LiveAgent
osTicket
| Feature | LiveAgent | osTicket |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $9/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | small-businesses, ecommerce, support-teams, call-centers | small-businesses, budget-conscious-teams, self-hosted-advocates, it-departments |
| Founded | 2006 | 2003 |
| Ticketing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Call Center | ✓ | ✗ |
| Knowledge Base | ✓ | ✓ |
| Social Media Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ticket Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Piping | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Fields | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sla Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Agent Collision Avoidance | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ LiveAgent Pros
- Feature-rich
- Affordable
- Built-in call center
- Fast live chat
✗ LiveAgent Cons
- Interface feels busy
- Setup takes time
- Mobile app limited
✓ osTicket Pros
- Completely free self-hosted version
- Active open-source community
- Highly customizable
- Supports multiple departments
✗ osTicket Cons
- Dated user interface
- Requires server management
- Limited automation compared to paid tools
The Verdict
LiveAgent is built for small businesses and ecommerce, with a focus on ticketing and live-chat. osTicket targets small businesses and budget conscious teams and leads with ticket-management and email-piping.
Pricing is close: LiveAgent starts at $9/mo versus $12/mo for osTicket — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for small businesses — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: LiveAgent has a slight overall edge — but if completely free self-hosted version matters most to you, osTicket may still be the right call.