FreshchatTidioFreshchat vs Tidio

Freshchat vs Tidio: entry plans at $19 and $24.17

A messaging platform against a live chat and AI for small business: Tidio is $46 a month cheaper for five people. What decides between Freshchat and Tidio, and a third option for small teams.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick Freshchat if you want a free chat inbox for up to ten agents and can add channels later. Pick Tidio if you run a Shopify or WordPress store and want a bot answering FAQs by tonight. For five people, Tidio is $46 a month cheaper than Freshchat ($95 a month on Freshchat against $49 or more on Tidio), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, $4 under Tidio. Freshchat and Tidio both include website chat, email, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price. Neither Freshchat nor Tidio includes Telegram outright. A team of two to ten choosing between Freshchat and Tidio for chat and tickets at one price has a third option below.

At a glanceFreshchatFreshchatTidioTidio
Built aroundChat and messaging · tickets live in FreshdeskThe chat widget and Lyro · billed by conversations, not seats
Entry plan$19/agent/mo · Growth, yearly$24.17/mo · Starter: 100 conversations
Chat in the price$0 · Free: up to 10 agents, widget and emailFrom $49.17/mo · Growth: 250+ conversations
AI agent$49 per 100 sessions · after 500 includedLyro from $32.50/mo · 50 conversations
Copilot for agents$29/agent/mo · Pro and upIncluded · reply assistant
Free planYes · up to 10 agentsYes · 50 conversations a month

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    FreshchatFreshchat

    As a conversation in the team inbox, from the widget or a messaging app; a ticket means Freshdesk. Tidio has no ticket queue either.

    TidioTidio

    As a chat in the widget, often answered first by the Lyro bot; a busy month counts against the conversation cap. Freshchat has no ticket queue either.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    FreshchatFreshchat

    The free plan covers ten agents on the widget and email; $19 on Growth adds WhatsApp, Instagram and SMS. $95 for five people, against $49 on Tidio.

    TidioTidio

    Ten seats are included; what you pay for is conversations, from 100 on Starter to 250 or more on Growth. $49 for five people, against $95 on Freshchat.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    FreshchatFreshchat

    Freddy AI Agent sessions: 500 included on paid plans, then $49 per 100. Copilot is $29 per agent on Pro. Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats as well.

    TidioTidio

    Lyro is bought in packs: from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, on top of the plan. Freshchat meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    FreshchatFreshchat

    Web and mobile widget and email on Free; WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS and Line from Growth. The same set as Tidio.

    TidioTidio

    Website chat, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and email, with native Shopify and WordPress apps. The same set as Freshchat.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    FreshchatFreshchat

    Campaigns and bots for the widget; the rest of Freshworks for tickets, IT and sales. Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business instead.

    TidioTidio

    Flows, the visual bot builder, and email campaigns for small ecommerce teams. Freshchat is a messaging platform instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    FreshchatFreshchat

    An hour for the widget; a day to connect the messaging channels. Tidio is an hour.

    TidioTidio

    An hour: install the app on Shopify or WordPress and switch on Lyro. Freshchat is an hour for the widget.

Sources: Freshchat pricing · Tidio pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The Freshchat team inbox: the conversation list, the chat and the customer context
FreshchatFreshchat. The Freshchat team inbox: the conversation list, the chat and the customer context
The Tidio inbox: the conversation list, the chat and Lyro's suggested answers
TidioTidio. The Tidio inbox: the conversation list, the chat and Lyro's suggested answers

Pricing references: Freshchat pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13); Tidio pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Freshchat, Tidio and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureFreshchatFreshchatTidioTidioSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI sessions in packs
By billable conversations; AI by conversation packs.
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
Up to 10 agents
50 conversations a month, 10 seats.
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
All plans
Yes.
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
In the inbox
Paid plans.
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Growth and up
Paid plans.
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Growth and up
Paid plans.
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Line, not Telegram
Not a channel.
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack and Teams integrations
Not offered.
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Freddy AI Agent
Lyro, trained on your site and FAQs.
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
500 sessions, then $49 per 100
From $32.50/mo for 50 conversations.
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Bot hands to an agent
Lyro hands to an operator.
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Through Freshdesk
Ticketing on paid plans, email-style.
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Bots and routing
Flows, visitor-count limited.
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and CSAT
Analytics on Growth and up.
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile
Desktop apps available.
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Freshchat if

  • You want a free chat inbox for up to ten agents and can add channels later.
  • You already use Freshdesk and want chat from the same vendor.
  • Time to the first reply is an hour for the widget here and an hour on Tidio.
  • Its pricing model suits you better than Tidio's: per agent per month, billed yearly. A free plan for up to 10 agents.

Pick Tidio if

  • You run a Shopify or WordPress store and want a bot answering FAQs by tonight.
  • Conversation volume is small enough that paying by conversation is cheaper than seats.
  • Five people cost $46 a month less than on Freshchat ($49 against $95), before AI.
  • You want native desktop apps, which Freshchat does not ship.

The third option: Sellio

  • Two to ten of you answer chat, messaging and email. Compare Sellio's workspace plans with $95 a month on Freshchat against $49 or more on Tidio for five people, including each product's limits.
  • The AI invoice should be known in advance: Freshchat meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats and Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats, where Sellio's credit is included and capped by you.
  • You need Telegram and tickets raised from a chat, which neither Freshchat nor Tidio includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Freshchat on Growth: $38, $95 and $190 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Tidio: $49+ a month for five (from $49.17 for 250 conversations; seats are not the limit); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $50 less than Freshchat and $4 less than Tidio for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $95 under Freshchat.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Freshchat is a messaging platform built around chat and messaging; Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro. Both have a free plan: Freshchat's is up to 10 agents, Tidio's is 50 conversations a month. Freshchat and Tidio both include website chat, email, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price. Neither Freshchat nor Tidio includes Telegram outright. Freshchat ($49 per 100 sessions) and Tidio (Lyro from $32.50/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Neither Freshchat nor Tidio has a ticket queue, and only Tidio ships desktop apps. Freshchat is an hour for the widget; Tidio is an hour.

What each price leaves out

Freshchat: Freddy AI Agent: 500 sessions included on paid plans, then $49 per 100; Freddy Copilot $29 per agent on Pro and up. Tidio: Lyro AI from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, sold separately or bundled. Beside Freshchat's $49 per 100 sessions and Tidio's Lyro from $32.50/mo, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    FreshchatFreshchat$0.49$0
    TidioTidioSee vendorNot quoted
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    FreshchatFreshchat · 14-day trial of Enterprise
    TidioTidio · 7-day trial
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

Freshchat vs Tidio: the questions people ask

Freshchat is a messaging platform built around chat and messaging; Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro. Neither Freshchat nor Tidio has a ticket queue, and only Tidio ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Freshchat $19/agent/mo (Growth, yearly); Tidio $24.17/mo (Starter: 100 conversations).
  • Chat in the price: Freshchat $0 (Free: up to 10 agents, widget and email); Tidio From $49.17/mo (Growth: 250+ conversations).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: Telegram, which neither Freshchat nor Tidio has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Freshchat and Tidio on the same rows.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

Get startedRead the docs

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