Last Updated: January 2025
In the realm of education, where seamless communication is paramount, harnessing the power of live chat for education has become increasingly essential. As educational institutions, both traditional and online, strive to provide students with accessible and effective support, live chat software solutions have emerged as invaluable tools.
In this article, we’ll explore the top 12 live chat software solutions tailored to the unique needs of the education sector. Whether you’re an educator looking to enhance classroom engagement or an administrator aiming to streamline administrative processes, you’ll find the perfect live chat solution to elevate your educational institution’s communication capabilities.
Join us on a journey through the dynamic world of live chat for education.
Top 12 Live Chat for Education Software Solutions
1. Saufter.io
Pricing: A 15-day free trial is available
Saufter.io is an innovative and versatile solution that has been making waves in the realm of live chat for education. This powerful platform is revolutionizing the way educational institutions and online learning providers engage with their students and learners.
Key Features
- File Sharing: Users can easily share files, documents, images, and multimedia content within the chat, enhancing the learning experience with supplementary materials.
- Screen Sharing: The platform offers screen-sharing capabilities, enabling educators to demonstrate concepts and provide visual guidance during lessons.
- Interactive Whiteboard: Saufter.io features an interactive whiteboard that allows educators to illustrate ideas, solve problems, and engage in collaborative brainstorming sessions.
- Group Chat: Users can create group chats for collaborative projects and discussions, facilitating teamwork and peer learning.
- Secure and Private: Saufter.io prioritizes the security and privacy of users, ensuring that all educational interactions remain confidential and protected.
2. Help Scout
Rating: ⭐4.4
Pricing: Free trial is available and a paid plan starts from $20/per month
If you’re looking for top-notch live chat software for your educational programs, schools, or universities, Help Scout has you covered. With Help Scout, you’ll find an intuitive communication management platform that excels in providing quality live chat services tailored to the needs of higher education and other learning-focused environments.
Key Features
- User-Friendly Interface: Enjoy an easy-to-use platform designed for individuals of all technical backgrounds.
- Convenience: Connect and resolve issues at your own convenience, accommodating different schedules and time zones.
- Customization: Tailor the live chat experience to your specific needs and branding requirements
3. LiveChat
Rating:⭐4.5
Pricing: Free trial is available and a paid plan starts from $20/per month
LiveChat, a renowned player in the live chat arena, provides a comprehensive set of essential features commonly found in chat tools. This includes canned responses, transcripts, and robust reporting capabilities. Moreover, LiveChat goes the extra mile by offering a ticketing system and allowing you to personalize the website widget’s branding to align with your school’s color scheme and branding.
Key Features
- Canned Responses: Streamline responses to common queries and save time with pre-written responses.
- Transcripts: Access chat transcripts for reference and record-keeping purposes.
- Reporting: Gain insights into chat performance with comprehensive reporting and analytics.
4. Olark
Rating:⭐4.3
Pricing: Free trial is available and a paid plan starts from $17/per month
Olark is a robust live chat solution tailored to meet the unique needs of educational institutions. With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Olark empowers schools, colleges, and universities to enhance their online communication and support systems.
Key Features
- Real-Time Chat: Engage with students, parents, and staff in real-time, fostering instant communication and support.
- Customizable Widget: Tailor the chat widget’s appearance to match your school’s branding and website design for a seamless user experience.
- Chat Transcripts: Maintain records of chat interactions for future reference and analysis, aiding in improving support services.
5. Ocelot
Rating:⭐4.5
Pricing: Free trial is available
When it comes to finding dedicated live chat solutions for educational institutions, the choices can be limited. However, Ocelot stands out as one of the few live chat options that exclusively cater to the higher education sector. While it does offer live chat functionality, Ocelot’s primary expertise lies in diverting inquiries through an AI-powered chatbot and an extensive repository of pre-existing informative videos.
Key Features
- AI-Powered Chatbot: Ocelot incorporates an AI-driven chatbot that assists in handling inquiries and providing quick responses.
- Personalized Communication: Ocelot enables personalized communication with students and website visitors, enhancing engagement and support.
- Customizable Widgets: Users can customize chat widgets to align with their school’s branding and website design.
6. Happyfox Chat
Rating:⭐4.4
Pricing: Free trial is available and a paid plan starts from $29/per month
HappyFox, similar to LiveChat, structures its support products with a standalone chat offering, which is part of its core package. It offers basic features and real-time Google-powered translation, but additional tools for email, knowledge base, and chatbot come at extra costs.
Key Features
- Standalone Chat Offering: HappyFox’s chat solution is a dedicated product, making it easy to manage and utilize for educational institutions.
- Customization: Customize the chat widget to match your school’s branding and website aesthetics.
- Automation: Implement chatbots and automated responses to handle routine queries and improve efficiency.
7. Intercom
Rating:⭐4.4
Pricing: Free trial is available and a paid plan starts from $74/per month
Intercom is a top choice for universities prioritizing recruiting and admissions, with exceptional chat features, including chatbot AI and proactive support.
Key Features
- Advanced Chat: Real-time messaging with AI chatbots for automated responses.
- Proactive Support: Reach out to potential students for better recruitment.
- Integration: Seamlessly integrate with other systems.
8. Tawk.to
Rating:⭐4.5
Pricing: Free plan is available and a paid plan starts from $19/per month
Leveraging the powerful attraction of the word “free,” tawk.to enable you to provide complimentary live chat, ticketing, and a knowledge base to students, parents, and staff.
Key Features
- Free Live Chat: Engage in real-time conversations with students, parents, and staff.
- Ticketing System: Manage and track support requests efficiently.
- Knowledge Base: Create and share a repository of educational resources.
9. Comm100 Live chat
Rating:⭐4.2
Pricing: Free trial is available and a paid plan starts from $39/per month
Comm100’s entry-level live chat plan includes essential features like predefined responses, multi-language support, automated chat routing, and basic analytics. If you’re looking for additional capabilities such as audio-video chat and advanced role management, these are available in higher-tier plans at an increased cost.
Key Features
- Predefined Responses: Easily send canned or predefined responses to common questions for quicker customer support.
- Multi-Language Chat: Support customers in multiple languages to cater to a diverse audience.
- Automated Chat Distribution: Efficiently route incoming chats to the right agents based on availability or skills.
10. Zendesk
Rating:⭐4.3
Pricing: Free trial is available and a paid plan starts from $19/per month
Zendesk, known for its versatile help desk features, is increasingly embraced by educational institutions. Beyond live chat and chatbots, schools can utilize Zendesk to manage inquiries from students, parents, and staff through email, voice, and social media, while also building a comprehensive knowledge base.
Key Features
- Customization: Users can customize the live chat widget to match the school’s branding and website design.
- Integration: Zendesk integrates with various other software and tools, enhancing its functionality and compatibility.
- Automation: Automation features help streamline workflows and responses to common inquiries.
11. Unibuddy
Rating:⭐5.0
Pricing: Contact Unibuddy for more information
Unibuddy stands out from the other solutions listed here as it’s not primarily a support tool but rather an engagement platform. Its main purpose is to boost university interest through peer-to-peer chat and virtual events.
Key Features
- Peer-to-Peer Chat: Facilitate communication between prospective students and current university students through a peer-to-peer chat platform.
- Virtual Events: Host virtual events and webinars to engage with potential students, providing insights and information about the university.
- Student Ambassadors: Utilize student ambassadors to provide authentic perspectives and answer questions from prospective students.
12. Userlike
Rating:⭐4.4
Pricing: Free trial is available and a paid plan starts from $90/per month
Userlike specializes in chat support and excels at it. Unlike some omnichannel solutions, Userlike lets you focus on specific channels (website chat, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, Telegram, etc.) and centralizes them in one shared messaging inbox.
Key Features
- Dedicated Chat Support: Userlike focuses exclusively on chat support, ensuring that it excels in this area.
- Data Security: It prioritizes data security, ensuring that sensitive information exchanged during chats is protected.
- Visitor Insights: You can gain insights into visitor behavior and engagement, helping you understand user preferences and improve your chat support strategies.
Conclusion
Elevate your educational journey with these dynamic chat solutions. From Saufter.io’s innovation to Userlike’s expertise, these top 12 software solutions redefine communication in education. Empower your institution with cutting-edge tools tailored to your unique needs. With live chat at the forefront, your students, teachers, and staff will thrive in a connected educational ecosystem like never before Say goodbye to barriers and hello to seamless engagement as we shape the future of learning.
