What is the difference between Tidio and Kayako?

Tidio is best for E-commerce businesses wanting chat + chatbots, while Kayako is best for Support teams wanting unified customer journey tracking. Tidio starts at Free and Kayako starts at $15/agent/mo.

Is Tidio or Kayako cheaper?

Tidio starts at Free with a free tier. Kayako starts at $15/agent/mo.

Is there a free alternative to Kayako?

Yes, Tidio offers a free tier (Free for 50 conversations/mo).

Tidio vs Kayako

Tidio is live chat and chatbot platform focused on e-commerce with Shopify and WooCommerce integrations, while Kayako is help desk platform with journey-based customer support and multichannel inbox. The biggest difference up front: Tidio is free, while Kayako starts at $15/agent/mo. Tidio is built for e-commerce businesses wanting chat + chatbots, whereas Kayako targets support teams wanting unified customer journey tracking.

At a glance

	Tidio	Kayako
Best for	E-commerce businesses wanting chat + chatbots	Support teams wanting unified customer journey tracking
Starting price	Free	$15/agent/mo
Free tier	✓	—
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	—
Open source	—	—
AI Chatbot	✓	—
Collaborators	—	✓
E-commerce	✓	—
Email Marketing	✓	—
Journey Tracking	—	✓
Live Chat	✓	✓
Shared Inbox	—	✓

Tidio

Strengths

Includes Live Chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Includes AI Chatbot as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Free for 50 conversations/mo — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 13+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Tidio → Full review

Kayako

Strengths

Includes Journey Tracking as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Includes Live Chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Pricing starts at $15/agent/mo, which includes the full customer support feature set
Established product with 25+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Starts at $15/agent/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Kayako → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Tidio is completely free (Free for 50 conversations/mo), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Kayako starts at $15/agent/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Tidio offers AI Chatbot, E-commerce and Email Marketing that Kayako lacks. Kayako brings Collaborators, Journey Tracking and Shared Inbox that Tidio does not have. Both share Live Chat.

Team fit: Tidio is geared toward small teams teams, while Kayako is aimed at mid-size teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: Tidio's biggest strengths are: includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. includes ai chatbot as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. Kayako's biggest strengths are: includes journey tracking as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows.

Watch out for: With Tidio, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Kayako, the main complaint is that starts at $15/agent/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users.

Choose Tidio if...

You need a tool built for e-commerce businesses wanting chat + chatbots
Budget is a hard constraint — Tidio is free, Kayako is not
You specifically need AI Chatbot and E-commerce
You care about includes ai chatbot as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Tidio is designed for

Choose Kayako if...

You need a tool built for support teams wanting unified customer journey tracking
You specifically need Collaborators and Journey Tracking
You care about includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Kayako is designed for