Tidio3CXTidio vs 3CX

Tidio vs 3CX: $49 apart for five people

A live chat and AI for small business against a business phone system with live chat: 3CX is $49 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 Tidio if you run a Shopify or WordPress store and want a bot answering FAQs by tonight. Pick 3CX if phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents. For five people, 3CX is $49 a month cheaper than Tidio ($49 or more a month on Tidio against $0 on 3CX), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only 3CX's figure comes under. Tidio and 3CX both include website chat and WhatsApp in the price; only Tidio has email and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor 3CX includes Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Tidio and 3CX sell here at one price.

At a glanceTidioTidio3CX3CX
Built aroundThe chat widget and Lyro · billed by conversations, not seatsPhone calls · a PBX with a chat widget
Entry plan$24.17/mo · Starter: 100 conversations$0 · SMB Free: up to 10 users
Chat in the priceFrom $49.17/mo · Growth: 250+ conversations$0 · live chat on the free tier
AI agentLyro from $32.50/mo · 50 conversationsNone for chat · call transcription launching
Copilot for agentsIncluded · reply assistantNone
Free planYes · 50 conversations a monthYes · up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    TidioTidio

    As a chat in the widget, often answered first by the Lyro bot; a busy month counts against the conversation cap. 3CX has no ticket queue either.

    3CX3CX

    As a call, or as a chat that rings the same agent queue; there is no ticket behind it. Tidio has no ticket queue either.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    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 $0 on 3CX.

    3CX3CX

    The licence is per system per year, sized by simultaneous calls, not per agent; the free tier covers ten users. $0 for five people, against $49 on Tidio.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    TidioTidio

    Lyro is bought in packs: from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, on top of the plan. 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat) instead.

    3CX3CX

    No AI agent for chat. Call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    TidioTidio

    Website chat, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and email, with native Shopify and WordPress apps. email and Instagram are here and not on 3CX.

    3CX3CX

    Voice, live chat, WhatsApp, Messenger and SMS through the phone system; no email queue. Tidio adds email and Instagram, which 3CX lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    TidioTidio

    Flows, the visual bot builder, and email campaigns for small ecommerce teams. 3CX is a business phone system with live chat instead.

    3CX3CX

    The phone system itself: extensions, call queues, IVR, recordings and video meetings. Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    TidioTidio

    An hour: install the app on Shopify or WordPress and switch on Lyro. 3CX is a day for the phone system.

    3CX3CX

    A day for the phone system; minutes for the chat widget once the PBX is up. Tidio is an hour.

Sources: Tidio pricing · 3CX 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 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
The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel
3CX3CX. The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel

Pricing references: Tidio pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); 3CX pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Tidio, 3CX 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.

FeatureTidioTidio3CX3CXSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
By billable conversations; AI by conversation packs.
Per system per year, by simultaneous calls
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
50 conversations a month, 10 seats.
Up to 10 users, hosted by 3CX
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Yes.
Widget rings the agent queue
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Paid plans.
No email queue
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Paid plans.
Through the phone system
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Paid plans.
Messenger only
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not a channel.
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Not offered.
Internal 3CX chat only
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Lyro, trained on your site and FAQs.
None for chat
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $32.50/mo for 50 conversations.
No AI agent to bill
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Lyro hands to an operator.
No AI to hand off from
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticketing on paid plans, email-style.
Calls and chats, no ticket queue
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Flows, visitor-count limited.
Call flows, not support automations
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Growth and up.
Call reports
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

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.
  • You need email and Instagram in the price, which 3CX does not include outright.
  • You want an AI agent at all; 3CX has none for chat.

Pick 3CX if

  • Phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents.
  • You want a free tier for a small team that already needs a PBX.
  • Five people cost $49 a month less than on Tidio ($0 against $49), before AI.
  • Time to the first reply is a day for the phone system here and an hour on Tidio.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Tidio or 3CX who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $49 or more a month on Tidio against $0 on 3CX for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats, 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat); Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and tickets raised from a chat, which neither Tidio nor 3CX includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

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. 3CX: $0 a month for five (five users on the free tier); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $4 less than Tidio and more than 3CX's $0 for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Both have a free plan: Tidio's is 50 conversations a month, 3CX's is up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted. Tidio and 3CX both include website chat and WhatsApp in the price; only Tidio has email and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor 3CX includes Telegram outright. Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats; 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat). Neither Tidio nor 3CX has a ticket queue, and both ship desktop apps. Tidio is an hour; 3CX is a day for the phone system.

What each price leaves out

Tidio: Lyro AI from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, sold separately or bundled. 3CX: No AI agent for chat; call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Beside Tidio's Lyro from $32.50/mo and 3CX's none for chat, 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
    TidioTidioSee vendorNot quoted
    3CX3CXSee 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.

    TidioTidio · 7-day trial
    3CX3CX · Free tier, no trial clock
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Tidio vs 3CX: the questions people ask

Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Neither Tidio nor 3CX has a ticket queue, and both ship desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Tidio $24.17/mo (Starter: 100 conversations); 3CX $0 (SMB Free: up to 10 users).
  • Chat in the price: Tidio From $49.17/mo (Growth: 250+ conversations); 3CX $0 (live chat on the free tier).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: Telegram, which neither Tidio nor 3CX has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Tidio and 3CX 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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