tool
Akaunting Has No Free Cloud Tier, Only an Open Source Escape
The free version exists, it just is not hosted. Akaunting sells the server, the backups and the accountant seat rather than the software.
Invoice Ninja Is Free Forever, But Only for Five Clients
An unusual shape: the invoicing is unlimited, the client list is not. Five clients is a freelancer's starting month, not a business.
Wave Is Free Forever Because You Pay Per Payment
Unlimited everything, no user cap, no invoice count. The revenue comes from the money moving through the account rather than the software.
Zoho Invoice Is Free Forever, With Three Quiet Caps
No trial, no expiry, no card. The limits are small enough to miss and firm enough to matter once a business starts moving.
Smartsupp's Free Plan: One Operator, 25 Chats a Month
Twenty-five conversations is enough to prove chat works on your site, and not enough to run support on it for a month.
Freshdesk's Free Plan Expires After Six Months
Every other free tier in this category is permanent. Freshdesk's is a six-month programme, which makes it a trial with a longer fuse.
Zendesk Has No Free Plan, but It Does Have a Startup Giveaway
No free tier, a 14-day trial, and a startup programme that hands out up to two years. The gap between those two facts is the whole story.
Intercom Has No Free Plan, Only a 14-Day Trial
Two meters run at once: a seat price and a charge every time the AI resolves something. Neither of them starts at zero.
JivoChat Stays Free Up to Five Agents, With No Chat Cap
Five agents and one inbox for nothing. JivoChat sells marketing automation and telephony alongside the chat rather than the chat itself.
Zoho Desk Free Gives Three Agents Forever, and Little Else
Three seats at zero cost with no expiry is rare in help desks. What sits underneath is a deliberately thin product.
Chatwoot's Free Tier Is a Real Help Desk With a 30-Day Memory
Two agents, five hundred conversations, thirty days of history, and an open source escape hatch that no other tool in this category offers.
Tidio's Free Plan Stops at 50 Conversations a Month
Ten seats and fifty conversations is an odd shape. The seat count suggests a team; the conversation cap suits a very small shop.
Crisp's Free Plan Gives Two Seats and No Conversation Cap
Unlimited conversations at zero cost is rare in live chat. Crisp charges for the AI layer, the omnichannel inbox and the small branding line.