Choose the workflow before choosing the vendor
Shortlist Tidio for a focused chat-and-AI pilot; shortlist Gorgias when the immediate project is organizing Shopify support around orders and team ownership. That is our suggested evaluation order, not an exclusive feature boundary.
Tidio also handles tickets, email and Shopify order actions. Gorgias also offers chat and AI. Comparing “a chatbot” with “a human inbox” would miss capabilities on both sides. Tidio's Shopify FAQ and Gorgias's Shopify integration
We checked official pricing, documentation and app listings on September 14, 2026. This is a purchasing framework, not a head-to-head benchmark from paid accounts. Start by naming three recent support problems: an after-hours shipping question, a return on an older order and a request left unresolved during a shift change.
The billing units are not interchangeable
A conversation count from one product is not automatically the same billable quantity in the other. Separate human work, AI work and automated visitor messages.
| Question | Tidio | Gorgias |
|---|---|---|
| Human support volume | Billable conversations | Helpdesk tickets |
| AI volume | Lyro AI conversations | Automated interactions |
| Entry offer | Free plan and 7-day trial are distinct | Verify the trial for the signup route |
| Pilot focus | Widget, answers and human handoff | Order context, email and shift ownership |
Tidio's human quota counts resolved conversation threads; Lyro has a separate counting model. The initial 50 free Lyro conversations are non-renewing. Do not budget as though that AI allowance resets every month. Human conversation limits and Lyro limits
Gorgias distinguishes Helpdesk tickets from automated interactions and documents legacy billing differences. A conversation receiving an AI answer is not necessarily an automated resolution under the billing rules. Confirm the treatment of human involvement for your subscription. Gorgias billing definitions
Compare a normal month and a campaign month
Get two quotes for the same work, with the billing cycle clearly marked. A trial offer answers how to test; it does not establish ongoing operating cost.
Tidio's annual-billing display starts at a monthly equivalent of $24.17 for Starter and $32.50 for Lyro. These are separate entry amounts, not a universal bundle or month-to-month quote. Tidio pricing
Gorgias Starter begins at $10/month for Helpdesk alone. The pricing interface checked showed $40/month with AI included, covering 50 tickets and 30 automated interactions. Compare the selected configuration and allowances, not just the smallest number on the page. Gorgias pricing and Shopify listing
Imagine a fictional store receiving 200 requests in an ordinary month and 350 after a promotion. Those totals do not identify the cheaper product. You still need the mix of human-only work, AI work and handoffs, then each vendor's counting rules.
For each period, record human allowance, AI allowance, overage handling, payment interval and quoted total. Leave unknown amounts blank or label them unverified. Add a separate estimate of your team's review work; do not convert a vendor's automation claim into assumed payroll savings.
Our Tidio pricing guide and Gorgias pricing guide explain the individual models in more detail.
Inspect order work in both products
Both products deserve an order-management test if Shopify support is central to the decision. Viewing an order, changing it and permitting AI to change it are different requirements.
Tidio's documentation describes order viewing, refunds, cancellations and shipping-address edits. Gorgias describes order context and actions within the ticket workspace. Confirm plan access, user permissions and automation scope separately. Tidio order capabilities and Gorgias order capabilities
Use a controlled customer with two purchases: the newest order shipped, while the question concerns an earlier unshipped order. Ask the evaluator to establish which purchase is relevant. A matching customer name is not a sufficient result.
Then inspect who may perform an action and where an exception goes for approval. You do not need to refund a live customer order to compare the permission model or escalation procedure.
Test answer quality and handoff separately
A fluent answer is only one part of a successful support exchange. The agent must use the right facts, recognize uncertainty and route the unfinished work to a person.
Use your actual selling languages in the pilot. Lyro's language documentation includes English and Japanese, but supported language does not prove correct policy interpretation. Verify the customer-facing language and agent workspace separately for each product. Lyro language documentation
Try a follow-up rather than only isolated FAQs: “I understand the dispatch date. Can you promise arrival before Friday?” The expected response should reflect your evidence, not invent a delivery guarantee.
Ask to speak to a person next. Record where the conversation appears, who owns it and what happens outside staffed hours. A smooth AI reply followed by an unowned queue is not a complete workflow.
Use the same three pilot cases
Start with an empty scorecard. Our examples below specify what to test, not which vendor will win.
| Case | Expected result | Record |
|---|---|---|
| After-hours shipping question | An answer grounded in the published policy | Source, errors and correction work |
| Return for an older purchase | The right order and human review of exceptions | Order matching and handoff effort |
| The assigned responder is absent | A named person finds and accepts the work | Ownership and duplicate replies |
Keep the questions, source material and evaluator consistent. Note the screens visited, edits made and unresolved questions. A few successful cases help establish fit; they do not measure conversion uplift or a reliable long-term resolution rate.
For a Shopify Tidio pilot, installation includes enabling the widget through the theme's app embeds. Check the installation method so the same widget is not added twice. Official installation guide
We recommend testing within a controlled scope rather than allowing both tools to answer the same live customer simultaneously. Otherwise, the test can create duplicate replies and obscure which workflow produced the result.
Decide which one to evaluate first
Try Tidio first when a small chat-and-AI pilot answers your immediate question. Its free plan and trial provide an entry point, but the non-renewing AI allowance still needs to be tracked.
Start with a Gorgias demo when mailbox migration, order workflows and team permissions drive the purchase. Bring the current email provider and an unresolved-ticket handoff example.
This is not a rule based on company size. A small business can have complex order exceptions, and a larger team may want a limited pilot on one surface. Let the bottleneck determine the sequence.
Recent official articles discuss redesigned chat and social automation. We reviewed them for product context, without treating their marketing claims as expected merchant results. Gorgias chat update and Tidio Instagram guide
FAQ and your next step
For a focused chat pilot, prepare the three cases and review Tidio's seven-day trial terms. If inbox migration is the priority, use the same cases in a Gorgias demo instead.
Is Tidio always cheaper?
No. The selected products, quantities, billing interval and overage rules determine the comparable price. A lower entry price does not answer a specific workload's cost.
Can Tidio replace Gorgias?
That depends on required channels, order actions, permissions, history and team procedure. Overlapping features are a reason to test both, not proof of a complete replacement.
Will the trial prove the ROI?
It can help test configuration and workflow fit. Leave untested cases unresolved and measure business effects separately after an appropriate operating period.
The next step for the small pilot described here is to check Tidio's trial, free-plan limits and post-trial configuration, then gather the source material and a named reviewer.
See whether Tidio fits your business7-dayfree trialNo credit card requiredMoves to the Free plan afterward unless you choose a paid subscriptionTry Tidio free for 7 days
