Sales & CRM · Review · Updated 17 October 2026
Tidio reviewLive chat, help desk and the Lyro AI agent for small online businesses
Very good
Brent score, out of 5
Tidio is one of the easiest ways for a small online store to add live chat, a shared inbox and an AI agent that answers routine questions. Setup is quick and the free plan is usable for very low volume. The cost model is the catch: plans are capped by billable conversations, and Lyro AI, Flows and branding removal are separate add-ons, so the real monthly bill is often well above the headline price.
Price
Free plan; paid from $24.17/month (billed annually)
Free option
Free plan
Best for
Small e-commerce stores answering order and shipping questions
Opens Tidio in a new tab · No card needed to look around · We may earn a commission
Disclosure: we may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our ratings. How we make money
Best for
- Small e-commerce stores answering order and shipping questions
- Teams that want live chat and email tickets in one inbox
- Businesses wanting an AI agent that answers from their FAQ
- Owners who want to install chat in minutes without a developer
Skip it if
- High-volume support teams that need predictable flat pricing
- Companies that need SSO and compliance below enterprise pricing
- Teams that need a full omnichannel contact center with phone
Customers ask the same five questions all day: where is my order, do you ship to my country, can I return this. You answer by email hours later, or not at all on weekends, and some of those visitors buy somewhere else.
Tidio combines live chat, a ticketing inbox and an AI agent called Lyro that answers common questions from your own help content and hands tricky ones to a person. It installs on most website builders and e-commerce platforms in minutes.
This review explains how Tidio's conversation-based pricing works, what the add-ons cost, and when a different help desk is a better fit.
What is Tidio?
Tidio is a customer service platform for small and mid-sized businesses. It adds a chat widget to your website, collects chats and emails into a shared inbox with ticketing, and lets you automate replies with Flows (rule-based automations) and Lyro, a generative AI agent trained on your knowledge base. Plans are priced by billable conversations per month and features, with Lyro and Flows sold as add-ons. Higher tiers add departments, multiple projects, OpenAPI, SSO and a guaranteed Lyro resolution rate.
Pros and cons
What we like
- Free plan with live chat, ticketing and 10 seats
- Lyro AI agent answers from your knowledge base and hands off to a human
- Flows automate data collection, quote requests and missed conversations
- 10 seats on Free, Starter and Growth plans
- 7-day free trial with no credit card required
- Clean, easy dashboard that suits non-technical teams
What could be better
- Plans cap billable conversations: 50 on Free, 100 on Starter
- Lyro AI (from $32.50/month) and Flows (from $24.17/month) are separate add-ons
- Removing Tidio branding costs $16.67/month extra
- Plus starts at $300/month plus usage, a big jump from Growth
Overall
Very good
- Features4.3
- Ease of use4.6
- Value3.8
- Support4.1
Key features of Tidio
Live chat and visitor list
Chat with visitors in real time and see who is on your site and which pages they viewed. Operating hours and the live visitors list start from the Starter plan.
Lyro AI agent
Lyro answers customer questions from your knowledge base in a style you set, and hands off to a human when needed. The add-on starts at $32.50/month for 50 Lyro conversations.
Ticketing and shared inbox
Chats and emails become tickets your team can assign and track. Growth adds automatic assignment, macros and user permissions; Plus adds ticketing automations and departments.
Flows automation
Flows trigger messages and actions, such as collecting emails, handling quote requests or following up on missed chats. The add-on starts at $24.17/month for 2,000 visitors reached.
Analytics
Basic analytics are on Free and Starter, with advanced analytics from Growth. Premium adds custom analytics and an advanced Copilot for agents.
Enterprise options
Premium offers a guaranteed 50% Lyro resolution rate, pay-per-resolution billing, Mobile SDK, SSO and Slack support for larger teams.
Tidio pricing
Checked 2026-10. Prices can change; confirm on Tidio’s site.
Free
$0
free
- 50 billable conversations/month
- 10 seats, live chat and ticketing
- 50 Lyro conversations (lifetime)
Starter
$24.17/month
billed annually
- 100 billable conversations
- Live visitors list, operating hours
- 50 one-off Lyro conversations
Growth
From $49.17/month
billed annually
- 250 to 2,000 billable conversations
- Advanced analytics, macros, permissions
- Automatic assignment and replies
Plus
From $300/month + usage
custom
- Departments and multiproject
- OpenAPI, custom branding
- Dedicated success manager
Premium
Contact sales
custom
- From 3,000 Lyro conversations
- Guaranteed 50% Lyro resolution rate
- SSO and Mobile SDK
Watch out: Prices are in USD and shown with annual billing (2 months free); monthly billing costs more, and Lyro, Flows and branding removal are added on top of the plan price.
See current Tidio pricing →What people use Tidio for
Shopify store support
A clothing store installs the chat widget and trains Lyro on its shipping and returns pages, so routine questions get instant answers and staff handle the rest in the morning.
Lead capture for a service business
A renovation company uses Flows to ask visitors about their project and budget, then routes qualified quote requests to the sales inbox.
Small support team inbox
A three-person team on Growth uses automatic assignment and macros to handle chats and emails in one place without missing tickets.
How to get started with Tidio
- 1
Create a free Tidio account (the 7-day trial needs no credit card)
- 2
Install the chat widget on your website or store platform
- 3
Add your FAQ and help pages so Lyro can answer from them
- 4
Set operating hours and a handoff rule for questions Lyro cannot answer
- 5
Review your first week's conversation count before choosing a plan
Tidio alternatives
| Product | Choose it when |
|---|---|
| Tidio 4.2 | Small e-commerce stores answering order and shipping questions |
| Freshchat4.3 | Choose Freshchat if you want messaging and AI bots inside the wider Freshworks suite. |
| HubSpot4.5 | Choose HubSpot if you want live chat tied to a full CRM and marketing tools. |
| WATI4.3 | Choose WATI if most of your customers contact you on WhatsApp rather than your website. |
Tidio: frequently asked questions
Is Tidio free?+
Yes. The Free plan includes live chat, ticketing, 10 seats, 50 billable conversations a month and 50 Lyro AI conversations for the life of the account.
How much does Tidio cost?+
Starter is $24.17/month and Growth starts at $49.17/month, both shown with annual billing. Plus starts at $300/month plus usage, and Premium is custom priced.
How much does Lyro AI cost?+
Lyro is an add-on starting at $32.50/month for 50 Lyro conversations. Premium plans include from 3,000 Lyro conversations with a guaranteed 50% resolution rate.
What is a billable conversation in Tidio?+
It is a customer conversation that counts toward your plan's monthly limit. Free includes 50, Starter 100, and Growth from 250 to 2,000 depending on the tier you pick.
Does Tidio have a free trial?+
Yes, a 7-day trial with no credit card required. When it ends, the account moves to the Free plan unless you subscribe.
Can I remove the Tidio branding?+
Yes, for $16.67/month as an add-on. Custom branding is included on the Plus plan.
Final verdict
Is Tidio worth it?
If your store or small business loses sales to unanswered questions, Tidio is a fast way to fix it. Start free, install the widget, let Lyro answer from your FAQ for a week, and then pick the plan that matches your real conversation count.
Try Tidio freeAffiliate link · we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Reviewed by
Amjid Ali, Founder and editor
Amjid Ali is a Melbourne-based AI and automation lead, author of five books on infrastructure, automation and digital transformation, and a corporate trainer whose courses on n8n, Proxmox, firewalls and ERP have taught thousands of IT professionals.
Last updated 17 October 2026 · How we review
You might also like
Sales & CRM
Freshworks review
Help desk, IT service and CRM software with Freddy AI, priced for growing businesses
Sales & CRM
HubSpot review
A free CRM that grows into marketing, sales and service hubs on one platform
Sales & CRM
Freshchat review
Live chat and messaging with an AI agent, free for up to 10 agents to start
Tidio 4.2
Free plan; paid from $24.17/month (billed annually)