JivoChat 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
JivoChat grades higher on the free plan. Tidio grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
JivoChat
Live chat and messenger inbox with a free plan and paid add-on modules
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
Which one is for you
Pick JivoChat if
- Fits if you want live chat on a site with Telegram, Instagram or Viber in the same app
- Works for a small site that wants desktop and phone apps without paying
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need ticketing or a knowledge base, as the listing shows neither
- Tight if you need old chats: the free plan keeps 2 months
- Pricey if you add on, with WhatsApp at $27, Videocalls at $23 per agent and the AI Agent at $69 per agent a month
- Watch out: the pricing page says the free plan covers 5 agents in one place and 2 in its comparison table
- Watch out: only annual prices are shown
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
| 2.6GPAJivoChatGood | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$28 per agent a month billed annually is in the middle of the category's $19 to $39 range. Add-ons stack up: WhatsApp $27, AI assistant $13, Videocalls $23 per agent and AI Agent $69 per agent. | 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 live chat on unlimited sites, social channels, callback, offline forms and the apps, which one small site could live on. Chat history is kept for only 2 months. | 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 | CChat with several social channels, callback and a CRM from Basic. The listing shows no ticketing or help center, so it does the chat job and a smaller one. | 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 chat rules, channels and add-ons 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 | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android apps, a Chat API on Enterprise and a list of integrations. | 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 | free live chat for a website | 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: JivoChat and Tidio. How we grade
Price against what you get
JivoChat starts at $28 a month for each person and scores 2.7 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 $3.83 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 3 score higher than JivoChat 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
- JivoChat also covers shared inbox, whatsApp messaging and chatbots.
- Tidio also covers help desk.
At a glance
| JivoChat | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $28 per agent / month, billed annually | $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly) |
| Free plan | Website live chat, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram and Viber channels, callback, offline forms and the desktop, mobile and browser 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 | 14-day trial of the paid features | 7-day free trial of all plans and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | JivoChat | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | jivochat.com | tidio.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
JivoChat
- The free plan keeps chat history for 2 months; paid plans keep it without a limit.
- WhatsApp is $27/month, AI assistant $13, Videocalls $23 per agent and AI Agent $69 per agent, all billed annually.
- The pricing page says the free plan covers 5 agents in one place and up to 2 agents in its comparison table.
- Prices are quoted per agent and billed annually; the page does not show monthly-billing prices.
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
JivoChat
- Website live chat
- A customizable chat widget in 25 languages that can go on unlimited websites, with file transfer and offline contact forms.
- Messenger channels
- Telegram, Facebook, Instagram and Viber conversations arrive in the same app as website chats; WhatsApp is a paid module.
- Visitor monitoring and invitations
- From Basic up, agents see who is on the site in real time and can start chats with triggers and pre-chat buttons.
- Chatbots and chat rescue
- Professional adds chatbot integration and a chat rescue feature; Enterprise adds routing between agents.
- AI Agent and AI assistant
- An AI Agent answers frequently asked questions automatically, and a separate AI assistant helps agents write replies. Both are paid add-ons.
- Apps on every device
- Native apps for Windows, Mac and Linux plus mobile apps, so agents can reply away from a browser.
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
JivoChat
Free$0
Live chat on unlimited sites with social channels, callback and offline forms. Chat history is kept for 2 months.
Basic$28
per agent / month, billed annually
Adds proactive invitations, real-time visitor monitoring, anti-spam protection, the built-in CRM and up to 100 agents.
Professional$42
per agent / month, billed annually
Adds the Telephony Plus module, chatbot integration, chat rescue and voice messages on Telegram, Instagram and Facebook.
Enterprise$56
per agent / month, billed annually
Adds chat routing, the Chat API, a mobile SDK and the video call module, with no cap on agents.
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
JivoChat
- Annual discount
30% off with yearly payment
The plan calculator on the pricing page lists a 30% discount for paying 1 year up front and 10% for 3 months.
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, JivoChat or Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, JivoChat starts at $28 per agent / month, billed annually, 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, JivoChat or Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both JivoChat and Tidio have a free plan.
Which platforms do JivoChat and Tidio run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only JivoChat lists a Linux app. Both list a web app and macOS, Windows, 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.