Tawk.to's core pitch is real: unlimited agents, unlimited conversations, a knowledge base, and ticketing, free with no usage caps. It's one of the most generous free live-chat tools available. The comparison with Askvo isn't about who's cheaper at the free tier. It's about what "free" actually includes, and where each product is built to go from there.
The core difference: free live chat vs free AI chatbot
Tawk.to's free plan is a human-staffed live chat widget, unlimited and free with no catch. But it has no AI on the free tier: answering questions from your own content requires AI Assist, starting at $29/month, which adds 24/7 automated replies pulled from your knowledge base.
Askvo's free plan is the opposite framing: an AI chatbot trained on your content from day one, answering automatically at no cost (1 chatbot, 50 messages/month), with human hand-off built in for when the AI can't help, rather than AI being the thing you add later.
Pricing side by side
| What you need | Tawk.to | Askvo |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Unlimited live chat, agents, ticketing, no AI | 1 AI chatbot, 50 AI messages/mo, human hand-off |
| Where AI unlocks | AI Assist add-on, from $29/mo | Included from the Free plan |
| Remove "Powered by" branding | +$29/mo (annual billing) add-on | Included from Pro (€29/mo) |
| Human agent coverage | Optional hired agents from $1/hour (e.g. 24/7 ≈ $728/mo) | You staff hand-off yourself from your own dashboard |
Where Tawk.to has an edge
- Free, unlimited live chat with no seat cap, no conversation cap, and real ticketing and a knowledge base included at zero cost. Hard to beat if AI isn't a requirement yet.
- Optional hired human agents if you want live coverage without building your own support team, a service Askvo doesn't offer.
- Lower total cost for a business that's happy with human-only chat and doesn't need an AI layer at all.
Where Askvo has an edge
- AI chatbot from the free tier, with no separate add-on purchase to get automated, content-grounded answers running.
- Built around your own content specifically. The crawler reads your site directly and re-crawls as it changes; see how to train a chatbot on your own data.
- Honest fallback by design. Strict mode keeps answers grounded in your content, and every miss is logged. See how Askvo avoids hallucinations.
- Same-window human hand-off from the AI conversation, not a separate product.
- Lead capture from Pro to turn chats into contacts. See the chatbot lead generation guide.
Which one actually fits your business
- Want free, unlimited human-staffed chat and don't need AI yet? Tawk.to's free plan is a strong, no-cost starting point.
- Want AI answering your visitors' questions automatically, with a person available on request? That's Askvo's core design, available from the free tier. See what an AI chatbot for your website actually does.
- Not sure how much of your support volume AI could actually handle? Try the live demo on the Askvo homepage. It crawls a few of your pages and lets you chat immediately, no signup required.
- Ready to see the free plan for yourself? Create a free Askvo account, no card required.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tawk.to's free plan really unlimited?
Yes, for the core live-chat and ticketing features, with no seat or conversation caps. AI Assist and branding removal are the paid add-ons on top of that free base.
Can I use Tawk.to and Askvo together?
They're not designed to run on the same page at once, since each installs its own floating chat widget. Most businesses choose one as their primary support channel rather than running both simultaneously.
Does Askvo have a paid hired-agent option like Tawk.to?
No. Askvo's human hand-off routes conversations to your own team's dashboard rather than offering contracted third-party agents.
What happens if the Askvo bot doesn't know an answer?
It says so with a fallback message you control, and logs the question in your Unanswered Questions report so you know what to add next.