Tidio vs Intercom: Tidio fits a small Shopify store; Intercom charges per seat and per AI resolution
For a small store with a handful of support requests a day, Tidio is the easier one to start with. It has a free plan and fixed plan allowances. Intercom is worth a look if you already run support with several agents and want to pay for AI only when it resolves a conversation. The real difference is how each one counts what you pay for.
- Tidio: you pick a plan (Free, Starter, Growth and up) with set allowances. Its AI agent, Lyro, is added on top.
- Intercom: you pay per full seat, and its AI agent, Fin, is billed per resolution.
This comparison uses Tidio's and Intercom's official pricing pages, Intercom's Shopify connector page, the Intercom listing on the Shopify App Store, and Tidio's Lyro language help article, all checked October 19, 2026. For Tidio's own plans in depth, see our Tidio pricing guide. For Lyro itself, see the Lyro guide.
Side-by-side: pricing model, AI, trial and Shopify
| Item | Tidio | Intercom |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | A plan with set allowances (conversations, visitors) | Full seats, plus Fin resolutions |
| Free option | Free plan: 50 billable conversations, 10 seats | No free plan found on the pricing page; 14-day trial |
| Entry paid price | Starter $24.17; Growth from $49.17 | Essential $29 per seat |
| AI agent | Lyro add-on from $32.50 for 50 conversations | Fin at $0.99 per resolution |
| Trial | 7 days, no card; moves to Free afterward | 14 days, no card, all features and Fin |
| Shopify | Native Shopify actions on Growth and above | Shopify app; Fin's data connector has conditions |
Sources: Tidio pricing and Intercom pricing, both checked October 19, 2026. Tidio's page has a Monthly/Annually toggle but does not say which billing cycle the displayed prices reflect, so confirm the cycle on screen before you buy.
Pricing: Tidio's tiers are easier to forecast than Intercom's seats plus resolutions
If you want to know your bill before the month starts, Tidio's tiers are simpler. Intercom's total rises with agents and with every resolved AI conversation.
What Tidio charges
On the pricing page as of October 19, 2026: Free is $0 with 50 billable conversations and 10 seats; Starter is $24.17 (100 conversations); Growth starts at $49.17 (from 250 conversations). Lyro is sold as an add-on from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, and Flows (automation scenarios) from $24.17 for 2,000 visitors reached. On Free, the first 50 Lyro conversations are free for the life of the account and the first 100 Flows visitors are free each month. The full breakdown is in our Tidio pricing guide.
What Intercom charges
Intercom's pricing page lists per-seat prices of $29 (Essential), $85 (Advanced) and $132 (Expert). The Shopify App Store listing shows the same three plans at $39, $99 and $139 billed monthly, or $348, $1,020 and $1,584 billed yearly. Divide the yearly figures by 12 and you get $29, $85 and $132, the same numbers as the pricing page. If you plan to pay month to month, budget from the App Store monthly prices.
Fin costs $0.99 per resolution, charged once per conversation even if it answers several questions. Used standalone alongside another helpdesk, there is a monthly minimum; the pricing page gives 50 outcomes as an example.
A rough comparison at 100 AI resolutions a month
The units differ, so this is a starting point rather than a verdict. On Intercom, 100 resolutions at $0.99 is $99, plus at least one seat (Essential at $29 as listed on the pricing page). On Tidio, a starting setup is Starter plus a Lyro allowance. Plug in your own ticket volume and the plan features you need before comparing.
AI: Lyro and Fin differ most in how they are billed
Both read your store's content and answer customers automatically. The practical difference is billing and integration conditions, not a headline feature.
- Lyro (Tidio): the first 50 conversations are free on the Free plan; after that you buy an allowance. Tidio's help center lists Japanese among supported languages (Lyro multilanguage help, checked October 19, 2026).
- Fin (Intercom): $0.99 each time a conversation counts as resolved.
If order-status questions are your main use case, our walkthrough on Lyro and order status covers the Tidio setup. Tidio's native Shopify actions are included from Growth upward.
Which languages Fin supports was not something we could confirm from an official page for this article. If your customers write in more than one language, test a few real questions during Intercom's trial.
Shopify: Intercom's data connector comes with conditions
Intercom has a Shopify app, and Fin can read order and product data, but the connector has requirements you should read first.
The Shopify App Store listing (checked October 19, 2026) says Fin answers product and order questions using real-time data, lets agents edit shipping details and issue refunds from the inbox, and supports connecting several stores to one workspace. The listing shows English as the language and a 3.7 rating from 18 reviews.
For Fin's Shopify connector, Intercom's page (checked October 19, 2026) states:
- It is currently available for US-hosted Intercom workspaces only.
- Live use in production requires JWT or email OTP user authentication.
- You set it up under Settings, Integrations, Data connectors, and Fin can only use the tools you select.
For a one-person store, whether you can configure that yourself is often the deciding factor. Tidio's Shopify setup steps are in our Tidio getting started guide.
Which one to choose
| Your situation | Try first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A few dozen chats a month, one or two people | Tidio | Free plan to start; costs stay inside a plan allowance |
| You want to pay per AI resolution | Intercom | Fin is billed per resolved conversation |
| Customers write in Japanese | Tidio | Japanese is on the Lyro language list; Intercom's Fin languages were not confirmed here |
| Several agents or several stores | Intercom | Per-seat pricing and multi-store support are documented |
If Tidio matches your situation, you can start on the free plan and run real customer questions through it.
If neither fits, our Tidio alternatives guide compares other options, and the Tidio review covers what reviewers say.
FAQ
Is there a free version of Tidio or Intercom? Tidio has a Free plan. Intercom's pricing page lists a 14-day free trial with no card required. We did not find a permanent free plan there.
Why does Intercom's Essential plan show $29 in one place and $39 in another? The pricing page shows $29; the Shopify App Store listing shows $39 monthly and $348 yearly, which works out to $29 a month, matching the pricing page. If you pay monthly, budget from $39.
How is Fin priced? $0.99 per resolution, charged once per conversation.
Does Lyro support Japanese? Yes, Japanese appears on the language list in Tidio's help center (checked October 19, 2026).
Can I move my setup later? Conversation history and automations may not transfer one to one, so list what you need to keep before switching.
Next step: run your real questions through Tidio's free plan
Tidio's Free plan covers live chat, ticketing and the first 50 Lyro conversations. Pick three questions your customers ask most, load your FAQ into Lyro, and see how it answers. If you also want to compare Intercom, its 14-day trial lets you run the same questions and see how the charges accrue.
Official sources (checked October 19, 2026)
