HelpCrunch 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 2.4.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 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.
HelpCrunch
Live chat, shared inbox, chatbot and email in one platform
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
Which one is for you
Pick HelpCrunch if
- Fits if one or two people answer site visitors and also send email campaigns
- Works for a small team that wants chat and a shared inbox at $12 a seat
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need WhatsApp, chatbots or AI Agents, which start on PRO at $20
- Pricey if you outgrow PRO, since Unlimited is $495 a month billed annually
- Tight if you lean on AI: extra AI conversations are $29 a month for 100 on monthly billing
- Watch out: the shown price is for 1 team member and the lowest email volume, and sliders raise it
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as there is only a trial
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
| 2.4GPAHelpCrunchFair | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$12 per team member a month on annual billing is inside the cheapest quarter of this category ($19). PRO is $20, then Unlimited jumps to $495 a month. | 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 free trial with no credit card, and no free plan after it. | 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, shared inbox, chatbot flows, AI agents, a knowledge base, popups and email campaigns. The listing's gap: Basic has no WhatsApp, chatbot or AI Agents, and no ticketing with SLAs is shown. | 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, and widgets, channels, chatbot flows and popups all need setting 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 iPhone and Android apps, and the pages list a REST API and mobile SDKs. Only 3 integrations are named. | 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 email for a small site | 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: HelpCrunch and Tidio. How we grade
Price against what you get
HelpCrunch starts at $12 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 $12.17 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, 4 score higher than HelpCrunch 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
- HelpCrunch also covers shared inbox, email campaigns, help center, chatbots and popups.
- Tidio also covers help desk.
At a glance
| HelpCrunch | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 per month for 1 team member, billed annually ($15 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 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 | HelpCrunch Corporation | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | helpcrunch.com | tidio.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HelpCrunch
- Basic has no WhatsApp channel, chatbot, AI Agents or branding removal; those start on PRO.
- AI conversations are an extension: on monthly billing 100 more cost $29 a month and 1,000 cost $200.
- The displayed price is for 1 team member and the lowest email volume; the page's sliders raise it with more members and emails.
- Unlimited is $495 a month billed annually ($620 billed monthly), a large step above PRO.
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
HelpCrunch
- Live chat and shared inbox
- Chat widgets for websites and apps feed a shared inbox, with Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Viber and WhatsApp channels counted as messenger channels.
- AI Agents
- AI Agents trained on your content answer common questions across channels and languages. Plans include a limit of AI conversations and data sources, extendable for a fee.
- Chatbot flows
- Chatbot flows handle common questions and engagement; PRO allows 15 active flows and Unlimited has no cap.
- Email and popups
- Email blasts, automated campaigns and popups are part of the product, with a monthly email allowance that the pricing slider sets.
- Knowledge base
- A help center for customer self-service; Basic is limited to one language and PRO and Unlimited are multilingual.
- Mobile apps and SDKs
- Mobile apps let agents reply on the go, and iOS, Android and React Native SDKs add the chat widget to your own app.
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
HelpCrunch
Basic$12
per month for 1 team member, billed annually ($15 monthly)
1 widget, 15 messenger channels, 3 auto messages and popups, 20 AI Editor requests. No WhatsApp, chatbot or AI agents. Price rises with team size and email volume.
PRO$20
per month for 1 team member, billed annually ($25 monthly)
5 widgets, 25 messenger channels, WhatsApp, 15 chatbot flows, 5 AI Agents and 50 AI conversations. Price rises with team size and email volume.
Unlimited$495
per month for unlimited team members, billed annually ($620 monthly)
50,000 emails, unlimited widgets, chatbot flows and AI Agents, 100 messenger channels, 100 AI conversations and the highest priority support.
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
HelpCrunch
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
The pricing page says billing annually saves 20%, and shows Basic at $12 against $15, PRO at $20 against $25 and Unlimited at $495 against $620.
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, HelpCrunch or Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, HelpCrunch is cheaper to start with: $12 a month, against $24.17 a month for Tidio. HelpCrunch starts at $12 per month for 1 team member, billed annually ($15 billed monthly), and Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly).
Which has a free plan, HelpCrunch or Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Tidio has a free plan. HelpCrunch does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do HelpCrunch 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.