FrontTidioFront vs Tidio

Front vs Tidio: team inbox or live chat and AI for a small team

A team inbox against a live chat and AI for small business: Tidio is $276 a month cheaper for five people. The six differences, what five people pay on each, and a third option.

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 Front if email is the channel and you want shared drafts, comments and sequences on every thread. Pick Tidio if you run a Shopify or WordPress store and want a bot answering FAQs by tonight. For five people, Tidio is $276 a month cheaper than Front ($325 a month on Front against $49 or more on Tidio), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $4 under Tidio. Front and Tidio both include website chat, email and Instagram in the price; only Tidio has WhatsApp. Neither Front nor Tidio includes Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Front and Tidio sell here at one price.

At a glanceFrontFrontTidioTidio
Built aroundShared email · comments and drafts on every threadThe chat widget and Lyro · billed by conversations, not seats
Entry plan$25/seat/mo · Starter: one channel type$24.17/mo · Starter: 100 conversations
Chat in the price$65/seat/mo · Professional: omnichannelFrom $49.17/mo · Growth: 250+ conversations
AI agentFrom $0.05 per conversation · AutopilotLyro from $32.50/mo · 50 conversations
Copilot for agents$20/seat/moIncluded · reply assistant
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · 50 conversations a month

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    FrontFront

    As a thread in a shared inbox that teammates comment on and draft together; it is email first. 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. Front has no ticket queue either.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    FrontFront

    $25 buys one channel type and up to ten seats. Omnichannel and fifty seats start at Professional, $65. $325 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 $325 on Front.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    FrontFront

    Autopilot, the AI agent, from $0.05 a conversation; Copilot is $20 per seat and Smart QA $20 per seat. 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. Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    FrontFront

    Email on Starter; chat, SMS, WhatsApp and voice on Professional and up. Tidio adds WhatsApp, which Front lacks.

    TidioTidio

    Website chat, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and email, with native Shopify and WordPress apps. WhatsApp is here and not on Front.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    FrontFront

    Sequences, calendar, account views and analytics for logistics, finance and account teams. Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business instead.

    TidioTidio

    Flows, the visual bot builder, and email campaigns for small ecommerce teams. Front is a team inbox instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    FrontFront

    A day: connect the mailboxes, set rules and assignments, then add the chat widget. Tidio is an hour.

    TidioTidio

    An hour: install the app on Shopify or WordPress and switch on Lyro. Front is a day.

Sources: Front 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 Front inbox: the thread with internal comments beside it and the assignment bar on top
FrontFront. The Front inbox: the thread with internal comments beside it and the assignment bar on top
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: Front pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Tidio pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Front, 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.

FeatureFrontFrontTidioTidioSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; channels tiered; AI add-ons per seat.
By billable conversations; AI by conversation packs.
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
14-day trial.
50 conversations a month, 10 seats.
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Chat channel; Starter allows one channel type.
Yes.
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
The core of the product.
Paid plans.
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Professional and up, via add-on.
Paid plans.
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Professional and up.
Paid plans.
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not a channel.
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
Autopilot.
Lyro, trained on your site and FAQs.
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20 per seat.
From $32.50/mo for 50 conversations.
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Routes to teammates.
Lyro hands to an operator.
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with tags and status.
Ticketing on paid plans, email-style.
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Rules engine; visual on higher plans.
Flows, visitor-count limited.
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Professional and up.
Analytics on Growth and up.
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

Pick Front if

  • Email is the channel and you want shared drafts, comments and sequences on every thread.
  • You run logistics, finance or account management where a thread is a piece of work.
  • Time to the first reply is a day here and an hour on Tidio.
  • Its pricing model suits you better than Tidio's: per seat per month, billed yearly. Seat caps per plan.

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 $276 a month less than on Front ($49 against $325), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp in the price, which Front does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Front or Tidio who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $325 a month on Front against $49 or more on Tidio for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats, Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and tickets raised from a chat, which neither Front nor Tidio includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Front on Professional: $130, $325 and $650 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, $280 less than Front and $4 less than Tidio for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $555 under Front.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Front is a team inbox built around shared email; Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro. Only Tidio has a free plan (50 conversations a month); Front offers a 14-day trial of Professional. Front and Tidio both include website chat, email and Instagram in the price; only Tidio has WhatsApp. Neither Front nor Tidio includes Telegram outright. Front (from $0.05 per conversation) and Tidio (Lyro from $32.50/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Neither Front nor Tidio has a ticket queue, and both ship desktop apps. Front is a day; Tidio is an hour.

What each price leaves out

Front: Autopilot AI agent from $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20 per seat per month and Smart QA $20 per seat (included on Enterprise). Tidio: Lyro AI from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, sold separately or bundled. Beside Front's from $0.05 per conversation 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
    FrontFront$0.05$24
    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.

    FrontFront · 14-day trial of Professional
    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

Front vs Tidio: the questions people ask

Front is a team inbox built around shared email; Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro. Neither Front nor Tidio has a ticket queue, and both ship desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Front $25/seat/mo (Starter: one channel type); Tidio $24.17/mo (Starter: 100 conversations).
  • Chat in the price: Front $65/seat/mo (Professional: omnichannel); Tidio From $49.17/mo (Growth: 250+ conversations).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: Telegram, which neither Front nor Tidio has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Front and Tidio rows is on the shared inbox page.

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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