TidioLiveAgentTidio vs LiveAgent

Tidio vs LiveAgent: $96 apart for five people

A live chat and AI for small business against a help desk with live chat and calls: Tidio is $96 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 LiveAgent if you want email, chat and a call center in one ticket queue at a low seat price. For five people, Tidio is $96 a month cheaper than LiveAgent ($49 or more a month on Tidio against $145 on LiveAgent), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $4 under Tidio. Tidio and LiveAgent both include website chat and email in the price; only Tidio has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor LiveAgent includes Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Tidio and LiveAgent sell here at one price.

At a glanceTidioTidioLiveAgentLiveAgent
Built aroundThe chat widget and Lyro · billed by conversations, not seatsA universal inbox · email, chat and calls
Entry plan$24.17/mo · Starter: 100 conversations$15/agent/mo · Small Business, yearly
Chat in the priceFrom $49.17/mo · Growth: 250+ conversations$15/agent/mo · chat on every plan
AI agentLyro from $32.50/mo · 50 conversationsIncluded · chatbot and answer assistant
Copilot for agentsIncluded · reply assistantIncluded
Free planYes · 50 conversations a monthNone · 30-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. LiveAgent raises a ticket where Tidio keeps a conversation.

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    As a ticket in the universal inbox, whether it came by email, chat or a call. 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 $145 on LiveAgent.

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    $15 buys email and two chat buttons on Small Business; the call center starts on Medium at $29. $145 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. LiveAgent folds AI (included) into the plan instead.

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    The chatbot, answer assistant and triage are included in the paid plans; no per-conversation meter. 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. WhatsApp and Instagram are here and not on LiveAgent.

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    Email and chat on every plan; calls from Medium; WhatsApp, Viber, Instagram and Facebook on Large and up. Tidio adds WhatsApp and Instagram, which LiveAgent lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    TidioTidio

    Flows, the visual bot builder, and email campaigns for small ecommerce teams. LiveAgent is a help desk with live chat and calls instead.

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    A call center with IVR, a knowledge base and a customer portal. 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. LiveAgent is a day.

    LiveAgentLiveAgent

    A day: connect the mailbox, add the chat button, set the departments. Tidio is an hour.

Sources: Tidio pricing · LiveAgent 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 LiveAgent universal inbox: the ticket list with email, chat and call tickets together
LiveAgentLiveAgent. The LiveAgent universal inbox: the ticket list with email, chat and call tickets together

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

Tidio, LiveAgent 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.

FeatureTidioTidioLiveAgentLiveAgentSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
By billable conversations; AI by conversation packs.
Per agent; AI included
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
50 conversations a month, 10 seats.
None; 30-day trial
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Yes.
All plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Paid plans.
All plans
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Paid plans.
Large and up
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Paid plans.
Add-on below Large
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not a channel.
Viber, not Telegram
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.
Chatbot included
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $32.50/mo for 50 conversations.
In the seat
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Lyro hands to an operator.
Hands to an agent
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticketing on paid plans, email-style.
Universal inbox
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Flows, visitor-count limited.
Rules and time rules
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.
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.
  • Five people cost $96 a month less than on LiveAgent ($49 against $145), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which LiveAgent does not include outright.

Pick LiveAgent if

  • You want email, chat and a call center in one ticket queue at a low seat price.
  • AI included in the seat matters more than a tunable AI meter.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Tidio does not have.
  • You want the AI in the seat price (included) rather than Tidio's meter at Lyro from $32.50/mo.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Tidio or LiveAgent who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $49 or more a month on Tidio against $145 on LiveAgent for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats, LiveAgent folds AI (included) into the plan; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram, which neither Tidio nor LiveAgent 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. LiveAgent on Medium Business: $58, $145 and $290 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 $100 less than LiveAgent for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $195 under LiveAgent.

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; LiveAgent is a help desk with live chat and calls built around a universal inbox. Only Tidio has a free plan (50 conversations a month); LiveAgent offers a 30-day trial, no card. Tidio and LiveAgent both include website chat and email in the price; only Tidio has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor LiveAgent includes Telegram outright. Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats; LiveAgent folds AI (included) into the plan. LiveAgent has tickets and Tidio does not, and both ship desktop apps. Tidio is an hour; LiveAgent is a day.

What each price leaves out

Tidio: Lyro AI from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, sold separately or bundled. LiveAgent: Chatbot, answer assistant, autoresponder and triage included in the paid plans. Beside Tidio's Lyro from $32.50/mo and LiveAgent's included, 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
    LiveAgentLiveAgentAssumed $0$0
    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
    LiveAgentLiveAgent · 30-day trial, no card
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Tidio vs LiveAgent: the questions people ask

Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro; LiveAgent is a help desk with live chat and calls built around a universal inbox. LiveAgent has tickets and Tidio does not, and both ship desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Tidio $24.17/mo (Starter: 100 conversations); LiveAgent $15/agent/mo (Small Business, yearly).
  • Chat in the price: Tidio From $49.17/mo (Growth: 250+ conversations); LiveAgent $15/agent/mo (chat on every plan).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: Telegram, which neither Tidio nor LiveAgent has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Tidio and LiveAgent 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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