LiveChatTidioLiveChat vs Tidio

LiveChat vs Tidio: live chat or live chat and AI

A live chat software against a live chat and AI for small business: Tidio is $196 a month cheaper for five people. Where LiveChat and Tidio split, 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 LiveChat if website chat is the channel and you want the most refined console and widget available. Pick Tidio if you run a Shopify or WordPress store and want a bot answering FAQs by tonight. For five people, Tidio is $196 a month cheaper than LiveChat ($245 a month on LiveChat against $49 or more on Tidio), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $4 below Tidio. LiveChat and Tidio both include website chat in the price; only Tidio has email, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither LiveChat nor Tidio includes Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing LiveChat against Tidio, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceLiveChatLiveChatTidioTidio
Built aroundThe chat console · help desk and chatbot sold separatelyThe chat widget and Lyro · billed by conversations, not seats
Entry plan$19/agent/mo · Starter: 60-day history$24.17/mo · Starter: 100 conversations
Chat in the price$49/agent/mo · TeamFrom $49.17/mo · Growth: 250+ conversations
AI agentChatBot from $52/mo · a separate productLyro from $32.50/mo · 50 conversations
Copilot for agentsIncluded · Text IntelligenceIncluded · 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

    LiveChatLiveChat

    As a chat in the agent console, with the visitor's page and typing shown live; tickets go to the separate HelpDesk product. 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. LiveChat has no ticket queue either.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    LiveChatLiveChat

    $19 buys the console with 60 days of history. Team at $49 keeps the history and adds reports. $245 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 $245 on LiveChat.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    LiveChatLiveChat

    Text Intelligence assists are included; an AI answering customers means the separate ChatBot product from $52 a month. 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. LiveChat meters AI (ChatBot from $52/mo) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    LiveChatLiveChat

    Website chat, Messenger, Apple Messages, WhatsApp and email in the console; SMS via integration. Tidio adds email, WhatsApp and Instagram, which LiveChat lacks.

    TidioTidio

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

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    LiveChatLiveChat

    A large marketplace, and sibling products for chatbot, help desk and knowledge base at their own prices. Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business instead.

    TidioTidio

    Flows, the visual bot builder, and email campaigns for small ecommerce teams. LiveChat is a live chat software instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    LiveChatLiveChat

    An hour: paste the snippet, invite agents, answer. Tidio is an hour.

    TidioTidio

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

Sources: LiveChat 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 LiveChat agent console: the chat list, the conversation and the visitor details
LiveChatLiveChat. The LiveChat agent console: the chat list, the conversation and the visitor details
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: LiveChat pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Tidio pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

LiveChat, 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.

FeatureLiveChatLiveChatTidioTidioSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; ChatBot is a separate product.
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
The core product.
Yes.
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Via marketplace integration.
Paid plans.
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Via marketplace integration.
Paid plans.
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via marketplace integration.
Paid plans.
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not listed.
Not a channel.
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack integration.
Not offered.
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
ChatBot, a separate subscription.
Lyro, trained on your site and FAQs.
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $52/mo for ChatBot; copilot included.
From $32.50/mo for 50 conversations.
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
ChatBot transfers to agents.
Lyro hands to an operator.
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
HelpDesk is a separate product.
Ticketing on paid plans, email-style.
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Routing rules; flows live in ChatBot.
Flows, visitor-count limited.
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and ratings.
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 LiveChat if

  • Website chat is the channel and you want the most refined console and widget available.
  • You need Apple Messages for Business.
  • Its pricing model suits you better than Tidio's: per agent per month; yearly and monthly rates. No free 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 $196 a month less than on LiveChat ($49 against $245), before AI.
  • You need email, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which LiveChat does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $245 a month on LiveChat against $49 or more on Tidio for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: LiveChat meters AI (ChatBot from $52/mo) above the seats, Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and tickets raised from a chat, which neither LiveChat nor Tidio includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

LiveChat on Team: $98, $245 and $490 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, $200 less than LiveChat and $4 less than Tidio for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $395 under LiveChat.

Where the two agree, and where they split

LiveChat is a live chat software built around the chat console; 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); LiveChat offers 14 days, no card. LiveChat and Tidio both include website chat in the price; only Tidio has email, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither LiveChat nor Tidio includes Telegram outright. LiveChat (ChatBot from $52/mo) and Tidio (Lyro from $32.50/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Neither LiveChat nor Tidio has a ticket queue, and both ship desktop apps. LiveChat is an hour; Tidio is an hour.

What each price leaves out

LiveChat: Text Intelligence (copilot, suggestions, summaries) included. The ChatBot product is separate, from $52 a month yearly. Tidio: Lyro AI from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, sold separately or bundled. Beside LiveChat's ChatBot from $52/mo 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
    LiveChatLiveChatAssumed $0$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.

    LiveChatLiveChat · 14 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

LiveChat vs Tidio: the questions people ask

LiveChat is a live chat software built around the chat console; Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro. Neither LiveChat nor Tidio has a ticket queue, and both ship desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: LiveChat $19/agent/mo (Starter: 60-day history); Tidio $24.17/mo (Starter: 100 conversations).
  • Chat in the price: LiveChat $49/agent/mo (Team); Tidio From $49.17/mo (Growth: 250+ conversations).
  • Sellio's inbox: Telegram, which neither LiveChat nor Tidio has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside LiveChat 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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