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Comparison · Support
Request Tracker vs LiveAgent
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Request Tracker and LiveAgent — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Request Tracker vs LiveAgent: at a glance
What is Request Tracker?
RT's October pair fixes at least 27 CVEs and finally adds TOTP MFA to 5.0 and 6.0.
Best Practical released RT 6.0.4 and 5.0.11 on 2026-10-29 as a coordinated security pair, with findings from CERT Polska. The notes list at least 27 CVEs, including a ticket-forwarding bypass that could email transactions from tickets the user cannot see, CSRF through the URL shortener that could grant SuperUser, and feed URLs that ran any search with the owner's rights. Both releases also add TOTP multi-factor authentication, configurable password policies and self-service password reset; 6.0.4 additionally rebuilds the attachments and links widgets and adds a lifecycle viewer.
What is LiveAgent?
LiveAgent 5.71 starts letting bots work chats over MCP and answer the phones.
LiveAgent's 5.70 branch added Mistral as an EU-hosted provider, Gemini and OpenAI for summaries and translation, live call transcription and on-demand message translation. 5.71.3 rolls those up with two new AI pieces: the live-chat bot can act as a chat operator driven over MCP, and an AI bot feature arrives for the call center. It also cuts AI agent latency and adds Gemini for voice transcription, alongside a long list of chat-widget and telephony fixes.
Request Tracker vs LiveAgent: editorial side-by-side
Request Tracker
5.0SUPPORT
RT's October pair fixes at least 27 CVEs and finally adds TOTP MFA to 5.0 and 6.0.
◆ Current state
Best Practical released RT 6.0.4 and 5.0.11 on 2026-10-29 as a coordinated security pair, with findings from CERT Polska. The notes list at least 27 CVEs, including a ticket-forwarding bypass that could email transactions from tickets the user cannot see, CSRF through the URL shortener that could grant SuperUser, and feed URLs that ran any search with the owner's rights. Both releases also add TOTP multi-factor authentication, configurable password policies and self-service password reset; 6.0.4 additionally rebuilds the attachments and links widgets and adds a lifecycle viewer.
◆ Where it's heading
Security still sets RT's calendar: the May pair and the October pair both landed on one day across branches. What changed is that authentication features now ship on 5.0 as well as 6.0, rather than feature work staying on 6.0 only. The 4.4 branch had its final release in October 2025, so the active lines are now 5.0 and 6.0.
◆ Prediction
The next release is likely another same-day 5.0 and 6.0 pair driven by security reports; the size of this batch suggests follow-up fixes could come sooner than the usual gap of several months.
LiveAgent
5.0SUPPORT
LiveAgent 5.71 starts letting bots work chats over MCP and answer the phones.
◆ Current state
LiveAgent's 5.70 branch added Mistral as an EU-hosted provider, Gemini and OpenAI for summaries and translation, live call transcription and on-demand message translation. 5.71.3 rolls those up with two new AI pieces: the live-chat bot can act as a chat operator driven over MCP, and an AI bot feature arrives for the call center. It also cuts AI agent latency and adds Gemini for voice transcription, alongside a long list of chat-widget and telephony fixes.
◆ Where it's heading
The AI work has moved from assisting human agents (summaries, translation, transcripts) toward bots that take conversations themselves, in chat and now voice. Release notes stay terse, so how far the call-center bot goes is not yet clear from the entries.
◆ Prediction
Expect follow-up 5.71 builds that fix and expand the call-center bot and MCP operator, plus more model providers in voice features.
Alternatives to Request Tracker and LiveAgent
Other Support products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Request Tracker or LiveAgent.
DoneDone
DoneDone's editor gets tables, spreadsheet paste and text colors.
Twilio
Twilio's voice AI stops cutting callers off mid-sentence, using its own turn-taking model.
Xurrent
Xurrent's November update blocks unverified email senders from changing records.
Chatway
Chatway adds a Ticket Center, moving from live chat toward a full helpdesk.
Faveo Helpdesk
Faveo Helpdesk's free edition has shipped mostly security patches and stack upgrades since 2019.
See all Request Tracker alternatives → · See all LiveAgent alternatives →
Recent activity from Request Tracker and LiveAgent
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoLiveAgent5.69.7 restores inline images in older emails
- 1d agoLiveAgent5.70.3 restores inline images in older emails
- 2d agoLiveAgent5.71.5 adds chat transfer cancel and MCP gateway fixes
- 4d agoLiveAgent5.69.7 gets the same security and AI agent retry fixes
- 4d agoLiveAgent5.70.3 security fix and AI agent retry loop on credit errors
- 10d agoLiveAgent5.71.3: MCP-driven chat bot operator and a call-center AI bot
- 15d agoRequest TrackerRT 6.0.4 fixes dozens of CVEs and adds TOTP MFA
- 15d agoRequest TrackerRT 5.0.11 fixes dozens of CVEs and adds TOTP MFA
- 5mo agoRequest TrackerSecurity release fixes REST 2.0 credential leak and SQL injection
- 5mo agoRequest TrackerSame security fixes as 5.0.10, plus dashboard and accessibility work
- 1y agoRequest TrackerCalendar view for saved searches and memory management work
- 1y agoRequest TrackerCSV injection fix in TSV export, with assorted updates
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Request Tracker and LiveAgent?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Request Tracker and LiveAgent are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Request Tracker better than LiveAgent?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Request Tracker and LiveAgent are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Support products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Request Tracker?
Top Request Tracker alternatives in Support are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Request Tracker alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/request-tracker for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to LiveAgent?
Top LiveAgent alternatives in Support are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "LiveAgent alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/liveagent for the full list with editorial commentary on each.