Tidio is an AI-powered customer support platform for handling all digital inquiries quickly and efficiently, without skipping on personalization. Trusted by major businesses such as Glovo and Jaguar, Tidio has over 8% market share in customer service management, according to enlyft, a B2B customer acquisition and account intelligence platform.
This platform’s main offerings include AI chatbots, a ticketing system, live chat, and analytics. So, users can answer all customer communication from a shared inbox, approach visitors on their website, respond to questions automatically, engage clients in real time from the channels they use most, and much more.
In this article, we’ll compare the following platforms:
| Platform | Rating | Free plan | Best for |
| Tidio | 4.7/5 ⭐ | ✅ | AI and automations |
| Gladly | 4.7/5 ⭐ | ❌ | Omnichannel service |
| Gorgias | 4.6/5 ⭐ | ❌ | Ecommerce tools |
| Freshdesk | 4.4/5 ⭐ | ✅ | Custom API |
| Helpscout | 4.4/5 ⭐ | ❌ | Ticket management |
| Kayako | 4/5 ⭐ | ❌ | Collaboration features |
| Intercom | 4.5/5 ⭐ | ❌ | Collision detection |
| Hiver | 4.6/5 ⭐ | ❌ | Automated email assignments |
| Olark | 4.3/5 ⭐ | ❌ | Chat routing |
| Tawk.to | 4.5/5 ⭐ | ✅ | Free tools |
But before we get to the alternatives, let’s go through Tidio’s top features according to customers.
What are Tidio’s top features?
Tidio’s target audience are small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) that want to improve their communication with customers. Users mention that they prefer Tidio because it:
- Reduces time spent answering FAQs compared to other tools
- Keeps all conversations from your website and messaging channels in one central inbox
- Increases engagement and conversion rates with automation
Here are the main features Tidio customers highly rate:
Lyro AI Chatbot
Many users say that Tidio’s Lyro AI (artificial intelligence) is a game-changer when it comes to automating repetitive tasks and answering frequently asked customer questions in a natural way. It’s no surprise—Lyro AI has an average resolution rate of 70%, which is the highest in the market. In fact, Suitor, an online suit and tuxedo rental service, used Lyro to automate over 85% of the brand’s customer service and be there for shoppers 24/7. And their clients loved it.
“The number one thing that has grown our business is offering that customer service experience the rest of the market has not been able to do.”
Daniel Reid
Co-founder and CEO of Suitor
Lyro AI takes question-answer pairs straight from your knowledge base and other FAQ pages you provide. This prevents AI hallucinations and ensures that Lyroaccurately replies to your customer queries. On top of that, Lyro can give product recommendations, is multilingual, and available on multiple channels including your website, email, and social media.
Read more: Check out this case study on how Tidio helped Suitor automate its customer service.
Smart pre-chat surveys
Pre-chat surveys are questions that visitors answer before starting a chat with your live agents or chatbot. These surveys gather essential information, like contact details or their reason for reaching out. This helps route tickets to the appropriate agent and lets them know the customers’ needs before the chat.
Pre-chat surveys also help to collect more leads—one of the features Tidio customers often point to as a standout benefit.
For example, Endeksa boosted its lead generation by 138% since implementing Tidio. This is thanks to the pre-chat surveys they use to collect their prospect’s name, phone number, and email address.
“We needed the most sustainable and efficient way to manage the traffic and improve customer satisfaction. So we implemented Tidio chatbot technology.”
Görkem Öğüt
CEO & Founding Partner of Endeksa
Read more: Discover how Endeksa used Tidio to decrease waiting time and grow leads.
Flows
Sales are the cornerstone of business success. You can’t grow without them. And Tidio helps with increasing revenue so your brand has a clear path to expand. In fact, the online luxury eyewear store, eye-oo, achieved €177K revenue growth once the company started using Tidio’s Flow feature on their website.
Flows are a drag-and-drop no-code chatbot builder that you customize by choosing a trigger, actions, and conditions nodes. Chat flows are ideal for implementing on pages where you want to boost customer engagement, like your product or checkout pages. You can use them to welcome your site visitors, answer FAQs, offer discounts, and more.
Eye-oo built chat flows to answer customer queries, collect visitor information, and give chat support during the checkout process.
“Since changing to Tidio and implementing the cart abandonment chatbot, we were able to increase the number of conversions.”
Evelin Lopez
Marketing Manager at eye-oo
Read more: Learn how eye-oo boosted sales using Tidio’s tools.
Ticketing system
Before AI help desk systems, it was all too easy to miss tickets. Tidio’s ticketing system simplifies tracking and responding to incoming requests so no customer inquiry goes unanswered. Using a blend of human support and automation, you can quickly resolve repetitive questions and offer instant support to boost your clients’ satisfaction.
And that’s exactly what Integratec wanted when the brand implemented Tidio. The talent development solution now tracks inquiries, instantly answers frequently asked questions, and filters requests. This boosted engagement on their website and improved visitor segmentation.
“Our customer success department was receiving a lot of requests that we couldn’t properly track so a ticketing system was a must.”
Roberto Coindreau
Director General at Integratec
Read more: Discover how Tidio helped Integratec organize tickets and boost qualified leads.
Now—
Let’s compare Tidio to its main alternatives.
Tidio versus top competitors
You already know that delivering exceptional customer experience is needed for your business to thrive. So while choosing the best customer service platform for your business, you need to consider several key factors. For example, what type of self-service features do you want to offer on your website? Is full customization control important for your brand? Do you need a flexible pricing plan that matches your budget?
Every top platform offers their own unique blend of benefits and features, so let’s take a look at how Tidio compares against its main competitors on the market.
1. Tidio
G2 rating: 4.7/5 ⭐ (1,560+ reviews)
Tidio is an AI-powered customer support platform that combines live chat, chatbot automation, and multichannel communication to help businesses engage with customers in real time. It provides AI and NLP chatbots for automating tasks and answering common questions. This software also offers a shared inbox that integrates email, social media, and website interactions into one place.
Pros:
Cons:
- No email marketing available
- Limited customization on free and lower tier plans
Pricing:
- Free version available
- Starter ($29/mo)
- Growth ($59/mo)
- Tidio+ (starts at $749/mo)
Add-ons:
- Lyro AI ($39/mo)
- Flows ($29/mo)
Read more: Learn how Tidio’s Lyro AI works and how you can set it up on your website.
2. Gladly
G2 rating: 4.7/5 (940+ reviews)
Gladly and Tidio compete to improve customer communication and support through real-time engagement and automation. But they cater to different use cases. Tidio provides businesses with tools to engage customers instantly and handle common inquiries through AI-powered bots. Gladly, on the other hand, focuses on human support and automations but lacks in AI capabilities.
Pros:
- AI summaries of interactions
- Single inbox for omnichannel service
- IVR and Voice features for heavy phone users
Cons:
- Chatbot has basic functionality
- Limited mobile capabilities
- No free plan so you can’t test the product for yourself
- Hero Package (starts at $180/agent/month)
- Superhero Package (starts at $210/agent/month)
Why is Tidio better than Gladly?
Tidio offers the best AI chatbot for customer service on the market PLUS all the customer-centric features you get with Gladly. You can back up your team with an intelligent chatbot trained on your complete business knowledge.
3. Gorgias
G2 rating: 4.6/5 ⭐️ (515+ reviews)
Gorgias and Tidio both focus on delivering customer support solutions designed to enhance real-time engagement and automate responses, particularly for ecommerce businesses. However, while Gorgias does offer an AI chatbot, it focuses more narrowly on ecommerce use cases.
Gorgias also offers a strong integration with ecommerce platforms like Shopify, but Tidio provides a more diverse range of integrations, such as Mailchimp and Zapier, which can support marketing and customer engagement beyond just order management. This versatility is helpful for companies that want a single customer service platform to support multiple channels and services.
Pros:
Cons:
- Limited integrations
- Ticketing glitches
- Ecommerce-focused features
- Basic ($50/mo)
- Pro plan ($300/mo)
- Advanced ($5,000/mo)
- Enterprise -> Contact sales
Why is Tidio better than Gorgias?
Unlike a more diversified Tidio, Gorgias focuses purely on ecommerce businesses, which makes it a good tool for online stores but a risky choice for any other business.
Read more: Look through the detailed reviews of the top Gorgias alternatives to pick the best software for your business.
4. Freshdesk
G2 rating: 4.4/5 ⭐️ (3,220+ reviews)
Freshdesk, like Tidio, focuses on delivering efficient customer support solutions with a mix of automation and real-time interaction features. This platform provides a comprehensive help desk with multichannel support, including email, phone, chat, and social media, along with advanced ticketing systems and workflow automation.
Although Freshdesk integrates with popular business platforms, users reported that getting set up is a long, complex process.
Pros:
- Canned responses for chat
- Variety of reports, including CSAT
- Custom APIs available
Cons:
- Limited chatbot
- Occasional delays
- Difficult interface customization
- Free version available
- Growth ($18/mo/agent)
- Pro ($59/mo/agent)
- Enterprise ($95/mo/agent)
Why is Tidio better than Freshdesk?
Freshdesk is still very much a ticketing-focused solution with a less compelling AI. In comparison, Tidio has intuitive customization features, a user-friendly interface, and an intelligent AI agent, which takes way less time to set up.
Read more: Discover the best Freshdesk alternatives with their pros, cons, and pricing compared.
5. HelpScout
G2 rating: 4.4/5 ⭐️ (400+ reviews)
Help Scout is a customer service platform that emphasizes simplicity, efficiency, and ease of use, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses. The platform is known for its email-centric help desk system, which offers a shared inbox, customer profiles, and automation tools. It also provides key features like seamless integration with business tools, automation to streamline support processes, and ticket management tools.
Pros:
- Advanced proactive messaging
- Help desk management for customer requests
- Reporting dashboards for agents’ productivity
Cons:
- Email-focused solution
- Unreliable spam filter
- Limited metrics available
- Free 15-day trial available
- Standard ($25/mo/user)
- Plus ($50/mo/user)
- Pro (Contact sales team)
Why is Tidio better than HelpScout?
HelpScout is built for email-centric businesses, which means their live chat and automation functionality is less-developed compared to Tidio’s. HelpScout also doesn’t offer an AI-powered chatbot, which means more tickets for your agents to manage.
Read more: Learn more about HelpScout alternatives in their detailed reviews.
6. Kayako
G2 rating: 4/5⭐️ (210+ reviews)
Kayako and Tidio both offer customer support solutions that aim to streamline support workflows. Kayako is known for its help desk solution that focuses on ticketing and multichannel support, but is more focused on email automation rather than live chat or real-time support.
Kayako also doesn’t have an AI chatbot since it functions more as a traditional help desk solution for larger teams.
Pros:
- Collaboration features
- Customer history tracking
- Service level agreement (SLA) notifications
Cons:
- No AI chatbot
- Basic reporting features
- Users report frequent system bugs
- 14-day free trial
- Essential ($39/agent/month)
- Professional ($99/agent/month)
- Enterprise → contact sales team
Why is Tidio better than Kayako?
Compared to Kayako’s email-focused platform, Tidio offers an extensive, well-rounded help desk system with ticketing, automation, and an AI chatbot for instant, seamless support.
Read more: Check out the complete reviews of Kayako alternatives with pros, cons, and pricing compared.
7. Intercom
G2 rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️ (3,200+ reviews)
Intercom is a customer engagement platform that serves mostly large and enterprise businesses. The software is known for its versatility, offering live chat, messaging, and in-app support, combined with advanced automation, AI bots, and customer data tracking.
While Intercom and Tidio offer advanced AI features, Tidio’s Lyro AI outshines Intercom’s Fin2, which is reported to have a 51% average resolution rate compared to Lyro’s 60%.
Pros:
- Collision detection for support tickets
- Advanced chatbot tools
- Omnichannel messaging
Cons:
- Steep learning curve
- Expensive plans
- The tool forces you to subscribe to additional utilities to access some essential features
- Free 14-day trial available
- Essential ($39/mo/seat)
- Advanced ($99/mo/seat)
- Expert ($139/mo/seat)
Why is Tidio better than Intercom?
Tidio’s Lyro AI outperforms Intercom’s Fin2, making Tidio’s AI chatbot and help desk the best on the market.
Read more: Discover the top Intercom alternatives available on the market today.
8. Hiver
G2 rating: 4.6/5 ⭐️ (1,090+ reviews)
Hiver is a shared inbox solution designed for businesses using Gmail for customer communication. It integrates directly within Gmail and provides basic help desk features. This software also allows teams to manage customer inquiries through shared inboxes, track email conversations, and automate workflows. It helps businesses excel in their email interactions with customers and ensures no message goes unanswered.
Pros:
- Integrates with Gmail and Google Workspace
- Automated email assignments
- Ready-to-use email templates
Cons:
- Users report syncing problems and bugs
- Occasional challenges with notification settings
- Limited analytics features
- Lite ($24/mo
- Pro ($34/mo)
- Elite ($59/mo)
Why is Tidio better than Hiver?
Hiver is mostly limited to Gmail, but with Tidio, you can use a multichannel inbox that combines your email, website chat, and social media messaging.
Read more: Check out the best Hiver alternatives for your team’s collaboration and improving customer support.
9. Olark
G2 rating: 4.3/5 ⭐️ (220+ reviews)
Olark is Tidio’s competitor because of its customizable live chat tools, which allow businesses to interact with visitors, track conversations, and gather customer insights through chat transcripts and analytics. Olark targets small to medium-sized businesses looking to enhance customer service and increase conversions through direct communication.
While Tidio stands out with its advanced chatbot automation, Olark focuses on simplicity and customization in live chat.
Pros:
- Chat routing to the correct support agent
- Chat transcripts and history
- Visitor co-browsing and live chat translation
Cons:
- Occasionally displays agents as offline even when they’re available
- Not as feature-rich as most alternatives
- Reporting features need improvement
- Free 14-day trial available
- Live chat ($29/mo/seat)
- Olark Pro → contact sales team
Why is Tidio better than Olark?
Olark customers report that the software has disappointing analytics and automation features. Tidio is known for its advanced AI automation and detailed analytics so you can stay on top of your team’s (and chatbot’s!) performance.
10. Tawk.to
G2 rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️ (180+ ratings)
Tawk.to is a great solution for startups and small businesses. It’s a free live chat software that allows businesses to communicate with website visitors in real time, enhancing customer support and engagement. It offers customizable live chat widgets, real-time visitor monitoring, multi-agent chat handling, automated messaging, and built-in ticketing.
Tawk.to focuses on offering a completely free live chat tool, and recently introduced an AI chatbot. However, the software is quite rudimentary compared to Tidio, which offers a stronger AI chatbot and suite of help desk features, including a modern live chat interface.
Pros:
- 45+ languages available for message translation
- Mobile app for iOS and Android
- Chat history and performance statistics
Cons:
- Limited automations, primarily for live chat
- Email notifications about messages are inconsistent
- Few customization options
- Free software
- Hire an agent ($1/hour)
- Remove branding ($19/mo)
Why is Tidio better than Tawk.to?
This free software only offers basic live chat functionalities while Tidio provides more features like chatbots, analytics, and a ticketing system.
Read more: Learn more about the best Tawk.to alternatives and competitors.
Get a closer look at Tidio alternatives:
If you search for a customer service software on G2, you’ll get over 3,000 results. We want to make it easy for you to choose the right support solution for your business, so we research and report the top platforms on the market. Some live up to the hype, some fall way behind, and Tidio is always a top contender.
While you’re here, why not give Tidio a try?
It integrates live chat, chatbot automation, and multichannel communication to enable your business to engage with customers in real time. Here are the main features and benefits you can expect:
- Lyro AI Chatbot, a highlight feature, provides instant support by using conversational AI to automate your repetitive tasks and answer common questions
- Shared Inbox consolidates your interactions from websites, emails, and social media, streamlining communication for your support team
- Pre-Chat Surveys capture essential customer information, improving your lead generation and ticket routing
- Flows is a no-code chatbot builder, ideal for engaging your customers on key pages to drive conversions
- Ticketing that ensures all customer inquiries are tracked and managed, reducing missed conversations and enhancing your customer satisfaction
Get started today and test all our top features free for seven days, commitment-free. After that, you’ll automatically switch to the Free plan. End your solution search today and try out Tidio!
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