Tidio alternatives for small Shopify stores

Short answer: the main Tidio alternatives for a small Shopify store are Shopify Inbox (free, Shopify only, sees orders), tawk.to (free live chat, AI as a paid add-on), Crisp (free for live chat, AI credits from $45 a month), Chatbase (from $32 a month billed yearly, no free plan, the most able to take actions), and Chatbait (free for up to 300 messages a month, answers only from your own pages, no order lookup). None of them match everything Tidio does; which one fits depends on whether you need order status answered automatically or just want predictable AI answers from your own content.

Prices checked on each company's own pricing page on October 19, 2026. For Tidio's own plans, see Tidio pricing explained.

Side by side

Shopify Inbox: free, but Shopify only

If you're on Shopify, Inbox is free and already includes an AI-powered sales associate connected to your catalog, inventory and policies, plus analytics on orders assisted. It's rated 4.6 out of 5 from over 5,800 reviews. The catch is that it only works inside Shopify, and some merchants reviewing it have raised concerns about the AI's accuracy; see Shopify Inbox alternatives for that detail and more options.

tawk.to: free live chat, paid AI

tawk.to keeps live chat free with unlimited agent seats, and its Shopify listing is rated 3.6 from 89 reviews. AI Assist, the part that answers on its own, is a separate add-on starting "as little as $29 a month", with a limited forever-free tier for low chat volume. If you only want a free person-staffed chat box, tawk.to is a reasonable pick; if you want AI answers included at no cost, it isn't.

Crisp: free chat, AI sold in credits

Crisp has a genuinely free plan with 2 agent seats and a shared inbox, but zero AI credits. The cheapest plan with AI, Mini, is $45 a month and includes $5 of AI credits, about 90 automated conversations. Essentials ($95/mo) and Plus ($295/mo) raise that ceiling along with seats and automation. Crisp bills a flat rate per workspace rather than charging per extra conversation once you're on a plan, which makes the ceiling clearer than a pure per-resolution tool, but AI still isn't part of the free tier.

Chatbase: the most able to take actions, no free plan

Chatbase starts at $32 a month billed yearly (around $40 month to month) for 700 message credits, with no free plan at all. What you get for that price is the ability to connect real actions during a chat, a Shopify action for order lookup, and channels beyond the website widget (WhatsApp, Slack, voice). Extra credits cost $40 per 1,000. It fits a store that wants the AI to do things, not just answer, and is willing to pay from day one.

Chatbait: free, but narrower

Chatbait is free for up to 300 messages a month (a message is one reply sent to a visitor), with Starter at $19 for 2,000 and Growth at $49 for 10,000, a hard cap with no surprise overage. It answers only from your own website's pages, in the visitor's language, and says so when it doesn't know rather than guessing. It does not look up orders, capture leads, or hand a chat to a person, so if those matter more than price predictability, Tidio, Shopify Inbox or Chatbase will serve you better. See the full comparison with Chatbase for more detail on what each one can and can't do.

When Tidio is still the better pick

Tidio isn't the cheapest or the simplest option here, but it's still the strongest all-rounder if you want:

• Order status answered by the AI itself, since Lyro can check order, shipping and return status directly.
• A real, if limited, free trial of AI, rather than none at all (Chatbase) or AI locked behind a $45-plus plan (Crisp).
• Multiple channels, including WhatsApp and email, not just a website widget.

For how AI chatbot pricing models differ in general (per resolution, per conversation, per credit, free), see AI chatbot pricing explained, and for free plans specifically, the best free AI chatbots for small stores.

Frequently asked questions

What's the cheapest Tidio alternative with AI included free?

Shopify Inbox, if you're on Shopify: it's free with an AI-powered sales associate included. Chatbait is the closest free option for non-Shopify sites, free for up to 300 messages a month.

Which Tidio alternative can look up a customer's order?

Shopify Inbox and Chatbase both support order lookup. Tidio's own Lyro AI does this too. Chatbait, Crisp and the free tier of tawk.to don't.

Is there a free AI chatbot alternative to Tidio that isn't Shopify-only?

Chatbait is free for up to 300 messages a month and works on any platform. tawk.to's live chat is free on any platform too, but its AI Assist add-on starts at $29 a month.

Do any of these alternatives cost less than Tidio overall?

Shopify Inbox and Chatbait's free tiers cost nothing, against Tidio's $24.17 a month plus a separate $32.50 a month Lyro AI add-on. Crisp and Chatbase can cost more than Tidio once you need their AI features.