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Help Scout vs Tidio

Help Scout and Tidio are both customer support tools. Help Scout is aimed at small businesses, while Tidio is aimed at small businesses and E-commerce. Help Scout costs less, from $25/mo versus $29/mo for Tidio. Both have a free plan.

Help Scout

Email-centric helpdesk with a human touch

Tidio

Live chat and AI agent for small e-commerce

PricingFreemium · $25Freemium · $29
Starting price$25/mo$29/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial15 days7 days
Built forSmall businessesSmall businesses, E-commerce
Platformsweb, ios, androidweb, ios, android
CountryUS · 2011PL · 2013
Rating——

Choose Help Scout if

Small and mid-size companies that want personal email-based support with a knowledge base.

  • Free plan for up to 5 users
  • Simple, email-like experience agents like
  • Fast to set up; good docs product

Look elsewhere if: Call centers or enterprises needing WFM, QA and voice.

Choose Tidio if

Small e-commerce businesses.

  • Affordable for small stores
  • Easy setup
  • AI and bots included

Look elsewhere if: Enterprise support teams.

Help Scout vs Tidio pricing

Help Scout

  • Free$05 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts/mo
  • Standard$25/user/mo25 users, 2 inboxes, unlimited contacts; 16% off annually
  • Plus$45/user/mo50 users, 5 inboxes, Salesforce/Jira/HubSpot
  • Pro$75/user/moMin 10 users; 10 inboxes, SSO/SAML, HIPAA

Tidio

  • Free$050 conversations/mo
  • Starter$29/mo$24.17/mo billed annually; 100 conversations
  • Growthfrom $59/mo$49.17/mo annually; from 250 conversations
  • Plusfrom $300/moPlus monthly usage; custom limits
  • PremiumCustomManaged Lyro AI, guaranteed 50% resolution

Help Scout · Key features

  • Shared inboxes with assignments, tags and workflows
  • Docs knowledge base with multiple sites
  • Beacon widget for chat, contact forms and article suggestions
  • AI drafts, summaries and AI Answers for customers
  • Customer profiles with app data via integrations
  • Reports on volume, happiness and productivity

Cons

  • No phone support channel
  • Routing and automation less deep than Zendesk
  • Per-user pricing adds up as the team grows

Tidio · Key features

  • Live chat widget
  • Help desk ticketing
  • Visual chatbot builder
  • Lyro AI agent
  • Multichannel inbox (Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp)
  • E-commerce integrations

Cons

  • Conversation-based pricing
  • Lyro billed separately
  • Reporting basic

Help Scout vs Tidio: FAQ

Which is cheaper, Help Scout or Tidio?

Help Scout starts at $25/mo and Tidio at $29/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.

Do Help Scout and Tidio have a free plan?

Yes, both Help Scout and Tidio have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Not sure yet?

Help Scout vs Tidio (2026): Pricing and Features