A Tidio alternative that counts one thing
Tidio sells live chat, its Lyro AI agent and Flows automations, each with its own allowance. SupportVia counts one thing, AI conversations, and never counts the chats your team answers. Its AI answers from your own pages and links the pages it read, from $29 a month.
Try it on your own website
Free for 7 days or 50 AI conversations, no card needed. Live in about ten minutes.
How Tidio charges, as of October 2026
- Free: 50 billable conversations, and the first 50 Lyro conversations, once.
- Starter: $24.17 a month billed yearly, with 100 billable conversations and 100 Flows visitors. Growth: from $49.17, with a Lyro quota of 50 to 1,000 a month. Plus: from $300 plus usage.
- Lyro on its own: from $32.50 a month billed yearly, for 50 conversations.
So a Tidio bill has three meters: billable conversations, Lyro conversations and Flows visitors, and the page shows yearly prices by default. Every plan and add-on, with monthly billing, is in our guide to Tidio pricing.
As of October 2026. Prices change, so check the vendor’s own page before you decide. Sources: Tidio pricing, Tidio Lyro, Tidio help: switch between projects
SupportVia’s one meter
The published plans define an AI conversation as a chat the AI replies to, counted when it first replies and covering up to 30 of its replies. That’s the only thing a plan counts, as a monthly allowance.
- Counted: a chat the AI answers.
- Not counted: chats your team answers. Unlimited, on every plan.
- Not counted in your AI conversations: answers from your own OpenAI, Claude or compatible AI account, on every plan (up to 1,000 conversations a month on Starter, up to 5,000 on Growth and no monthly cap on Pro).
A Lyro alternative that answers from your pages
Lyro and SupportVia’s AI do the same core job: answer customers from what you’ve written, and pass the chat to a person. SupportVia also shows where it read an answer, with up to five “Read more” links under it.
Both answer only from your content and pass the chat to a person when it isn’t covered. SupportVia also links the pages it used (Tidio’s Lyro page doesn’t mention sources), says when two of your pages disagree instead of picking one, and lets your current pages beat its own earlier replies.
On every plan you can also connect your own AI account (up to 1,000 conversations a month on Starter, up to 5,000 on Growth and no monthly cap on Pro), and its answers never use your AI conversations.
At 500 chats a month
Say the AI answers 500 chats a month, and your team picks up some of them. On SupportVia that is Growth: $79 a month, with 500 AI conversations and 5 teammates. The chats your team answers add nothing.
On Tidio you’d size two things: a plan with enough billable conversations for the chats your team answers, and a Lyro quota of 500. Tidio’s page lists Lyro quotas from 50 to 1,000 a month; check the price for yours there, with the billing period, before you compare.
For other volumes, the cost calculator works it out with the figures and dates shown.
Tidio and SupportVia, side by side
| Question | Tidio | SupportVia |
|---|---|---|
| How it’s priced | Free plan, then plans from $24.17 a month billed yearly, each with its own allowances | Three plans: Starter $29, Growth $79, Pro $199 a month. Teammates included (2, 5, unlimited) |
| How the AI is charged | Lyro conversations: a quota of 50 to 1,000 a month on Growth, or Lyro on its own from $32.50 a month billed yearly | AI conversations in the plan: 150, 500 or 1,500 a month. Past the allowance, new chats go to your team. Once we agree a limit with you, you can switch on extra AI conversations at $0.30 to $0.40 each, up to a monthly cap you set. Chats your team answers aren’t counted. Your own AI account works on every plan (up to 1,000 conversations a month on Starter, up to 5,000 on Growth and no monthly cap on Pro) and never uses your AI conversations |
| Handing the chat to a person | Live chat and a helpdesk in the same tool; “Human handoff” listed under Lyro | On every plan. The customer asks, the AI offers a person when nothing it knows covers the question, or an error sends the chat over. A note goes with it, and once a teammate replies the AI stops |
| Shows where an answer came from | Not covered by the pages we checked | Up to five “Read more” links under an answer, to the pages it used |
| Several websites | Multiple projects on Plus and Premium, per its pricing page | One snippet for every website in a workspace, each with its own look and knowledge. Plans are sized for up to 2, 5 or 15 websites; write to us to set yours up |
| Currency | Its pricing page lists US dollars | US dollars or rupees (₹), plus taxes where they apply. Hosted in the United States |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan: 50 billable conversations and the first 50 Lyro conversations, once | 7 days or 50 AI conversations free, whichever comes first, no card. No free plan |
| Automations | Flows, sold by visitors reached | None: the AI answers and hands over |
| Your own AI account | Not covered by the pages we checked | On every plan (up to 1,000 conversations a month on Starter, up to 5,000 on Growth and no monthly cap on Pro), and its answers never use your AI conversations |
| Shopify and WordPress | Apps for Shopify and WordPress | One line of code in your theme or footer; no app or plugin |
As of October 2026. Prices change, so check the vendor’s own page before you decide. Sources: Tidio pricing, Tidio Lyro, Tidio help: switch between projects
“Not covered by the pages we checked” means the vendor’s pages we read didn’t say, not that it can’t. Our guide to chatbots that give wrong answers sets out the rules behind SupportVia’s column.
How to switch from Tidio
- Start free and add your website. Check the import preview: what it kept, what it left out, and the logo and color it found.
- Ask the questions your customers ask in the playground. Nothing there is stored or counted. Add Q&As and notes for anything missing.
- Remove Tidio’s code or app from your site and paste SupportVia’s one line in its place.
The install guides have the exact steps for WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow and any other website. Your Tidio history stays with Tidio: SupportVia doesn’t import chats from other tools.
Choose Tidio if
- You want Flows automations: pop-ups, discount offers and scripted journeys.
- You want more channels than website chat in one tool.
- You want a free plan to start with and an app in your store’s app list.
Other Tidio alternatives
Other tools on this list that Tidio’s buyers often look at, as of October 2026. Each page has the figures and sources.
- Crisp: One price per workspace, with AI credits included and a free plan.
- tawk.to: Free live chat answered by people, with AI as a paid add-on.
- Intercom: Large support teams that want email, tickets and many channels.
- Chatbase: A bot first, built from your content, with a helpdesk from Basic.
- SiteGPT: A bot built from your website, priced by messages, with an inbox from Growth.
What SupportVia doesn’t do
- No channels beyond the chat on your website: no WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS or email.
- No mobile app for your team. The inbox runs in the browser, with desktop alerts and the waiting count in the tab.
- No ticketing, tags, canned replies or assignment rules.
- No actions: the AI answers and hands over. It doesn’t book, refund or look up orders.
- No automations or proactive pop-ups.
- No Shopify app or WordPress plugin: you paste one line of code.
Tidio alternative: questions people ask
Does SupportVia have Flows or automations?
No. The AI answers questions from your pages and hands the chat to your team. There are no scripted flows, pop-ups or proactive messages.
Does it work on Shopify?
Yes. Paste one line into your theme’s theme.liquid, just before </body>. There’s no app to install; the Shopify install guide has the steps.
Can I bring my Tidio chat history?
No. SupportVia doesn’t import chats from other tools. It reads your website again, and you add Q&As and notes for what isn’t online.
Can I keep Tidio while I try it?
Yes. Add your website, check what it learned, and ask your own questions in the playground before you change anything on your site. The playground stores and counts nothing.
Read next
Answer every customer. Start free today.
Add your website, check what it learned, and paste one line. Your team sees the first conversation in the inbox.