7 best Tidio alternatives for small businesses in 2026
Compare seven Tidio alternatives for WhatsApp, Instagram and website chat, with verified pricing, AI agent costs and the best fit for each.
If your customers mostly message you on WhatsApp or Instagram, and what you want is something that answers them, figures out if they're a real lead and chases them when they go quiet, try Visito first. It's $49 a month on Starter. The agent, the CRM and all four chat channels come with that. On Tidio the AI agent, Lyro, is its own line item, and it starts at $39 a month for 50 conversations.
Mostly website chat and you just want a cheap shared inbox? Crisp. A support team with a help center and the budget for per-seat software? Intercom. And honestly, if you run a Shopify store and 90% of your chats start in the little bubble on your site, Tidio might still be the right tool. I'll flag where it wins.
Which Tidio alternative should you pick?
| Tool | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Visito | Selling on WhatsApp and Instagram with an AI agent and CRM | Free plan; Starter $49/month with WhatsApp and AI |
| Crisp | Website chat and a shared inbox on a budget | Free plan; Mini $45/month per workspace |
| Intercom | Support teams with a help center | $29/seat/month plus $0.99 per Fin outcome |
Why do businesses look for a Tidio alternative?
Tidio is a live chat tool with chatbots, a help desk and an AI agent bolted on. Lots of small online stores run it. You can have it on a Shopify or WordPress site in about ten minutes, the free plan is decent, and Lyro does a fair job answering from your FAQ.
People don't usually leave in the first month. They leave when the business gets busier and a few things start to pinch:
- You pay for the AI separately. Lyro is an add-on sold in conversation bundles, from $39 a month for 50. Fifty WhatsApp conversations is a slow Tuesday for a lot of shops.
- The plan is metered on conversations too. Starter gives you 100 billable conversations a month. So the bill moves on two meters, the plan and Lyro.
- WhatsApp feels like a guest. It's connected, so are Instagram and Messenger. But Tidio started life as a website widget and you can tell.
- Not much CRM. You get contact history. Lead stages and automatic follow-ups when someone stops replying, you'd have to build or buy elsewhere.
What is Tidio?
Tidio sells live chat, no-code chatbot flows, a ticketing help desk and the Lyro AI agent. It plugs into Shopify, WordPress, Wix and the other usual site builders, and website chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger land in one inbox.
The pricing page confused me for a second, so here it is plainly (October 2026). Free covers 50 conversations a month. Starter is $29 a month, or $24.17 if you pay for the year, for 100 conversations. Growth starts at $59 ($49.17 yearly). Plus starts at $300 a month plus usage. Premium you have to ask about. WhatsApp shows up on every plan. Lyro is billed on its own, and you get 50 free conversations to try it.
Why should you listen to us?
Visito builds AI agents that small businesses in more than 20 countries use to reply to customers and sell on WhatsApp and other messaging apps. Our customers are hotels, restaurants, spas and almost any other local business that lives in its inbox. We see every day where chat tools help a small team and where they get in the way.
Obvious caveat: we wrote this and we put ourselves first. Read it that way. Visito is first for one kind of buyer, a small business that sells through chat apps and wants the AI agent and a CRM without paying extra for either. If you need a ticketing desk or mostly live chat on your site, a couple of tools further down will suit you better and I say which.
A real example: Departamento Studio Bar in Mexico City lets Visito handle more than 80% of its reservation requests on WhatsApp and Instagram. The team spends that time on events instead.
How did we compare Tidio alternatives?
I went through every vendor's pricing and product pages in October 2026 and asked the same questions each time:
- Channels. WhatsApp on the official API, plus Instagram, Messenger and website chat in one inbox?
- The AI. Included, an add-on, or billed per resolution?
- What the AI actually does. FAQs only, or can it qualify a lead, quote, book, update a CRM?
- CRM and follow-ups. Stages, history, automatic nudges.
- Cost at real volume. Cheapest plan with WhatsApp and AI, and a rough number at 500 conversations a month.
- Setup. Can a two-person team turn it on without a developer? Is there Spanish support?
How do the Tidio alternatives compare?
USD, before tax. Meta's WhatsApp fees sit on top of all of these and depend on the message type and your customer's country.
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Channels | AI agent | Setup | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visito | Small businesses that sell on WhatsApp and Instagram | Free plan; Starter $49/month; Pro $399/month | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, website chat | Included on every plan, billed in credits | Self-serve, trained on your website and files | CRM and automatic follow-ups on Starter |
| Crisp | Website chat and a shared inbox on a budget | Free plan; Mini $45; Essentials $95; Plus $295 per workspace/month | Website chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and more on Essentials | AI credits on paid plans, more on higher tiers | Self-serve | Flat price per workspace, extra seats $10 |
| Intercom | Support teams with a help center | $29, $85 or $132 per seat/month | Chat, email, WhatsApp (pay as you go), social | Fin at $0.99 per outcome | Self-serve, more setup for workflows | Strong help center and ticketing |
| respond.io | Multi-team routing at high volume | $79 to $279/month billed annually | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, email and more | AI agents from Growth | Guided onboarding helps | Price also moves with active contacts |
| Wati | WhatsApp broadcasts and templates | USD prices not shown on our check; Growth, Pro, Business | WhatsApp first, plus Instagram, Messenger, website widget | AI agents on every plan, more on higher tiers | Quick WhatsApp API setup | Growth capped at 3 users |
| ManyChat | Instagram comment and DM automation | Essential from $14; Pro from $29 with 2,500 contacts | Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok, SMS, email | AI on Pro | Self-serve flow builder | Price scales with contacts |
| Gorgias | Shopify stores with heavy support volume | $10 to $900/month by ticket volume | Email, chat, SMS, voice, social | AI Agent about $1 per automated interaction | Self-serve, deep Shopify setup | Every AI interaction also counts as a ticket |
| Tidio (for reference) | Website live chat for small stores | Free; Starter $29; Growth from $59/month | Website chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger | Lyro add-on from $39/month | Self-serve, fast on Shopify | Plans and Lyro both billed by conversations |
1. Visito: best for small businesses that sell on WhatsApp and Instagram
Visito is an AI agent for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and your website chat. You point it at your website, drop in PDFs and docs, and it takes the first conversation: answers the question, asks what your team would ask next, passes the chat to a person when it should.
The CRM is part of it. You set your stages and the agent moves each lead along as the conversation goes, and if somebody goes quiet it follows up by itself. The thing Tidio users notice first is the billing. There's no per-conversation AI bundle on top. The agent runs on the credits that come with your plan.
Key features
- Replies day and night in 100+ languages, Spanish and English included
- One inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and website chat
- AI CRM with lead stages and automatic follow-ups
- Native integrations with Google Sheets, Glofox and booking systems, plus API connections to tools like Shopify and Stripe depending on plan and setup
Pricing
Free covers website chat with 100 credits a month. Starter is $49 a month for 1,000 credits and adds WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, 5 users and automatic follow-ups. Pro starts at $399 and adds WhatsApp campaigns, payments and API access. 7-day free trial on both.
Pros
- Agent and CRM on the entry plan, no AI add-on
- Monthly billing, no contract
- Build and test an agent yourself before you talk to anyone
Cons
- No email channel yet
- No help center or ticketing, so it's not a support desk replacement
- Campaigns and payments are Pro only
Best suited for: businesses getting more messages than they can answer fast. Clinics, restaurants, gyms, real estate agents, shops that sell in chat.
2. Crisp: best for website chat and a shared inbox on a budget
Of everything here, Crisp is the most direct swap for Tidio. French company, website chat, shared inbox, knowledge base, AI chatbot. Startups and small SaaS teams love it.
What's different is how you pay. Crisp charges per workspace, not per conversation. Four people on Mini pay $45 a month whether you get 30 chats or 3,000. AI comes as credits inside each plan, roughly 90 automated conversations on Mini, 450 on Essentials, 1,350 on Plus. WhatsApp and Instagram join the inbox on Essentials.
Pricing
Free for 2 seats. Mini $45 a month for 4 seats, Essentials $95 for 10, Plus $295 for 20, per workspace. Extra seats $10. 14-day trial, no card.
Pros
- Flat, predictable price
- Solid knowledge base and chat widget
- Lots of seats for the money
Cons
- WhatsApp and Instagram need Essentials
- Busy accounts burn through AI credits, and the page doesn't say what overage costs
- No sales pipeline
Best suited for: small teams that talk to customers mostly through website chat and email and are tired of a bill that moves every month.
3. Intercom: best for support teams with a help center
Ask a support lead what they use and there's a good chance it's Intercom. Help desk, help center, outbound messages, and Fin, its AI agent. Fin answers from your help articles and old conversations, and for support work it's one of the better agents out there.
The catch is you pay twice, per seat and per AI outcome. And WhatsApp is pay-as-you-go on top. For a small shop selling over WhatsApp that's a lot of help desk, and if you're after a lighter setup for teams that sell in chat you'll find the first two on this list simpler.
Pricing
Essential $29, Advanced $85, Expert $132, per seat per month. Fin is $0.99 per outcome and can run on top of another help desk. 14-day trial. Early-stage startups can apply for a big discount.
Pros
- Very good AI for support questions
- Mature help center, ticketing, reporting
- Fin works alongside another help desk
Cons
- Seats plus outcomes adds up
- WhatsApp costs extra
- More setup than most small teams want
Best suited for: support teams of five or more with a help center to keep up and a per-seat budget.
4. respond.io: best for multi-team routing at high volume
respond.io is for companies doing thousands of conversations a month. WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, email and more go into one inbox, and workflows push each chat to the right team.
AI agents start on Growth. You pay per workspace, and the plan comes with a set number of monthly active contacts, so the bill tracks how many people message you. When three teams share an inbox it's great. When it's you and one other person answering everything, it's more routing and workflow than you need.
Pricing
Annual: Starter $79 a month, Growth $159, Advanced $279. Monthly: $99, $199, $349. Growth charges $12 per extra 100 active contacts. 7-day trial, no card.
Pros
- Handles volume and lots of channels
- Strong routing and workflows
- Prices are published, which is nice
Cons
- No AI agents on Starter
- Cost moves with contacts
- Setup takes real time
Best suited for: companies with several teams answering hundreds of chats a day.
5. Wati: best for WhatsApp broadcasts and templates
Wati is a WhatsApp Business API platform aimed at marketing. Shared inbox, no-code chatbot builder, broadcasts, ad tracking. Instagram, Messenger and a website widget are there too, but WhatsApp is the point.
If you're leaving Tidio because you want to blast promotions and reminders on WhatsApp, Wati does WhatsApp marketing and team conversations well. Every plan lists AI agents, more of them as you go up. Template messages cost extra.
Pricing
When I checked in October 2026, Wati's page didn't show USD plan prices, so ask for a quote in your currency. Growth has 3 users and 500 monthly active contacts, Pro 5 users and 1,000, Business 10 users and 2,500. Paying yearly saves up to about 25%. 7-day trial.
Pros
- Good broadcast and campaign tools
- Fast to get the official WhatsApp API live
- AI agent from the first plan
Cons
- Prices change by region and aren't always in USD
- Growth stops at 3 users
- Template fees on top
Best suited for: businesses that run WhatsApp campaigns every week and need an inbox for the replies.
6. ManyChat: best for Instagram comment and DM automation
You've probably seen ManyChat work without knowing it. Comment "LINK" on a creator's post, get a DM with the link a second later. That's ManyChat. It also does Messenger, WhatsApp, TikTok, SMS and email.
You design the flows; it isn't an agent that chats freely, though Pro lets you drop AI steps into a flow. If what you want is Instagram growth more than full conversations, nothing else here comes close.
Pricing
Essential from $14 a month billed yearly, 250 active contacts, two channels. Pro from $29 a month with 2,500 active contacts, three channels and AI. More contacts, higher price.
Pros
- Best Instagram comment automation around
- Huge template library and community
- Cheap to start
Cons
- Flows take a while to get right
- Cost grows with contacts
- Not for support queues or sales pipelines
Best suited for: creators, coaches and ecommerce brands that sell through Instagram content.
7. Gorgias: best for Shopify stores with heavy support volume
Gorgias is a help desk for ecommerce, and especially for Shopify. Each ticket shows the customer's orders, and your agent can refund, cancel or edit an order right there. Its AI Agent takes the "where's my order" and returns questions.
It's where a Tidio store tends to go once support outgrows a chat bubble. Pricing is by ticket volume and each AI interaction also counts as a ticket, so run your numbers first.
Pricing
Starter $10 a month for 50 tickets, Basic $60, Pro $360, Advanced $900 on monthly billing, a bit less yearly. The AI Agent is about $1 per automated interaction monthly, $0.90 on annual. 7-day trial.
Pros
- Shopify order actions inside the ticket
- Great for email-heavy store support
- AI Agent on every plan
Cons
- Tickets plus AI gets pricey at volume
- Built for support, not selling on WhatsApp
- Too much for a small store
Best suited for: Shopify stores with a dedicated support team and hundreds of tickets a month.
How do you choose the right Tidio alternative?
Look at where your messages come from and what you want done with them:
- People buy or book over WhatsApp and Instagram. You want an agent that sells and follows up. Visito.
- Most chats start on your site. Crisp for a steady bill. Or stay on Tidio.
- You have a support team and a help center. Intercom. Gorgias if you're on Shopify.
- Several teams, one inbox. respond.io.
- Mostly WhatsApp promos. Wati.
- Growth comes from Instagram posts. ManyChat.
Then do the boring math. Count last month's conversations, add the AI charge, add Meta's WhatsApp fees. The entry price tells you almost nothing. If the sales pipeline matters as much as the inbox, also look at the WhatsApp CRMs we compared for small businesses.
What else do people ask about Tidio alternatives?
Is Tidio free?
There's a free plan with 50 conversations a month, and Lyro gets 50 free conversations to try. WhatsApp is listed on every plan, Free included.
How much does Tidio cost with Lyro?
Starter is $29 a month ($24.17 yearly). Lyro starts at $39 a month ($32.50 yearly) for 50 conversations. So a small store running both starts around $68 a month, before extra conversations. Prices as of October 2026.
Does Tidio work with WhatsApp?
Yes. WhatsApp sits in the same inbox as website chat, Instagram and Messenger. Meta's message fees still apply.
What is the best free Tidio alternative?
Crisp and Visito both have free plans for website chat. For WhatsApp, you'll need a paid plan on any of these.
Which Tidio alternative is best for a Shopify store?
If people message you on WhatsApp or Instagram before they buy, Visito connects to Shopify and answers product questions in the chat. If your queue is mostly after the sale, Gorgias. For live chat on the store itself, Tidio is still a good pick.
Can I switch from Tidio without losing my contacts?
Usually. Export contacts to CSV, import them into the new tool. If your WhatsApp number is connected through Tidio, ask both vendors how to move it so you keep its verified status.
How can you test Visito with your own messages?
Fastest way to compare any of these: throw your real customer questions at them. Build a Visito agent from your website in a few minutes, connect WhatsApp, and watch how it handles what your team answers every day.
