Tidio Competitors in 2026, With Real Prices
· Wallu Team · 7 min read · Comparison
Tidio bills the plan and the Lyro AI separately, which is why bills surprise people. Here is how it compares to Intercom, Olark, Gorgias and Wallu on billing unit, free plan and channels.
Table of Contents
- The short list
- What Tidio actually costs
- The competitors, compared
- Which one fits which situation
- Frequently asked questions
Every price here was read from the vendor's own pricing page on 20 August 2026. Most lists comparing these tools quote figures that are one or two pricing changes out of date.
The short list
The realistic competitors to Tidio, for a small team that wants AI answering customers, are Intercom, Olark, Crisp, Gorgias if you are on Shopify, and Wallu. Drift used to be on this list and no longer is — Salesloft has transitioned it to 1mind and drift.com redirects.
What Tidio actually costs
The thing to understand about Tidio is that the plan and the AI are billed separately.
- Free — $0/mo. Live chat and ticketing, and *"50 Lyro AI Agent conversations (one-off)"* — a lifetime allowance, not monthly.
- Starter — $24.17/mo, which includes 100 billable conversations.
- Growth — "Starts at $49.17/mo", 250+ billable conversations.
- Plus — "Starts at $300/mo. + monthly usage".
- Lyro AI, separately — "Starts at $32.50/mo. From 50 Lyro AI conversations."
So a small team wanting AI is looking at the plan plus Lyro, not the headline plan price. Channels are Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and email. Telegram, SMS and Discord are not listed.
The competitors, compared
| AI billing unit | Free plan | Channels beyond the website | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tidio | Per Lyro conversation, from $32.50/mo | Yes — 50 Lyro conversations, lifetime | Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, email |
| Intercom | $0.99 per outcome + $29–$132 per seat/mo | No — 14-day trial, no card required | Email, social |
| Olark | Flat $400/mo, unlimited | No | None — website only |
| Wallu | 1 credit per reply sent, from $4.99/mo | No | Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Slack, email |
Which one fits which situation
Stay on Tidio if you want a free plan to start on and your customers are on Messenger, Instagram or WhatsApp. Its free tier is real, which is more than most of this list offers.
Intercom if you need a mature agent workspace with reporting and SLAs, and you want to trial it without a card.
Olark if everything happens on your own website and you would rather pay one flat number than watch a meter — above roughly 400 answers a month it beats per-conversation pricing outright.
Gorgias if you are a Shopify store and want order data inside the conversation.
Wallu if your customers reach you in more places than a website widget covers — particularly Discord, Telegram or Slack, which none of the others price — and you want one account rather than per-seat billing. The trade-offs are real: no free plan, and you build the knowledge base yourself rather than having it trained automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Does Tidio have a free plan?
Yes. It includes live chat, ticketing and 50 Lyro AI conversations as a one-off lifetime allowance, not a monthly one.
Why is my Tidio bill higher than the plan price?
Lyro, the AI agent, is billed separately from the plan and starts at $32.50/mo for 50 conversations. The plan price alone does not include ongoing AI.
Does Tidio work with Discord or Telegram?
Neither is listed on their pricing page. Their channels are Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and email.
What replaced Drift as a Tidio competitor?
Drift is no longer standalone — Salesloft transitioned it to 1mind and drift.com redirects there.
