Head to head · checked October 2026

Aivastark vs Tidio

Both put a chat widget on your site and both have an AI layer. The real difference is what sits at the centre — a live-chat inbox with AI added, or an AI agent that hands off to humans — and what happens to the bill when a good month doubles your conversations.

Start free →See the side-by-side

Free plan, no card · 7-day trial on paid plans

Choose Tidio if

You want human live chat at the centre, with AI in front
You want messaging channels and 10 seats on a free plan
You want cheaper branding removal

Choose Aivastark if

You want the AI on the front line, not bolted on
You want AI conversations included in a flat price
You want Telegram too, and answers in 80+ languages

Tidio figures checked October 2026 on Tidio's own pages

Aivastark or Tidio: which should you choose?

Choose Tidio if you want a mature live-chat product with human agents at the centre, messaging channels even on the free plan, and an AI layer on top. Choose Aivastark if you want an AI agent at the centre and a bill that doesn't grow with AI conversations: Lyro costs about $0.70–$0.78 per AI conversation on monthly billing (about $0.58–$0.65 billed yearly), while Aivastark's $39 plan includes 5,000 AI replies. Aivastark's free plan is permanent and needs no card.

about 1,000 AI conversations a month, at five replies each: $39 vs $700about 1,000 AI conversations a month, at five replies each
per Lyro AI conversation, yearly to monthly billing: $0.58–$0.78per Lyro AI conversation, yearly to monthly billing
a month to remove Tidio's branding; Aivastark's badge goes on Scale: $16.67a month to remove Tidio's branding; Aivastark's badge goes on Scale
languages: Aivastark against Lyro: 80+ vs 45+languages: Aivastark against Lyro

Side by side

Aivastark and Tidio, row by row

Aivastark and Tidio compared on pricing, channels, branding and features
Feature	Aivastark	Tidio
Pricing model	Flat monthly price with a credit allowance; on paid plans overage is billed, never a shut-off	Per billable conversation (chats a human replies to), with Lyro AI conversations sold separately
Entry price	$0 permanent free plan (300 replies), then $12/month (Solo)	A free plan (50 billable conversations a month), then $29/month or $24.17/month billed yearly (Starter, 100 billable conversations)
Typical small-business spend	$39–$129/month depending on volume, sites and seats	$68/month for Starter plus 50 Lyro conversations; $134 for Growth (250) plus 100 Lyro, on monthly billing (our calculation from Tidio's pricing page). Lyro alone on the free plan starts at $39
AI price	Included: 1,000–75,000 credits a month by plan (1 per standard reply)	Lyro from $39 for 50 conversations to $700 for 1,000 a month (about $0.70–$0.78 each); about $0.58–$0.65 each billed yearly
Removing vendor branding	Badge can be hidden on Scale ($319); custom white-label arrangements on Enterprise, on request	Add-on from $16.67/month billed yearly ($20 monthly) on Growth; included on Plus and Premium
Channels	Widget on every plan; Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram and email from Starter ($39)	Widget, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and email on every plan, including Free
Agentic tools	From Starter: calendar booking (Google Calendar, Cal.com; Calendly by link), Shopify lookups and confirmed actions, database queries that only read, MCP servers and custom API lookups	Lyro Actions through your APIs, such as order status, address changes and returns (1 free, 3 on paid Lyro, up to 10 on Plus); native Shopify actions from Growth; MCP on Plus and Premium; rule-based Flows
Languages	80+	Lyro: 45+
Seats	1–10 by plan	Up to 10 on self-serve plans, including Free

Tidio figures checked October 2026 on Tidio's own pages (sources below). Pricing moves, so check the vendor before you decide. Aivastark allowances are counted in credits: a standard reply is 1 credit and a gpt-4o reply 10; images, voice and tool steps add more.

In fairness

Where Tidio is the better choice

Stated plainly, because a comparison that wins every row is an advert.

A longer track record as a live-chat product (founded in 2013, over 300,000 businesses, per its FAQ) and a mature human-agent workflow.
A well-known brand in SMB ecommerce, which matters if your team already knows the tool.
Lyro is genuinely capable for straightforward FAQ deflection, and can now take actions such as order status and returns through your APIs.
Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and email on every plan, and up to 10 seats, even on Free.
Cheaper branding removal: an add-on on Growth rather than a top-tier plan.
A 7-day trial with no card; Aivastark's paid-plan trial asks for one.

The pricing model is the real difference

Tidio bills against billable conversations, the chats a human agent replies to, and sells Lyro AI conversations separately. On monthly plans, new projects move up a tier automatically at 95% of a quota unless you switch that off; without the upgrade, your team can't reply once the month's limit is reached. Either way, a product launch or a Black Friday spike hits the bill or the queue at exactly the moment support gets hard.

Lyro conversations are counted per thread: a thread closes after 15 minutes of inactivity, and a new message after that starts a new one that counts again.

Aivastark bills a flat monthly price against a credit allowance. Past the allowance on a paid plan we bill overage rather than switching the assistant off, so the failure mode is a slightly larger invoice, not a silent bot on your busiest day.

Where each one sits in your stack

Tidio is a live-chat product first: humans in an inbox, AI in front of them. Aivastark is an agent first: it answers from your content and, with handoff switched on (Solo and up), passes the conversation to your unified inbox when the customer asks for a person, sounds upset or still isn't helped. If your plan is to keep a staffed chat team and deflect the easy half, Tidio fits that shape. If your plan is to have the agent handle the front line unattended, Aivastark is built for that.

FAQ

Aivastark vs Tidio: questions

Is Aivastark cheaper than Tidio?

For AI conversations, yes. Tidio's Lyro costs about $0.70–$0.78 per AI conversation on monthly billing ($39 for 50), or about $0.58–$0.65 billed yearly, bought on its own or added to a plan from $29/month. Aivastark's $39 plan includes 5,000 AI replies, roughly 1,000 conversations at five replies each. If you mainly want human live chat with little AI, Tidio's free and Starter plans are cheaper.

Which one removes the vendor branding more cheaply?

Tidio. Its branding-removal add-on costs from $16.67/month billed yearly and is sold from the Growth plan. Aivastark lets you hide its badge on Scale ($319/month) and offers custom white-label arrangements on Enterprise, on request. On Aivastark, your agent's name, colours, logo and persona are yours on every plan.

What is the best Tidio alternative for a small store?

If you want flat AI pricing rather than a bill per AI conversation, Aivastark is the closer fit. If you want a mature staffed live-chat workflow with AI deflection in front, Tidio remains a strong product.

Does Aivastark do live chat with human agents too?

Yes. With handoff switched on (Solo and up), escalations land in a unified inbox with agent presence, conversation claim, canned responses and internal notes; teammates join from Starter. The difference is that the agent handles the front line by default rather than the queue.

Sources