Tidio Review 2026: Pricing, Features and Verdict
Tidio's live chat, helpdesk and Lyro AI agent judged on published pricing, billing units and fit for small businesses, as of October 2026.
By , research by the BestBots team · Updated Oct 18, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Tidio is the best AI chatbot for most small businesses in October 2026. It has a free plan, a $29 Starter and the Lyro AI agent from $39 a month, it learns from your site in minutes, and it rates 4.8 on the Shopify App Store from 1,357 reviews. The catch: Lyro bills per conversation, not per resolution, so unanswered chats still cost you.
Tidio is the easiest low cost start: a free plan, a $29 Starter and Lyro from $39 a month for 50 AI conversations, set up from your site content in minutes. Watch the unit: Lyro bills per conversation with at least one AI reply, not per resolution, so unresolved chats still use your quota.
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- Starting price
- $29 per month
- Pricing model
- per conversation
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 7 days
- Price per resolution
- Not per resolution: $0.70 to $0.78 per Lyro conversation on monthly tiers
- Channels
- Website chat widget plus channels connected to Tidio; Lyro Connect for Zendesk, Intercom, Salesforce
- Human handoff
- Yes, rule based handoff and ticket creation
- Knowledge sources
- Website scrape, FAQ upload, support content
- Seats included
- 10 seats on Free, Starter and Growth; custom on Plus
What it is
Tidio is a customer service platform for small and mid size businesses with three parts: live chat and a helpdesk, Lyro (the AI agent), and Flows (rule based automations for lead capture and offers). You can buy them separately or together.
Lyro scrapes your support content and website and uses it as its knowledge base. It answers on the Tidio chat widget and channels connected to Tidio, creates a ticket when it cannot answer, and follows handoff rules you set for high value customers or sensitive topics. Through Lyro Connect it can also run inside Zendesk, Intercom or Salesforce.
Pricing explained
Customer service plans (live chat and helpdesk)
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | Conversations included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 50 a month, plus 50 one-time Lyro conversations |
| Starter | $29 | $24.17 ($290 a year) | 100 |
| Growth | From $59 | From $49.17 | 250 to 2,000 |
| Plus | From $300 | Custom | Custom, discounted usage rates |
| Premium | Quote only | Quote only | From 3,000 Lyro conversations |
Lyro AI Agent (monthly quota, billed monthly)
| Lyro conversations a month | Price | Per conversation |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | $39 | $0.78 |
| 100 | $75 | $0.75 |
| 200 | $140 | $0.70 |
| 500 | $350 | $0.70 |
| 1,000 | $700 | $0.70 |
Annual billing starts Lyro at $32.50 a month. Tidio's Lyro page also cites $0.50 per conversation, which likely reflects a specific tier or billing term; the published monthly tiers above work out to $0.70 to $0.78.
The billing unit matters. A Lyro conversation is any interaction with at least one AI reply. If Lyro answers and the customer still needs a human, you paid for that conversation. Compare that with Intercom Fin, which bills $0.99 only for outcomes and not when a customer asks for a person.
Worked example. A Shopify store with 300 AI handled chats a month on Starter plus the 300 Lyro tier pays $29 plus $210, so $239 a month billed monthly. If Lyro resolves 75% of those, as Tidio says its customers average, the effective price per resolution is about $0.93. At 50% it is $1.40.
Watch the free quota too. The 50 Lyro conversations on Free and Starter are one-time, not monthly. A monthly Lyro quota needs the Lyro plan.
Features
Channels. The website chat widget plus channels connected to Tidio. Lyro Connect extends Lyro to Zendesk, Intercom, Salesforce and 20+ other platforms.
Knowledge. Website scrape, FAQ upload and your support content.
Handoff. Flexible handoff and escalation rules, with ticket creation when Lyro does not know the answer.
Actions. Lyro Smart Actions call APIs and MCP tools, and on stores Lyro can recommend products based on preferences and stock.
Flows. Rule based automations for lead capture, cart recovery and offers, billed by visitors reached, from $29 for 2,000 a month.
Reviews. 4.8 on the Shopify App Store from 1,357 reviews and 4.6 on G2 from 1,968 reviews.
Setup
Tidio describes Lyro setup as a few clicks with no technical knowledge, and offers a one hour course in Tidio Academy. Install the widget with the Shopify or WordPress app or a script tag, point Lyro at your site and FAQ, and set handoff rules. The 7 day trial includes all features without a card.
The work that decides your results is content. Write clear answers to your top 20 questions before launch, then read transcripts weekly and fill gaps. Because Lyro bills per conversation, every gap costs you directly.
Who it is for
- Small online stores on Shopify, WooCommerce or WordPress.
- Service businesses answering hours, prices and booking questions on their website.
- Teams that want to start free and pay only once the bot proves itself.
- Zendesk or Intercom users who want a cheaper AI layer through Lyro Connect.
Who should skip it
- Teams that want to pay only for results. Fin and ChatBot.com bill per resolution at $0.99.
- High volume support. At 1,000 Lyro conversations a month you pay $700 for AI alone, plus your Tidio plan.
- Enterprise buyers needing published security certifications or an 80 language guarantee; Tidio's Lyro page does not list a language count.
- Shopify brands with heavy order volume that need order actions in a full ecommerce helpdesk; Gorgias is built for that.
How it compares
| Tidio Lyro | Crisp | Intercom Fin | ChatBot.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Free, Starter $29 | Free, Mini $45 | $39 per seat plus $0.99 per outcome | $25 per user |
| AI billing unit | Per conversation | Bundled AI credits | Per outcome | Per resolution after bundle |
| AI included at entry | 50 one-time conversations | Around 90 automated conversations on Mini | None | 10 resolutions a month |
| Trial | 7 days | 14 days | 14 days | 14 days |
Tidio wins on the free start and setup speed. Crisp is more predictable once you pay, because AI credits and seats are bundled into a flat workspace price. Fin and ChatBot.com protect you from paying for failed answers. Pick Tidio if you want to launch today and test; revisit the math once you pass a few hundred AI conversations a month.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free plan and 7 day trial with no card
- Starter at $29 a month, $24.17 billed annually
- Lyro learns from your site and FAQs in minutes
- Lyro Connect works on top of Zendesk, Intercom and Salesforce
- 4.8 on the Shopify App Store from 1,357 reviews
Cons
- Billed per Lyro conversation, not per resolution
- Two meters: human conversations and Lyro conversations
- Free Lyro conversations are one-time, not monthly
- No published language count for Lyro
Verdict
Tidio is the easiest low cost way for a small business to put an AI agent on its website: free to start, $29 for a real helpdesk and $39 for a monthly Lyro quota. It earns the top slot in our small business guide on price and setup. As volume grows, run the per resolution math against Intercom Fin, because per conversation billing gets expensive when the AI misses.
How Tidio Lyro scores
- Value
- 4.4
- Features
- 4.0
- Ease of setup
- 4.7
- Integrations
- 4.2
- Trust
- 4.4
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free plan and a 7 day trial with no credit card
- Lyro learns from your site and FAQs; setup described as minutes
- 4.8 on the Shopify App Store from 1,357 reviews and 4.6 on G2 from 1,968
- Lyro can also plug into Zendesk, Intercom or Salesforce
Cons
- Billed per Lyro conversation, not per resolution, so failed answers still count
- Prices scale with conversation tiers on two meters, human and AI
- Premium's resolution guarantee is quote only
- Language count is not published on the Lyro page
Tidio Lyro plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 billable conversations a month, 10 seats, 50 lifetime Lyro conversations, 100 Flows visitors |
| Starter | $29 per month | 100 billable conversations, 10 seats; $24.17 per month billed annually |
| Growth | From $59 per month | 250 to 2,000 billable conversations ($59 to $349), advanced analytics, permissions, macros; from $49.17 billed annually |
| Lyro AI Agent | From $39 per month | 50 Lyro conversations a month, up to 1,000 for $700; sold with or without a Customer Service plan |
| Plus | From $300 per month | Custom quotas, discounted usage rates, departments, OpenAPI, custom seats |
| Premium | Quote only | From 3,000 Lyro conversations, guaranteed 50% resolution rate, pay per resolution billing, SSO |
What users say
Tidio Lyro reviews from users
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Shopify Inbox4.2Frequently asked questions
Is Tidio good for small business?
Yes, on published facts it is one of the best starting points: a free plan, a 7 day trial with no card, a $29 Starter and an AI agent that learns from your website. It rates 4.8 on the Shopify App Store from 1,357 reviews.
How much does Tidio Lyro cost?
Billed monthly, Lyro costs $39 for 50 conversations, $75 for 100, $140 for 200, $350 for 500 and $700 for 1,000 a month. Annual billing starts at $32.50 a month. Every plan includes 50 one-time Lyro conversations.
What is a Lyro conversation?
Tidio counts a Lyro conversation as a customer interaction with at least one reply from the AI agent. It is not a resolution, so conversations Lyro fails to solve still use your quota.
Does Tidio have a free plan?
Yes. The free plan includes 50 billable conversations a month, 50 one-time Lyro AI conversations, 100 Flows visitors and live chat with ticketing.
Can Lyro work with Zendesk or Intercom?
Yes. Tidio's Lyro Connect plugs Lyro into Zendesk, Intercom, Salesforce and other helpdesks, per its Lyro page.
What resolution rate does Lyro get?
Tidio says its customers average a 75% resolution rate with Lyro, and its Premium plan advertises a guaranteed 50% resolution rate. Those are vendor figures; yours depends on your content.