tawk.to vs Tidio
Pricing
tawk.to: 100% free, optional add-ons from $29/mo
Tidio: Free tier (50 conversations/mo), paid from $29/mo
Description
tawk.to: Completely free live chat with unlimited agents and chats (paid add-ons only for branding removal and AI)
Tidio: Live chat and AI chatbot combo aimed at small e-commerce stores and service businesses
Pros
- Core product is genuinely free forever: no agent limits, no chat limits, no site limits
- Includes ticketing system and knowledge base at no cost
- Real-time visitor monitoring shows who is on your site and what pages they are viewing
- Free plan includes 50 conversations per month, enough to test with real traffic
- Visual chatbot builder (Flows) lets you set up automated responses without code
- Lyro AI chatbot can answer FAQs by learning from your content, no training needed
Cons
- Widget shows 'Powered by tawk.to' branding unless you pay $29/mo to remove it
- Mobile app notifications are unreliable: users report delayed or missed alerts regularly
- Fewer integrations than competitors, and no native chatbot without the $29/mo AI add-on
- Real-world cost is higher than advertised: Lyro AI ($39+), Flows ($29+), and branding removal ($20) are separate add-ons
- All plans cap at 10 agents; unlimited seats only on the $2,999/mo Premium tier
- Free plan branding on the widget cannot be removed without paying for a higher plan
Details
tawk.to is the only live chat tool that is actually free with no catch on the core features. You get live chat, a ticketing system, a knowledge base, and real-time visitor monitoring for unlimited agents on unlimited sites. They make money from optional add-ons: removing the “Powered by tawk.to” badge ($29/mo), AI Assist for automated replies ($29/mo), and video/voice/screensharing ($29/mo). They also sell hired agents starting at $1/hour if you want someone else handling your chats.
For a bootstrapped founder who just needs a chat widget on their site, tawk.to is the obvious starting point. Zero cost, no trial that expires, and enough features to handle real customer conversations. The trade-offs are real though: the mobile app is the weakest part (missed notifications are a common complaint), the widget branding is visible to your customers, and the integration options are limited compared to Crisp or LiveChat. If you are fine with the branding and mostly respond from your desktop, tawk.to lets you ship live chat support today without spending a dollar.
Tidio combines live chat with an AI chatbot (Lyro) in a package built for small online stores and service businesses. The free plan gives you 50 conversations per month and a 7-day trial of premium features. Paid plans start at $29/mo (Starter), jump to $59/mo (Growth), $749/mo (Plus), and $2,999/mo (Premium). It integrates with Shopify, WordPress, and Wix out of the box.
The visual chatbot builder is genuinely useful: you can create automated flows for common questions like shipping status or return policies without writing any code. The catch is the add-on pricing. That $29 or $59 base plan balloons once you add Lyro AI for automated answers ($39+/mo), extra Flows capacity ($29+/mo), and branding removal ($20/mo on Growth). A solo founder could easily hit $150/mo for what looked like a $59 plan. If you mostly need live chat without the AI extras, Crisp or tawk.to will cost less. If the AI chatbot is what you want, budget for the real price, not the sticker price.
Verified
