8 Tidio alternatives for Shopify stores (2026)
Tidio bills the conversations your team answers and sells its Lyro AI agent as an add-on. Here are the live chat and AI chat apps Shopify stores weigh against it: who each one suits, what it lacks and what it costs.
We make Reponse, listed first. Every other tool is described from its own pricing page, documentation and Shopify App Store listing, and each entry links its source with the date we checked it. The order runs from the smallest store to the largest team; it is not a ranking.
The alternatives at a glance
Entry plans as each vendor publishes them, and how each one bills its AI.
| Tool | Best for | Entry plan | How AI is billed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reponse | Shopify stores: human chat never billed, an AI agent that sells | $0/mo, every AI agent free for 14 days | 14-day trial up to 500 AI tasks, then $0.05 per AI task; human chat is never billed | Reponse pricing |
| Shopify Inbox | Small stores that only need chat, AI agent included | Free, on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans | Free: no AI usage fee listed | Shopify Help Center, checked October 2026 |
| Chatty | Small Shopify stores, low entry price | $19.99 / month, Basic plan (a free plan exists) | Per AI conversation: 50 free a month, 100 on Basic, then $0.40 each | Pricing page, checked October 2026 |
| Crisp | Any kind of website, seats included in a flat price | $45 / month, Mini plan | AI credits included: about 90 conversations on Mini, 450 on Essentials | Pricing page, checked September 2026 |
| Zipchat | One AI on chat, WhatsApp and Instagram | $80 / month, Starter plan, 750 AI replies (a free plan exists on the App Store) | Per AI reply: 120 free a month, 750 on Starter, then $49 per 250 | Pricing page, checked October 2026 |
| Re:amaze | Several brands or platforms, SMS and phone | $29 / team member / month, Basic plan | 5, 10 or 20 AI resolutions per user a month, then $0.85 each | Pricing page, checked September 2026 |
| Gorgias | Support teams on several channels and platforms | $10 / month, Starter plan (helpdesk only, 50 tickets) | AI Agent: $1.00 per automated interaction ($0.90 yearly), on top of tickets | Pricing page, checked October 2026 |
| Rep AI | Stores with steady traffic, the AI opens the conversation | $104 / month for 10,000 visits, AI Sales plan (free up to 100 visitors on the App Store) | By store visits: $104 for 10,000 a month, then $12 per extra 1,000 | Pricing page, checked October 2026 |
The 8 alternatives, one by one
1. Reponse
Customer experience suite for Shopify
Our product
Live chat with unlimited human conversations and seats, a shared inbox, tickets, reviews, loyalty and referral in one app inside the Shopify admin. The AI agent works from day one: in the store chat, it recommends products in stock, builds the cart, applies a Shopify discount code and hands over to your team when it can't answer.
- Choose it if
- You sell on Shopify only, want human chat with no conversation or seat limit, and want the chat to sell from day one.
- Before you choose
- Shopify only, in English and French, with the store chat and the support emails you forward as channels and no visual flow builder; Tidio's conversations, Flows and saved replies aren't imported.
- Entry plan
- $0/mo, every AI agent free for 14 days
- How AI is billed
- 14-day trial up to 500 AI tasks, then $0.05 per AI task; human chat is never billed
- S
2. Shopify Inbox
Shopify's free chat app
Shopify's own chat for the online store. Your team answers from the web app or the iOS and Android apps, and an opt-in Inbox agent can answer shoppers by itself: it recommends products from your catalog, adds items to the cart and, once the shopper signs in, looks up their order.
- Choose it if
- You want a free chat with an AI agent on your store, and handle email, returns and reviews in other tools.
- Before you choose
- A chat, not a helpdesk: no tickets and no email inbox. The agent works only in the store chat, needs new customer accounts and always tells shoppers they are chatting with AI; discount codes are shared by your staff, and when no one is available the shopper is given your email address.
- Entry plan
- Free, on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans
- How AI is billed
- Free: no AI usage fee listed
- C
3. Chatty
Live chat and AI chatbot
A Shopify app that puts a live chat, an AI agent, a helpdesk inbox and an FAQ page together. The AI recommends products, adds them to the cart, sends a checkout link and shares your existing discounts; the inbox gathers the store chat, email, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. It carries the Built for Shopify badge.
- Choose it if
- You want a low price, an AI that works the cart, and one inbox for the store chat and social messages.
- Before you choose
- Product data refreshes daily, AI replies outside the store chat and custom recommendation rules need Pro ($68.99 a month) or Plus, and the free plan stops at 50 AI conversations a month.
- Entry plan
- $19.99 / month, Basic plan (a free plan exists)
- How AI is billed
- Per AI conversation: 50 free a month, 100 on Basic, then $0.40 each
4. Crisp
Multichannel messaging
A shared inbox for any kind of website, SaaS, brochure site or store, with a status page, a visual scenario builder and the Hugo AI agent. Crisp bills per workspace with seats included: 4 agents on Mini at $45 a month, then $10 per extra agent.
- Choose it if
- Your site isn't only a Shopify store, or you want a status page and a flat price that doesn't grow with each agent.
- Before you choose
- The AI runs on credits included in the plan ($5 on Mini, about 90 automated conversations), the full AI agent starts with Essentials at $95 a month, and contacts are capped per plan.
- Entry plan
- $45 / month, Mini plan
- How AI is billed
- AI credits included: about 90 conversations on Mini, 450 on Essentials
- Z
5. Zipchat
AI sales and support agent
An AI agent for sales and support across web chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, on Shopify, WooCommerce and Wix. It recommends products, creates single-use Shopify discount codes within limits you set, looks up orders and escalates to your team or a Zendesk ticket. It carries the Built for Shopify badge.
- Choose it if
- You want one AI agent across your messaging channels, creating discount codes itself.
- Before you choose
- Billed per AI reply, not per conversation (the free plan equates its 120 replies to about 50 conversations); adding to the cart isn't documented, and its knowledge base is built by crawling your site.
- Entry plan
- $80 / month, Starter plan, 750 AI replies (a free plan exists on the App Store)
- How AI is billed
- Per AI reply: 120 free a month, 750 on Starter, then $49 per 250
6. Re:amaze
Multichannel helpdesk
A classic helpdesk that also carries SMS, VoIP and video calls (SMS and voice from the Pro plan), and integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, WordPress and Stripe. From Pro, multibrand lets several support sites share one account.
- Choose it if
- Your support spans several brands or commerce platforms, needs a phone line, or wants staff shifts, custom roles and satisfaction ratings (Plus plan).
- Before you choose
- Billed per seat on Basic, Pro and Plus ($29 to $69 per team member a month), or $59 a month on Starter for unlimited members up to 500 responded conversations; a 14-day trial but no permanently free plan, and the AI Agent is still in beta.
- Entry plan
- $29 / team member / month, Basic plan
- How AI is billed
- 5, 10 or 20 AI resolutions per user a month, then $0.85 each
7. Gorgias
E-commerce helpdesk
A mature e-commerce helpdesk for email, chat, SMS, voice and social, with Rules, Flows and 150+ app integrations, on Shopify as well as WooCommerce, BigCommerce or Magento. Its AI Agent answers support questions and, as a Shopping Assistant, recommends products and can create single-use discount codes.
- Choose it if
- Support is a team of its own, on several channels, and you want routing, rules and a large app ecosystem.
- Before you choose
- Billed on ticket volume, with the AI Agent billed per automated interaction on top ($1.00 monthly, $0.90 yearly), each one also counting as a ticket; older AI Agent subscriptions may need an upgrade to get the Shopping Assistant.
- Entry plan
- $10 / month, Starter plan (helpdesk only, 50 tickets)
- How AI is billed
- AI Agent: $1.00 per automated interaction ($0.90 yearly), on top of tickets
- R
8. Rep AI
Proactive AI sales chat
A chat widget that steps in when a shopper hesitates: product carousels from your Shopify catalog, live stock and prices, add to cart and cart edits in the conversation, discount codes the shopper names, and a checkout button. Support answers come from your site and files.
- Choose it if
- You have steady traffic and want an agent that opens the conversation and works the cart.
- Before you choose
- Billed by store visits whether or not shoppers chat; order tracking is partial on the sales plans, channels beyond the website are a paid add-on, and its own inbox is in beta.
- Entry plan
- $104 / month for 10,000 visits, AI Sales plan (free up to 100 visitors on the App Store)
- How AI is billed
- By store visits: $104 for 10,000 a month, then $12 per extra 1,000
Why Shopify stores look beyond Tidio
Tidio is a light live chat that installs on many platforms, with a visual builder for scripted flows. What sends Shopify stores looking elsewhere is usually how the bill adds up, as its pricing page sets it out:
- A free plan exists; the entry paid plan, Starter, is displayed at $24.17/mo on the official pricing page, with a monthly/annual toggle advertising 2 months free.
- Billing is based on "billable conversations" (a conversation in which a human agent replied), not on seats: 100 included on Starter, from 250 on Growth, with up to 10 seats included on self-serve plans.
- The Lyro AI Agent is billed as a separate add-on, starting at $32.50/mo for 50 Lyro conversations; Flows is another add-on, starting at $24.17/mo for 2,000 visitors reached.
- Removing Tidio branding is a paid add-on ($16.67/mo), and the Plus tier starts at $300/mo plus monthly usage.
When Tidio stays the better choice
When your store isn't on Shopify (Tidio installs on about fifteen platforms, from WordPress to Wix), when you want to draw scripted paths yourself in its visual Flows builder, or when a free live chat for a small team is all you need.
Reponse vs Tidio, point by pointHow to choose a chat for a Shopify store
Most of these tools recommend products and hand a conversation over to a person. Four points set them apart.
What you pay for
Tidio counts the conversations a human answers and bills Lyro on top. Chatty counts AI conversations, Zipchat counts AI replies, Rep AI counts store visits, Gorgias counts tickets plus AI interactions, and Reponse counts AI tasks. Reponse's human chat is never billed, with unlimited seats; its AI is free during a 14-day trial, up to 500 AI tasks, then each AI task costs $0.05.
Whether the AI sells
Check what the AI does before checkout: recommend products in stock, add them to the cart, apply a discount code. Reponse, Rep AI and Chatty document all three in some form; Shopify Inbox adds to the cart but leaves codes to your staff, and Zipchat creates codes without a documented cart action.
The channels you need
Chatty, Zipchat, Re:amaze and Gorgias also reach shoppers on social messaging, and Re:amaze and Gorgias cover phone and SMS. Reponse covers the store chat with human handover and the support emails you forward into Tickets, with no phone or SMS channel.
What happens after the sale
A chat alone leaves order questions and return requests to email and other tools. Gorgias, Re:amaze and Reponse keep these conversations in a helpdesk with tickets; Reponse also runs reviews, loyalty and referral in the same app.
Questions about switching from Tidio
Which Tidio alternative suits a small Shopify store?
If you answer customers yourselves, start with what costs nothing.
Shopify Inbox is free with an AI agent in the store chat but no tickets, Chatty has a free plan with 50 AI conversations a month, and Reponse costs $0 a month for human chat, tickets, reviews, loyalty and referral, with every AI agent free during a 14-day trial, up to 500 AI tasks, then $0.05 per AI task. Crisp also has a free plan, with paid plans from $45 a month.
Is there a free alternative to Tidio for Shopify?
Shopify Inbox is free and includes an AI agent, and Chatty and Crisp have free plans.
Reponse costs $0 a month for unlimited human live chat, a shared inbox, tickets, reviews, loyalty and referral with unlimited seats, and nothing to enter: only the AI's work is billed, after a 14-day trial of up to 500 AI tasks, at $0.05 per task. Tidio's own entry paid plan is listed at $24.17 a month.
How does AI pricing compare with Lyro?
Lyro is an add-on billed per conversation on top of Tidio's plan.
Reponse bills its AI by the task, on your Shopify invoice: during a 14-day trial of up to 500 AI tasks, every AI agent works and nothing is billed, then each AI task costs $0.05, within the budget you set.
Can I bring my Tidio conversations and Flows over?
No.
Reponse doesn't import Tidio's conversation history, Flows or saved replies, so export them before you close your account. On the store side there is nothing to re-enter: the Shopify sync brings in products, variants, collections, inventory and orders. On your store, you turn Tidio off and turn on the Reponse app embed in the theme editor.
When is another tool the better choice?
When you sell outside Shopify (Tidio, Crisp, Zipchat or Re:amaze), need phone or SMS (Re:amaze, Gorgias), want one AI on social messaging (Zipchat, Chatty) or want the AI to open the conversation on busy traffic (Rep AI). Each entry above says when the tool is the better fit.
Can ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity read your store?
The AI Readiness Checker reads your store the way AI assistants do: crawler access, catalog, structured data, return and shipping policies. You get a score out of 100, check by check. No install, no account.
Customer service that finally pays for itself.
It installs from the Shopify App Store, lives in your admin and already knows your customers and orders.