Tidio vs tawk.to: which is better for a small business in 2026?
tawk.to is the better pick for a small business that wants live chat, a knowledge base and ticketing for free and does not mind the tawk.to branding: the core product is free for life, branding removal is $29/mo and the AI Assist chatbot is an add-on from $29/mo. Tidio is the better pick when you want a polished chat with a visual flow builder, Lyro AI and Shopify actions and are willing to pay by conversation: Free covers 50 conversations a month, Starter is $24.17/mo, Growth from $49.17/mo, Lyro from $32.50/mo. Free forever with branding and your own people answering: tawk.to. Automations and AI on a metered plan: Tidio.
Chatonbo is the third option when the AI should answer from your own website with no meter and no branding fee: Free, Pro $19/mo for 5,000 conversations or Business $59/mo for 10,000, live in about 2 minutes from a URL, with human handoff and lead capture included.
Tidio vs tawk.to vs Chatonbo at a glance
Prices are as listed on each vendor's own pricing page on the dates in the note below. Where a page does not state something, we say so instead of guessing.
| Tidio | tawk.to | Chatonbo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Base plan metered by billable conversations (Free, Starter $24.17/mo, Growth from $49.17/mo, Plus from $300/mo plus usage) with Lyro AI Agent and Flows sold as separate add-ons* | Free live chat, free for life with tawk.to branding; paid add-ons: Branding Removal $29/mo, AI Assist from $29/mo, hired chat agents $1/hour, virtual assistants from $7/hour* | Flat monthly: Free, Pro $19/mo, Business $59/mo. No per-seat or per-resolution fees |
| Entry price | Free (50 conversations/mo); Starter $24.17/mo for 100 billable conversations; Lyro AI Agent add-on from $32.50/mo for 50 AI conversations* | $0 for live chat, Chat Pages, Knowledge Base, Ticketing and Contacts; AI Assist chatbot from $29/mo* | Free plan; Pro $19/mo with AI included |
| At 5,000 conversations a month | Above the Growth cap of 2,000 billable conversations, so Plus (from $300/mo plus monthly usage). Lyro AI is billed separately and a 5,000 AI-conversation price is not listed on the pricing page* | Live chat stays free at any volume the page describes; the AI Assist allowance at that volume is not listed on the pricing page* | Pro $19/mo covers 5,000 conversations a month; Business $59/mo covers 10,000. A busy month costs the same as a quiet one |
| AI answers from your own content | Lyro AI Agent add-on. Every account starts with 50 Lyro conversations; you upgrade to the Lyro plan to refresh them monthly* | AI Assist chatbot add-on from $29/mo (a limited free AI Assist plan exists for low-volume sites)* | Yes, drafted from your website URL, documents and product catalog; AI included on every plan |
| Shopify add to cart in chat | Native Shopify actions on Growth and higher; add to cart inside the chat is not detailed on the pricing page* | Not listed on the pricing page | Yes: product cards with pictures and add to cart inside the chat (official Shopify app) |
| Order tracking | Not detailed on the pricing page (Shopify actions are on Growth and higher)* | Not listed on the pricing page | Yes, shoppers get order status inside the chat (official Shopify app) |
| Languages | Multilanguage on all plans; the number of languages is not stated on the pricing page* | Support offered 24/7 in 27 languages; widget languages not itemized on the pricing page* | 50+ languages |
| Setup time | Widget install, then Lyro training and Flows setup | Widget install plus dashboard configuration | About 2 minutes from a website URL; official Shopify and Wix apps, WordPress/WooCommerce plugin |
| Free plan | Yes: 50 conversations/mo, 10 seats, 50 Lyro conversations one-off; 7-day free trial on paid plans, no card* | Yes, free for life with tawk.to branding* | Yes, plus a 30-day free trial on paid plans |
| Human handoff | Live chat and ticketing on every plan; 10 seats on self-serve plans* | Free live chat for your own team; hired chat agents from $1/hour if you want tawk.to staff to answer* | Yes, human handoff and lead capture with a simple inbox; not a multichannel ticketing helpdesk |
*Tidio: tidio.com/pricing as viewed on September 12, 2026, monthly billing toggle. tawk.to: tawk.to/pricing as viewed on September 11, 2026. Both vendors may change pricing; check their sites for current terms.
Two-way breakdowns: Chatonbo vs Tidio and Chatonbo vs tawk.to.
When to pick Tidio
You want automations you design
Tidio Flows (100 visitors reached free, add-on from $24.17/mo) is a visual builder for FAQs, lead capture and routing. tawk.to does not list a comparable flow builder on its pricing page.
You run a Shopify store
Tidio lists native Shopify actions on Growth and higher. The tawk.to pricing page does not list Shopify features.
You want AI from the same vendor as your chat
The Lyro AI Agent is a Tidio add-on from $32.50/mo for 50 conversations. tawk.to also has an AI Assist add-on from $29/mo, so both offer it; Tidio bundles it with a metered conversation plan.
You would rather pay a little than see branding
Tidio charges $16.67/mo to remove its branding, versus $29/mo on tawk.to.
Thinking of leaving Tidio? Read the honest Tidio alternative page.
When to pick tawk.to
Free must mean free
Live chat, Chat Pages, Knowledge Base, Ticketing and Contacts are free for life if you keep the tawk.to branding. Tidio Free caps at 50 conversations a month.
Your own team answers, at any volume
The free tawk.to live chat is not metered by conversations on the pricing page. If humans handle the chat, the cost stays at zero.
You want to hire chat staff by the hour
tawk.to sells hired chat agents at $1/hour and virtual assistants from $7/hour, which no other tool on this page offers.
You want a knowledge base and ticketing without a plan
Both come free with tawk.to. On Tidio, ticketing is included in the plans but the plans are metered.
Thinking of leaving tawk.to? Read the honest tawk.to alternative page.
When Chatonbo is the better fit
Chatonbo is an AI assistant that answers from your own website, documents and catalog at a flat price: Free, Pro $19/month or Business $59/month, with no per-seat or per-resolution fees and a 30-day free trial on paid plans.
AI answers from your site, included in the price
Pro is $19/mo for 5,000 AI conversations and Business is $59/mo for 10,000. That is less than the $29/mo AI Assist add-on on tawk.to and the $32.50/mo Lyro add-on on Tidio, and it is the whole bill.
No branding fee
Neither $29/mo (tawk.to) nor $16.67/mo (Tidio) to remove a badge. Chatonbo plans are flat with no per-seat or per-resolution fees.
Live in about 2 minutes
Paste your website URL and the assistant drafts itself from your pages and documents. Official Shopify and Wix apps and a WordPress/WooCommerce plugin.
You sell online
With the official Shopify app the assistant shows product cards with pictures, adds to cart in chat and tracks orders, in 50+ languages. One US massage chair store saw $107,725 in orders over seven weeks from shoppers who chatted first.
When Chatonbo is not the fit
We would rather you pick the right tool than sign up and leave. These are the cases where Tidio or tawk.to is the better choice.
You will never pay for chat
Chatonbo has a free plan, but if the requirement is a free live chat, knowledge base and ticketing forever, tawk.to is built exactly for that.
You need full helpdesk ticketing
Chatonbo has a simple inbox with human handoff and lead capture. tawk.to includes free ticketing and Tidio includes ticketing on its plans; Chatonbo is not a ticketing system.
A large support team lives in the inbox
Seats, assignment and reporting for a team of agents are live chat and helpdesk features, not Chatonbo features.
You automate Instagram or Messenger
Chatonbo is website chat with a WhatsApp fallback. For social DM automation see the ManyChat comparison on our alternatives page.
Comparing more tools? See every comparison on the alternatives page or the head-to-head index.
Tidio vs tawk.to FAQ
Is tawk.to really free?
Yes, as long as you keep the tawk.to branding. The pricing page lists live chat, Chat Pages, Knowledge Base, Ticketing and Contacts as free for life. Paid add-ons are Branding Removal at $29/mo, AI Assist from $29/mo, hired chat agents at $1/hour and virtual assistants from $7/hour.
Is Tidio or tawk.to cheaper?
tawk.to is cheaper for human-answered chat because the core product is free with no conversation cap on the pricing page. Tidio Free stops at 50 conversations a month and Starter is $24.17/mo. Once you add AI, the two converge: AI Assist from $29/mo on tawk.to, Lyro from $32.50/mo on Tidio. Chatonbo includes AI in a flat $19/mo Pro plan for 5,000 conversations.
Which has the better AI chatbot?
Both sell AI as an add-on: Tidio Lyro from $32.50/mo for 50 conversations, tawk.to AI Assist from $29/mo (with a limited free tier for low-volume sites). Chatonbo is AI-first: every conversation is answered from your website, documents and catalog and the plan price covers it.
Which is better for a Shopify store?
Tidio lists native Shopify actions on Growth and higher; the tawk.to pricing page does not list Shopify features. Chatonbo adds product cards with pictures, add to cart and order tracking inside the chat through its official Shopify app on flat plans.
Can I move from tawk.to or Tidio to Chatonbo?
Yes. There is no data migration because Chatonbo learns from your website directly, in about 2 minutes. Paid plans have a 30-day free trial, so you can run it alongside your current chat before switching the widget.
The Fair Billing Guarantee
Flat price. No meters. No surprises.
No credits, no per-resolution fees, no forced upgrades. Your bot never goes silent, you can cancel in one click, and your first charge is covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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