Tawk.to alternative. ChatBento vs Tawk.to.
Tawk.to is free live chat and shared inbox software, with ticketing, a CRM and a knowledge base, for unlimited team members. It earns from paid add-ons like AI Assist and branding removal, and from hired chat agents. ChatBento does one job: an AI chatbot on your website, trained on your content, that captures leads and hands off to you, from $8 a month with a free plan.
Prices, ChatBento vs Tawk.to
ChatBento
- Free50 AI messages / month, free forever$0
- Hobbyper month, 2,000 AI messages$8
- Standardper month, 10,000 AI messages$30
- Proper month, 40,000 AI messages$100
Flat price, no per-seat fees. Full pricing
Tawk.to
- Live chat and inboxunlimited team members, with tawk.to brandingFree
- AI Assistper month; a free tier for sites with limited chat volumefrom $29
- Remove brandingper month per property$29
- Hired chat agentsper hour, people who answer chats for you$1
The core live chat is free forever, no credit card. Checked October 23, 2026 on their pricing page.
- We couldn't confirm AI Assist's paid tiers or limits on Tawk.to's site, so check its add-ons page for what $29 a month includes.
Side by side. What each one does.
| Feature | ChatBento | Tawk.to |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, 50 AI messages/mo | Yes, live chat; AI has a limited free tier |
| How the AI is billed | Flat monthly price, no seats | Free chat, paid add-ons |
| AI answers trained on your website | Yes | AI Assist add-on |
| Install with one script tag | Yes | Yes |
| Hand-off to a human | Yes, by email | Yes |
| Live chat inbox for your team | No | Yes |
| WhatsApp, Messenger and other channels | Not yet | Yes |
| Help desk ticketing | No | Yes |
Tawk.to details are from Tawk.to's own website, checked October 23, 2026. Rows we couldn't confirm are left out. Prices change, so check their pricing page before you decide.
What Tawk.to does better. Honestly.
Free live chat for any team size
Tawk.to's live chat is free with unlimited team members, and it has native apps for iOS, Android, macOS and Windows.
Omnichannel inbox
Live chat, email, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS and Telegram land in one shared inbox.
People on demand
You can hire trained human chat agents from $1 an hour, or virtual assistants, to answer for you.
Ticketing, CRM and a knowledge base
Enquiries become tickets on the contact and stay open until resolved, alongside a CRM and knowledge base.
What both do. The common ground.
- A chat widget installed with one JavaScript snippet
- AI answers from your content (Tawk.to's AI Assist add-on)
- Hand-off from the AI to your team
- A free way to start
When to choose Tawk.to. And when ChatBento fits.
Pick Tawk.to if
- You want free human live chat and someone on your team will answer it.
- You need WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS and email in one free inbox.
- You'd like to hire people to answer chats by the hour.
Pick ChatBento if
- You want an AI chatbot on your website that answers from your own pages, Q&As and text, not a full support suite.
- You'd rather pay a flat $8, $30 or $100 a month than per seat or per resolution, or start on the free plan.
- An email hand-off is enough when a visitor needs a person.
- You want one script tag that works on Framer, Webflow, WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace or plain HTML.
Switch from Tawk.to. In 4 steps.
- 1
Sign up for ChatBento's free plan and enter your website address. It reads your pages in about a minute.
- 2
Copy your Tawk.to shortcuts and knowledge base answers into ChatBento's Q&A tab.
- 3
Export chats (a ZIP of JSON files) and contacts (a CSV) from Tawk.to in a browser or its desktop app.
- 4
Remove the Tawk.to snippet or one-click plugin and paste ChatBento's one-line snippet before </body>. Test it on your live site.
Step-by-step install guides for every platform are on the integrations page.
ChatBento vs Tawk.to. Questions, answered.
Is ChatBento a good Tawk.to alternative?
They do different jobs. Tawk.to is free live chat that a person answers, with AI as an add-on. ChatBento is an AI chatbot that answers on its own and emails you when a visitor needs a person. If nobody can watch a live chat inbox, ChatBento fits better.
Is Tawk.to really free?
Its live chat and inbox are free forever for unlimited team members, with tawk.to branding. Removing branding is $29 a month per property, and AI Assist is a paid add-on from $29 a month with a free tier for low volume.
How does pricing compare for AI answers?
Tawk.to's AI Assist starts at $29 a month on top of the free chat. ChatBento has a free plan with 50 AI messages a month, then $8, $30 or $100 a month, and AI answers are the product. Tawk.to prices checked October 23, 2026.
Can I export my Tawk.to chats?
Yes. Tawk.to's help center says admins can export selected chats as a ZIP of JSON files, and contacts as a CSV, from a browser or the desktop apps.
Keep comparing
- Chatbase alternativeThe same job for 80% less.
- Tidio alternativeChatBento vs Tidio
- Intercom alternativeChatBento vs Intercom
- Free AI Chatbot for Your Website: What "Free" Actually Gets YouFrom the blog
- Do You Still Need Live Chat If You Have an AI Chatbot?From the blog
Where ChatBento fits
- After-hours supportGive visitors answers at night, on weekends and on holidays. An AI chatbot trained on your website replies 24/7 and takes a message when a question needs your team in the morning.
- Human handoffLet your AI chatbot pass complex or sensitive conversations to a person. Visitors leave their details, and your team gets the full conversation by email, without anyone repeating themselves.
Tawk.to is a trademark of its owner; ChatBento is not affiliated with or endorsed by Tawk.to.
Sources, checked October 23, 2026: tawk.to/pricing/, tawk.to/products/live-chat/, tawk.to/add-ons/, tawk.to/, tawk.to/products/inbox/
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