Help ScoutTidioHelp Scout vs Tidio

Help Scout vs Tidio: $76 apart for five people

A shared inbox and help desk against a live chat and AI for small business: Tidio is $76 a month cheaper for five people. What decides between Help Scout 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 Help Scout if email is your main channel and you want the calmest inbox your agents will ever use. Pick Tidio if you run a Shopify or WordPress store and want a bot answering FAQs by tonight. For five people, Tidio is $76 a month cheaper than Help Scout ($125 a month on Help Scout against $49 or more on Tidio), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, $4 under Tidio. Help Scout and Tidio both include website chat, email, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price. Neither Help Scout nor Tidio includes Telegram outright. A team of two to ten choosing between Help Scout and Tidio for chat and tickets at one price has a third option below.

At a glanceHelp ScoutHelp ScoutTidioTidio
Built aroundA calm email inbox · Beacon adds chatThe chat widget and Lyro · billed by conversations, not seats
Entry plan$25/user/mo · Standard: 2 inboxes$24.17/mo · Starter: 100 conversations
Chat in the price$25/user/mo · Beacon on every planFrom $49.17/mo · Growth: 250+ conversations
AI agent$0.75 per resolution · AI AnswersLyro from $32.50/mo · 50 conversations
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI inbox assistantIncluded · reply assistant
Free planYes · 5 users, 100 contacts a monthYes · 50 conversations a month

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    As a conversation in a shared inbox, assigned and tagged; it is email first, with Beacon chat beside it. 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. Help Scout has no ticket queue either.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    $25 buys two inboxes on Standard. More inboxes are $10 a month each; Pro has a ten-user minimum. $125 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 $125 on Help Scout.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    AI Answers, the chatbot, is $0.75 per resolution. The AI inbox assistant is included. 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. Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Email, Beacon chat, Messenger and SMS; no WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram in the inbox. The same set as Tidio.

    TidioTidio

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

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Docs, the knowledge base, and customer profiles with properties; no contact center or campaigns. Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business instead.

    TidioTidio

    Flows, the visual bot builder, and email campaigns for small ecommerce teams. Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    An afternoon: forward the support address, add Beacon, invite the team. Tidio is an hour.

    TidioTidio

    An hour: install the app on Shopify or WordPress and switch on Lyro. Help Scout is an afternoon.

Sources: Help Scout 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 Help Scout inbox: a conversation list, the email thread and the customer sidebar
Help ScoutHelp Scout. The Help Scout inbox: a conversation list, the email thread and the customer sidebar
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: Help Scout pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Tidio pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Help Scout, 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.

FeatureHelp ScoutHelp ScoutTidioTidioSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per user; extra inboxes $10; AI per resolution.
By billable conversations; AI by conversation packs.
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
5 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts a month.
50 conversations a month, 10 seats.
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Beacon.
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
Included on paid plans.
Paid plans.
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Included on paid plans.
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 notifications.
Not offered.
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
AI Answers, trained on Docs.
Lyro, trained on your site and FAQs.
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
$0.75 per resolution.
From $32.50/mo for 50 conversations.
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Hands to the inbox.
Lyro hands to an operator.
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with status; no separate ticket object.
Ticketing on paid plans, email-style.
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Workflows; rule lists with counts per plan.
Flows, visitor-count limited.
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and Happiness ratings.
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 apps.
Desktop apps available.
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Help Scout if

  • Email is your main channel and you want the calmest inbox your agents will ever use.
  • You want a mature knowledge base in the same product.
  • Time to the first reply is an afternoon here and an hour on Tidio.
  • Its pricing model suits you better than Tidio's: per user per month. Extra inboxes $10 a month each.

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 $76 a month less than on Help Scout ($49 against $125), before AI.
  • You want native desktop apps, which Help Scout does not ship.

The third option: Sellio

  • Two to ten of you answer chat, messaging and email. Compare Sellio's workspace plans with $125 a month on Help Scout against $49 or more on Tidio for five people, including each product's limits.
  • The AI invoice should be known in advance: Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) 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 Help Scout nor Tidio includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Help Scout on Standard: $50, $125 and $250 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, $80 less than Help Scout and $4 less than Tidio for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $155 under Help Scout.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox; Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro. Both have a free plan: Help Scout's is 5 users, 100 contacts a month, Tidio's is 50 conversations a month. Help Scout and Tidio both include website chat, email, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price. Neither Help Scout nor Tidio includes Telegram outright. Help Scout ($0.75 per resolution) and Tidio (Lyro from $32.50/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Neither Help Scout nor Tidio has a ticket queue, and only Tidio ships desktop apps. Help Scout is an afternoon; Tidio is an hour.

What each price leaves out

Help Scout: AI Inbox assistant included; AI Answers (the chatbot) $0.75 per resolution. Tidio: Lyro AI from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, sold separately or bundled. Beside Help Scout's $0.75 per resolution 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
    Help ScoutHelp Scout$0.75$360
    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.

    Help ScoutHelp Scout · 15 days, no card
    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

Help Scout vs Tidio: the questions people ask

Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox; Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro.

  • Entry plan: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Standard: 2 inboxes); Tidio $24.17/mo (Starter: 100 conversations).
  • Chat in the price: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Beacon on every plan); Tidio From $49.17/mo (Growth: 250+ conversations).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: Telegram, which neither Help Scout nor Tidio has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Help Scout 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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