Live chat comparison Live chat that knows what the visitor did first
Traditional live chat tools show you a message. TapCub Chat shows you the message, the pages this visitor read, where they came from and which campaign paid for the click — then helps you answer with AI and translation. Priced per plan, not per agent.
- Visitor context on every conversation
- Two-way translation, AI answers
- Free plan · Pro $12 / month
Live visitors
On /pricing- DE/pricingGoogle Ads2:14
- US/pricingNewsletter4:02
- JP/compare/live-chatReddit0:48
- BR/docs/sdk/webdirect1:30
Visitor · Lena M.
- Source
- Newsletter · spring
- Pages this visit
- 4 · 6 min
- Visits
- 3rd · first Sep 3
- Device
- Safari · macOS
- /blog/why-uv-never-matches
- /analytics
- /pricing
Conversation
Which one is for you?
Both put a widget on your site. The difference is what the agent sees, and what the invoice counts.
You want context, not just a chat box
- Agents should see the visitor’s pages, source and campaign before replying
- You sell across languages and want two-way translation in the thread
- An AI should draft or answer routine questions from your knowledge base
- You want to know which conversations led to orders, in the same analytics
- You want a free plan and a readable price instead of per-seat quotes
Chat is a help-desk workflow problem for you
- You run a large support organisation that needs ticketing, SLAs and shift management
- You need deep integrations with a specific CRM or help-desk suite
- Your process depends on phone, email and chat in one omnichannel console
- You already have analytics elsewhere and only want the widget
- Procurement prefers an enterprise contract with a named account team
Help-desk suites solve a different problem. TapCub Chat is for teams who want the conversation and the data in one place.
Twelve things to compare
Traits of traditional live chat tools and international chat platforms against TapCub Chat.
IncludedPartly / varies by vendorNot included
| TapCub Chat | Traditional live chat | International chat platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor context (pages, source, campaign) | ✓ Built in, same snippet | Current page only | With an add-on or integration |
| Built-in website analytics | Yes | No | No |
| Proactive invitations by behaviour | ✓ Page, time, source, visit count | Time on page | Yes |
| Two-way translation | ✓ Pro and above | No | Add-on |
| AI answers from a knowledge base | ✓ With human handoff | No | Separate AI tier |
| Conversation → order attribution | ✓ In analytics | No | No |
| Standalone chat page | ✓ app.tapcub.com/c/{siteKey} | Sometimes | Sometimes |
| Remove branding | ✓ Pro and above | Paid tier | Paid tier |
| Notifications (email, WeCom, DingTalk, Feishu, webhook) | Yes | Email, Slack | |
| Canned replies and team inbox | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per plan; seats included | Per agent seat | Per agent seat + per resolution |
| Free plan | ✓ 1 seat · 100 conversations / mo | 1 seat, limited | Trial only |
| Self-hosting | ✓ Enterprise | Rare | No |
Category comparison based on publicly documented traits as of 2026. Individual vendors differ and none are named.
The six things support teams ask about first
Each scenario shows what it looks like in TapCub Chat, with sample data.
"What did this visitor look at before asking?"
The context card sits next to the thread: source and campaign, pages this visit, visit count, device. No tab switching, no asking the visitor to repeat themselves.
Lena M. · 3rd visit · Newsletter
- /blog/why-uv-never-matches2:10
- /analytics1:34
- /pricing · now0:48
- Source: Newsletter · spring
"Can we invite the right people, not everyone?"
Proactive invitations fire on behaviour — on /pricing for 60 seconds, third visit, from a paid campaign — instead of a timer on every page.
- On /pricing > 60 sInvite
- 3rd visit, no sign-upInvite
- From paid campaignInvite · 50%
- Bounced from blogSkip
"Our visitors write in German and Japanese."
Two-way translation inside the thread: the visitor writes in their language, the agent reads and replies in theirs. Both sides see the original on hover.
"Can an AI answer the repetitive questions?"
AI answers from your knowledge base, labels itself as AI, and hands off to a human when confidence is low or the visitor asks. Agents can edit a draft before sending.
"Did chat actually bring revenue?"
Conversations are events like any other. See which chats preceded an order, by agent and by campaign — in the same analytics as everything else.
| Campaign | Chats | Orders after chat | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newsletter · spring | 84 | 31 | $4,120 |
| Google Ads · brand | 112 | 26 | $3,380 |
| Organic | 206 | 38 | $5,010 |
"Can we chat where there is no website?"
Every site gets a standalone page at app.tapcub.com/c/{siteKey} — put the link in an email signature, a QR code or a social profile.
https://app.tapcub.com/c/{siteKey}
Works without the widget.
Same inbox, same context, same agents.Five steps from a traditional chat tool
Move the inbox without losing a conversation: overlap for a week, then switch the widget.
-
1
Install the snippet, leave chat off
Analytics starts collecting at once. Chat loads only when you enable it, so nothing changes for visitors yet.
-
2
Import canned replies and the knowledge base
Paste your saved replies. Upload FAQs and help articles so the AI can answer from them.
-
3
Invite agents and set hours
Add teammates, set business hours and the offline form. Connect email, WeCom, DingTalk, Feishu or a webhook for notifications.
-
4
Run both widgets for a week
Enable TapCub Chat on a few pages first — pricing and docs — and compare response time and conversation quality.
-
5
Switch and remove the old widget
Turn TapCub Chat on site-wide, remove the old script. Share the standalone page link where the old chat link lived.
Why the numbers will differ
Chat metrics are counted differently across tools. Four definitions to align before comparing.
| Definition | Traditional live chat | TapCub Chat | Effect on your numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversation | A new chat per widget open, or per 24 hours | One conversation per visitor until closed or 7 days idle | Fewer, longer conversations in TapCub |
| Visitor identity | Chat cookie per browser | Analytics visitor, merged with the chat cookie after first message | Returning visitors are recognised with their history |
| Response time | First agent reply | First human reply; AI replies are shown separately | Human response time looks slower if the old tool counted bots or auto-replies |
| Bots and test chats | Counted unless deleted | Bots are excluded; test mode conversations are flagged | Conversation totals drop slightly |
| Time zone | Account setting | Per site, same as analytics | Daily chat counts shift when zones differ |
Agree on the conversation definition first — it explains most differences in volume and response time.
How the pricing models differ
We do not quote other vendors’ prices — they change. What matters is the model you will be charged on.
Per agent seat
The standard model for traditional live chat: a price per agent per month. A five-person team pays five times, even if two of them answer twice a week.
Watch for: part-time agents and founders who want to peek.
Per seat plus per resolution
International platforms often add a charge per AI-resolved conversation on top of seats. Costs scale with your success.
Watch for: AI resolution fees in busy months.
Add-ons for translation and context
Translation, visitor context and analytics integrations are sold as apps or higher tiers. The widget is cheap; the useful version is not.
Watch for: the tier where translation and context appear.
TapCub Chat pricing
A separate subscription from analytics, priced per plan. Seats are included in the plan, not multiplied.
Free
$0/mo
1 seat · 100 conversations · 30 AI replies · 20 knowledge articles · 30 days history
Pro
$12/mo
3 seats · 1,000 conversations · 300 AI replies · translation · remove branding · 90 days
VIP 1
$39/mo
10 seats · 5,000 conversations · 2,000 AI replies · 2,000 articles · 180 days
VIP 2
$99/mo
50 seats · 20,000 conversations · 10,000 AI replies · 12 months history
Yearly billing takes 40% off. Analytics has its own free plan; the two subscriptions are independent.
Questions from live chat users
Still have a question?
Chat with the team behind TapCub — we usually reply within a few hours on business days.
Does TapCub Chat need the analytics product?
No. Chat is its own subscription with its own free plan. But both load from the same snippet, so if analytics is on, the context card and attribution fill in automatically.
How does translation work?
Set the agent’s language and let the visitor’s be detected. Messages are translated both ways inside the thread, with the original available on hover. Translation starts on the Pro plan. See AI & translation.
Will the AI answer wrong things?
The AI answers only from the knowledge base you upload, labels itself as AI, and hands off to a human when confidence is low or the visitor asks. You can require agents to approve drafts before sending.
Can we remove the TapCub branding?
Yes, on Pro and above. Appearance — colours, position, avatar and welcome text — is configurable on every plan.
Is there a chat page for email signatures or QR codes?
Every site has a standalone page at app.tapcub.com/c/{siteKey}. It uses the same inbox and agents as the widget. See the standalone page.
Where do chat notifications go?
Email, WeCom, DingTalk, Feishu and webhooks, per agent and per site. Offline messages are collected by a form and show up in the same inbox.
Answer with context this week
Enable chat on your pricing page first. In a week you will know whether context and translation change your conversations.