Chatwoot vs Tidio — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Chatwoot starts at $19/mo. Tidio starts at $29/mo. Chatwoot is $10/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Tidio.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Chatwoot (Per Seat) — Chatwoot bills on a fixed plan from $19/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
- Tidio (Per Usage) — Tidio bills purely on usage — Conversations/month. There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
Open-source customer support platform positioned as the alternative to Zendesk and Intercom for teams that want self-hosting + no per-agent seat trap. Distinctive as the OSS challenger with a serious cloud offering. Priced free (community edition, self-hosted) up to $99/user/mo Enterprise Cloud. Popular with agencies, regulated industries, and teams building customer-facing chat into their own products via API.
Live chat + chatbot + ticketing platform positioned as the alternative to Intercom and Zendesk for SMBs and e-commerce. Distinctive for its Lyro AI (built-in resolution bot) at lower tiers than competitors' AI add-ons. Priced $29-$749/mo across four tiers based on conversations. Owned by Polish company Tidio Sp. z o.o. Popular with Shopify e-commerce sellers and small B2B SaaS looking for an Intercom alternative without the price shock.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Chatwoot monthly | Chatwoot annual | Tidio monthly | Tidio annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Hacker / Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Startups / Starter | $19 | $19 | $29 | $24.17 |
| Mid tier | — / Growth | — | — | $59 | $49.17 |
| Pro / power | — / Plus | — | — | $749 | Custom |
| Teams | Business / — | $39 | $39 | — | — |
| Enterprise | Enterprise / — | $99 | $99 | — | — |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Chatwoot is worth it if… Chatwoot is the open-source Intercom alternative for teams (2-100 agents) that want customer messaging + shared inbox + Captain AI — with the option to self-host if data sovereignty matters. Free Hacker tier covers 2 agents; Startups scales for small teams; Business adds more Captain AI credits and admin controls.
Tidio is worth it if… e-commerce SMBs and small service businesses (1-25 agents) that want live chat + chatbot + email + WhatsApp inbox in one tool — particularly if you're on Shopify or WooCommerce. Free tier covers basic live chat; Starter adds triggers; Growth adds advanced automation; Plus adds enterprise features.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Chatwoot is per seat, Tidio is per usage.
Choose Chatwoot over Tidio if…
Choose Chatwoot if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $19/mo).
- You match the profile Chatwoot is built for: the open-source Intercom alternative for teams (2-100 agents) that want customer messaging + shared inbox + Captain AI — with the option to self-host if data sovereignty matters.
- You need a general-purpose customer support option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Tidio if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $29/mo).
- You match the profile Tidio is built for: e-commerce SMBs and small service businesses (1-25 agents) that want live chat + chatbot + email + WhatsApp inbox in one tool — particularly if you're on Shopify or WooCommerce.
- You need a general-purpose customer support option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Chatwoot | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $19/mo | $29/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Seat | Per Usage |
| Last verified | September 12, 2026 | September 19, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 19, 2026. Tracked daily.