Gist 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 2.6.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Gist grades higher on the free plan. Tidio grades higher on value for money, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Gist
Live chat, help desk and email marketing in one small-business app
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
Which one is for you
Pick Gist if
- Fits if you are a very small team, as the free plan covers 2 support seats
- Works for teams that prefer a flat price for several seats
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 2 seats, and email forwarding is a paid feature
- Watch out: Premium's $99 is shown against a crossed-out $499 and marked ending soon, with no end date
- Watch out: marketing and all-in-one bundles are priced by contact count, and no annual rate is shown
- Watch out: the page mentions 30% off for new customers in India for a limited time
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
| 2.6GPAGistGood | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$29 a month for up to 5 support seats on Professional. Premium's $99 is a promotion, shown against a crossed-out $499. | 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 | BA free plan with 2 support seats, live chat, team inbox, unlimited history and mobile apps, plus a 21-day trial. | 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 | CLive chat, inbox, knowledge base and bots. Email, bots and reports sit on paid plans, and marketing is sold separately. | 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. Chat, bots and a knowledge base to set up. | 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 plus iOS and Android apps, with Zapier, WordPress, WooCommerce, Stripe, Google Calendar and Zoom. | 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 | live chat and a team inbox for a very small team | 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: Gist and Tidio. How we grade
Price against what you get
Gist starts at $29 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 $4.83 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 16 score higher than Gist 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
- Gist also covers shared inbox, marketing automation, email campaigns, help center and chatbots.
- Tidio also covers help desk and AI support agent.
At a glance
| Gist | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month for 5 support seats | $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly) |
| Free plan | Gist Support Free: 2 support seats with live chat, team inbox, unlimited conversation history, saved replies and mobile apps. | 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 | 21-day free trial of paid plans | 7-day free trial of all plans and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Gist | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | getgist.com | tidio.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Gist
- Premium is shown at $99 against a crossed-out $499, marked "ending soon" with no end date; the regular price may apply later.
- Marketing and All-in-One bundle prices are separate and depend on contact count; only the Support plans are listed here.
- The pricing page was read with its billing toggle hidden, so these are monthly prices; the page did not show an annual rate.
- The pricing page says new customers based in India can get 30% off some plans for a limited time.
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
Gist
- Live chat and team inbox
- A messenger for your site or app and a shared inbox for the team, with saved replies, office hours and iOS and Android apps.
- Knowledge base
- A multilingual help center that customers can search, with article ratings and feedback. The public knowledge base starts on the Professional plan.
- Chatbots and support bot
- A lead qualification bot comes on Professional and custom bots on Premium. A support bot that answers repeat questions is listed as an add-on.
- Email marketing and automation
- Email campaigns, workflows, event tracking, forms and a deal pipeline sit in a separate Marketing product line priced by contact count.
- Meetings and surveys
- Automated meeting scheduling syncs with Google and Office 365 calendars; surveys and product tours are on the Premium support plan.
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
Gist
Free (Support)$0
2 support seats, live chat, team inbox, unlimited conversation history, saved replies, office hours and mobile apps.
Professional (Support)$29
per month for up to 5 support seats
Adds email forwarding, Facebook and Twitter integrations, a public knowledge base, chat triggers, a lead qualification bot, satisfaction ratings and Zapier.
Premium (Support)$99
per month for unlimited support seats
Adds custom chatbots, surveys, product tours, assignment rules, reports and roles. Shown as $99 against a crossed-out $499, marked "ending soon".
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
Gist
No public discounts listed.
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, Gist or Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Tidio is cheaper to start with: $24.17 a month, against $29 a month for Gist. Gist starts at $29 per month for 5 support seats, and Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly).
Which has a free plan, Gist or Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Gist and Tidio have a free plan.
Which platforms do Gist and Tidio run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Tidio lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. 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.