Alternatives · Help Desks
Chatlio alternatives
As of Nov 13, 2026, the best Chatlio alternative for most people is Tidio (3.2 GPA), second in our ranking of help desk and live chat tools. It's also the best free one.
Chatlio compared with 5 alternatives: tawk.to, Crisp, Text by LiveChat, Tidio and Olark.
Chatlio is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $30 per month for 2 operators, billed monthly. 3 of the 5 alternatives are free or have a free plan. 2 more offer a free trial.
Listings checked up to Nov 13, 2026 · Where the facts come from
Black Friday: is there a Chatlio sale?
At a glance
| Tool | Price | Free plan | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatlioThis tool | Free trial · from $30/mo | Trial only | Web |
| tawk.to | Free plan · from $29/mo | Yes | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Crisp | Free plan · from $45/mo | Yes | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Text by LiveChat | Free trial · from $19/mo | Trial only | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Tidio | Free plan · from $24.17/mo | Yes | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Olark | Free trial · from $29/mo | Trial only | Web, iOS, Android |
Price against what you get
Chatlio starts at $30 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. 2 of the 5 alternatives on this chart score higher and start lower: Text by LiveChat and Tidio.
Crisp scores higher without starting lower. tawk.to and Olark start lower without scoring higher.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
How each one differs from Chatlio
tawk.to
Free live chat, ticketing and help center, with paid add-ons
- tawk.to starts at $29 per month for the AI Assist or Whitelabel add-on.
- tawk.to has a free plan, which Chatlio lacks.
- tawk.to also lists Windows, macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- tawk.to also covers help desk, help center and AI support agent.
- tawk.to does not cover shared inbox, workflow automation and chatbots, which Chatlio does.
Suits: Small businesses that want website chat without paying per seat
Crisp
Live chat and shared inbox priced per workspace, not per seat
- Crisp starts at $45 per workspace / month, with 4 seats.
- Crisp has a free plan, which Chatlio lacks.
- Crisp also lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Crisp also covers help center and AI support agent.
- Crisp does not cover workflow automation and chatbots, which Chatlio does.
Suits: Small teams that want chat and email support at a flat monthly price
Text by LiveChat
Website chat, ticketing and an AI agent from the LiveChat team
- Text by LiveChat starts at $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly).
- Text by LiveChat also lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Text by LiveChat also covers help desk and AI support agent.
- Text by LiveChat does not cover shared inbox, workflow automation and chatbots, which Chatlio does.
Suits: Online stores, especially on Shopify, that sell through chat
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
- Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly).
- Tidio has a free plan, which Chatlio lacks.
- Tidio also lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Tidio also covers help desk and AI support agent.
- Tidio does not cover shared inbox, workflow automation and chatbots, which Chatlio does.
Suits: Small online stores, especially on Shopify or WordPress
Olark
Live chat for websites, with an optional flat-fee AI agent
- Olark starts at $29 per agent / month.
- Olark also lists iOS and Android apps.
- Olark also covers AI support agent, sMS marketing and whatsApp messaging.
- Olark does not cover shared inbox and workflow automation, which Chatlio does.
Suits: Small sites that want live chat priced per agent
Limits worth knowing in Chatlio
- Replies happen inside Slack, Teams or Discord; there is no separate Chatlio mobile app.
- Mini has no triggers, saved replies, custom bots or white-label widget; those start at Team.
- Slack restricted accounts and single-channel guests cannot answer chats without being invited to each one.
- Plans cap conversations per month, from 250 on Mini to 20,000 on Scale.
Common questions
What are the alternatives to Chatlio?
The alternatives to Chatlio in this directory are tawk.to, Crisp, Text by LiveChat, Tidio and Olark. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Chatlio.
Is there a free alternative to Chatlio?
Yes. tawk.to, Crisp and Tidio have a free plan alongside paid ones.
Which Chatlio alternatives work on Windows?
The Chatlio listing does not include a Windows app. tawk.to, Crisp, Text by LiveChat and Tidio list one.
Which Chatlio alternatives work on macOS?
The Chatlio listing does not include a macOS app. tawk.to, Crisp, Text by LiveChat and Tidio list one.
When were these prices checked?
Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 17, 2026 to Nov 13, 2026. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.