Tars 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 1.8.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 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.
Tars
AI agent builder for customer support and lead capture
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
Which one is for you
Pick Tars if
- Fits if you want to try an AI agent on 50 conversations a month
- Works for a team that needs compliance such as SOC 2
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you pass 50 conversations, since Premium is $499 a month for 500
- Tight if you want live chat, as it is $600 a year a seat
- Watch out: a professional support service is listed at $5,000 a year per agent
- Skip it if you want HIPAA, SSO or role-based access, because they are Enterprise only
- Watch out: the page shows a 17% yearly discount toggle but no yearly figure
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
| 1.8GPATarsWeak | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$499 a month for 500 conversations, far above the category's dearest tenth of $110. | 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 plan with 50 conversations a month, basic models and community support. | 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 | CAI agents, channels, knowledge bases, live chat handover and analytics. Live chat is a paid add-on. | 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. Agents, knowledge bases and channels have to be built. | 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 | CWeb only, with WhatsApp, Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel. | 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 | an AI agent builder for support and leads | 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: Tars and Tidio. How we grade
Price against what you get
Tars starts at $499 a month and scores 2.0 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 $474.83 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 69 score higher than Tars 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
- Tars also covers AI agents, whatsApp messaging and chatbots.
- Tidio also covers help desk.
At a glance
| Tars | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $499 per month for 500 conversations | $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly) |
| Free plan | Freemium plan: $0 for 50 conversations per month, basic LLM models, up to 5 knowledge bases and 1 month of data retention. | 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 | None listed | 7-day free trial of all plans and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Tars | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | hellotars.com | tidio.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Tars
- Premium starts at $499 per month for 500 conversations; the page has a 17% yearly discount toggle but shows no separate yearly figure in its text.
- Live chat is a paid add-on at $600 per year per seat, and a professional support service is listed at $5,000 per year per agent.
- The free plan has only 50 conversations per month and community support.
- HIPAA, SSO and role-based access are limited to Enterprise.
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
Tars
- AI agents for support
- Agents answer customer questions from trained knowledge bases, with separate builders for customer support and customer acquisition.
- Multichannel deployment
- The homepage describes one agent deployed across web, WhatsApp and email, keeping the conversation thread across them.
- Knowledge bases
- Agents are trained on knowledge bases, with 5 on the free plan, 20 on Premium and unlimited on Enterprise.
- Live chat handover
- Live chat lets a person take over a conversation. It is an add-on for Premium and Enterprise, listed at $600 per year per seat.
- Analytics and evaluation
- The platform menu lists AI analytics, AI evaluation and a categorizer for conversations.
- Compliance
- Premium lists ISO and SOC 2 compliance, and Enterprise adds HIPAA, as stated on the pricing page.
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
Tars
Freemium$0
50 conversations per month, basic LLM models, 5 knowledge bases, community support and 1 month of data retention.
Premium$499
per month for 500 conversations, billing basis not stated
Volume steps of 500 to 10K conversations, advanced LLM models, 20 knowledge bases, live chat support, ISO and SOC 2, 12 months retention.
EnterpriseCustom
Configurable volume, unlimited knowledge bases, SSO, role-based access, HIPAA compliance and a dedicated account manager.
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
Tars
- Annual discount
17% off with yearly billing
The pricing page has a Billed Yearly toggle labelled 17% off, though no yearly figure appears in the page text.
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, Tars or Tidio?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Tidio is cheaper to start with: $24.17 a month, against $499 a month for Tars. Tars starts at $499 per month for 500 conversations, and Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly).
Which has a free plan, Tars or Tidio?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Tars and Tidio have a free plan.
Which platforms do Tars and Tidio run on?
As of Nov 13, 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.