Podium vs HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &… (2026)

Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.

Podium

Podium

5(4)

5.0K+ active installs

Free

Updated 11 months ago
View Podium
VS
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…

HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…

5(6)

2.0K+ active installs

Free

Updated 4 months ago
View HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Podium has a higher user rating (5/5 from 4 reviews) and leads in active installations (5.0K+ vs 2.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Podium has accumulated 62K+ total downloads while HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &… has 20K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
5/5Podium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…5/5
Total Reviews
4Podium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…6
Active Installs
5.0K+Podium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…2.0K+
Total Downloads
62K+Podium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…20K+
Support Resolution
N/APodium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…N/A
Last Updated
11 months agoPodium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…4 months ago
First Released
2018Podium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…2016
Age
8 yearsPodium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…10 years
WP Requires
false+Podium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…3.6+
PHP Requires
false+Podium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…false+
Business Model
FreePodium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…Free
Latest Version
2.0.9Podium
HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…2.0.11

Rating Breakdown

Podium

5/5(4 reviews)
5
100%
4
0%
3
0%
2
0%
1
0%

HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…

5/5(6 reviews)
5
100%
4
0%
3
0%
2
0%
1
0%

Recent Reviews

Podium Reviews

by jiovan

more leads, more sales

Podium makes it easy to get more leads and customers prefer texting

by gkkirsch

Easy to text

Love that I can chat with customers when they are not at their computers.

by rbezruchuk

It uses their internal phone number

Not good for me… chat works as sms through their internal phone number… Mifht be a good plugin for somebody though. This topic was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by rbezruchuk. This topi

HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &… Reviews

by bluex121

Easy to install and very nice looking chat widget

To stay closer to my clients, I decided to try the live chat option. I did a quick research on google and found that the software available today can do much more than just chatting with my website au

by Vitalii Kaplia

Great chat plugin

I’m a WP developer and sometimes my clients ask me to find and install live chat plugin for them. After a quick research and a few talks to support reps of different companies I decided to stick with

by slaskii

Neat chat and FAQs in one widget

Great piece of software. I tried intercom, zendesk and crisp together with helpcrunch, and the last one came up as an obvious winner for me. It’s really great that I can choose what to display in my w

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Podium or HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &… more popular?
Podium has 5.0K+ active installations while HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &… has 2.0K+. Podium is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Podium or HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…?
Podium has a 5/5 rating from 4 reviews, while HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &… has a 5/5 rating from 6 reviews.
Are Podium and HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &… free?
Podium is free and HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &… is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Podium or HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &…?
Support resolution data is not available for all plugins. Check each plugin's WordPress.org support forum for current response quality.
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Podium was last updated 11 months ago and HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot &… was last updated 4 months ago.

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.