats if you want.
- Small team, chat plus Instagram and Facebook: Chatra or Tidio, depending on whether you prefer paying per agent or per conversation.
- Lots of repeated questions, wants AI: Tidio with Lyro (priced by AI conversations) or Intercom with Fin (priced per outcome). Price both against last month’s chats.
- Chat is one of several channels with order work: a helpdesk such as Gorgias or Re:amaze, where chat is part of the ticket queue. Our comparison of Shopify helpdesk apps goes deeper.
For a head-to-head of two popular options, see Tidio vs Zendesk.
What Shopify Inbox already covers
Before paying, check what you would gain. Shopify Inbox lets several staff answer from the web, desktop, iOS and Android apps; conversations can be assigned, and the AI Inbox agent hands harder ones to an Unassigned folder with the context so far. Staff can share product links, discount codes, images and videos, see the shopper’s cart, and use quick replies with one-word shortcuts. Permissions decide who can do what, and POS-only staff have no access.
It does not cover other channels such as Instagram or WhatsApp, or a shared ticket queue across email and social, and needing those is the usual reason to move. Our guide to Shopify Inbox or a chat app covers the decision in detail.
Before you install: test in one afternoon
- Install the app and switch on its app embed in Online Store > Edit theme > App embeds. If you are replacing another chat app, switch the old embed off.
- Open your store on a phone and check the button does not cover Add to cart or the cookie banner.
- Send a test message from a private browser window and answer it from the app on your phone.
- Check whether the app shows the shopper’s Shopify orders next to the chat, if that matters to you.
Setup and troubleshooting are in our guide to add live chat to Shopify. More support topics are in the running a store hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free live chat app for Shopify? Shopify Inbox, Shopify’s own free app, with staff assignment, quick replies, mobile apps and the optional Inbox agent. Tidio and Chatra also have free plans, with limits such as 50 users for Tidio’s live chat and 5 conversations a month for Chatra.
Which Shopify chat apps show order information? Tidio’s listing says you can edit and refund Shopify orders without leaving Tidio, and helpdesks such as Gorgias and Intercom list order actions like refunds and edits from the conversation. Shopify Inbox shows the shopper’s cart, and its agent can look up orders for signed-in customers.
Can I run two chat apps on Shopify at once? You can, but customers then see two chat buttons and messages split between two tools. Switch off the old app’s embed when you move to a new one.