Tidio alternative for stores and SaaS teams
Tidio alternative: a Tidio chat alternative with AI conversations included
InChat is an AI chatbot for your website that trains on your pages, docs and FAQ, then hands visitors to your team when a person is needed. AI conversations, workflows and a branding-free widget sit inside one flat plan, so you are not stacking Lyro, Flows and branding add-ons on top of a Tidio base plan.
- 500
- AI conversations on Starter
- $0
- AI or workflow add-ons
- $24/mo
- Starter, billed yearly
The short answer
If you want AI answers on your website, InChat is a Tidio alternative that includes them in the plan price. Tidio starts at $29 a month for 100 human-handled conversations, then sells its Lyro AI agent separately from $39 a month for 50 AI conversations, Flows from $29 and branding removal for $20. InChat Starter costs $49 a month ($24 billed yearly) with 500 AI conversations, human handoff and no Tidio-style add-ons.
Compare
Tidio vs InChat: what an AI-enabled setup costs each month
Three common setups, priced from each vendor's public pricing page at monthly billing. Tidio figures add the add-ons you need to match the InChat plan: Lyro for AI answers, Flows for automation and branding removal. Yearly billing cuts both sides, roughly 17% on Tidio and about half on InChat.
| Setup | Tidio (plan + add-ons) | InChat | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small store, 1 to 3 people, AI answering FAQs | Starter $29 + Lyro $39 = $68 for 100 billable conversations and 50 AI conversations | Starter: $49 for 500 AI conversations and 3 team members | About $19 less and 10x the AI conversations |
| Growing team with automation and no vendor branding | Growth $59 + Lyro $39 + Flows $29 + branding $20 = $147 for 250 billable and 50 AI conversations | Plus: $149 for 2,000 AI conversations, workflow builder, 10 team members | Same money, 40x the AI conversations, omnichannel inbox |
| More than 10 agents | Plus plan required (Tidio lists it from $300 a month plus usage), quoted per account | Pro: $499 with unlimited AI conversations and team members | A published price instead of a sales quote |
Tidio prices checked on tidio.com/pricing in September 2026: Starter $29 and Growth from $59 a month (monthly billing), both capped at 10 seats; Lyro AI from $39 a month for 50 conversations; Flows from $29 a month; branding removal $20 a month on Growth. Tidio counts a billable conversation only when a human agent replies, while Lyro conversations are counted separately. Tidio does not publish Lyro prices above the entry tier, so price larger AI volumes with their sales team before you compare.
Why teams switch
What you get in the plan instead of in the add-on list
AI agent trained on your website
InChat crawls your pages, help docs and policy pages, then answers from that content with the source page attached. You do not write Q&A pairs by hand to get started.
AI conversations in the plan
Starter includes 500 AI conversations a month, Plus 2,000 and Pro unlimited. There is no separate AI subscription that runs out at 50 chats.
Human handoff with context
When a visitor asks for a person or the agent is unsure, the chat moves to your team with the transcript, a short summary and a suggested reply.
Workflows without a Flows bill
Plus includes a no-code chatbot workflow builder and proactive triggers for time on page, scroll depth and exit intent. Proactive triggers start on Starter.
Your brand on the widget
Colors, position and avatar are yours on every paid plan. Removing vendor branding is not a separate $20 line item.
Room to grow past 10 agents
Tidio caps Starter and Growth at 10 seats. InChat Pro has unlimited team members and unlimited domains at a published price.
How it works
Move from Tidio in one afternoon
-
1
Paste your website URL
InChat reads your public pages, FAQ and help center. Upload PDFs such as shipping or warranty policies too.
-
2
Test the answers
Ask the ten questions your customers ask most. Where an answer is thin, add a page or a short instruction.
-
3
Swap the widget script
Remove the Tidio code (or the Tidio Shopify app) and paste the InChat script tag before the closing body tag.
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4
Invite your operators
Your team answers handoffs in the shared inbox from the first day, with canned responses and routing.
What is better than Tidio?
What is better than Tidio depends on why you are leaving. If the AI add-on is the problem, a tool that includes AI conversations in the plan is better: InChat Starter covers 500 AI conversations for $49 a month, where Tidio's Lyro starts at $39 for 50. If you only need free human live chat, tawk.to or Crisp's free tier are closer fits.
Most teams we talk to leave Tidio for one of three reasons:
- The AI runs out. Lyro's entry tier covers 50 AI conversations a month. A store with steady traffic can use that in a few days, and larger Lyro tiers are quoted rather than listed.
- The bill has four lines. Base plan, Lyro, Flows and branding removal are priced separately, so a setup that looks like $59 on the plan page lands near $150.
- The jump after Growth. Starter and Growth stop at 10 seats. Past that, Tidio moves you to Plus, which is sold by quote.
If none of those apply and your team mostly answers chats by hand, Tidio is a reasonable product and switching may not pay off.
How much does Tidio cost per month?
Tidio costs $29 a month on Starter and from $59 a month on Growth with monthly billing, or $24.17 and $49.17 a month billed yearly. Plus is custom-priced, listed from $300 a month plus usage. AI answers are extra: the Lyro add-on starts at $39 a month for 50 AI conversations, and Flows automation starts at $29.
The number that matters is the one with add-ons. A Growth plan with Lyro, Flows and branding removal comes to about $147 a month before you grow past 250 billable conversations or 50 AI conversations. For a full breakdown by volume, see our Tidio pricing breakdown.
Is Tidio Lyro worth it?
Tidio Lyro is worth it when your AI volume stays small, because the $39 entry tier only covers 50 AI conversations a month. Once visitors ask the bot a few hundred questions a month, a plan that includes AI conversations usually costs less. InChat Starter includes 500 AI conversations for $49, and Plus includes 2,000 for $149.
Lyro itself is a capable agent that learns from your FAQ and site content. The question is not whether it answers well. It is whether paying per block of 50 conversations fits how much your visitors actually chat.
Where Tidio is still the better choice
We would rather you choose well than switch twice. Stay with Tidio if you want a free plan for occasional human chat, if you depend on its deep Shopify order actions and product recommendations inside the widget, or if your chat is almost entirely handled by people and 100 conversations a month on Starter is enough. Tidio's entry price for human-only live chat is lower than ours, and its Shopify app is mature.
InChat is the better fit when AI answers carry most of the load and you want the bill to stay flat as that load grows. If you are also comparing Intercom, our cheaper alternative to Intercom page runs the same math against Intercom's seat and per-resolution pricing.
Who it is for
Who switches from Tidio to InChat
Shopify and WooCommerce stores
Shipping, returns, sizing and order-status questions are answered from your policy pages around the clock, so a sale week does not bury a two person team.
SaaS companies
Trial users get answers from your docs and pricing page, and qualified pre-sales questions reach a person with the full chat history attached.
Agencies running several client sites
Pro manages unlimited domains from one account, each agent trained only on that client's content.
FAQ
Tidio alternative: common questions
The best Tidio alternative for teams that want AI answers is one that includes AI conversations in the plan. InChat includes 500 AI conversations on Starter at $49 a month. For free human-only chat, tawk.to and Crisp are common picks, and Intercom suits larger teams that need in-app messaging.
Yes. InChat works on Shopify through one script tag added to your theme, and it trains on your product, shipping and returns pages. Tidio's Shopify app has deeper order actions, so if your team relies on editing orders inside the chat, check that workflow before switching.
No. AI conversations are included in every InChat plan: 500 a month on Starter, 2,000 on Plus and unlimited on Pro. There is no separate AI subscription and no per-conversation AI fee.
Yes. Every paid InChat plan lets you set your own colors, position and avatar without a branding-removal fee. On Tidio, removing branding is a $20 a month add-on on the Growth plan.
Yes. Paste your website URL above and InChat trains an agent on your content so you can ask it your own customer questions. Create an account to get a one-time pool of test conversations, then pick a plan when you are ready to go live.
Most teams switch in an afternoon. Training on your site takes a few minutes, testing answers takes an hour or two, and replacing the Tidio script with the InChat script is a one-line change.
AI answers in the plan, not in the add-on list.
Paste your URL, test the agent on your own content and go live with one line of JavaScript. Plans from $49 a month with 500 AI conversations included.