TidioKayakoTidio vs Kayako

Tidio vs Kayako: live chat and AI or help desk for a small team

A live chat and AI for small business against a help desk: one prints a price and one quotes. Where Tidio and Kayako 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 Tidio if you run a Shopify or WordPress store and want a bot answering FAQs by tonight. Pick Kayako if you want an AI agent billed only per resolved ticket, with no seat fee. For five people it is $49 or more a month on Tidio, and a quote on Kayako, before AI; Sellio Mini is $45 for the workspace. Tidio and Kayako both include website chat and email in the price; only Tidio has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor Kayako includes Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Tidio against Kayako, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceTidioTidioKayakoKayako
Built aroundThe chat widget and Lyro · billed by conversations, not seatsTickets and a customer journey · AI billed per resolution
Entry plan$24.17/mo · Starter: 100 conversationsQuote · Kayako One
Chat in the priceFrom $49.17/mo · Growth: 250+ conversationsQuote · widget included
AI agentLyro from $32.50/mo · 50 conversations$1 per resolution · Kay AI Agent
Copilot for agentsIncluded · reply assistantIn Kay
Free planYes · 50 conversations a monthNone · talk to a pricing expert

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. Kayako raises a ticket where Tidio keeps a conversation.

    KayakoKayako

    As a ticket that shows the customer's journey across the site and past conversations. 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; Kayako prints no figure to set beside it.

    KayakoKayako

    No seat price is printed for Kayako One; older plans were $15 to $60 per agent. No figure for five people here; Tidio prints $49.

  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. Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats as well.

    KayakoKayako

    Kay, the AI agent, is $1 per resolved ticket, with no seat fee; escalations are not charged. 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. WhatsApp and Instagram are here and not on Kayako.

    KayakoKayako

    Email, live chat, Messenger and X; no WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram in the inbox. Tidio adds WhatsApp and Instagram, which Kayako lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    TidioTidio

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

    KayakoKayako

    A help center, SLAs, automation rules and reporting. 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. Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

    KayakoKayako

    A sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding. Tidio is an hour.

Sources: Tidio pricing · Kayako 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 Kayako conversation view: the ticket with the customer journey timeline beside it
KayakoKayako. The Kayako conversation view: the ticket with the customer journey timeline beside it

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

Tidio, Kayako 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.

FeatureTidioTidioKayakoKayakoSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
By billable conversations; AI by conversation packs.
Quote; AI per resolution
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
50 conversations a month, 10 seats.
None
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Yes.
Widget included
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Paid plans.
Included
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Paid plans.
Not offered
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Paid plans.
Messenger and X 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.
Slack integration
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.
Kay
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $32.50/mo for 50 conversations.
$1 per resolution
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Lyro hands to an operator.
Escalates free of charge
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.
Automation rules
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Growth and up.
Reporting
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Desktop apps available.
Browser 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.
  • You need WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which Kayako does not include outright.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Kayako offers no trial.

Pick Kayako if

  • You want an AI agent billed only per resolved ticket, with no seat fee.
  • A ticket view that shows the customer's journey matters to you.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Tidio does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding here and an hour on Tidio.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $49 or more a month on Tidio, and a quote on Kayako for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats, Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram, which neither Tidio nor Kayako 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. Kayako quotes per team, so two, five and ten people are three conversations with sales. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $4 less than Tidio and against a quote on Kayako 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; Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey. Only Tidio has a free plan (50 conversations a month); Kayako offers no trial. Tidio and Kayako both include website chat and email in the price; only Tidio has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor Kayako includes Telegram outright. Tidio (Lyro from $32.50/mo) and Kayako ($1 per resolution) both meter AI above the seats. Kayako has tickets and Tidio does not, and only Tidio ships desktop apps. Tidio is an hour; Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

What each price leaves out

Tidio: Lyro AI from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, sold separately or bundled. Kayako: Kay AI Agent $1 per resolved ticket; escalations and deflections are free. Beside Tidio's Lyro from $32.50/mo and Kayako's $1 per resolution, 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 these figures were read

Kayako does not print the figures above in a form a fetch can read (Seat prices are not printed; the AI agent is $1 per resolution. Older plans ran $15 to $60 per agent.), so they are marked unverified here beside Tidio's, and Kayako's pricing page should be checked before you decide.

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
    KayakoKayakoSee 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
    KayakoKayako · None printed; book a session
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Tidio vs Kayako: the questions people ask

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

  • Entry plan: Tidio $24.17/mo (Starter: 100 conversations); Kayako Quote (Kayako One).
  • Chat in the price: Tidio From $49.17/mo (Growth: 250+ conversations); Kayako Quote (widget included).
  • Sellio's inbox: Telegram, which neither Tidio nor Kayako has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Tidio and Kayako 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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