Joinchat vs tawk.to Live Chat
Updated 14 Oct 2026. 20 features compared side by side.
Lightweight WhatsApp button with calls to action, dynamic messages and WooCommerce support, plus paid funnels, agents, extra channels and an AI assistant.
Free hosted live chat with unlimited agents, ticketing and a knowledge base; paid add-ons cover branding removal, AI Assist and hired agents.
Choose Joinchat if…
- You need works without a SaaS account
- You prefer the more widely used option
Choose tawk.to Live Chat if…
- You need live chat widget and canned responses
- You also want visitor tracking and helpdesk & ticketing
- You want the more complete feature set (91/100 vs 66/100)
Joinchat includes 1 feature that tawk.to Live Chat lacks, including Works without a SaaS account; tawk.to Live Chat has 4 that Joinchat lacks, including Live chat widget, Canned responses and Visitor tracking. Both include 15 of the 20 features we track.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
Joinchat tawk.to Live ChatChat & channels5/66/6
Opens WhatsApp rather than an on-site chat with your team.
Real-time chat with visitors, free with unlimited agents.
WhatsApp button for app, Web or Desktop with QR code on desktop.
Help center guides cover connecting WhatsApp Business numbers to the inbox.
OmniChannel adds Telegram, Messenger, Instagram, SMS, phone and more.
Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twilio SMS and email in one shared inbox; some marked beta on pricing.
Replies happen in WhatsApp's own mobile and desktop apps; no dedicated agent app.
Native iOS, Android, Windows and macOS apps with push notifications.
WhatsApp messages wait in your inbox; Premium Plus saves funnel leads in WordPress.
Offline form collects messages that land in the inbox and can become tickets.
Files can be exchanged in WhatsApp after the handoff; not in the widget.
Files can be shared in chats.
Automation & AI4/55/5
Chat Funnels guide visitors through conversational forms before WhatsApp.
Automated FAQ answers come from AI Assist (Apollo); free low-volume tier, paid from $29/mo.
Paid Joinchat AI plugin answers from your FAQs and site content; €39/month.
AI Assist trained on site pages, documents, FAQs and shortcuts; paid from $29/mo after a small free tier.
CTA bubbles with page-specific content, triggers and scroll-based display.
Triggers send greetings based on URL, behaviour, location or past visits.
No saved agent replies; only preset start messages for visitors.
Shortcuts provide saved replies for common questions.
Support Agents have weekly schedules with several time slots per day.
Widget scheduler sets when the chat is shown.
Stores & teams4/55/5
Product, SKU, price and discount variables in messages; no order or cart view.
WooCommerce support listed in changelog, but no cart or order data in chat.
Only click counts; no live list of visitors or pages viewed.
See who is on the site and what they are reading in real time.
Unlimited support agents with their own number, department and photo.
Unlimited agents for free, grouped into departments.
Agents shown per page, by schedule or in random order; random phone rotation.
Departments with automatic routing and chat transfers.
Free clicks counter plus GA4, GTM and Pixel events; AI adds conversation reports.
Reports on chat volume, response times, missed chats and satisfaction ratings.
Platform & privacy3/43/4
Free plugin is fully usable with no limits on clicks or pages.
Free with no limits on agents, chats or sites.
Free and Premium run inside WordPress; only the AI add-on uses an external service.
Plugin embeds the hosted tawk.to widget; account required.
Mandatory opt-in option, no personal data collected and a cookieless mode.
GDPR compliance page, Data Processing Addendum and EU-US DPF certification.
No tickets or shared inbox.
Free built-in ticketing and support desk.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
Joinchat Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Premium | €96 per year, 1 site |
| Premium Plus | €180 per year, 1 site |
| Joinchat AI | €39 per month, 1 site |
tawk.to Live Chat Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per month, Unlimited |
| Remove Branding add-on | $29 per month, 1 site |
| AI Assist add-on | $29 per month, 1 site |
Downloads trend
Joinchat
47,329 downloads last week
tawk.to Live Chat
3,130 downloads last week
Verdict
tawk.to Live Chat scores higher on our feature checklist (91/100 against 66/100) and includes live chat widget, canned responses and visitor tracking that Joinchat does not. Joinchat still has the edge on works without a SaaS account. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Joinchat: not included. tawk.to Live Chat: included. Real-time chat with visitors, free with unlimited agents.
Joinchat: not included. tawk.to Live Chat: included. Shortcuts provide saved replies for common questions.
Joinchat: not included. tawk.to Live Chat: included. See who is on the site and what they are reading in real time.
Joinchat: included. tawk.to Live Chat: not included. Free and Premium run inside WordPress; only the AI add-on uses an external service.
Joinchat: not included. tawk.to Live Chat: included. Free built-in ticketing and support desk.
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
Which would you choose?
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Joinchat vs others
FAQ
Which is better, Joinchat or tawk.to Live Chat?
tawk.to Live Chat scores higher on our feature checklist (91/100 against 66/100) and includes live chat widget, canned responses and visitor tracking that Joinchat does not. Joinchat still has the edge on works without a SaaS account. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
tawk.to Live Chat includes 19 of the 20 features we track, against 16 for Joinchat. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is Joinchat free?
Joinchat has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at €39/mo.
Is tawk.to Live Chat free?
tawk.to Live Chat has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $29/mo.
Feature data last changed 14 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Joinchat or tawk.to Live Chat. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.