Key takeaways
- Crisp suits teams that answer most chats themselves and want one predictable bill. Tidio suits small and mid-size businesses, especially online stores, that want an AI agent and automation to take routine questions off the team.
- Crisp charges a flat price per workspace with seats included, so adding agents barely moves the bill. Tidio charges by conversations a person replies to, with Lyro AI conversations billed by volume.
- Crisp's AI chatbot, knowledge base and WhatsApp and Instagram channels start on its Essentials plan. Check which plan you'd really need before comparing headline prices.
- Tidio's free plan has more seats; Crisp's paid plans are better value when many people answer a high volume of chats by hand.
- For most small and mid-size businesses that want automation, Tidio is our pick. Choose Crisp if your team handles chat personally and you want a flat price that doesn't grow with every new hire.
Crisp and Tidio often end up on the same shortlist in midsummer, when a small business finally decides the contact form isn't enough. Both are affordable, both have a free plan, and both promise a shared inbox, AI and messaging channels. The difference is in what you pay for and what the tool does when nobody is online.
The short answer: Crisp is the better deal for teams that answer most chats themselves and want a flat, predictable bill. Tidio is the better choice for small and mid-size businesses, and online stores in particular, that want an AI agent and automation to handle the routine questions. Here's the detail.
Crisp and Tidio at a glance
| Crisp | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Flat monthly price per workspace, seats included | By conversations a person replies to; no seat fees |
| AI billing | AI credits included per plan, more on higher tiers | Lyro billed by AI conversation volume |
| Free plan | 2 seats, website chat, shared inbox, small contact limit, no AI | 10 seats, a monthly allowance of answered conversations, 50 one-off Lyro conversations |
| AI agent | AI chatbot with workflow builder from Essentials | Lyro, built in on every plan |
| Automation | Chat triggers; workflow builder on higher plans | Visual Flows with 40+ templates |
| Channels | Chat and email; WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS and more from Essentials | Website chat, email, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp |
| Knowledge base | Included from Essentials | Help content feeds Lyro; no full help center product |
| E-commerce | Shopify, WooCommerce and other store integrations | Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce with cart and order data; sales Flows |
| Best for | Chat-heavy teams that want one predictable bill | Small and mid-size businesses that want AI to do the routine work |
Pricing model
This is the biggest difference, and it cuts both ways.
Crisp sells workspaces. Each plan has a fixed monthly price that includes a set number of seats, and extra seats are cheap. If six people answer chats all day, your bill stays the same whether they handle 500 conversations or 5,000.
Tidio doesn't charge for seats at all. It counts the conversations a person replies to, and bills Lyro separately by AI volume. Because only conversations a person replies to count towards that allowance, the more Lyro handles on its own, the slower your team-answered volume grows.
If your people answer almost everything, Crisp's flat price wins. If you expect AI to take a large share, Tidio's model can come out cheaper.
Winner: Crisp, for predictability and for larger teams answering by hand.
AI and automation
Tidio built its product around automation. Lyro answers from your website, help articles and Q&A pairs, works across chat and social channels, and passes the conversation to a person with its full history. Flows handle the structured work: an order number turns into a tracking link, a hesitant shopper on the cart page gets a nudge, an out-of-hours visitor leaves an email.
Crisp's AI chatbot and workflow builder are capable, but they start on the Essentials plan, and the AI runs on credits included with each tier. On the free and entry plans you're mostly answering by hand with triggers and canned replies.
Winner: Tidio.
Channels and inbox
Both bring several channels into one inbox. Crisp's list is long, including WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Line and Viber, but omnichannel starts on Essentials. Crisp's inbox also translates conversations live, which helps teams selling across languages.
Tidio connects website chat, email, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, and Lyro answers on them too.
Winner: Tie. Crisp covers more niche channels; Tidio puts AI on the main ones.
Selling and e-commerce
Both connect to Shopify and WooCommerce, so agents can see who they're talking to. Tidio goes further for stores: cart and order history in the chat, cart recovery and product recommendation Flows, and an AI agent that can check order status. That makes chat a sales channel, not just a support one.
Winner: Tidio.
Free plan and getting started
Tidio's free plan has ten seats and enough answered conversations to test properly, plus a one-off batch of Lyro conversations. Crisp's free plan has two seats, a small contact limit and no AI credits, but includes the shared inbox and store integrations. Both install with a snippet or plugin in minutes, and Crisp offers a 14-day trial of its paid features.
Winner: Tidio for testing with a team; Crisp is fine for one or two people.
Choose Crisp if… / Choose Tidio if…
Choose Crisp if:
- several people answer chats all day and you want a flat bill that doesn't grow with volume;
- you'll add agents over time and per-seat or per-conversation pricing worries you;
- you want a knowledge base and chat in the same tool;
- you need channels such as Line, Viber or SMS alongside WhatsApp and Instagram;
- you prefer a European company for data hosting and contracts.
Choose Tidio if:
- you want an AI agent to answer routine questions around the clock;
- you run an online store and want chat to recover carts and recommend products;
- you'd rather build automation visually than answer every chat by hand;
- you want a free plan with room for the whole team to try it;
- you're a small or mid-size business without a support admin;
- you're a growing brand with thousands of AI conversations a month and want Tidio's Premium team to set up and manage the AI agent for you.
Crisp, Tidio and a free alternative
Ranked for small and mid-size businesses, on price model and predictability, AI and automation, channels, e-commerce features and how much a small team can do without an admin.
Tidio combines live chat, a shared inbox with tickets, no-code Flows and Lyro, an AI agent that answers from your website and help content in 45+ languages and hands over to a person when unsure. Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce data sits next to each chat, and Flows handle order lookups, cart recovery and lead capture. You pay for conversations your team answers, not for seats.
Why we like it
- AI agent and visual automation designed to work together
- Strong sales and support automation for online stores
- Free plan with ten seats to test with real customers
- No per-seat pricing as the team grows
Watch out for
- Costs rise with conversation volume, unlike Crisp's flat workspace price
- Lyro is billed by AI volume, so model your busiest month first
Crisp gives you a shared inbox for chat, email and messaging apps with a flat monthly price per workspace that includes a set number of seats. Its higher plans add an AI chatbot with a workflow builder, a knowledge base, WhatsApp, Instagram and other channels, and translation in the inbox. It's a sensible pick for teams that answer most chats personally and want the bill to stay put.
Why we like it
- Flat workspace pricing with seats included; extra seats are cheap
- Knowledge base and AI chatbot together on mid-tier plans
- European company with EU data hosting
Watch out for
- Free plan has two seats, a small contact limit and no AI credits
- Omnichannel and the AI chatbot need the Essentials plan or higher
tawk.to gives you live chat, ticketing and a knowledge base free with unlimited agents, and charges for extras such as removing branding and fuller AI. It's the fallback if neither Crisp nor Tidio fits a zero budget.
Why we like it
- Free core product for unlimited agents
- AI Assist add-on with a small free tier
Watch out for
- Branding on the widget unless you pay to remove it
- Fewer built-in automations for online stores
How to decide in a week
- Count your volume. How many chats did you get last month, and how many people answered them?
- Estimate the AI share. Look at your top questions. If half are about shipping, returns and opening hours, an AI agent can take a big slice.
- Price both at your real volume, including the Crisp plan you'd actually need for AI and channels, and Tidio's conversation and Lyro allowances.
- Test both on real questions. Run 30 of your most common questions through each tool's AI and compare the answers.
For more options, see all alternatives to Crisp and alternatives to Tidio, or compare Tidio vs LiveChat.
Frequently asked questions
Is Crisp cheaper than Tidio?
It depends on your team and volume. Crisp's flat workspace price includes several seats, so it gets cheaper per person as you add agents. Tidio has no seat fees but charges by conversations your team answers, plus Lyro by AI volume. A large team answering lots of chats by hand usually pays less on Crisp; a small team letting AI handle routine questions often pays less on Tidio.
Does Crisp have an AI chatbot?
Yes. Crisp's AI chatbot and workflow builder are part of its Essentials plan and above, using AI credits included with each plan. The free plan has no AI credits.
Do Crisp and Tidio have free plans?
Both do. Crisp's free plan covers two seats, website chat and a shared inbox with a small contact limit. Tidio's free plan includes ten seats, a monthly allowance of conversations your team answers and a one-off allowance of Lyro AI conversations.
Which is better for Shopify stores?
Both connect to Shopify. Tidio goes further on selling, with order data in the chat, cart recovery and product recommendation Flows, and an AI agent that can check orders. Crisp's integration is fine if you mainly want order context while you answer.