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Tidio Alternatives: Lyro Pricing vs Flat Plans

Tidio alternatives compared on real cost: Tidio pricing, Lyro AI conversation caps and add-ons vs flat plans. Who should stay on Tidio and who should switch.

TL;DR. Tidio is a good live chat and helpdesk, especially for online stores. Its AI agent, Lyro, is priced separately by AI conversations, from $39 a month for 50 up to $700 a month for 1,000. That works when most chats are handled by people and AI helps at the edges. If you want AI to answer most questions, the Lyro add-on becomes the biggest line on the bill. Below: how Tidio pricing works, who should stay, and six Tidio alternatives with verified prices.

We make Feedbot, so weigh that accordingly. We list it first and say plainly where it doesn’t fit.

How Tidio pricing works in 2026

Tidio sells three things that are priced separately:

  1. A helpdesk plan, priced by billable conversations: conversations where a human agent (you) replies. Unanswered chats from visitors don’t count.
  2. Lyro AI Agent, priced by Lyro conversations: any customer interaction with at least one AI reply.
  3. Flows, the no-code automation builder, priced by visitors reached.

Here are the helpdesk plans at monthly billing. Annual billing gives 2 months free.

Plan Monthly price Billable (human) conversations Seats What stands out
Free $0 50 10 Live chat, ticketing, email
Starter $29 100 10 50 Lyro conversations, one-off
Growth $59 to $349 250 to 2,000 10 Analytics, auto-assignment, macros
Plus From $300 + usage Custom Custom Discounted usage rates, OpenAPI
Premium Contact sales Custom Custom From 3,000 Lyro conversations, pay-per-resolution billing

Tidio Lyro pricing

Lyro is where most AI-first teams feel the cost. The monthly-billed tiers on Tidio’s pricing page:

Lyro conversations per month Monthly price Per AI conversation
50 $39 $0.78
100 $75 $0.75
200 $140 $0.70
300 $210 $0.70
500 $350 $0.70
1,000 $700 $0.70

With annual billing, the entry tier works out to $32.50 a month. Above 1,000 Lyro conversations you need Plus or Premium and a call with sales.

Two details matter here. First, a Lyro conversation counts as soon as Lyro replies once, whether or not it solves the problem. Second, it’s a monthly quota bought in steps, so more AI traffic means a higher tier. If Lyro is doing most of the work, you pay roughly $0.70 for every chat it touches.

Tidio alternatives compared

Tool How AI is billed Entry price with AI Live chat inbox Best fit
Feedbot Flat, by conversations $0 (50 conversations), paid from $5 No, handoff by notification SaaS, small businesses
Crisp Flat per workspace, AI credits included $45 (around 90 automated conversations) Yes Teams that answer chats themselves
Intercom Fin $0.99 per outcome + seats $29/seat + usage Yes Support teams on a full helpdesk
Gorgias Plan + AI Agent tier $40 (30 automated interactions) Yes (ticket-based) Online brands
Chatling AI credits $0 (200 credits), paid from $25 Yes Budget AI chatbot with handoff
Chatbase Message credits $0 (50 credits), paid from $40 Helpdesk on Standard ($150) General AI chatbot builder

What you’d pay for AI-handled chats

The question most Tidio users ask is “what if AI handled 100, 500 or 1,000 chats a month?” Here’s that at monthly billing. For credit-based tools we assumed 4 AI replies per conversation on a model that costs 1 credit per reply. For Intercom we assumed half of AI conversations end in a billable outcome, with one seat.

Tool 100 AI conversations 500 AI conversations 1,000 AI conversations
Feedbot $5 (Starter) $15 (Pro) $15 (Pro)
Tidio Lyro only $75 $350 $700
Tidio Starter + Lyro $104 $379 $729
Crisp $95 (Essentials) $295 (Plus) $295 (Plus)
Intercom Fin + 1 seat ~$69 ~$267 ~$514
Gorgias with AI Agent $550 (Pro, 190 included) $1,430 (Advanced, 530 included) Beyond listed plans
Chatling $25 (Starter) $75 (Growth) $75 (Growth)
Chatbase $40 (Hobby) $120 (Hobby + 2 credit packs) $150 (Standard)

Crisp’s numbers are its own estimates (“around 90 / 450 / 1,350 automated conversations”) based on the AI credits included in each plan, so real usage may differ. Gorgias prices cover human tickets too, which the others don’t, so it isn’t a like-for-like match.

Tidio vs Intercom

People comparing Tidio and Intercom are usually choosing between two ways of paying for AI:

  • Tidio charges per AI conversation in fixed tiers, whether Lyro solves the question or not. The helpdesk plan is priced by human conversations, with 10 seats on every self-serve plan.
  • Intercom charges $0.99 per outcome, and you pay nothing if Fin can’t answer or the customer asks for a human. Seats cost $29 (Essential), $85 (Advanced) or $132 (Expert) per month on annual billing.

For a small team with low volume, Tidio is usually cheaper because seats are included. For a team where AI resolves most chats, Intercom’s per-outcome model can be fairer, but both grow in a straight line with traffic. Intercom has the deeper helpdesk (workflows, SLAs on Expert, multibrand), and Tidio is simpler to set up for a store.

Who should stay on Tidio

Stay if:

  • You run an online store and use its store features. Lyro can check Shopify order status in chat, verifying the shopper by email and order ID.
  • Your team answers most chats live. Tidio’s inbox, ticketing and 10 seats even on Free are good value when people do the work.
  • AI is a helper, not the main agent. At 50 to 100 Lyro conversations a month, the add-on is affordable.

Who should switch

Consider switching if:

  • You want AI to answer most chats. At $0.70 per AI conversation, 1,000 chats cost $700 a month in Lyro alone.
  • You run a SaaS or app rather than a store. Tidio’s strengths (store integrations, live chat) matter less than docs answers, lead qualification and bug reports.
  • You’re a team of one. You don’t need 10 seats. You need a bot that answers and pings you when it can’t.

The 6 best Tidio alternatives

1. Feedbot

What it is. An AI chatbot that handles support, sales and feedback in one conversation. It answers from your website, docs and FAQ in the visitor’s language, asks your qualifying questions and shows buttons to buy, start a trial or book a demo. Bugs and complaints become grouped issues your coding agent can pull via MCP or CLI.

Pricing. Free: 50 conversations a month (knowledge from your own text and FAQ). Starter $5: 300 conversations, website import, lead capture, no branding. Pro $15: 2,000 conversations, Actions (for example, order lookup through your API), REST API and MCP. Business $39: 6,000 conversations, team members, webhooks. No per-resolution fees and no seat pricing. See pricing.

Best for. SaaS teams, and small businesses that want an AI to answer first. For stores, see our ecommerce chatbot page; it works on Shopify or WooCommerce through a script tag.

Drawbacks. No full live chat inbox. When a person is needed, the bot flags the chat and notifies you in Telegram, Slack or email. Order lookup needs an action set up on Pro. Extra conversation packs aren’t available yet, so at the monthly limit the AI stops answering new chats until you upgrade. Team members are only on Business.

2. Crisp

What it is. A shared inbox and live chat suite with an AI agent, knowledge base and omnichannel inbox (WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS and more on Essentials).

Pricing. Flat per workspace. Free: 2 seats, no AI. Mini $45/month: 4 seats, $5 of AI credits (around 90 automated conversations). Essentials $95: 10 seats, $25 of AI credits (around 450). Plus $295: 20+ seats, $75 of credits (around 1,350), white label. Extra seats $10/month.

Best for. Teams that want a Tidio-like inbox with more seats and flat pricing.

Drawbacks. AI volume is tied to credits, so heavy AI use still pushes you up a plan.

3. Intercom Fin

What it is. A full helpdesk with the Fin AI agent built in. Fin also works with Salesforce, HubSpot and other helpdesks.

Pricing. $0.99 per outcome plus seats from $29 per month (Essential, annual billing). Standalone Fin has a 50-outcome monthly minimum. 14-day free trial.

Best for. Support teams with several agents who need workflows, reporting and ticketing.

Drawbacks. Costs rise with every resolution, and seats add up as the team grows.

4. Gorgias

What it is. A helpdesk for online brands, priced by tickets rather than agents, with an optional AI Agent.

Pricing. Monthly, with AI Agent: Starter $40 (50 tickets, 30 automated interactions), Basic $90 (300 tickets, 30), Pro $550 (2,000 tickets, 190), Advanced $1,430 (5,000 tickets, 530). Helpdesk alone: $10, $60, $360 and $900.

Best for. Growing stores with a real support team.

Drawbacks. The AI allowance is small relative to price on lower plans.

5. Chatling

What it is. An AI chatbot builder with live chat handoff, workflows and a wide choice of models.

Pricing. Free: 200 AI credits. Starter $25: 1,750 credits. Growth $75: 6,000 credits and round-robin routing. Scale $295: 35,000 credits, no branding. Credits per reply depend on the model (0.5 to 25).

Best for. Small teams that want AI plus a basic live chat handoff on a budget.

Drawbacks. Costs depend on the model you pick; branding removal is a $35/month add-on below Scale.

6. Chatbase

What it is. A general AI chatbot builder with many integrations, lead collection and a helpdesk on higher plans.

Pricing. Free: 50 message credits. Hobby $40: 700 credits. Standard $150: 4,000 credits, helpdesk, API. Pro $500: 15,000. Branding removal $99/month. More in our Chatbase alternatives guide.

Best for. Teams that want model choice and a large integration catalog.

Drawbacks. Expensive at low volume once you add branding removal.

How to choose a Tidio alternative

  1. Count who answers today. If people answer most chats, look at Crisp or stay on Tidio. If AI should answer most, look at flat or credit-based AI tools.
  2. Estimate AI conversations per month. Multiply by $0.70 for Lyro, by your expected resolution rate times $0.99 for Fin, and compare with flat tiers.
  3. Check what your business needs. Stores need order lookup. SaaS needs docs answers and bug reports. Local businesses need lead capture; our chatbot for small business page covers that case.
  4. Test on real traffic. Most tools here have a free plan or trial. Run one for a week before you move.

FAQ

How much does Tidio cost?

Tidio has a free plan with 50 human-handled conversations. Starter is $29/month and Growth runs from $59 to $349/month depending on conversation volume. Lyro AI is separate: $39 to $700 a month for 50 to 1,000 AI conversations. Annual billing gives 2 months free.

How much does Tidio Lyro cost?

Lyro starts at $39/month for 50 AI conversations ($32.50 on annual billing) and goes up to $700/month for 1,000. Starter includes 50 one-off Lyro conversations to try it. Above 1,000 you need a custom plan.

Is Tidio or Intercom cheaper?

For small teams with light AI use, Tidio is usually cheaper because seats are included. Intercom charges per seat and $0.99 per outcome. At high AI volume, both cost more than flat-priced tools.

What is the best free Tidio alternative?

Feedbot (50 conversations a month), Chatling (200 AI credits) and Crisp (live chat with 2 seats, no AI) all have free plans. Which fits depends on whether you want AI or a live inbox.

Prices checked on September 28, 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their sites before you buy.

Sources

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