Tidio

Tidio is the live-chat tool small businesses actually use — the chat widget, ticketing system and shared inbox that handles customer conversations without enterprise complexity, bloated pricing or a six-month implementation. Its current pitch combines human live chat with Lyro, an AI agent that resolves common questions automatically, in one affordable platform that a solo owner can set up in an afternoon.

The product covers the essentials well: live chat widget for your site, ticketing for email and social channels, a shared inbox for your team, basic analytics and integrations with the tools small businesses already use. It's deliberately scoped and honest — not trying to be a full helpdesk, just excellent at the customer conversations small businesses actually have.

Pricing is conversation-based. Plans include a monthly allowance of billable conversations (human + AI), and Lyro AI conversations are metered separately or included depending on the plan. The free plan is genuinely usable for very small volumes — 50 conversations a month with real features — which is rare and genuinely refreshing indeed in this category where "free" usually means a demo.

How Tidio works

1. Add the chat widget to your website.
2. Customers chat with Lyro AI for routine questions or reach your team.
3. Conversations flow into the shared inbox; tickets handle email and social.
4. Track response times, resolution and satisfaction in analytics.

Key capabilities

Live chat widget — customisable chat bubble for your site.

Lyro AI Agent — answers common questions, performs tasks, hands off to humans.

Shared inbox — team collaboration on conversations.

Ticketing system — email and social conversations as tickets.

Flows — chatbot-style automation for structured interactions.

Integrations — Shopify, WordPress, Mailchimp, Zapier and more.

Analytics — response times, missed conversations, satisfaction.

Mobile apps — manage conversations on the go.

What the free plan really means

Fifty conversations a month sounds tiny, but for a small business it's often enough to prove the channel works — a local service business might get five chats a week, a niche e-commerce store similar. The free plan lets you test whether customers actually use chat before paying anything, which is more than most tools offer.

Once you outgrow it, Starter at ~$24/month for 100 conversations is reasonable — but watch the meter. A shop running a promotion or a blog post that drives traffic can spike conversations fast, and billable conversations include both human and AI chats depending on plan.

Who it's really for

Tidio fits small businesses that want to offer live chat without enterprise cost — e-commerce stores handling order questions, service businesses qualifying leads, content sites building audience relationships. The free plan makes it a no-brainer to try.

It fits less well for high-volume support operations (conversation costs scale), for teams needing enterprise features like SSO and advanced security, and for companies wanting a pure AI agent — Chatbase is more focused there.

Tidio plans and pricing explained

Free — $0. 50 conversations/month, 10 agent seats, ticketing, all integrations, basic analytics. Enough for very low volume — a genuine free option.

Starter — ~$24.17/month billed annually (~$29 monthly). 100 billable conversations/month plus 50 Lyro AI conversations (one-off), live visitors list, operating hours, no Tidio branding option.

Growth — from ~$49.17/month annually. From 250 billable conversations, advanced analytics, user permissions, automatic chat assignment and replies, macros. For growing teams.

Plus — from $300/month plus usage. Custom conversation volumes, discounted usage rates, premium support, larger attachments. For higher-volume operations.

Lyro AI Agent standalone — from $32.50/month for 50 AI conversations. Available separately if you only want the AI agent without the full platform. Free accounts get 50 lifetime Lyro conversations to test.

Important pricing notes — conversations are the billing unit; AI and human conversations count differently depending on plan. Yearly billing saves ~2 months. 7-day free trial available.

What you should know before buying

Tidio is priced for small business — which is both its strength and its ceiling. The conversation-based pricing is fair for low volume but can get expensive as chat volume grows; high-traffic sites should model costs carefully or look at per-resolution pricing like Intercom's Fin.

Lyro's AI is good for routine questions but not a replacement for complex support — it resolves common issues and hands off the rest, which is the right design but means you still need humans for edge cases.

For small e-commerce stores, service businesses and websites wanting affordable live chat with AI assistance, Tidio is one of the best value options — the free plan alone makes it worth trying. For high-volume or enterprise support, Intercom or Zendesk offer more depth.