Both are a corner chat widget plus a shared support inbox, installed with one script tag. They look alike from far away — but they price and route work very differently. Here's the honest side-by-side.
A visitor clicks a corner button, opens a 1:1 thread with your team, an agent replies. Long-established, with a generous free tier that carries Tawk.to branding. Built around a straightforward agent inbox.
Best for: teams that want a free, branded support widget and don't need routing, SLAs, or analytics yet.
The same drop-in widget and shared inbox, plus the operational layer a growing team needs: auto-routing, SLA targets, CSAT, tags, analytics and AI auto-reply — all behind one flat per-site price, not per-agent billing.
Best for: SaaS, e-commerce and product teams that want real helpdesk tooling without an Intercom-sized bill.
Swipe to compare →
| Feature | Tawk.to | HelpBird |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 visitor → agent live chat | ||
| Shared team inbox | ||
| Conversation assignment + internal notes | Partial | |
| Auto-routing (round-robin, by tag, by hours) | Pro | |
| SLA targets + breach view | ||
| CSAT ratings + comments | Partial | |
| Saved replies / macros | ||
| Searchable Help Center inside the widget | Partial | |
| AI auto-reply on first touch | Partial | Pro |
| Support analytics (response time, CSAT trend) | Pro | |
| Tags + priority flag | ||
| @-mentions on internal notes | ||
| Snooze + bulk inbox actions | ||
| Proactive greeting + nudge follow-up | Basic+ | |
| Proactive broadcasts (outbound campaigns) | ||
| Image / file uploads (EXIF-stripped, compressed) | Partial | |
| Webhooks (HMAC-signed JSON) | Partial | |
| Slack notifications + reply from Slack | Partial | Pro |
| Verified identity (server-signed visitor) | Pro | |
| Custom CSS / brand themes | Limited | Full |
| Remove provider branding | Paid only | Basic+ |
| CSV export (conversations, CSAT, SLA) | Partial |
Badges (Basic / Pro) mark the HelpBird plan a feature unlocks on. See the full feature list.
The free tier is generous but carries Tawk.to branding. Add-ons — remove branding, AI agents, hired chat agents — are sold separately, priced per-agent and per-add-on, and easily cross $20–$50/mo once you scale past one seat.
Starter at $3/mo, Basic at $9/mo (removes branding and adds saved replies, assignment, tags and email transcripts), Pro for AI auto-reply, support analytics and webhooks. One flat price per site — no per-agent multiplier. See pricing.
Pick Tawk.to if: you want a free, branded support widget today, your volume is light, and you don't yet need routing rules, SLA tracking, or per-agent analytics.
Pick HelpBird if: you want the same drop-in widget and shared inbox plus the operational layer — auto-routing, SLA targets, CSAT, tags, analytics, AI auto-reply and signed webhooks — for one flat per-site price instead of per-agent billing.
Try both: run HelpBird alongside Tawk.to for a week. Point one page at each, watch which inbox your team actually likes living in, and keep the winner. They don't conflict during a trial.
Comparing other tools? See how HelpBird stacks up against Intercom and Zendesk on price, or read the full feature breakdown.
Yes. HelpBird is the same shape — a corner chat widget plus a shared team inbox — installed with one script tag. Your visitors open a 1:1 thread, an agent replies from the inbox. If you already use Tawk.to, swapping the snippet is the only install step.
Tawk.to is free with branding, then sells add-ons (remove branding, AI agents) per-agent and per-add-on — which adds up fast at modest scale. HelpBird is one flat per-site price from $3/mo: Basic removes branding and adds saved replies, assignment and tags; Pro adds AI auto-reply, analytics and webhooks. You pay per site, not per agent.
Auto-routing, SLA targets with a breach view, support analytics, conversation tags + priority, proactive broadcasts, snooze and bulk inbox actions, verified server-signed identity, and HMAC-signed webhooks — the operational tooling a growing support team needs once volume climbs.
HelpBird starts a fresh inbox, but you can export your Tawk.to transcripts and keep them for reference. Going forward, every conversation, contact profile and CSAT score lives in HelpBird with full-text search.
No. The 15-day trial is fully free; we ask for a card only when you subscribe. You can run HelpBird side-by-side with Tawk.to and decide before you pay.
No credit card. Run it side-by-side with Tawk.to in 60 seconds.
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