LiveChat vs Ruby
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Best 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 reviewBest for: Solo professionals, freelancers, and startups without a front desk, Law firms and legal professionals who must capture every client call
Read the full Ruby reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
LiveChat vs Ruby: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose LiveChat if
- You need 200+ integrations like Shopify, WordPress, and Mailchimp.
- You want a risk-free 14-day trial with no credit card.
Choose Ruby if
- You want real human receptionists answering every call.
- You prioritize lead capture, with 1.6 million+ leads secured yearly.
- You need call filtering, scheduling, intake, and payment processing.
LiveChat vs Ruby: pros and cons
LiveChat
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.
Pros
- Very fast to adopt — the vendor markets it as quick to set up and easy to use, so teams can start chatting with visitors without a lengthy implementation.
- The free 14-day trial requires no credit card, letting teams evaluate the full product with zero financial commitment.
- Broad market validation, with more than 35,000 companies using the product.
Cons
- Per-seat billing means costs grow with every agent added, and the listed plan range extends as high as $93,762/month for the largest tier, so larger teams should model costs carefully.
- LiveChat is a live-chat-first product; teams whose support model depends heavily on channels like phone, email ticketing, or social media should verify coverage before choosing it over a broader omnichannel helpdesk.
- Third-party review data from G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot was not available for this review, so independent user sentiment could not be independently verified here.
Ruby
Ruby pairs trained human receptionists with AI tools for 24/7 answering in English and Spanish, plus HIPAA-compliant options and 5,000+ integrations. The trade-offs are premium per-minute pricing, no free trial, and contract terms you must confirm with sales. Overall, it's a strong pick for service businesses that can justify the spend and lock down terms first.
Pros
- Live receptionists answer around the clock in English and Spanish with an average pickup under 10 seconds, so callers reach a trained person instead of a phone tree or voicemail.
- Every plan includes the full feature set—lead qualification, appointment scheduling, payment collection, AI transcripts, and bilingual handling—since tiers differ only by minutes or chats, nothing useful is locked behind higher pricing.
- AI screening filters roughly 20,000 robocalls per month before they interrupt your day, and optional AI enhancements are included at no extra cost on any plan.
Cons
- There is no free trial, free plan, or documented refund policy—none of these terms are published, so you must confirm them with sales before committing.
- Entry pricing is steep compared to AI-only answering tools — $250/month buys just 50 receptionist minutes, and heavy-volume businesses pay $1,725/month for 500 minutes.
- Contract length, cancellation terms, overage rates, and what happens to unused minutes are not documented anywhere in the published materials, leaving important commercial questions unanswered until you talk to sales.
LiveChat and Ruby in detail
LiveChat
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.
Standout features
- Real-Time Website Chat
- Fast, Simple Setup
- Support and Sales in One Tool
- Trial and Plan Options
Use cases
- Customer Support
- Sales and Conversion
- Lead Qualification for B2B Sites
- Small Team Onboarding
Ruby
Ruby is a virtual receptionist service for small businesses. Real people answer your calls around the clock, backed by AI tools like transcription, sentiment analysis, and robocall screening. Plans can include managed live chat, appointment scheduling, payment processing, and outbound calling. Ruby targets legal, home services, healthcare, financial, and business services firms, plus freelancers and startups—teams that want every caller to reach a live person without hiring a front desk.
Standout features
- 24/7 live answering by real people
- From answered call to booked business
- AI that clears the noise
- Managed live chat for your website
- Fits your tools and your number
Use cases
- Never miss an after-hours call
- Capture every client call at a law firm
- Book jobs while you're on a job site
- Cover calls and website chat together
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | LiveChat | Ruby |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | $19/mo Essential · per user | $115/mo Bundled — 10 Chats + Receptionist Plan |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | — | — |
| Pricing model | Per user | Flat price |
| Cost for 1 user | $19/moCheaper Essential plan, billed monthly | $115/mo Bundled — 10 Chats + Receptionist Plan plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 5 users | $95/mo Essential plan, billed monthly | $115/mo Bundled — 10 Chats + Receptionist Plan plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 10 users | $190/mo Essential plan, billed monthly | $115/mo Bundled — 10 Chats + Receptionist Plan plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 25 users | $475/mo Essential plan, billed monthly | $115/mo Bundled — 10 Chats + Receptionist Plan plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Plans | 3 | 10 |
| Prices checked | Checked Oct 12, 2026 | Vendor page checked Oct 12, 2026 |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Sep 30, 2026. No price change detected yet. | Tracking prices since Oct 2, 2026. No price change detected yet. |
- Cheapest plan that fits each team size. Per-user plans are multiplied by the number of users (respecting stated minimums and seat packs). Plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each user beyond those included. Flat-priced plans with no stated user limit are counted as one licence per user.
Cheaper for your team size
For 1 user (billed monthly), LiveChat costs $19/mo vs Ruby at $115/mo.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do either offer a free trial?
LiveChat offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Ruby's free trial or money-back guarantee isn't confirmed; you should ask their sales team directly before committing.