Tidio alternatives for online stores: AI chat compared

The best Tidio alternative for an online store depends on what you want the chat to do. If your team chats with customers live, compare other live chat and helpdesk tools with AI added: Gorgias, Intercom, Zendesk, LiveChat, Crisp, tawk.to, Smartsupp or the free Shopify Inbox. If you want an AI agent to answer most questions from your catalogue and pass the rest to your team, compare Chaterimo, our product. We checked each tool's own pages on 20 October 2026 and describe what its AI answers from, whether it finds an order, whether people can chat live and what it costs.

What does Tidio offer, and why do stores look for an alternative?

Tidio combines live chat, a helpdesk for e-mail and social channels, Flows (scripted flows) and Lyro, an AI agent². Lyro answers from your website, FAQ and files, recommends products from Shopify and WooCommerce stores and, in Shopify, can check, refund, cancel or edit orders within your rules³⁴. Tidio says it runs Lyro on Claude and its own models⁵.

Tidio charges twice. Plans count billable conversations, those in which a person from your team replies: the Free plan has 50 a month, Starter costs $29 a month for 100 and Growth starts at $59 a month for 250. Lyro is a separate add-on from $39 a month for 50 AI conversations, up to 1,000 a month, and Flows start at $29 a month for 2,000 visitors reached. These are US dollar prices with monthly billing on 20 October 2026; with annual billing, Starter costs $24.17 a month and Lyro from $32.50 a month¹.

Stores look for an alternative for a few recurring reasons:

• Cost at volume. Conversations with your team and conversations with the AI are paid separately, so the bill grows with both.
• Platform. Lyro's product recommendations work with Shopify and WooCommerce; other platforms need Tidio's API³. On 20 October 2026, Tidio's integrations page listed no integration for Shoptet, Upgates or Eshop-rychle⁶.
• AI model. Tidio chooses the model; its pages offer neither a choice of model nor your own API key.
• How support works. Some stores have nobody to staff a live chat and want the AI to answer, with a ticket for the rest.

Our point-by-point comparison of Chaterimo vs Tidio covers each of these in detail.

Which Tidio alternatives should an online store compare?

The table compares Tidio with nine alternatives on what matters to an online store. All data come from the vendors' own pages, checked on 20 October 2026; the sources are in the sections below.

Currencies and units differ: per month, per seat, per user, per workspace, per AI conversation or resolution. Prices exclude VAT where the vendor says so. Calculate the cost for your own volume before you compare.

How do the alternatives differ?

Chaterimo

Chaterimo is our product, so we describe it in more detail, but by the same criteria as the others. It is an AI agent for customer support of online stores.

• Product catalogue: connects directly to Shopify, Shoptet, Upgates and Eshop-rychle stores and downloads the products again every night during the trial and on paid plans. Other stores, for example on WooCommerce, Magento or PrestaShop, add a product feed (XML). Delivery, payment and return rules go into the knowledge base as pages, files or texts.
• Order status: in Shopify, Shoptet, Upgates, Eshop-rychle and PrestaShop stores, the customer gives the order number and the e-mail address used on the order. Chaterimo shows the order only when they match. It reads orders but does not change them.
• Hand-over to a person: there is no live chat. When a customer asks for a person, or the question stays open and the customer leaves a contact, the AI creates a ticket with the conversation. The e-mail about the new ticket goes to the ticket notification address the store sets in Chaterimo.
• AI model: GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok, chosen by you. With your own API key (BYOK: you use your own key and pay the model provider directly), every model is available; plans with Chaterimo's API keys offer a shorter list of fast, affordable models.
• Price: monthly plans on the pricing page; Shopify stores pay through Shopify (Shopify plans). The trial lasts 7 days, with all features and no card.

It fits stores with a larger catalogue whose customers need advice on which product to buy, and stores on Shoptet, Upgates or Eshop-rychle. If your team wants to chat with customers live, one of the tools below fits better. The setup guide for Shopify and your first chatbot in 4 steps show how it is installed.

Gorgias

Gorgias is a helpdesk for online stores with an AI Agent⁷. The AI Agent answers from the Shopify catalogue, product pages synced into Gorgias and product information you add⁸, and handles order tracking, returns and cancellations⁹. It needs a Shopify store; Gorgias says it is not supported on BigCommerce, Magento or WooCommerce. When it is not confident, or the customer asks for a person, it hands the chat over to your team¹⁰.

Gorgias charges per ticket, not per agent. With monthly billing, Starter costs $10 for 50 tickets a month, Basic $60 for 300, Pro $360 for 2,000 and Advanced $900 for 5,000; annual billing is cheaper. The AI Agent costs $1.00 per automated interaction with monthly billing ($0.90 with annual billing), and each one also counts as a ticket. The trial lasts 7 days⁷. Gorgias fits Shopify stores with a support team that wants a helpdesk built around Shopify orders. Our article on Gorgias alternatives compares it with other helpdesks and AI agents.

Shopify Inbox

Shopify Inbox is Shopify's own chat app, free in the Shopify App Store¹². You answer customers yourself or turn on the Inbox agent, which answers from your product catalogue, policies, pages and knowledge base. It shares order details only after the customer signs in, which needs Shopify's new customer accounts. When staff are available, the conversation moves to them with the AI's context; otherwise the agent gives the customer your e-mail address¹³.

It works only on Shopify (Basic, Grow, Advanced and Shopify Plus plans), and customers see a notice that they are chatting with AI, which cannot be removed¹³. Shopify publishes no separate price for the AI agent. It is the natural first step for a small Shopify store.

Intercom

Intercom is a helpdesk that includes the Fin AI Agent in every plan¹⁴. Fin integrates natively with Shopify: it syncs the catalogue, stock and orders and can give order status, items, shipping address and tracking¹⁵. For other platforms, catalogue support is in closed beta¹⁶. Your team chats live in the same inbox.

Seats cost $29, $85 or $132 a month with annual billing (Essential, Advanced, Expert), and Fin costs $0.99 per outcome, charged at most once per conversation. The trial lasts 14 days¹⁴. Intercom fits larger Shopify stores with a support team and a budget per seat.

Zendesk

Zendesk is a general customer service suite with AI agents in every plan¹⁷. Its AI agents answer from content you import or sync, not from a live search of your store¹⁸. To look up an order, you build an API call yourself¹⁹. In the Shopify integration, your agents see the customer's Shopify orders²⁰.

Prices per agent and month with annual billing: Support Team $19 (e-mail and tickets), Suite Team $55 (adds messaging and live chat) and Suite Professional $115. Each agent includes 5 or 10 automated resolutions a month; more cost $1.50 to $2.00 each. The trial lasts 14 days¹⁷. Zendesk fits stores that already run support on it, or larger teams on many channels.

LiveChat (Text)

LiveChat's maker now sells its live chat with an AI agent under the name Text; existing LiveChat customers keep their plans²². In Shopify stores, the AI agent suggests products pulled live from the catalogue and answers “where is my order” without a person; when a case needs a person, it hands the conversation over with its context²⁴. Shopify, WooCommerce and other order systems connect so that the AI can check order status²³, and Text lists integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento and Adobe Commerce, among others²⁵.

Prices per user and month: Essential $25 with monthly billing ($19 with annual) with 10 AI resolutions a month, and Growth $99 ($79) with 200; 50 more resolutions cost $49.50. The trial lasts 14 days²². It fits teams that chat live and want the AI to take the routine questions.

Crisp

Crisp is a shared inbox and live chat with Hugo, an AI agent that learns from your website content and passes a conversation to a person with its context²⁶. For PrestaShop, Shopify and WooCommerce, Hugo looks up orders through one-click integrations²⁷. Crisp's pages do not describe answers from the product catalogue. Unlike most tools here, Crisp lets you choose the model provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral or a model hosted by Crisp), but not your own API key²⁸.

Crisp prices per workspace, not per seat: Free ($0, 2 agents, no AI), Mini $45 a month (4 agents, $5 of AI credits), Essentials $95 (10 agents, $25 of credits) and Plus $295 ($75 of credits), VAT excluded. The trial lasts 14 days²⁹. It fits small teams that want live chat and AI at a fixed price per workspace, including PrestaShop stores.

tawk.to

tawk.to gives its live chat, ticketing and help centre away for free; removing its branding costs $29 a month. Its AI chatbot, AI Assist, costs from $29 a month, and a free plan exists for sites with little chat volume³⁰. On the paid AI plans, AI Assist connects to Shopify: it finds products by name or SKU and shows an order after the customer confirms the e-mail address, phone number or postal code on it³¹. tawk.to also lists AI Assist integrations for WooCommerce and BigCommerce³².

AI Assist is billed in message credits: $29 a month buys 1,000 credits, and one reply with the default (Auto) model uses 3 credits. More credits cost $30 per 1,000³³. tawk.to fits stores that want free live chat and answer most questions themselves.

Smartsupp

Smartsupp is a European live chat with Mira AI, a shopping assistant that can also run on its own³⁵. Mira learns from your website or your product feed and passes the customer to a person when your live chat is online, within the business hours you set³⁶. Order status in the chat is a pre-built flow for Shoptet stores only, on the Plus plan and higher³⁷. Smartsupp lists integrations with Shopify, PrestaShop, Shoptet, Upgates, BigCommerce, Magento, Shopware, Wix and WordPress, among others³⁸.

With annual billing, Solo costs $17 a month (€14), Plus $25 (€21), Expert $83 (€69) and Ultimate from $280, VAT excluded; the Free plan has 25 conversations a month. Mira costs from $16 a month for 100 conversations with annual billing. The trial lasts 14 days³⁵. Smartsupp fits Central European stores, especially on Shoptet, whose team chats live.

How is the AI billed?

Each tool bills the AI in a different unit, so a list price says little until you apply it to your own volume:

Take last month's numbers: how many conversations you had, how many the AI could answer alone and how many people work in support. Calculate the monthly cost for two or three candidates with these numbers, not with the cheapest plan on the pricing page.

Can you choose the AI model or use your own API key?

Most tools choose the model for you. Tidio runs Lyro on Claude and its own models⁵. Gorgias uses several providers, including OpenAI and Anthropic, and its own fine-tuned models¹¹; Zendesk uses models from third-party vendors²¹. Neither they nor Intercom offer a choice of model or your own API key on their pages.

Crisp lets you choose the provider of Hugo's model, but not your own key²⁸, and tawk.to lets you pick the completion model of AI Assist³⁴. Chaterimo lets you choose GPT, Claude, Gemini or Grok for each chatbot and use your own API key, so you pay the model provider directly. Our guide to choosing an LLM for customer support explains which model to test first.

Which tools did we leave out?

Some tools from older lists of Tidio alternatives no longer fit an online store that wants AI customer support:

• Drift: Clari and Salesloft announced on 5 March 2026 that they are gradually ending Drift³⁹.
• ChatBot: chatbot.com is now part of Text, the maker of LiveChat⁴⁰.
• ManyChat: automates Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram and SMS, not the chat on your website⁴¹.
• HubSpot: has free live chat, but its AI Customer Agent needs a Professional or Enterprise edition and costs $0.50 per resolution⁴². It fits stores whose CRM already is HubSpot.
• Freshchat: a general messaging helpdesk whose AI agent learns from web pages, files and articles; Freshworks does not describe answers from a product catalogue⁴³. The first 500 AI sessions are included once, then $49 per 100 sessions⁴⁴.

How do you switch from Tidio?

1. List your Tidio setup. Write down your Flows, Lyro's data sources and your hand-over rules, so you can rebuild what you still need.
2. Collect real questions. Copy 20–30 typical customer questions: products, stock, delivery, returns, order status.
3. Connect your store. Install the app or add-on for your platform, or add a product feed, and add your policy pages and FAQ.
4. Set the AI. Choose the model and tone, where the tool lets you, and decide when the AI hands over to a person.
5. Test before you switch. Ask the new tool your questions and check the facts in every answer. Ask about a real order with a wrong e-mail address and check that nothing is revealed.
6. Replace the widget. Remove the Tidio widget when the new one goes live, so customers do not see two chat bubbles.
7. Measure after a month. Count how many conversations the AI resolved without a person and read a sample of them.

Summary

There is no single best Tidio alternative. Shopify stores with a support team compare Gorgias, Intercom and the free Shopify Inbox; teams that want live chat at a low price compare LiveChat, Crisp, tawk.to and Smartsupp; stores already on Zendesk can add its AI agents. If you want an AI agent that answers from your catalogue on Shopify, Shoptet, Upgates or Eshop-rychle, lets you choose the model and hands the rest to your team as tickets, compare Chaterimo; Chaterimo vs Tidio shows the differences point by point. Shopify stores can also compare the best AI chatbots for Shopify and the best live chat apps for Shopify. Test two or three tools on real questions from your customers before you decide.

TopicsAI customer service