Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Best for: Small businesses that want email, chat, and CRM in one subscription, Lean teams that can't afford tool sprawl or separate help desk software
Read the full Gist reviewBest for: Customer support teams that want to answer website visitor questions in real time instead of relying only on email., E-commerce and SaaS sales teams looking to engage visitors on product and pricing pages to increase conversions.
Read the full LiveChat reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Gist bundles email marketing, live chat, chatbots, a knowledge base, and a CRM in one login, with a free plan on every tier and paid plans from $19 a month. The trade-offs are a thin published integration list and modest contact caps. Overall, it's a strong value pick for small teams.
LiveChat makes it simple for support and sales teams to talk with website visitors in real time, with quick setup, a no-credit-card 14-day trial, and adoption by more than 35,000 companies. It's live-chat-first, though, so buyers who need phone, email, or social channels should compare carefully. Overall, it's a solid pick for teams focused on real-time website chat.
Gist is an all-in-one platform combining email marketing, live chat, chatbots, forms, a knowledge base, marketing automation, a CRM, and a meeting scheduler. It's built for small businesses and growing teams — the site says more than 15,000 businesses use it — that want to manage leads and customer conversations without stitching together multiple apps.
LiveChat is customer service software in the live chat category. Its core function is enabling team members to chat with visitors on a website through an embedded chat window, handling questions, issues, and purchase-related conversations as they happen. It is positioned as a tool that both support desks and sales teams can use from a single dashboard.
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | Gist | LiveChat |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | $19/mo Gist Marketing — Professional | $19/mo Essential · per user |
| Free plan | Yes 2 support seats included | No |
| Free trial | 14 days | Not stated |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | — | — |
| Pricing model | Flat price | Per user |
| Cost for 1 user | FreeCheaper Gist Support — Free Forever plan, billed monthly | $19/mo Essential plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 5 users | $19/mo Gist Marketing — Professional plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $95/mo Essential plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 10 users | $19/mo Gist Marketing — Professional plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $190/mo Essential plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 25 users | $19/mo Gist Marketing — Professional plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $475/mo Essential plan, billed monthly |
| Plans | 6 | 3 |
| Prices checked | Vendor page checked Oct 12, 2026 | Checked Oct 12, 2026 |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Sep 9, 2026. No price change detected yet. | Tracking prices since Sep 30, 2026. No price change detected yet. |
For 1 user (billed monthly), Gist costs $0/mo vs LiveChat at $19/mo.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.