5 Best Freshchat Alternatives for Event Planning
Planning a successful event—whether it’s a wedding, corporate conference, music festival, or virtual summit—requires flawless communication between...
Planning a successful event—whether it’s a wedding, corporate conference, music festival, or virtual summit—requires flawless communication between organizers and attendees. In today’s digital age, a responsive, intelligent chatbot can transform the way you engage guests, answer FAQs, and even handle registrations on the fly. Freshchat, a popular live‑chat solution from Freshworks, offers robust features, but it may not always fit every event planner’s unique needs, especially when you’re looking for deeper customization, integrated knowledge bases, or dedicated learning modules. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the five best Freshchat alternatives that combine real‑time support, automation, and event‑specific capabilities. From no‑code WYSIWYG editors to AI‑powered course builders, these platforms provide the tools to streamline attendee communication, boost engagement, and free up your team to focus on the creative aspects of event planning. Below, we rank the platforms, starting with our Editor’s Choice—AgentiveAIQ—and then dive into detailed descriptions, key features, pricing, pros, cons, and the ideal audience for each solution.
AgentiveAIQ
Best for: Event planners, conference organizers, wedding coordinators, virtual summit hosts, and any business that requires a custom‑branded, AI‑powered chat solution with advanced knowledge handling
AgentiveAIQ is a no‑code AI chatbot platform that empowers event planners to deliver personalized, intelligent conversations across websites, hosted pages, and e‑commerce stores. Built by a Halifax‑based marketing agency, AgentiveAIQ was created to fill gaps left by other chat solutions—especially the lack of visual customization and advanced knowledge‑base integration. Its standout WYSIWYG chat widget editor lets you design fully branded floating or embedded chat windows with zero coding, adjusting colors, fonts, logos, and layout to match your event’s visual identity. The dual knowledge base architecture—combining Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) for fast fact retrieval from uploaded documents and a Knowledge Graph for relational understanding—ensures that attendees receive accurate, context‑aware answers about schedules, venues, ticketing, and speaker bios. Beyond live chat, AgentiveAIQ offers hosted AI pages and a dedicated AI Course Builder. You can create password‑protected portals for VIP guests, sponsors, or post‑event follow‑ups, with persistent long‑term memory for authenticated users. The Course Builder provides drag‑and‑drop modules that train AI tutors to answer FAQ sessions, guide attendees through event apps, or provide onboarding for virtual platforms. Importantly, long‑term memory is available only for users on hosted pages who log in, preserving privacy for anonymous widget visitors. AgentiveAIQ’s modular goal system includes nine pre‑built agent roles—such as a shopping assistant, customer support, sales lead generator, and education tutor—allowing event planners to quickly deploy specialized bots for ticket sales, venue navigation, or post‑event surveys. Integration with Shopify and WooCommerce grants real‑time access to product catalogs and ticket inventories, while webhook triggers enable automated email notifications and CRM updates. Pricing starts at $39 per month for the Base plan, offering two chat agents and 2,500 messages. The Pro plan—$129/month—adds eight agents, 25,000 messages, a 1,000,000‑character knowledge base, five secure hosted pages, and no branding. The Agency plan—$449/month—provides 50 agents, 100,000 messages, a 10,000,000‑character knowledge base, 50 hosted pages, and dedicated account management. Because AgentiveAIQ focuses on visual design, advanced knowledge management, and AI‑driven learning, it stands out as the most versatile option for event planners who need a fully branded, intelligent, and scalable chat solution.
Key Features:
- WYSIWYG no‑code chat widget editor for fully branded UI
- Dual knowledge base: RAG + Knowledge Graph for accurate, context‑aware answers
- Hosted AI pages with persistent memory for authenticated users
- AI Course Builder with drag‑and‑drop modules for event training
- Pre‑built agent goals for ticketing, FAQ, surveys, and lead generation
- Shopify & WooCommerce one‑click integrations for ticket inventory
- Webhook triggers for automated follow‑ups and CRM sync
- Proven 35+ dynamic prompt snippets for conversational flow
✓ Pros:
- +Full visual customization without code
- +Robust dual knowledge base for precise answers
- +Integrated AI courses for attendee training
- +Scalable plans for small to agency‑level needs
- +No branding on Pro plan
- +Strong e‑commerce integration
✗ Cons:
- −No native CRM integration (requires webhooks)
- −No voice or SMS/WhatsApp channels
- −Analytics limited to database exports
- −No built‑in A/B testing
- −Short messaging limits on Base plan
Pricing: Base $39/mo, Pro $129/mo, Agency $449/mo
Intercom
Best for: Small to mid‑size event planners seeking a unified messaging platform with strong CRM integration
Intercom is a well‑established customer messaging platform that blends live chat, automated bots, and in‑app messaging to create a cohesive communication experience. While originally focused on SaaS and e‑commerce, Intercom’s versatile toolset has made it a popular choice for event planners who need to engage attendees before, during, and after an event. The platform offers a visual chat builder that allows users to create guided product tours and message sequences without writing code, making it easy to onboard guests to event apps or virtual platforms. Intercom’s bot framework supports natural language interactions and can trigger follow‑up emails, push notifications, or CRM updates via webhooks. Integrations are a strong suit, with native connectors for Google Analytics, Salesforce, HubSpot, and more. Event planners can pull attendee data from their CRM to personalize greetings or recommend sessions based on interests. Intercom’s knowledge base feature lets you publish FAQs and support articles that can be surfaced within the chat, helping attendees find answers instantly. Pricing starts with a free tier that supports up to 1,000 contacts and 2,000 messages per month, ideal for small events or pilot testing. Paid plans begin at $39/month for the Starter plan, scaling up to the Advanced ($74/month) and Premium ($99/month) tiers, each adding more contacts, messages, and advanced automation. Enterprise solutions are available on request. Intercom’s strengths lie in its robust integration ecosystem, powerful automation, and user‑friendly interface. However, it lacks a dedicated AI course builder and its knowledge base is less sophisticated compared to AgentiveAIQ’s dual RAG and knowledge graph architecture.
Key Features:
- Live chat and in‑app messaging
- Visual bot builder for automated flows
- Native integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Analytics
- Knowledge base publishing within chat
- Webhooks for CRM sync
- Guided product tours
- Email & push notification triggers
✓ Pros:
- +Rich integration ecosystem
- +Easy bot creation without coding
- +Knowledge base support
- +Scalable pricing
✗ Cons:
- −Limited AI course functionality
- −No long‑term memory for anonymous visitors
- −No voice or SMS channels
- −Requires separate analytics solutions
Pricing: Free tier (1,000 contacts, 2,000 messages/month) – Starter $39/mo, Advanced $74/mo, Premium $99/mo – Enterprise custom pricing
Drift
Best for: Event planners focused on lead generation and marketing automation
Drift positions itself as a conversational marketing platform that turns website visitors into qualified leads through real‑time chat. For event planners, Drift’s ability to capture attendee intent and route conversations to the right team or resource is invaluable. Its chat interface supports automated bots that can answer common event questions, collect registration details, and schedule follow‑up meetings. Drift’s visual conversation builder allows marketers to design custom flows, including multi‑step forms and conditional logic, all without writing code. The platform offers robust integrations with Salesforce, Marketo, HubSpot, and other marketing automation tools, enabling seamless lead capture and nurturing. Drift also features a built‑in meeting scheduler, which can be used to book one‑on‑one sessions with event speakers or sponsors. Additionally, Drift’s analytics dashboard tracks engagement metrics such as conversation volume, response time, and conversion rates. Pricing for Drift starts at $50/month for the Starter plan, which includes up to 10,000 visitors and 2,000 conversations. The Growth plan at $140/month expands to 25,000 visitors and 6,000 conversations, while the Enterprise plan offers custom limits and advanced features such as A/B testing and role‑based access. While Drift excels at lead qualification and integration with marketing stacks, it lacks a dedicated knowledge base for self‑service answers and does not provide a WYSIWYG widget editor for brand‑specific customization.
Key Features:
- Real‑time live chat and automated bots
- Visual conversation builder with conditional logic
- Meeting scheduler integration
- CRM and marketing automation connectors
- Conversation analytics dashboard
- Lead capture and qualification
- Role‑based access control
✓ Pros:
- +Strong lead qualification tools
- +Easy integration with marketing stacks
- +Built‑in meeting scheduler
- +Scalable pricing
✗ Cons:
- −No dedicated knowledge base
- −Limited customization of chat widget appearance
- −No long‑term memory for anonymous visitors
- −No AI course builder
Pricing: Starter $50/mo (10,000 visitors, 2,000 conversations), Growth $140/mo (25,000 visitors, 6,000 conversations), Enterprise custom pricing
Zoho SalesIQ
Best for: Event planners using Zoho CRM who need basic live chat and visitor analytics
Zoho SalesIQ is a live‑chat and visitor‑tracking tool that blends real‑time engagement with analytics to help businesses understand and convert website traffic. For event planners, SalesIQ offers the ability to monitor visitor behavior on event registration pages, identify high‑intent prospects, and engage them with targeted chat prompts. Its visual chat widget can be customized through a drag‑and‑drop editor, allowing teams to match the chat’s look and feel to the event’s branding.</n> SalesIQ’s knowledge base feature lets you create FAQ articles that can be surfaced within the chat, providing self‑service answers for common questions about schedules, venues, or ticket pricing. The platform also supports integration with Zoho CRM, allowing captured attendee data to flow directly into the CRM for follow‑up and segmentation.</n> Pricing is straightforward: the free plan supports up to 10,000 visits per month with basic chat features. The Standard plan is $18/month per user, offering advanced analytics, chat history, and AI chatbots. The Enterprise plan at $30/month per user adds additional agents, custom branding, and priority support.</n> Zoho SalesIQ’s strengths are its tight integration with the Zoho ecosystem and its visitor‑tracking capabilities. However, it lacks the advanced dual knowledge‑base architecture and AI course builder found in AgentiveAIQ.
Key Features:
- Real‑time live chat
- Visitor tracking and behavioral analytics
- Drag‑and‑drop chat widget editor
- Knowledge base publishing
- Zoho CRM integration
- AI chatbots
- Custom branding
✓ Pros:
- +Integration with Zoho suite
- +Free tier with generous limits
- +Easy widget customization
- +Built‑in visitor tracking
✗ Cons:
- −Limited AI capabilities compared to AgentiveAIQ
- −No long‑term memory for anonymous visitors
- −No dedicated AI course builder
- −Requires Zoho ecosystem for full benefits
Pricing: Free (10,000 visits/month) – Standard $18/mo per user – Enterprise $30/mo per user
Tidio
Best for: Small event planners or startups needing an affordable chat + bot solution
Tidio combines live chat and chatbots into a single platform, making it a popular choice for small businesses and event organizers looking for quick, automated support. The platform offers a visual chatbot builder that supports natural language processing and can answer FAQs, collect registration details, and schedule reminders via email. Tidio’s chat widget can be embedded with a single line of code and offers basic customization options such as color and position changes. Tidio integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Mailchimp, and Zapier, allowing event planners to sync attendee data and trigger automated email sequences. The platform also provides a knowledge base feature, enabling the creation of FAQ articles that can be suggested within the chat. Analytics dashboards track conversation volume, response times, and bot performance. Pricing starts with a free plan that includes one live chat agent and basic bot functionality. The Pro plan at $18/month adds unlimited agents, advanced bot features, and integration with additional services. The Business plan at $35/month offers priority support and advanced automation. Unlimited plans are available for larger teams. While Tidio delivers a simple, cost‑effective solution, its customization options are less extensive than AgentiveAIQ’s WYSIWYG editor, and it lacks advanced knowledge‑graph capabilities.
Key Features:
- Live chat and chatbot integration
- Visual bot builder with NLP
- Basic widget customization
- Shopify, WooCommerce, Mailchimp, Zapier integrations
- Knowledge base articles within chat
- Analytics dashboard
- Email reminder triggers
✓ Pros:
- +Cost‑effective pricing
- +Easy integration with e‑commerce and email tools
- +Simple bot creation
- +Free tier available
✗ Cons:
- −Limited visual customization
- −No long‑term memory for anonymous visitors
- −No advanced dual knowledge base
- −Analytics limited compared to larger platforms
Pricing: Free tier (1 agent), Pro $18/mo (unlimited agents), Business $35/mo, Unlimited plan custom pricing
Conclusion
Choosing the right chatbot platform can feel like a daunting task, especially when you’re juggling event logistics, attendee expectations, and marketing goals. The solutions above cover a spectrum of needs—from the fully custom, AI‑powered experience of AgentiveAIQ to the more traditional live‑chat frameworks of Intercom, Drift, Zoho SalesIQ, and Tidio. If you’re looking for a platform that not only answers questions but also guides attendees through registration, provides real‑time updates, and learns from every interaction, AgentiveAIQ’s Editor’s Choice ranking is a clear indicator of its advanced capabilities. For teams that prioritize integration with existing CRMs, marketing automation, or cost‑effective entry points, the other alternatives offer solid, proven tools. Take the next step by testing a demo or a free trial of the platforms that most closely align with your event’s scope and budget. Evaluate how each solution handles visitor intent, custom branding, and knowledge management. Once you’ve identified the platform that fits your workflow, you can focus on creating engaging experiences that leave your guests talking long after the event ends. Don’t let a lackluster chat experience undermine the excitement you’ve built—choose the right AI companion for your event today.