Tidio vs Zipchat (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 2.2.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 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.
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
Which one is for you
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
Pick Zipchat if
- Fits if you run a Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce store and want shoppers answered round the clock
- Works for stores that want an AI agent to hand off to a person
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as every plan starts with a 7-day trial
- Tight if you get lots of chats, since Starter covers 750 AI replies and extra replies cost $49 per 250
- Not for you if you do not sell through an online store, as it is built for store platforms
- Watch out: Meta charges a per-chat fee for WhatsApp marketing campaigns, given as $0.02 per chat started in the US
How we grade them
| 3.2GPATidioVery good | 2.2GPAZipchatFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CStarter is $64 a month on annual billing for 750 replies, which is in the dearer end of support tools, where the middle is $29. Pro is $240 for 3,000. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | C7-day free trial on every plan. No free plan, and the listing does not say a card is needed. |
| Features | 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. | CAI replies across channels, product recommendations, cart recovery, order tracking and returns, with human handoff. It is built for online stores, not general support. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. You connect your store and teach it your policies. |
| Platforms and 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. | BWeb only, with 7 integrations on record. |
| Best for | live chat for small online stores | an online store that wants an AI agent answering shoppers |
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: Tidio and Zipchat. How we grade
Price against what you get
Tidio starts at $24.17 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zipchat starts at $64 a month and scores 2.3.
Tidio scores higher and starts $39.83 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, none scores higher than Tidio for less, and 21 score higher than Zipchat 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
- Tidio also covers help desk and live chat.
- Zipchat also covers whatsApp messaging and chatbots.
At a glance
| Tidio | Zipchat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly) | $64 per month for 750 replies, billed annually ($80 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of all plans and add-ons, no credit card required | 7-day free trial on every plan |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Tidio LLC | Zipchat |
| Price read from | tidio.com | zipchat.ai |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Zipchat
- There is no free plan; every plan starts with a 7-day trial.
- Starter covers 750 AI replies a month, and extra replies cost $49 per 250 (500 on Scale Plus).
- It is built for online stores, with Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce listed as store platforms.
- Meta charges a per-chat fee for WhatsApp marketing campaigns; the page gives $0.02 per chat started in the US.
Key features
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.
Zipchat
- AI replies across channels
- One AI agent answers on website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email, drawing on the store's product catalog and trained pages.
- Product recommendations
- The agent recommends items from the live catalog and can add them to the cart without the shopper leaving the chat.
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Messages shoppers about carts they left behind, and WhatsApp broadcast campaigns can be sent from the same account.
- Order tracking and returns
- Handles where-is-my-order questions and, over email, returns and order changes, using store data from the connected platform.
- Human handoff
- Every plan includes unlimited team members, so staff can step in when a customer asks for a person or the question is complex.
Plans
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.
Zipchat
Starter$64
per month for 750 replies, billed annually ($80 billed monthly)
About 300 conversations a month, 1 AI agent, 1,000 training pages, standard support, all channels and languages.
Pro$240
per month for 3,000 replies, billed annually
About 1,250 conversations a month, 3 AI agents, 75,000 training pages and priority support.
Scale$480
per month for 6,000 replies, billed annually
About 2,500 conversations a month, 5 AI agents, 300,000 training pages and priority support.
Scale Plus$960
per month for 14,000 replies, billed annually
About 6,000 conversations a month, 10 AI agents, unlimited training pages and priority support.
UnlimitedCustom
Fixed-price plan with unlimited replies, quoted on a demo call; the page says quotes start at $2,100 a month.
Ways to pay less
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.
Zipchat
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page shows $64 a month billed annually against $80 billed monthly on Starter, and labels annual billing as a 20% saving.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Tidio or Zipchat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Tidio is cheaper to start with: $24.17 a month, against $64 a month for Zipchat. Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly), and Zipchat starts at $64 per month for 750 replies, billed annually ($80 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Tidio or Zipchat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Tidio has a free plan. Zipchat does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Tidio and Zipchat 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.