Tidio vs Gorgias: which helpdesk and AI agent suits your online store?
This is for store owners and small support teams torn between Tidio and Gorgias. You get both price lists as we checked them on 25 October 2026, the one difference in how each tool counts usage that decides most bills, a worked month for a 600-chat store, and a straight answer on which fits which shop.
Quick answer
Pick Gorgias if you run a Shopify or BigCommerce store with a support team that needs order data, refunds and returns inside every ticket; it starts at $10 a month for 50 tickets and charges $0.85 to $1.00 per AI-automated interaction. Pick Tidio if you want cheap live chat plus a simple AI agent on any website: Starter is $29 a month and Lyro AI starts at $39.
Is Tidio or Gorgias better for a small online store?
For a store on Shopify with real order volume and at least one person whose job is support, Gorgias is usually the better fit. For a smaller shop, or any business that mainly wants a chat widget with an AI agent on its website, Tidio is cheaper to start and simpler to run.
The two tools look alike from a distance: both have a shared inbox, live chat, email, social channels and an AI agent that answers from your help content. Underneath they were built for different jobs. Gorgias is an ecommerce helpdesk. It pulls Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce or Magento order data into each ticket and lets agents and its AI act on it, for example editing an order or starting a return. Tidio began as a live chat widget for any website and grew a ticketing inbox, no-code Flows and the Lyro AI agent on top. That origin still shows: Tidio is lighter, faster to set up and works the same on a WordPress site as on a store.
Tidio vs Gorgias side by side
Everything below was checked on each vendor's own pricing page on 25 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars on monthly billing unless marked.
| Tidio | Gorgias | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Small businesses and stores of any platform that want chat plus AI | Ecommerce brands, especially Shopify, with a support team |
| Free option | Free plan: 50 billable conversations a month, 50 Lyro conversations once | No free plan; free trial with no card |
| Entry paid plan | Starter $29 ($24.17 a month billed yearly), 100 billable conversations | Starter $10 a month, 50 tickets, monthly billing only |
| Next plans | Growth from $59 (250 conversations) up to $349 (2,000); Plus from $300 plus usage | Basic $60 ($50 yearly), 300 tickets; Pro $360 ($300 yearly), 2,000; Advanced $900 ($750 yearly), 5,000 |
| Unit you pay for | Billable conversation: one with a reply from a human agent | Ticket, plus overage of $0.40 a ticket on Starter or $36 to $40 per 100 on higher plans |
| AI agent | Lyro, sold separately: from $39 a month for 50 conversations, $0.70 each above 200 | AI Agent on every plan: $1.00 per automated interaction on Starter, $0.90 on Basic and Pro, $0.85 on Advanced |
| Seats | Up to 10 agents on self-serve plans, no per-seat fee | 3 seats on Starter, 500 on other plans, never priced per agent |
| Store integrations | Shopify, WordPress, Wix and others | Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento, 150+ apps |
| Phone and SMS | No | Voice and SMS add-ons, priced by volume |
| Trial | 7 days, no card, drops to Free afterwards | Free trial, no card on most plans |
Both vendors publish their own resolution claims. Tidio says its customers average a 75% resolution rate with Lyro; Gorgias's page quotes a customer above 50% automation. Treat both as vendor figures, not something your store will see on day one.
How does each one count what you pay for?
Tidio charges for conversations that a human answers, and separately for conversations Lyro answers. Gorgias charges for tickets, and separately for each interaction its AI fully automates. The definitions matter more than the sticker prices.
Tidio: two meters that can both tick
A billable conversation on Tidio is any chat, ticket, email or social conversation with at least one message from a human on your team. Unanswered chats and spam you ignore are free, and replies from Flows or Lyro do not count as agent replies. A Lyro conversation is any customer interaction, on any channel connected to Tidio, with at least one Lyro reply, however many messages follow. If Lyro answers first and then hands over to a person, that one chat counts on both meters. Our full Tidio pricing breakdown lists every tier on both ladders.
Gorgias: tickets plus automated interactions
Each Gorgias plan includes a number of tickets a month. Above that you pay overage: $0.40 a ticket on Starter, $40 per 100 on Basic and $36 per 100 on Pro and Advanced. The AI Agent is billed per automated interaction, which Gorgias describes as being charged only when the AI resolves a conversation. That is closer to pay-for-results than Tidio's model, where a Lyro conversation is billed even when it ends in a handoff.
Lyro vs Gorgias AI Agent: what is the difference?
Lyro is a general AI agent that answers from the content you give it and can be bought on its own, even for another helpdesk. Gorgias AI Agent is built around order data and store actions.
- Lyro answers from your help pages, FAQs and uploaded content, hands over to a person when needed, and can run Actions once you buy a paid Lyro quota. Tidio's Premium plan adds a guaranteed 50% Lyro resolution rate and pay-per-resolution billing from 3,000 Lyro conversations, through sales.
- Gorgias AI Agent is pre-trained on more than 18 retail verticals, follows brand voice and guardrails on Basic and above, and on higher plans can take actions such as cancelling an order, applying a discount or starting a return. It is included on every plan and billed per automated interaction.
If your top questions are about orders, shipping and returns on Shopify, Gorgias's access to order data is the deciding feature. If they are about products, opening hours or services, Lyro is enough and costs less to try.
Do Tidio and Gorgias support WhatsApp?
Yes, both connect WhatsApp through Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform, and both pass on Meta's message costs in different ways.
- Gorgias creates the WhatsApp Business Account with you through Meta's signup flow. Its help center says Meta bills Gorgias for WhatsApp charges and your WhatsApp tickets are billed to you as normal helpdesk tickets, so you never receive a separate Meta bill.
- Tidio connects WhatsApp through your Meta business account. Its WhatsApp help article, as we read it in October 2026, gives each number 1,000 free outgoing messages a month and then bills paid plans at Meta's rates with no stated markup, with a spending limit you can set.
Since 1 October 2026 Meta charges for service replies after the first 1,000 a month per business number, according to Meta's pricing page. Most small stores stay under that, but a busy WhatsApp inbox with AI replying to everything can cross it. Our WhatsApp API pricing explainer covers the rates.
What would a 600-chat store pay on each?
Here is one hypothetical store priced on both, on monthly billing. It gets 600 customer conversations a month across chat, email and WhatsApp, has two people answering, and expects the AI to fully resolve about 40% of conversations.
| Line | Tidio | Gorgias |
|---|---|---|
| Helpdesk plan | Growth at the 400 tier: $89 (Lyro hands 360 chats to people) | Basic: $60 for 300 tickets |
| Usage above the plan | None | 300 extra tickets at $40 per 100: $120 (assuming every conversation counts as a ticket) |
| AI | Lyro greets all 600 chats: 750 tier, $525 | 240 automated interactions at $0.90: $216 |
| Monthly total | about $614 | about $396 |
| Same store, AI only after hours (about 300 chats) | Lyro 300 tier $210 plus Growth 400 tier $89: about $299 | Interactions fall to about 120: $108, total about $288 |
Two lessons from the numbers. First, letting Lyro greet every chat is the expensive way to run Tidio; scoping it to the conversations it should handle roughly halves the bill. Second, Gorgias's ticket overage adds up quickly on Basic, and a store growing past about 700 tickets a month should price Pro instead. WhatsApp costs on top are small for both at this volume.
The ticket assumption is ours: check with Gorgias whether conversations its AI fully resolves count against your ticket allowance, because that changes the Basic overage line.
Pick Tidio if, pick Gorgias if
Pick Tidio if
Your site is not only a Shopify store, or not a store at all. You want live chat free or for $29 a month. One or two people answer chats between other work. You want to test an AI agent for $39 before committing. You value a 10-minute setup over deep order tools.
Pick Gorgias if
You run Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce or Magento and most questions are about orders. You have a support team that lives in the helpdesk all day. You want the AI to edit orders and start returns, not just answer. You may add phone and SMS support later.
If you are still choosing between chat-first tools more broadly, our Tidio vs Intercom and Tidio vs Zendesk comparisons cover the other common pairings, and Tidio alternatives lists more options.
When neither is the right tool
Both tools assume your customers start on your website or by email. Some small businesses, especially service businesses and shops that sell through Instagram and WhatsApp, get most enquiries on WhatsApp and need answers and bookings there rather than ticket management.
That is where ReplyKit fits, and we should say plainly that we make it. ReplyKit is an AI agent that answers WhatsApp and website chat from your own content, qualifies leads and books appointments, for $29, $49 or $99 a month with AI replies included (see plans). It connects to your number with Quick Connect, a QR code scan that links it like WhatsApp Web. That method is unofficial and not sanctioned by Meta, so a number can be restricted; we cap AI replies per number and recommend a spare or dedicated number. It is not a helpdesk: no ticketing, no Shopify app, no order editing, no email channel, no payments in chat. For a store whose problem is tickets and orders, Tidio or Gorgias is the better choice. For a business whose problem is unanswered WhatsApp enquiries, you can try ReplyKit free for 7 days with no card, or compare it in ReplyKit vs Tidio.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gorgias more expensive than Tidio?
Not always. Gorgias's Starter plan is $10 a month and Tidio's Starter is $29, but Gorgias's useful plans for a team start at $60 and AI costs $0.85 to $1.00 per automated interaction. At a few hundred chats a month the totals are often similar; the difference depends on how many chats your AI touches versus resolves.
Does Gorgias work without Shopify?
Yes. Gorgias also integrates with BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento, and you can use its helpdesk for email and chat on its own. Its strongest features, such as order actions from tickets and AI that edits orders, depend on a connected store.
Can I use Tidio's Lyro AI with Gorgias or another helpdesk?
Tidio sells Lyro as a stand-alone product and its pricing page says it can be added to Zendesk, Salesforce or other help desk software. Check the specific integration for your helpdesk before buying a quota.
Which is easier to set up, Tidio or Gorgias?
Tidio is usually faster: paste a script or install a plugin and the chat widget is live, then add Lyro by pointing it at your help content. Gorgias takes longer because it connects your store, channels and macros, though Gorgias says many stores go live in under an hour.
Do Tidio and Gorgias charge per agent?
Neither charges per seat. Tidio allows up to 10 agents on self-serve plans and Gorgias includes 3 seats on Starter and 500 on its other plans. Both charge for usage instead: conversations on Tidio, tickets on Gorgias, plus AI usage on both.
Is there a free trial for Tidio and Gorgias?
Yes. Tidio gives a 7-day trial with no card and then drops you to its Free plan. Gorgias offers a free trial without a card on its self-serve plans.
Most of your enquiries on WhatsApp, not tickets?
ReplyKit answers WhatsApp and website chat from your own content and books appointments. Try it free for 7 days with no credit card, 300 AI replies included.
Sources and further reading
- Tidio, Pricing · plans, billable and Lyro conversation definitions, seat limit, trial terms, 75% Lyro resolution claim (vendor figure)
- Gorgias, Pricing · helpdesk plans, ticket overage, AI Agent price per automated interaction, seats, channels
- Gorgias Help Center, Set up WhatsApp with a reused number · Meta bills Gorgias and WhatsApp tickets are billed as helpdesk tickets
- Tidio Help Center, Integration with WhatsApp · 1,000 free WhatsApp messages per number, then Meta rates
- Meta, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing · per-message pricing and the 1,000 free service messages per number since 1 October 2026
ReplyKit is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta or WhatsApp. Prices for other vendors are taken from their public pricing pages and help articles as checked in October 2026 and may change. This article is general guidance, not financial or legal advice.