- Choose Tawk.to if you have a human team doing live support and want a genuinely free, battle-tested chat widget with ticketing and a knowledge base included.
- Choose Oscar Chat if you want AI answering chats automatically, built-in popups and lead capture, 50+ languages, and one account covering multiple sites.
Pricing: the part that actually decides
Tawk.to is free at the core: unlimited agents, unlimited chats, unlimited websites, plus ticketing, a hosted knowledge base, and a basic CRM — all for $0. The bill starts with optional add-ons, each charged per property (per website):
- AI Assist — Hobby free (100 AI messages/mo), Growth $29/mo ($290/yr) with 1,000 AI messages, Business $99/mo ($990/yr) with 5,000 messages, Enterprise $399/mo ($3,990/yr) with 20,000 messages.
- Remove Branding — $29/mo on annual billing ($39/mo monthly) per property, to drop the "Powered by tawk.to" badge.
- Video + Voice + Screensharing — $29–$49/mo per property.
- Hired Agents — real humans answering your chats from $1/hour.
Oscar Chat charges a flat monthly fee: Lite is free, Basic is €39/month (€33 on annual) with 3,000 AI messages included, Pro is €65/month with 5,000 AI messages included. Extra messages cost a fixed €2.40 per 1,000 — no multipliers, no model-based weighting. Every new account starts with a 7-day Pro trial. Popups, lead forms, and click-to-chat widgets are included in the plan — not separate add-ons.
The math at 5,000 AI messages a month, unbranded
Assumptions stated openly: you want AI answering chats (not just a human team) and no "Powered by" badge.
| Tawk.to | Oscar Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Base | Free core ($0) | Basic €39/mo (3,000 messages) |
| AI capacity | AI Assist Business $99/mo (5,000 messages) | 2,000 messages over included |
| Branding | Remove Branding $29/mo (annual) | Included — no badge on paid plans |
| Overage | — (next tier up if you exceed) | 2,000 × €2.40/1,000 = €4.80 |
| Monthly total | ≈ $128 | ≈ €43.80 |
And here's the part that stings at scale: Tawk.to add-ons are per property. An agency running AI + unbranded chat on 10 client sites pays roughly $1,280/mo in add-ons. Oscar Chat Pro covers up to 10 widgets/projects for €65/mo.
To be fair: if your team answers chats manually and you don't need AI, Tawk.to is $0 and unbeatable. The math above only applies once you want automation.
Feature comparison
| Oscar Chat | Tawk.to | |
|---|---|---|
| AI chat agent | Yes, built in | Paid add-on (AI Assist, from $29/mo) |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly + fixed overage | Free core + per-property add-ons |
| Live chat / human handoff | Yes | Yes — the core product |
| Popups / lead capture forms | Built in | No (basic pre-chat forms & triggers only) |
| Click-to-chat widgets | Built in | No |
| Languages | 50+ | Multilingual chat via AI Assist |
| Voice / video calls | No | Yes (add-on, $29–$49/mo) |
| Hired human agents | No | Yes, from $1/hour |
| Agents per plan | Unlimited on paid plans | Unlimited — even free |
| Workspaces (multiple sites) | Up to 10 (Pro) | Unlimited sites free; add-ons billed per site |
| Ticketing & knowledge base | No | Yes, included free |
| Integrations | Shopify, Salesforce, Zoho, Klaviyo | Website-first; thinner integration list |
| Training | Website URL + file upload (PDF, CSV, TXT, DOCX) | Knowledge base, FAQs, shortcuts |
| Analytics | Built-in | Built-in, real-time |
| Compliance | GDPR-oriented | GDPR-oriented |
| Free tier | Lite (free) | Full live chat free forever |
Where Tawk.to genuinely wins
Fair is fair — three things Tawk.to does better today:
1. Free is actually free. Unlimited agents, unlimited chats, unlimited websites, plus ticketing and a knowledge base — at $0. For a small business with a human answering chats, there is no better deal on the market. Millions of websites prove it. 2. Maturity and trust. Around for over a decade, rated 4.5/5 on G2, with desktop and mobile apps your whole team can install in minutes. It just works. 3. Humans on demand. The $1/hour hired-agent service is unique: real people covering your chat 24/7 without hiring. No AI-only platform offers that.
Where Oscar Chat wins
1. AI included, not bolted on. The chatbot is the product — not a $29+/mo add-on with message tiers. Flat pricing with a fixed €2.40/1,000 overage means your bill doesn't jump when traffic does. 2. Conversions, not just support. Popups, lead magnets, smart forms, and click-to-chat widgets are part of the platform — on Tawk.to you'd stack add-ons or buy a second tool. 3. Multi-site economics. Agencies and brands running several stores get up to 10 widgets/projects on one Pro plan, instead of paying per-property add-on fees on every site.
One platform, not one widget
Oscar Chat isn't just a chat bubble. It's a toolkit of website widgets: AI chatbot, live chat, popups, smart lead-capture forms, click-to-chat buttons (WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram), review widgets, and more — all managed from one dashboard, on one bill. Every touchpoint where a visitor can become a customer is covered.
Which should you pick?
- Small team answering chats manually, tight budget: Tawk.to free. Nothing beats $0.
- Ecommerce / Shopify store wanting AI + sales tools: Oscar Chat. Automation plus conversion toolkit, one predictable bill.
- Agency managing multiple client sites: Oscar Chat Pro — Tawk.to's per-property add-on stacking gets expensive fast.
- Need voice/video calls inside the widget: Tawk.to with the Video + Voice add-on.
- Need 24/7 human coverage without hiring: Tawk.to's hired agents from $1/hour.
- Just testing the waters: both have free entry — Tawk.to's full free live chat or Oscar Chat Lite.
7-Day Pro Trial for Every New Account
For your first 7 days, you are automatically on the Pro plan.
Pricing verified September 2026 against both vendors' pricing pages. Plans change — check the live pages before deciding.
FAQ
-
Is Tawk.to really free?
Yes — the core live chat is free forever with no limits on agents, chats, or websites, including ticketing and a knowledge base. You only pay for optional add-ons: AI Assist (from $29/mo), branding removal ($29/mo annual), voice/video ($29–$49/mo), or hired human agents ($1/hr). Each add-on is billed per website. -
Is Oscar Chat cheaper than Tawk.to with AI Assist?
For AI-driven chat, yes. At 5,000 AI messages a month unbranded, Tawk.to costs about $128/mo (AI Assist Business $99 + branding removal $29) per site, while Oscar Chat Basic costs about €43.80/mo — see the math above. For purely human live chat, Tawk.to at $0 wins outright. -
Does Tawk.to have popups or lead capture forms?
Tawk.to has pre-chat forms and proactive triggers for engaging visitors. Dedicated marketing popups, lead magnets, and click-to-chat buttons are not its focus — Oscar Chat includes them natively in every paid plan. -
Can I migrate from Tawk.to to Oscar Chat?
Yes. Export your FAQs and knowledge-base content (Oscar Chat accepts website URLs and PDF/CSV/TXT/DOCX uploads), set up your agent's instructions, and swap the widget embed code. Most migrations take an afternoon. -
Which is better for agencies managing multiple sites?
Oscar Chat. Tawk.to's add-ons are billed per property, so AI + unbranded chat across 10 client sites means roughly 10× the add-on bill. Oscar Chat Pro covers up to 10 widgets/projects on a single €65/mo plan.
