LiveAgentFacebook ChatLiveAgent vs Facebook Chat

LiveAgent vs Facebook Chat: $145 against $0 a month

A help desk with live chat and calls against a Meta Business Suite inbox: Facebook Chat is $145 a month cheaper for five people. The six differences, what five people pay on each, and a third option.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick LiveAgent if you want email, chat and a call center in one ticket queue at a low seat price. Pick Facebook Chat if customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget. For five people, Facebook Chat is $145 a month cheaper than LiveAgent ($145 a month on LiveAgent against $0 on Facebook Chat), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only Facebook Chat's figure comes under. LiveAgent and Facebook Chat share no channel in the base price; only LiveAgent has website chat and email; only Facebook Chat has Instagram. Neither LiveAgent nor Facebook Chat includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what LiveAgent and Facebook Chat sell here at one price.

At a glanceLiveAgentLiveAgentFacebook ChatFacebook Chat
Built aroundA universal inbox · email, chat and callsMessenger and Instagram DMs · free with a Page
Entry plan$15/agent/mo · Small Business, yearly$0 · with a Facebook Page
Chat in the price$15/agent/mo · chat on every planNone · the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024
AI agentIncluded · chatbot and answer assistantNone to buy · instant replies and FAQs
Copilot for agentsIncludedMeta AI drafts · for some businesses
Free planNone · 30-day trialYes · the whole inbox is free

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    As a ticket in the universal inbox, whether it came by email, chat or a call. Facebook Chat has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    As a Messenger or Instagram message in the Business Suite inbox, with the customer's profile beside it. LiveAgent raises a ticket where Facebook Chat keeps a conversation.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    $15 buys email and two chat buttons on Small Business; the call center starts on Medium at $29. $145 for five people, against $0 on Facebook Chat.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    There are no seats and no price; anyone with a Page role can answer. $0 for five people, against $145 on LiveAgent.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    The chatbot, answer assistant and triage are included in the paid plans; no per-conversation meter. Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy) instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    No AI agent to buy. Instant replies, away messages and FAQs are rules; Meta AI drafts replies for some businesses. LiveAgent folds AI (included) into the plan instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    Email and chat on every plan; calls from Medium; WhatsApp, Viber, Instagram and Facebook on Large and up. website chat and email are here and not on Facebook Chat.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Messenger, Instagram DMs and comments; WhatsApp lives in its own app, and the website plugin is gone. Instagram is here and not on LiveAgent.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    A call center with IVR, a knowledge base and a customer portal. Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Posting, scheduling and ads for the Page; nothing beyond Meta's own channels. LiveAgent is a help desk with live chat and calls instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    A day: connect the mailbox, add the chat button, set the departments. Facebook Chat is none.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    None: it is already there when you have a Page. LiveAgent is a day.

Sources: LiveAgent pricing · Facebook Chat pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The LiveAgent universal inbox: the ticket list with email, chat and call tickets together
LiveAgentLiveAgent. The LiveAgent universal inbox: the ticket list with email, chat and call tickets together
The Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list
Facebook ChatFacebook Chat. The Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list

Pricing references: LiveAgent pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13); Facebook Chat pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

LiveAgent, Facebook Chat and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureLiveAgentLiveAgentFacebook ChatFacebook ChatSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI included
Free
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None; 30-day trial
The whole product
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
All plans
Website Chat Plugin retired in 2024
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
Not offered
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Large and up
Separate WhatsApp Business app
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Add-on below Large
DMs and comments
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Viber, not Telegram
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack integration
Not offered
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Chatbot included
Rules, not an AI agent
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
In the seat
No AI to bill
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Hands to an agent
No AI to hand off from
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Universal inbox
Labels and done state only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Rules and time rules
Instant replies, away messages, FAQs
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and CSAT
Page insights
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Windows and macOS apps
Browser and mobile
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick LiveAgent if

  • You want email, chat and a call center in one ticket queue at a low seat price.
  • AI included in the seat matters more than a tunable AI meter.
  • You need website chat and email in the price, which Facebook Chat does not include outright.
  • You want native desktop apps, which Facebook Chat does not ship.

Pick Facebook Chat if

  • Customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget.
  • One or two people answer and you do not need assignment or tickets.
  • Five people cost $145 a month less than on LiveAgent ($0 against $145), before AI.
  • You need Instagram in the price, which LiveAgent does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on LiveAgent or Facebook Chat who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $145 a month on LiveAgent against $0 on Facebook Chat for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: LiveAgent folds AI (included) into the plan, Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy); Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and WhatsApp in the base price, which neither LiveAgent nor Facebook Chat includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

LiveAgent on Medium Business: $58, $145 and $290 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Facebook Chat: $0 a month for five (free for anyone with a Page role); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $100 less than LiveAgent and more than Facebook Chat's $0 for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $195 under LiveAgent.

Where the two agree, and where they split

LiveAgent is a help desk with live chat and calls built around a universal inbox; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. Only Facebook Chat has a free plan (the whole inbox is free); LiveAgent offers a 30-day trial, no card. LiveAgent and Facebook Chat share no channel in the base price; only LiveAgent has website chat and email; only Facebook Chat has Instagram. Neither LiveAgent nor Facebook Chat includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. LiveAgent folds AI (included) into the plan; Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy). LiveAgent has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and only LiveAgent ships desktop apps. LiveAgent is a day; Facebook Chat is none.

What each price leaves out

LiveAgent: Chatbot, answer assistant, autoresponder and triage included in the paid plans. Facebook Chat: No AI agent; instant replies and FAQs are rule-based. Beside LiveAgent's included and Facebook Chat's none to buy, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    LiveAgentLiveAgentAssumed $0$0
    Facebook ChatFacebook ChatSee vendorNot quoted
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    LiveAgentLiveAgent · 30-day trial, no card
    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat · Not applicable; free
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

LiveAgent vs Facebook Chat: the questions people ask

LiveAgent is a help desk with live chat and calls built around a universal inbox; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. LiveAgent has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and only LiveAgent ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: LiveAgent $15/agent/mo (Small Business, yearly); Facebook Chat $0 (with a Facebook Page).
  • Chat in the price: LiveAgent $15/agent/mo (chat on every plan); Facebook Chat None (the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024).
  • Sellio: WhatsApp and Telegram, which neither LiveAgent nor Facebook Chat has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the LiveAgent and Facebook Chat rows is on the shared inbox page.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

Get startedRead the docs

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