Chatbase vs Tidio
We give Chatbase a 2.0 GPA and Tidio a 3.2, out of 4.0. Tidio grades higher on value for money, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Chatbase
Build AI support agents trained on your content, priced by credits
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAChatbaseFair | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DHobby is $32 a month billed yearly for 700 message credits and 2 members, at the dearer quarter of help desks. What a support team needs, the helpdesk inbox, API and Zendesk links, starts on Standard at $120 for 3 members, and five people need Pro at $400. | AGrowth, from 250 conversations, is $49.17 a month billed yearly for the whole team, about $9.83 a head for five, just under 60% of what the cheaper quarter of help desks charges. Starter is $24.17 for 100 conversations, under $5 a head. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 7-day trial of Hobby, Standard or Pro. The listing doesn't say whether it needs a card, and there's no free plan. | CA free plan with 10 seats, live chat, ticketing and the social channels, plus a 7-day trial with no card. The cap you'll hit is 50 answered conversations a month, and Lyro's 50 free conversations come once, not monthly. |
| Features | CIt does the AI agent job fully: trained on your files and site, a choice of AI models, actions in other tools, and voice from Standard. The human side is thinner, a hand-off inbox from Standard, and the listing shows no ticketing or help center. | CLive chat with a visitor list, one inbox for five channels, ticketing, the Lyro AI agent, rule-based Flows and AI reply help. But the listing has no help center or phone support, and ongoing Lyro use is an add-on from $39 a month. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You feed it documents and pages, pick a model, set up actions and channels, and check its answers. That's real setup before customers see it. | A4.76 from 4,767 App Store ratings, the top band for support apps. Adding the chat box to a Shopify or WordPress store is what it's built around. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app with no desktop or phone app, but the agent goes out to websites, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Slack and email, with Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot, Intercom, Shopify and Zapier, and an API from Standard. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android apps for agents, with Shopify, WordPress, Zendesk, Salesforce and Zapier, and an API. That's every device type covered. |
| Best for | building an AI agent from your own docs | live chat for small online stores |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Chatbase and Tidio. How we grade
Price against what you get
Chatbase starts at $32 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Tidio starts at $24.17 a month and scores 3.3.
Tidio scores higher and starts $7.83 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 11 score higher than Chatbase for less, and none scores higher than Tidio for less.
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
Where they differ
- Chatbase starts at $32 per month for 700 message credits, billed annually ($40 billed monthly). Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly).
- Tidio has a free plan. Chatbase does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Tidio lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Tidio also covers live chat.
At a glance
| Chatbase | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $32 per month for 700 message credits, billed annually ($40 billed monthly) | $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 50 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, with live chat, ticketing, email, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, 50 one-off Lyro AI conversations and 100 Flows visitors a month. |
| Free trial | 7-day trial of the Hobby, Standard or Pro plan | 7-day free trial of all plans and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Chatbase Inc. | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | chatbase.co | tidio.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Chatbase
- Businesses adding an AI agent to their website or messaging apps
- Support teams that want AI in front of an existing help desk
- Teams that prefer usage-based pricing to per-seat plans
Tidio
- Small online stores, especially on Shopify or WordPress
- Teams of up to 10 agents with modest monthly chat volume
- Businesses that want to add an AI agent without changing help desk
Worth knowing
Chatbase
- Every plan includes one AI agent; more cost $300 per agent a year.
- Message credits beyond the monthly allowance cost $40 per 1,000 through auto recharge; those credits do not expire.
- Removing the "Powered by Chatbase" branding costs $1,188 a year.
- Hobby has no API access and no help desk or CRM integrations; those, voice and the helpdesk inbox start on Standard.
Tidio
- Plans are capped by conversations a human answers: 50 a month free, 100 on Starter and up to 2,000 on Growth; above that is Plus, from $300 a month plus usage.
- Lyro is free for 50 conversations once; ongoing use is an add-on from $39 a month for 50 conversations, up to $700 for 1,000, on monthly billing.
- Free, Starter and Growth are limited to 10 seats; more seats need Plus.
- Flows reach 100 visitors a month free; more cost from $29 a month for 2,000 visitors on monthly billing.
Key features
Chatbase
- AI agents trained on your content
- Agents learn from uploaded files, websites and, on Pro, past support tickets, and can re-sync their sources automatically from Standard up.
- Choice of AI model
- Every plan can run agents on models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek and others.
- AI actions
- Agents can take actions in other tools, with 5 actions per agent on Hobby, 8 on Standard and 12 on Pro.
- Channels
- Deploy on a website, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Slack and email; voice agents and phone calls start on Standard.
- Helpdesk hand-off
- Standard adds a Chatbase helpdesk inbox for human replies and integrations that pass conversations to Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, Gorgias and others.
- Analytics
- Basic conversation analytics on every plan; Pro adds advanced analytics and suggestions for content the agent is missing.
Tidio
- Live chat widget
- A chat box for websites and stores, with a list of visitors on the site right now, operating hours and live video calls.
- One inbox for every channel
- Chat, email, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp conversations arrive in a single inbox, with a ticketing system for issues that need follow-up.
- Lyro AI Agent
- Answers questions from your FAQ and website content and hands off to a person. It can also be bought alone and added to Zendesk or Salesforce.
- Flows
- Rule-based chat automations built in a visual editor from sales and FAQ templates, such as quote requests or capturing missed conversations.
- AI reply help
- An AI reply assistant and Copilot help agents write answers; Premium adds Advanced Copilot, AI insights and CSAT.
- Apps on every platform
- Agents can work in a browser or in apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
Plans
Chatbase
Hobby$32
per month for 700 message credits, billed annually ($40 monthly)
1 AI agent, 2 members, 10 MB of training content, basic analytics and basic integrations such as Shopify, Slack, WhatsApp and WordPress.
Standard$120
per month for 4,000 message credits, billed annually ($150 monthly)
3 members, the Chatbase helpdesk inbox, voice and phone calls, outbound campaigns, API access and links to Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier.
Pro$400
per month for 15,000 message credits, billed annually ($500 monthly)
5 members, 40 MB of training content, 12 AI actions per agent, advanced analytics, source suggestions and past tickets as a training source.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom usage and billing, SSO, HIPAA eligibility, audit logs, custom roles, white-labeling, SLAs and a success manager. Sold through sales.
Tidio
Free$0
50 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, with live chat, ticketing, social channels and 50 Lyro AI conversations for the life of the account.
Starter$24.17
per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly)
100 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, adding a live visitors list, operating hours and basic analytics.
Growth$49.17
per month from 250 conversations, billed annually ($59 monthly)
Adds advanced analytics, permissions, auto-assignment and macros. The price rises with volume, to $349 a month at 2,000 conversations on monthly billing.
Plus$300
per month, plus usage for AI and human conversations
Custom limits and seat counts, departments, several projects, custom branding, ticketing automations, OpenAPI and a success manager. Sold through sales.
PremiumCustom
From 3,000 Lyro conversations with a guaranteed 50% resolution rate, pay-per-resolution billing, a mobile SDK, SSO and Lyro run as a managed service.
Ways to pay less
Chatbase
- Annual discount
20% off with yearly billing
Chatbase's pricing page gives 20% off for yearly billing: Hobby is $32 a month billed yearly against $40 monthly, a saving of $96 a year.
Tidio
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
Tidio's pricing page gives two months free on annual billing: Starter works out to $24.17 a month billed annually against $29 billed monthly.
