10 Best Live Chat Apps & Software in 2024

In an era where immediate response is key to customer satisfaction, live chat apps play a pivotal role in enhancing customer support. These apps offer real-time assistance, seamlessly connecting businesses with their clients. Here we highlight 10 live chatting apps that stand out for their efficiency and ability and you can choose the best live chat app to improve the customer experience.

What is a Free Live Chat App?

A free live chat app is a software tool that enables real-time communication between businesses and their customers directly on their websites or through mobile applications. These apps are designed to provide instant support and facilitate interactions without the need for emails or phone calls. Key features often include text chat, file sharing, and sometimes video or voice calls.

Free live chat apps are particularly popular in customer service and sales departments to enhance the customer experience, respond quickly to inquiries, and help guide customers through their buying journey. Some apps may offer basic services for free with options to upgrade for access to more advanced features.

What Makes the Best Live Chat App?

The best live chat app stands out by offering a combination of features, usability, and support that aligns with the needs of its users, whether for personal or professional communication. Here are key factors that contribute to making a live chat app exceptional:

User-Friendly Interface: An intuitive and clean design makes it easy for users to navigate and use the app without a steep learning curve.
Reliability and Speed: Quick and dependable message delivery ensures conversations flow smoothly, enhancing the overall user experience.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Support for various devices and operating systems enables users to stay connected regardless of the hardware they use.
High-Quality Video and Audio Calls: For apps that support video and voice calls, clarity and low latency are crucial for effective communication. Integrating with technologies like ZEGOCLOUD can ensure your app offers superior video and audio call quality, leveraging its expertise in real-time communication to provide users with a seamless and engaging experience.
End-to-end Encryption: Strong security measures, including end-to-end encryption, protect users’ privacy and data from unauthorized access.
Feature Richness: Features such as file sharing, screen sharing, group chat, stickers, and GIFs enrich the chat experience, making it more engaging and versatile.
Customization Options: The ability to personalize chat themes, notification sounds, and privacy settings allows users to tailor the app to their preferences.
Customer Support and Integration: For business applications, integration with websites, and CRM systems, and the provision of robust customer support tools are vital for streamlining customer interactions.
Affordability: Whether it’s a free app with optional premium features or a subscription-based service, the app should offer good value for its price point.
Regular Updates and Active Development: Continuous improvement and updates based on user feedback show a commitment to quality and innovation.

Best 10 Live Chat Apps with Feature Comparison

While there are many live chatting apps on the internet, not all are popular due to a lack of features or security concerns. Subsequently, to ensure you don’t have to go through the trouble, we have selected the best 10 live chat apps for both personal and business communications below:

WhatsApp: A popular live chat app.
Telegram: Secure live chat app.
Signal: Privacy-focused chat app.
Facebook: Social media chat app.
Threema: Anonymous live chat app.
LINE: Asian social chat app.
WeChat: Chinese multifunctional chat app.
Viber: Free messaging chat app.
Snapchat: Creative photo chat app.
Skype: Video and voice chat app.

1. WhatsApp

To begin with, the best free live chat app is WhatsApp, the most widely used app in the world. With over 2.25 billion users, it is far ahead of any other app. Owned by Facebook, it is currently available for free to download and use. With this app, you can text, voice, and video chat with your contacts. It also allows you to share files, locations, contacts, etc.

Furthermore, you can also use this app to connect with your customers if you run a business. There is also a WhatsApp Business for business owners, free to download and use.

2. Telegram

Known for providing secure and encrypted chats, Telegram is free to download and use live chat app. Although introduced in 2013, the app gained popularity in late 2020 after privacy concerns were raised over WhatsApp. It currently has over 700 million active users and is gaining popularity rapidly. This app’s secret chat feature allows users to chat with complete privacy.

Moreover, it offers secure voice and video chat services for individual and group chats. The app has an automated bulk message forwarding feature for business owners to ensure they stay connected with their base.

3. Signal

Released to be a more secure version of Telegram, Signal is an open-source and free live chat app. In Signal, the encryption of chats and media ensures data security. On the other hand, Telegram only encrypts the chats done using the secret chat feature. You won’t find a better app than Signal when it comes to privacy and data protection.

A non-profit organization owns Signal and doesn’t store your data either. Subsequently, this app has no ads, and its clean interface makes it excellent for important business discussions.

4. Facebook Messenger

Facebook is widely popular among users worldwide, and that makes Facebook Messenger an excellent way to reach the masses. Using Facebook Messenger, you can connect to your FB friends through text, voice, and video chat. It is available as a stand-alone app for all major platforms like iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac.

The chats on this app aren’t encrypted in general, but users have the option to initiate an end-to-end encrypted chat. Since businesses widely use Facebook, it makes Facebook Messenger a perfect way to connect with customers.

5. Threema

Referred to as the most private chatting app, Threema is a paid and decentralized live chat app released in 2012. Unlike all other apps, it doesn’t require your phone number, email, or other details. After buying the app, users are assigned a specific ID that sets up their Threema account. This app allows you to talk to friends using text, voice, and video chat options.

Since it is open-source, users can ensure that there is no security risk in using this app. Threema is usable after making a one-time payment of $4.99.

6. LINE

Available on Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac, LINE is a great option to connect with your acquaintances. It is widely popular in Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia and has 700 million users worldwide. LINE allows you to make voice and video chats and share other media like photos, documents, and audio.

This app also has many unique features, like LINE Games, LINE Pay, LINE Today, and LINE Taxi. It also has a wide variety of stickers to share during chats. All the communications on LINE app are end-to-end encrypted.

7. WeChat

Most popular in China, WeChat is considered to be one of the most used and best live video chat apps. It has over a billion regular users, partially because most live chatting apps are banned in China. In China, it is known as the app for everything since it probably has more features than any other app on the list.

These features include text, voice, video chats, mobile payments, location sharing, and much more. If you are a business owner and want to reach out to Chinese customers, WeChat is the best choice.

8. Viber

If you want to visit Eastern Europe, Viber is an excellent live chat app to use. It is widely popular in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Greece, with over 300 million users. With this app, you can make high-quality group video calls, voice calls, and text messages. Viber has a unique feature called Viber Out which allows you to make calls to landline and mobile networks.

Viber can be very helpful for businesses with its different crowdsource features like polling and mass forwarding. It is available for free to use on all major platforms.

9. Snapchat

Did you know it is possible to make audio and video calls on Snapchat? While Snapchat is more famous for sharing stories and sending snaps, it is also an excellent free live chat app. In this app, users can quickly take snaps or make stories using a wide range of effects, filters, and stickers.

All the chats on Snapchat are deleted after some time, making it a secure platform. Businesses can promote themselves on Snapchat by creating their branded filters and stickers. Snapchat app is only available on Android and iOS devices.

10. Skype

One of the oldest live chatting apps, Skype is known as the industry standard for making video and audio calls. It is widely used by businesses to arrange virtual meetings and conferences. While its general features are free to use, most unique features are premium. One such feature is the ability to make calls on landlines and mobile numbers.

You can buy an international number from Skype for marketing if you run a business. Through it, you can connect with customers and clients globally.

How Can ZEGOCLOUD Help for Live Chat App Development

Choosing ZEGOCLOUD app-chat API/SDK for your live chat app comes with several compelling advantages, particularly if you’re aiming to create a highly interactive and engaging user experience.

Here are key reasons to consider ZEGOCLOUD for developing a live chat application:

Ease of Integration: ZEGOCLOUD’s APIs and SDKs are designed for straightforward integration, making it easier for developers to incorporate live chat functionalities into existing platforms or new applications. This reduces development time and complexity.
Real-Time Communication: ZEGOCLOUD specializes in real-time communication solutions, ensuring that your live chat app can handle instant messaging, file sharing, and even video or voice calls smoothly and without lag, providing users with a seamless communication experience.
Scalability: With ZEGOCLOUD, you have the infrastructure to scale your live chat application as your user base grows. This is crucial for maintaining performance and reliability during peak usage times or as your business expands.
Global Reach: ZEGOCLOUD’s robust global infrastructure means your live chat app can offer fast and reliable communication services worldwide. This is particularly important if you’re targeting a global audience or operating in multiple regions.
Customization and Flexibility: ZEGOCLOUD API/SDK provides a high degree of customization, allowing you to tailor the live chat experience to meet your specific business needs and branding requirements. This flexibility ensures that you can offer a unique value proposition to your users.
Security and Compliance: With a strong emphasis on security, ZEGOCLOUD ensures that communications through your live chat app are encrypted and protected. This is vital for user trust, especially in handling sensitive information.
Cost-Effectiveness: Starting with a powerful free tier, ZEGOCLOUD offers competitive pricing models that allow you to scale your usage based on your needs, ensuring you get the most value for your investment.
Comprehensive Support: ZEGOCLOUD provides extensive documentation, developer resources, and technical support to assist you through the integration process and beyond, ensuring you can maximize the functionality and performance of your live chat application.

Conclusion

Whether you want to connect to people at a personal level or want to expand your business, a live chat app has become a necessity. You should ensure that your chosen app offers the best features and security. You can easily create your own if you don’t fancy any of the best live chat apps mentioned. The best and quickest way to do that is by using ZEGOCLOUD APIs and SDKs.

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FAQ for Live Chat App

Q1: What are the key features to look for in a live chat app?

Essential features include real-time messaging, file sharing, customization options, integration capabilities with other tools (CRM, email marketing), automated greetings, and robust analytics to track engagement and performance.

Q2: How does a live chat app improve customer service?

A live chat app enhances customer service by providing immediate assistance, reducing wait times, personalizing customer interactions, and offering convenience by enabling customers to get help directly from the website or mobile app.

Q3: How can developers customize a live chat app for their website?

Developers can customize live chat apps by using the app’s SDK or API to modify the chat widget’s design, automate certain responses based on customer queries, and integrate the chat system with backend databases for a more cohesive user experience.