TidioOlarkTidio vs Olark

Tidio vs Olark: live chat and AI or live chat for a small team

A live chat and AI for small business against a live chat software: Tidio is $96 a month cheaper for five people. What decides between Tidio and Olark, 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 Olark if you want an AI chat agent at a flat monthly price with no usage meter. For five people, Tidio is $96 a month cheaper than Olark ($49 or more a month on Tidio against $145 on Olark), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, $4 under Tidio. Tidio and Olark both include website chat in the price; only Tidio has email, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor Olark includes Telegram outright. A team of two to ten choosing between Tidio and Olark for chat and tickets at one price has a third option below.

At a glanceTidioTidioOlarkOlark
Built aroundThe chat widget and Lyro · billed by conversations, not seatsA simple chat box · AI agent at a flat price
Entry plan$24.17/mo · Starter: 100 conversations$29/agent/mo · human-only chat
Chat in the priceFrom $49.17/mo · Growth: 250+ conversations$29/agent/mo · the whole product is chat
AI agentLyro from $32.50/mo · 50 conversations$400/mo flat · unlimited AI conversations, 1 seat
Copilot for agentsIncluded · reply assistantNone
Free planYes · 50 conversations a monthNone · trial, no card

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. Olark has no ticket queue either.

    OlarkOlark

    As a chat in the box on your site, with transcripts emailed afterwards. 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 $145 on Olark.

    OlarkOlark

    $29 buys a human agent seat; the AI Website Agent is $400 a month flat with one seat included. $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. Olark folds AI ($400/mo flat) into the plan instead.

    OlarkOlark

    A flat $400 a month for unlimited AI conversations, with no token or per-outcome charge. 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, WhatsApp and Instagram are here and not on Olark.

    OlarkOlark

    Website chat only; no email inbox, WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram. Tidio adds email, WhatsApp and Instagram, which Olark lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    TidioTidio

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

    OlarkOlark

    Transcripts, reports and integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot and help desks. 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. Olark is minutes.

    OlarkOlark

    Minutes: paste the snippet. Tidio is an hour.

Sources: Tidio pricing · Olark 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 Olark agent console: the chat list and the conversation with visitor details
OlarkOlark. The Olark agent console: the chat list and the conversation with visitor details

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

Tidio, Olark 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.

FeatureTidioTidioOlarkOlarkSellio

Pricing

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

Channels

Website live chat
Yes.
The whole product
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Paid plans.
Transcripts only
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.
Not offered
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 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.
AI Website Agent
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $32.50/mo for 50 conversations.
$400 a month flat
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Lyro hands to an operator.
Hands to a human seat
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticketing on paid plans, email-style.
Chats only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Flows, visitor-count limited.
Chat rules only
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Growth and up.
Chat reports
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.
  • Five people cost $96 a month less than on Olark ($49 against $145), before AI.
  • You need email, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which Olark does not include outright.

Pick Olark if

  • You want an AI chat agent at a flat monthly price with no usage meter.
  • Website chat is the only channel and simplicity beats features.
  • You want the AI in the seat price ($400/mo flat) rather than Tidio's meter at Lyro from $32.50/mo.
  • Time to the first reply is minutes here and an hour on Tidio.

The third option: Sellio

  • Two to ten of you answer chat, messaging and email. Compare Sellio's workspace plans with $49 or more a month on Tidio against $145 on Olark for five people, including each product's limits.
  • The AI invoice should be known in advance: Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats and Olark folds AI ($400/mo flat) into the plan, where Sellio's credit is included and capped by you.
  • You need Telegram and tickets raised from a chat, which neither Tidio nor Olark 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. Olark on Live chat: $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 Olark for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $195 under Olark.

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; Olark is a live chat software built around a simple chat box. Only Tidio has a free plan (50 conversations a month); Olark offers a free trial. Tidio and Olark both include website chat in the price; only Tidio has email, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Tidio nor Olark includes Telegram outright. Tidio meters AI (Lyro from $32.50/mo) above the seats; Olark folds AI ($400/mo flat) into the plan. Neither Tidio nor Olark has a ticket queue, and only Tidio ships desktop apps. Tidio is an hour; Olark is minutes.

What each price leaves out

Tidio: Lyro AI from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, sold separately or bundled. Olark: AI Website Agent $400 a month flat, extra human seats $29 each. Beside Tidio's Lyro from $32.50/mo and Olark's $400/mo flat, 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
    OlarkOlarkAssumed $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
    OlarkOlark · Free 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 Olark: the questions people ask

Tidio is a live chat and AI for small business built around the chat widget and Lyro; Olark is a live chat software built around a simple chat box. Neither Tidio nor Olark has a ticket queue, and only Tidio ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Tidio $24.17/mo (Starter: 100 conversations); Olark $29/agent/mo (human-only chat).
  • Chat in the price: Tidio From $49.17/mo (Growth: 250+ conversations); Olark $29/agent/mo (the whole product is chat).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: Telegram, which neither Tidio nor Olark has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Tidio and Olark 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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