respond.io vs Tidio
We give respond.io a 2.6 GPA and Tidio a 3.2, out of 4.0. respond.io grades higher on features. Tidio grades higher on value for money, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
respond.io
Team inbox for WhatsApp, social chats, email and calls with AI agents
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
How we grade them
| 2.6GPArespond.ioGood | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $79 a month for up to 5 users billed annually ($99 monthly), so a team of five pays a price per head inside the cheaper quarter of help desks. One person pays the whole $79. Workflows, AI agents and the API start on Growth at $159, and Meta's WhatsApp fees come on top. | 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 | CNo free plan, but a 7-day free trial of Growth for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, with no credit card needed. A week is short, but it's enough to plug in WhatsApp and see how the inbox feels. | 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 | BThe whole job, with more channels than most: WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, Viber, LINE, WeChat, chat, email and SMS in one inbox, calls in the same thread, AI agents, workflows, broadcasts and lifecycle stages. Starter leaves the automation out. | 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 App Store rating on record. Each channel needs connecting, WhatsApp included, then there are workflows, AI agents and lifecycle stages to set up, and a contact tier to keep an eye on. | 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, iPhone and Android, with the full inbox on every plan, plus HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Shopify, Zapier, Make, Calendly and Google Sheets, and a developer API from Growth. No desktop app, which an A needs. | 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 | support and sales over WhatsApp and social chat | 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: respond.io and Tidio. How we grade
Price against what you get
respond.io starts at $79 a month 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 $54.83 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 4 score higher than respond.io 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
- respond.io starts at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly). Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly).
- Tidio has a free plan. respond.io does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Tidio lists macOS and Windows apps.
- respond.io also covers shared inbox and workflow automation.
- Tidio also covers help desk.
At a glance
| respond.io | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 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 | 7-day free trial of Growth for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, no credit card needed | 7-day free trial of all plans and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Rocketbots Limited (respond.io) | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | respond.io | tidio.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
respond.io
- Consumer businesses that sell and support customers over WhatsApp
- Teams handling leads from Meta and TikTok ads in chat
- Field or hybrid teams who answer chats and calls from their phones
Tidio
- Small online stores, especially on Shopify or WordPress
- Teams of up to 10 agents with modest monthly chat volume
- Businesses that want to add an AI agent without changing help desk
Worth knowing
respond.io
- WhatsApp fees are charged by Meta on top of the plan, and SMS and VoIP are billed at the provider's rates.
- Contacts past the tier cost $12 per 100 on Growth and $15 per 100 on Advanced; extra AI credits are $15 per 1,000.
- Extra users cost $12, $20 and $24 a month on Starter, Growth and Advanced billed yearly ($15, $25 and $30 monthly).
- Starter has no broadcasts, workflows, AI agents or developer API; those start on Growth.
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
respond.io
- One inbox for messaging channels
- WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, Viber, LINE, WeChat, a website chat widget, email (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, SMTP) and SMS through providers, in one shared inbox.
- Calls in the same thread
- WhatsApp Business calls, Messenger calls and VoIP calls sit beside the chats with that contact; recording, transcripts and summaries come from Growth.
- AI agents
- From Growth, AI agents answer questions, qualify leads, follow up and route conversations to people, drawing on AI credits that grow with the contact tier.
- Workflows and broadcasts
- Automations for routing, assignment and follow-ups, and bulk messages to segments of contacts, both from the Growth plan.
- Lifecycle stages and CRM sync
- Track each contact through lifecycle stages; HubSpot sync starts on Growth and Salesforce on Advanced.
- Native mobile apps
- iOS and Android apps with the full inbox, calls, assignments and team activity, included on every 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
respond.io
Starter$79
per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Team and custom inboxes, mobile app, AI Assist and prompts, basic reports and 2FA. The comparison table shows unlimited monthly active contacts and 5,000 AI credits.
Growth$159
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($199 monthly)
10 users. Adds broadcasts, workflows, AI agents, advanced reports, Zapier and Make, and the developer API. The price rises with the contact tier you pick.
Advanced$279
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($349 monthly)
10 users. Adds masked phone numbers and emails, multiple workspaces, webhooks, HTTP requests, SSO and custom channels. Sold through sales; price rises with contacts.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited users, more workspaces, higher API rate limits and a custom contact allowance. Priced on request.
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
respond.io
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with yearly billing
respond.io's pricing page says yearly billing saves up to 20%: Starter is $948 a year against $1,188 billed monthly, Growth $1,908 against $2,388.
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.
