TidioFreshdeskTidio vs Freshdesk

Tidio vs Freshdesk: live chat and AI or help desk

A live chat and AI for small business against a help desk: Tidio is $226 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 Freshdesk if your support is email tickets first and you want SLAs, time tracking and field service in one help desk. For five people, Tidio is $226 a month cheaper than Freshdesk ($49 or more a month on Tidio against $275 on Freshdesk), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $4 under Tidio. Tidio and Freshdesk both include email in the price; only Tidio has website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor Freshdesk includes Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Tidio and Freshdesk sell here at one price.

At a glanceTidioTidioFreshdeskFreshdesk
Built aroundThe chat widget and Lyro · billed by conversations, not seatsEmail tickets · chat is the separate Freshchat
Entry plan$24.17/mo · Starter: 100 conversations$19/agent/mo · Growth: email and tickets
Chat in the priceFrom $49.17/mo · Growth: 250+ conversations$55/agent/mo · Pro, with Freshchat on top
AI agentLyro from $32.50/mo · 50 conversations$49 per 100 sessions · 500 trial sessions once per account
Copilot for agentsIncluded · reply assistant$29/agent/mo · Freddy Copilot
Free planYes · 50 conversations a monthNone · 14-day trial

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. Freshdesk raises a ticket where Tidio keeps a conversation.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    As a ticket in an email queue. Chat conversations live in Freshchat and become tickets when escalated. Tidio has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

  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 $275 on Freshdesk.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    $19 buys email tickets on Growth. Chat and messaging mean adding Freshchat or an Omni bundle. $275 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. Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats as well.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

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

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    TidioTidio

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

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Email and web forms on every plan; chat, WhatsApp and Instagram arrive with Freshchat. Tidio adds website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram, which Freshdesk lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    TidioTidio

    Flows, the visual bot builder, and email campaigns for small ecommerce teams. Freshdesk is a help desk instead.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Field service, time tracking, SLAs and a marketplace; the wider Freshworks suite for IT and sales. 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. Freshdesk is a day or two.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    A day or two: connect the support address, set groups and SLAs, then add Freshchat for the widget. Tidio is an hour.

Sources: Tidio pricing · Freshdesk 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 Freshdesk ticket view: the queue on the left, the ticket thread and the properties panel
FreshdeskFreshdesk. The Freshdesk ticket view: the queue on the left, the ticket thread and the properties panel

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

Tidio, Freshdesk 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.

FeatureTidioTidioFreshdeskFreshdeskSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
By billable conversations; AI by conversation packs.
Per agent; AI per agent and per session
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
50 conversations a month, 10 seats.
Not on the pricing page; 14-day trial
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Yes.
Via Freshchat or Omni
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Paid plans.
Core of the product
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Paid plans.
Via Freshchat or Omni
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Paid plans.
Via Freshchat or Omni
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not a channel.
Not native
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Not offered.
Slack and Teams notifications
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.
Freddy, trained on the knowledge base
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $32.50/mo for 50 conversations.
500 one-time trial sessions, then $49 per 100
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Lyro hands to an operator.
Escalates to agents
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

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

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Desktop apps available.
Browser and mobile only
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.
  • Five people cost $226 a month less than on Freshdesk ($49 against $275), before AI.
  • You need website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which Freshdesk does not include outright.

Pick Freshdesk if

  • Your support is email tickets first and you want SLAs, time tracking and field service in one help desk.
  • You are already on Freshworks products and want the same admin and billing.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Tidio does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is a day or two here and an hour on Tidio.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Tidio or Freshdesk who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $49 or more a month on Tidio against $275 on Freshdesk for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats, Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram, which neither Tidio nor Freshdesk 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. Freshdesk on Pro: $110, $275 and $550 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $4 less than Tidio and $230 less than Freshdesk for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $455 under Freshdesk.

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; Freshdesk is a help desk built around email tickets. Only Tidio has a free plan (50 conversations a month); Freshdesk offers 14 days of Enterprise. Tidio and Freshdesk both include email in the price; only Tidio has website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor Freshdesk includes Telegram outright. Tidio (Lyro from $32.50/mo) and Freshdesk ($49 per 100 sessions) both meter AI above the seats. Freshdesk has tickets and Tidio does not, and only Tidio ships desktop apps. Tidio is an hour; Freshdesk is a day or two.

What each price leaves out

Tidio: Lyro AI from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, sold separately or bundled. Freshdesk: Freddy AI Copilot $29 per agent per month yearly; 500 AI agent trial sessions once per account, then $49 per 100 sessions. Beside Tidio's Lyro from $32.50/mo and Freshdesk's $49 per 100 sessions, 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
    FreshdeskFreshdesk$0.49$245
    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
    FreshdeskFreshdesk · 14 days of Enterprise
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Tidio vs Freshdesk: the questions people ask

Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro; Freshdesk is a help desk built around email tickets. Freshdesk has tickets and Tidio does not, and only Tidio ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Tidio $24.17/mo (Starter: 100 conversations); Freshdesk $19/agent/mo (Growth: email and tickets).
  • Chat in the price: Tidio From $49.17/mo (Growth: 250+ conversations); Freshdesk $55/agent/mo (Pro, with Freshchat on top).
  • Sellio: Telegram, which neither Tidio nor Freshdesk has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Tidio and Freshdesk 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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