ChatBot vs Tidio (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Tidio: it is second in our ranking of help desk and live chat tools, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
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.
ChatBot
AI customer service agent and chatbot builder from Text
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
Which one is for you
Pick ChatBot if
- Fits if you want an AI agent on a site you already chat on
- Works for a small team on Shopify or WordPress
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you rely on the AI, since Essential includes 10 resolutions and Growth 200, and a pack of 50 costs $49.50
- Pricey if you add agents, as it is priced per user plus resolution packs
- Skip it if you want summaries, as they need Growth at $79
- Watch out: SSO, audit logs and a white-label widget need a sales conversation
Pick Tidio if
- Fits if you run a small Shopify or WordPress store and want chat on the site
- Works for up to 10 people sharing support, since seats aren't charged one by one
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you get lots of chats, as Growth climbs to $349 a month at 2,000 conversations
- Not for you if you need a help center or phone support in the same tool
- Tight if you have more than 10 agents, since more seats need Plus from $300 a month plus usage
- Watch out: Lyro's 50 free conversations come once; after that it's $39 a month for 50, up to $700 for 1,000
- Watch out: Flows reach 100 visitors a month free, and more cost from $29 a month for 2,000
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAChatBotFair | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$19 a user a month billed yearly, but the AI is capped at 10 resolutions, and Growth at $79 is above the dearer quarter of $45. | 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 14-day trial with no card. 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 | CAn AI agent, skills, a copilot, inbox and ticketing and channels. Resolutions are capped at 10 on Essential and 200 on Growth. | 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. The AI agent needs training and channels need connecting. | 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 | BWeb only, with Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, Shopify, WordPress and Slack. | 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 | an AI chatbot and customer service agent | 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: ChatBot and Tidio. How we grade
Price against what you get
ChatBot starts at $19 a month for each person 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 $5.17 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 8 score higher than ChatBot 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
- ChatBot also covers workflow automation, whatsApp messaging and chatbots.
At a glance
| ChatBot | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed yearly ($25 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 | Free 14-day trial, no credit card required | 7-day free trial of all plans and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Text, Inc. | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | chatbot.com | tidio.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
ChatBot
- Resolutions are capped (10 on Essential, 200 on Growth); an extra pack of 50 costs $49.50.
- Essential limits workflow rules, proactive campaigns to 3 and tracks 50 live visitors; chat summaries need Growth.
- Prices are per user, so the cost rises with each agent added on top of resolution packs.
- Enterprise features such as SSO, audit logs and a white-label widget need a sales conversation.
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
ChatBot
- AI Agent
- An agent that answers from your help articles, documents, URLs and PDFs, replies in 48 languages and hands over to a person on request.
- Custom skills
- Rules that tell the agent what to do in a situation, such as offering a discount or escalating, up to 10 skills per agent.
- AI Copilot
- Drafts replies, polishes text and suggests similar tickets for human agents; monthly per-user allowances are capped by plan.
- Inbox and ticketing
- Chats and tickets in one inbox with workflow automation and takeover; Growth adds supervision, canned responses and reports.
- Selling through chat
- A sales skill, live Shopify catalog sync, cart recovery campaigns and sales reports tied to chats.
- Channels
- Website chat, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and SMS through Twilio, with Shopify, WordPress and WooCommerce integrations.
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
ChatBot
Essential$19
per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly)
1 AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions, inbox and ticketing, workflow automation, website chat, Messenger, WhatsApp and SMS.
Growth$79
per user / month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)
10 AI Agents with 200 AI resolutions, chat topics insights, team reports, 10 workflow rules and 30 proactive campaigns.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI agents and workflows, SOC 2 Type 2, SSO and audit logs, white-label widget and a dedicated team; 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
ChatBot
- Annual discount
Save up to 24% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows yearly billing at $19 and $79 per user a month against $25 and $99 when billed monthly.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ChatBot or Tidio?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ChatBot starts at $19 per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly), and Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, ChatBot or Tidio?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Tidio has a free plan. ChatBot does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do ChatBot and Tidio run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Tidio lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.