HelpDesk 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.
HelpDesk
Ticketing with an AI agent for email, chat, Messenger and SMS
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
Which one is for you
Pick HelpDesk if
- Fits if you answer customers by email, chat, Messenger and SMS from one inbox
- Works for a small team that wants tickets and an AI agent from $19 a user
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you lean on the AI: 10 resolutions a month on Essential, 200 on Growth, and extra 50-packs cost $49.50
- Pricey if you outgrow Essential, as Growth is $79 a user billed yearly ($99 monthly)
- Skip it if you want a free plan or phone apps, since it has neither
- Watch out: multiple brands, custom roles, SSO and HIPAA are on the custom-priced Enterprise plan
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
| 2.4GPAHelpDeskFair | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$19 per user a month billed yearly is at the edge of the cheapest quarter ($19). Growth is $79 a user, and that is where the 20 custom fields and 10 teams are. | 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 credit card. There is 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 | CEmail, chat, Messenger and SMS in one inbox, with an AI Agent and Copilot. Essential has 3 ticketing rules and 10 AI resolutions a month, which is the gap. | 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 rules, teams and the AI Agent need setting up before they help. | 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 8 listed integrations. The chat widget can be embedded in your own mobile app, but there are no phone or desktop apps. | 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 | a ticket inbox with AI replies built in | 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: HelpDesk and Tidio. How we grade
Price against what you get
HelpDesk 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, 7 score higher than HelpDesk 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
- HelpDesk also covers shared inbox, sMS marketing and chatbots.
At a glance
| HelpDesk | 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 | 14-day 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 | Text, Inc. | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | helpdesk.com | tidio.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HelpDesk
- AI resolutions are capped: 10 a month on Essential and 200 on Growth. Extra packs of 50 resolutions cost $49.50.
- There is no free plan; the 14-day trial is the only free access.
- Per-user pricing means Growth costs $79 per user / month when billed yearly, $99 billed monthly.
- The pages describe a browser-based product and list no desktop or phone apps; the chat widget can be embedded in your own mobile app.
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
HelpDesk
- One inbox for four channels
- Email, website chat, Messenger and SMS land in the same inbox as tickets, with statuses, priorities and automated assignment.
- AI Agent
- An AI Agent runs conversations using the knowledge, tone and skills you give it. One resolution is counted when it directly solves a customer question.
- AI Copilot for agents
- Reply suggestions and AI text edits for human agents, plus ticket summaries, tag suggestions and similar-ticket suggestions on higher plans.
- Selling through Shopify
- Every plan lists selling through Shopify, and the pricing page describes an AI sales skill with a live Shopify catalog and cart recovery campaigns.
- Rules and routing
- Ticketing rules and automated assignment sort incoming tickets, with 3 rules on Essential and 10 on Growth.
- Teams and reports
- Growth adds up to 10 teams, chat supervision and takeover, agent activity and performance reports.
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
HelpDesk
Essential$19
per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly)
Inbox and tickets, 3 ticketing rules, 1 AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions a month, and AI Copilot with 5 reply suggestions per user a month.
Growth$79
per user / month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)
20 custom fields, 10 ticketing rules, up to 10 teams, 10 AI Agents with 200 AI resolutions a month, ticket summaries, chat supervision and 30 proactive campaigns.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI Agents, multiple brands, custom roles, SSO and audit logs, HIPAA compliance and a dedicated account 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
HelpDesk
- Annual discount
Save up to 24% by billing yearly
The pricing page shows yearly billing at $19 and $79 per user against $25 and $99 billed monthly, and says paying yearly saves up to 24%.
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, HelpDesk or Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, HelpDesk 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, HelpDesk or Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Tidio has a free plan. HelpDesk does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do HelpDesk and Tidio run on?
As of Nov 12, 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.