Freshchat vs Tidio. Pricing, AI and which to pick.
Both have free plans with live chat. Freshchat is free for up to 10 agents and sells its Freddy AI Agent by sessions; Tidio's free plan is capped by conversations, and its Lyro AI agent is billed separately.
Every price and feature here comes from Freshchat's and Tidio's own websites, with links. ChatBento, our product, appears as a third column so you can see where a simpler website chatbot fits.
Live chat and help desks
Freshchat
Freshchat, from Freshworks, is a messaging and live chat platform: a shared team inbox for web chat, social apps, SMS, WhatsApp and email, with Freddy AI as a paid option.
- Starts at
- $0free for up to 10 agents; paid from $19/agent/mo billed yearly
- Billing
- Per agent, plus $49 per 100 AI sessions
- Free option
- Yes, up to 10 agents
Live chat and help desks
Tidio
Tidio is a customer service platform with a live chat widget, a help desk with ticketing, and an AI agent called Lyro, which is also sold on its own.
- Starts at
- $24.17per mo billed yearly, Starter (100 conversations)
- Billing
- Plan by conversations, Lyro AI billed separately
- Free option
- Yes, 50 conversations
Freshchat vs Tidio, side by side
"Not confirmed" means we couldn't verify it on that company's site, not that it's missing.
| Feature | Freshchat | Tidio | ChatBentoOur product |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, up to 10 agents | Yes, 50 conversations | Yes, 50 AI messages/mo |
| Lowest paid plan | $19/agent/mo billed yearly | $24.17/mo billed yearly | $14/mo (2,000 AI messages) |
| How the AI is billed | Per agent, plus $49 per 100 AI sessions | Plan by conversations, Lyro AI billed separately | Flat monthly price, no seats |
| AI answers trained on your website | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Install with one script tag | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hand-off to a human | Yes, to agents in the inbox | Yes, to your team | Yes, by email |
| Live chat inbox for your team | Yes | Yes | No |
| WhatsApp, Messenger and other channels | Yes | Yes | Not yet |
| Native integrations (CRM, Slack and others) | Not confirmed | Yes | Not yet |
| Help desk ticketing | Not confirmed | Yes | No |
Freshchat details checked October 23, 2026; Tidio details checked October 30, 2026. Prices change, so check each company's pricing page before you decide.
Where each one is stronger
Freshchat's strengths
From Freshchat's own site. Check Tidio's column in the table above for the same rows.
A free team inbox
Freshchat's free plan covers up to 10 agents answering web chat in a shared inbox. ChatBento has no live inbox; it hands visitors to you by email.
freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricingMessaging channels
From Growth up, Freshchat brings Facebook and Instagram messages, SMS, WhatsApp, LINE and Google Business Messages into the same inbox.
freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricingRouting and SLAs
Intelligent, round-robin and skill-based routing, multiple SLAs, and translation in over 45 languages on Pro and up.
freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricingMore AI knowledge sources
Freddy AI Agent can learn from public URLs, files (.pdf, .docx, .txt), your published solution articles and custom Q&As.
crmsupport.freshworks.com/support/solutions/articles/50000010092-configure-knowledge-sources
Tidio's strengths
From Tidio's own site. Check Freshchat's column in the table above for the same rows.
Live chat and ticketing, even on Free
Tidio's free plan includes live chat and ticketing, with mobile apps for Android and iOS and a desktop app. ChatBento has no live inbox; it hands visitors to you by email.
tidio.com/pricingMessaging channels
WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger are listed as native integrations from the Free plan up.
tidio.com/pricingShopify actions
On Growth, Tidio can check a customer's order history and cancel orders inside Shopify. ChatBento answers questions but doesn't take store actions.
tidio.com/pricingA long integrations list
Tidio names integrations with Shopify, WordPress, Zapier, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zendesk and Intercom, plus an open API.
tidio.com/integrations
Freshchat and Tidio pricing
Each plan as the company lists it, with the fees that come on top.
Freshchat pricing
- Freeup to 10 agents, web chat widget and shared inbox$0
- Growthper agent / mo, billed yearly$19
- Proper agent / mo, billed yearly$49
- Enterpriseper agent / mo, billed yearly$79
Free plan for up to 10 agents, and a 14-day trial of Enterprise. Checked October 23, 2026 on freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing.
Tidio pricing
- Free50 billable conversations, 10 seats$0
- Starterper mo billed yearly. 100 billable conversations, 50 one-off Lyro AI conversations$24.17
- Growthper mo billed yearly, from 250 billable conversationsfrom $49.17
- Lyro AI Agentper mo, from 50 Lyro AI conversations a month (shown with the yearly-billing toggle)from $32.50
- Plusper mo plus monthly usage, through salesfrom $300
- Premiumcontact salesCustom
Free plan with 50 billable conversations; 7-day trials of Starter and Growth. Checked October 30, 2026 on tidio.com/pricing.
- Lyro AI conversations are billed separately from the human conversations above. Every account gets 50 Lyro conversations once; to refresh them monthly you need the Lyro AI Agent plan, which starts at $32.50 a month billed yearly for 50 conversations. Source
- Tidio's prices above are the yearly-billing figures its pricing page shows; monthly billing costs more. Source
Which to choose
It comes down to who answers your chats and how you'd rather be billed.
Choose Freshchat if
- Several people answer chats live and want a shared inbox, free for up to 10 agents.
- Customers reach you on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or SMS, and you want all of it in one inbox.
- You need routing rules and SLAs for a support team.
- Per-agent pricing plus AI sessions fits your volume better than a flat plan.
Choose Tidio if
- You want live chat, ticketing and an AI agent from one vendor, with mobile apps for your team.
- Customers message you on WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger.
- You run a Shopify store and want the bot to look up or cancel orders.
Choose ChatBento if
Our product
- You want an AI chatbot on your website that answers from your own pages, Q&As and text, not a full support suite.
- You'd rather pay a flat $14, $30 or $100 a month than per seat or per resolution, or start on the free plan with 50 AI messages a month.
- An email hand-off is enough when a visitor needs a person.
Only need AI answers on your website?
ChatBento reads your site in about a minute and answers visitors from it. Free plan forever, paid plans from $14 a month.
Freshchat vs Tidio. Questions, answered.
Which is cheaper, Freshchat or Tidio?
It depends on how you'd use them, because they bill differently. Freshchat is free to start (free for up to 10 agents; paid from $19/agent/mo billed yearly), billed as: per agent, plus $49 per 100 AI sessions. Tidio starts at $24.17 (per mo billed yearly, Starter (100 conversations)), billed as: plan by conversations, Lyro AI billed separately. Price your own monthly volume on both before you decide.
Do Freshchat and Tidio have free plans?
Freshchat: Free plan for up to 10 agents, and a 14-day trial of Enterprise. Tidio: Free plan with 50 billable conversations; 7-day trials of Starter and Growth.
What is the main difference between Freshchat and Tidio?
Both have free plans with live chat. Freshchat is free for up to 10 agents and sells its Freddy AI Agent by sessions; Tidio's free plan is capped by conversations, and its Lyro AI agent is billed separately.
Which should I choose, Freshchat or Tidio?
Choose Freshchat if several people answer chats live and want a shared inbox, free for up to 10 agents. Choose Tidio if you want live chat, ticketing and an AI agent from one vendor, with mobile apps for your team.
Do I need a live chat inbox at all?
Only if someone on your team will answer chats in real time. Freshchat and Tidio both include one. If you mostly want visitors' questions answered from your website, an AI chatbot with an email hand-off does that without a seat for each person.
Is there a simpler, flat-priced alternative to Freshchat and Tidio?
ChatBento is an AI chatbot for your website that learns from your pages and Q&As, captures leads and hands off to you by email. It has a free plan with 50 AI messages a month, then $14, $30 or $100 a month, with AI answers included and no seats. It has no live chat inbox, ticketing or messaging channels, so it fits when the website chatbot is the job.
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All comparisonsAI chatbot pricing guide
Freshchat and Tidio are trademarks of their owners; ChatBento is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.
Sources: freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing, crmsupport.freshworks.com/support/solutions/articles/50000010092-configure-knowledge-sources, tidio.com/pricing, tidio.com/integrations
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