Compare · Prices checked October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026
Tidio vs Zendesk (2026)
Published starting prices: Tidio, Free; paid from $32.50/mo. Zendesk, $55/agent/mo (Suite Team). Side-by-side public pricing, what each does, real use cases and who each suits, all from our listings with sources. We haven't tested either hands-on.
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SupportFree tier
Tidio Lyro
Tidio's AI agent for small online stores. It answers from your knowledge base in chat, email and social, and hands off to staff.
Subscription · 3 use casesFree; paid from $32.50/mo
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Support
Zendesk AI agents
AI agents inside Zendesk's helpdesk suite that answer and resolve requests across messaging and email.
Per seat · 2 use cases$55/agent/mo (Suite Team)
Short answer: Tidio vs Zendesk pricing
Comparing the lowest listed monthly plans: Tidio Starter: $24.17/mo (100 billable conversations; help desk only, no monthly Lyro AI conversations), and Zendesk Support Team: $19/agent/mo (billed yearly ($25 monthly); no AI agents). Zendesk lists the lower one. Tidio also has a free plan. Plans differ in what they include, and some are per seat or billed yearly, so compare the plan details. Checked October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026. Tidio: yes. Its Free plan is $0 (50 billable conversations/mo, up to 10 seats; Lyro limited to the first 50 conversations per account (lifetime)), checked October 30, 2026. Zendesk: no $0 plan on its pricing page (checked October 29, 2026).
Pricing side by side
| Item | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; paid from $32.50/mo | $55/agent/mo (Suite Team) |
| Pricing model | Subscription | Per seat |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Plans |
|
|
| Pricing note | Prices shown are with annual billing (the page advertises 2 months free). | AI agent resolutions beyond the plan's allowance cost $1.50 each on a commitment or $2.00 pay-as-you-go. |
| Checked | October 30, 2026 | October 29, 2026 |
| Source | Vendor pricing page | Vendor pricing page |
Copied from each vendor's public pricing page on the date shown. "not published" means the vendor doesn't publish it; we don't guess. Prices change; confirm with the vendor.
Features and details from our listings
| Item | Tidio | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Tidio's AI agent for small online stores. It answers from your knowledge base in chat, email and social, and hands off to staff. | AI agents inside Zendesk's helpdesk suite that answer and resolve requests across messaging and email. |
| Made by | Tidio | Zendesk |
| Listed under | Customer support agents | Customer support agents |
| Jobs it fits |
|
|
| Verified public use cases | 3 | 2 |
Use cases
Tidio Lyro
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Use caseSupportVendor case study
Watch brand Burker put Lyro on its website and Instagram as the first line of support; during an April sale it handled 10,000 conversations with a resolution rate near 80%.
May 2026Tidio
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Use caseSupportVendor case study
Polish personal-care store Your KAYA moved from Gorgias to Tidio in under 14 days; Lyro now answers 75% of tickets in Polish and English from a 330-article knowledge base.
Mar 2026Tidio
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Use caseSupportVendor case study
NSI Australia, a family-owned beauty and nail supply company with a single support operator, uses Lyro on its website and Facebook; it resolves 62% of inquiries.
Oct 2025Tidio blog
Zendesk AI agents
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Use caseSupportVendor case study
Envato uses Zendesk AI agents to resolve more than 45% of inquiries automatically for its 2 million+ users, cutting first response time by 98%.
Aug 2026Zendesk
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Use caseSupportVendor case study
Garden-products maker Hozelock moved from email-only support to messaging with Zendesk AI agents and automated 65% of enquiries in under a year.
Jun 2025Zendesk
Use cases are summarised in our own words from the linked public post; vendor case studies are labelled. All use cases.
Who each is best for
- SubscriptionFree plan
Tidio Lyro is best for
- Teams that need to: Answer store FAQs and order questions; Support customers in several languages.
- Budget: starts at Free; paid from $32.50/mo (subscription, free plan available).
- Per seat
Zendesk AI agents is best for
- Teams that need to: Automate common support requests; Move from email-only to messaging support.
- Budget: starts at $55/agent/mo (Suite Team) (per seat).
From our listing data (jobs, public pricing); not a hands-on test. Full details: Tidio Lyro · Zendesk AI agents.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Tidio or Zendesk?
Comparing the lowest listed monthly plans: Tidio Starter: $24.17/mo (100 billable conversations; help desk only, no monthly Lyro AI conversations), and Zendesk Support Team: $19/agent/mo (billed yearly ($25 monthly); no AI agents). Zendesk lists the lower one. Tidio also has a free plan. Plans differ in what they include, and some are per seat or billed yearly, so compare the plan details. Checked October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026.
Is Tidio free? Is Zendesk free?
Tidio: yes. Its Free plan is $0 (50 billable conversations/mo, up to 10 seats; Lyro limited to the first 50 conversations per account (lifetime)), checked October 30, 2026. Zendesk: no $0 plan on its pricing page (checked October 29, 2026).
How much does Tidio cost?
Tidio lists Free: $0 (50 billable conversations/mo, up to 10 seats; Lyro limited to the first 50 conversations per account (lifetime)); Lyro AI Agent: from $32.50/mo (from 50 Lyro conversations; standalone); Starter: $24.17/mo (100 billable conversations; help desk only, no monthly Lyro AI conversations); Growth: from $49.17/mo (from 250 billable conversations); Plus: from $300/mo (plus usage). Its lowest listed monthly plan is Starter: $24.17/mo (100 billable conversations; help desk only, no monthly Lyro AI conversations). Prices shown are with annual billing (the page advertises 2 months free). Checked October 30, 2026 on the vendor's pricing page.
How much does Zendesk cost?
Zendesk lists Support Team: $19/agent/mo (billed yearly ($25 monthly); no AI agents); Suite Team: $55/agent/mo (billed yearly ($69 monthly); includes AI agents); Suite Professional: $115/agent/mo (billed yearly ($149 monthly)); Copilot add-on: $50/agent/mo (billed yearly). Its lowest listed monthly plan is Support Team: $19/agent/mo (billed yearly ($25 monthly); no AI agents). AI agent resolutions beyond the plan's allowance cost $1.50 each on a commitment or $2.00 pay-as-you-go. Checked October 29, 2026 on the vendor's pricing page.
Did AITeamGuide test them?
Not hands-on. This comparison is built from each vendor's public pricing page (with the date we checked it), published product information and credited public use cases.
Can a vendor pay to win this comparison?
No. Nothing here is paid. Paid placements on AITeamGuide are always labelled "Sponsored" or "Featured" and never change a comparison or ranking.
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Work at Tidio Lyro or Zendesk AI agents? Vendors can claim their listing for free or feature it with a label that says "Sponsored"; paid status never changes the order on this page. Building a different agent? List it here.
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