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OpenAgent vs Tidio: conversation quotas + Lyro AI metering vs flat per-site
Tidio is the polished SMB pick: fast setup, good Shopify story, friendly UI. The pricing model is the thing to read twice, because both the conversations and the AI are metered, and the meters run separately.
Javad PK· CEO & Product Strategy5 min read
TL;DR
Tidio nails the first hour: install, brand the widget, launch a flow, done. For a small store that wants chat plus some automation this week, it is one of the smoothest onboardings in the category, and the Shopify integration is genuinely good.
The structural difference is double metering. Your plan caps billable conversations (50 free, 100 on Starter, 250 on Growth, custom above), and Lyro AI conversations are sold separately in blocks: 50 lifetime free, then from $32.50 a month for 50, which is about $0.65 per AI conversation. OpenAgent meters neither: flat per-site fee, unlimited conversations, AI on your own LLM keys at provider cost.
Pricing (verified July 2026)
| What you pay for | Tidio | OpenAgent |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | Free (50 conv), Starter $24.17/mo, Growth from $49.17/mo, Plus from $300/mo | $1/site/month founder rate ($9.99 list) |
| Conversation limits | Yes: 50 / 100 / 250 billable conversations by tier, custom above | None |
| AI conversations (Lyro) | 50 lifetime free, then from $32.50/mo per 50 (~$0.65 each); Premium offers pay-per-resolution | Your LLM at provider list price (roughly $0.001-0.02/conversation on Gemini) |
| Seats | Up to 10 on Starter/Growth; custom above | Unlimited |
Scale the AI and the meter runs fast: 5,000 Lyro conversations a month at the block rate is about $3,250/month, roughly $39,000 a year, on top of the plan fee. The same volume through Gemini Flash on OpenAgent costs a low three-figure amount per year, billed by Google to you directly.
Feature parity
| Feature | Tidio | OpenAgent |
|---|---|---|
| Live chat | Yes | Yes |
| Visual automation flows | Yes (metered by visitors reached) | Workflow engine, unmetered, editable in plain English |
| AI agent with knowledge base | Lyro, metered per conversation | Yes, uncapped, citations on every answer |
| BYO LLM keys | No | Yes: Gemini, OpenAI, Claude, OpenRouter, self-hosted models |
| Shopify deep integration | Yes, mature | Widget embed + MCP tools; not Shopify-native yet |
| MCP tool calling | No | Yes, with per-tool approval and audit log |
| Dedicated infrastructure + data-region choice | No | Yes, Business tier |
When Tidio is the right call
- Small Shopify store, low volume. Under a few hundred conversations a month, Tidio's free and Starter tiers are cheap, and the ecommerce hooks (order lookups, cart events) work out of the box.
- You want visual flow-building. Tidio's Flows editor is polished and non-technical staff pick it up quickly.
- Guaranteed-outcome contracts appeal to you. The Premium tier's pay-per-resolution option with a guaranteed Lyro resolution rate is a genuinely interesting model if you prefer paying for outcomes.
When OpenAgent is the right call
- Volume is growing. Conversation caps mean success gets more expensive twice: once on the plan tier, once on Lyro blocks. A flat fee does not care how busy your site gets.
- You want the AI bill at cost. ~$0.65 per Lyro conversation is a multiple of what the underlying model costs. Your own keys remove the spread.
- More than 10 people touch support. Seat limits on the tiers most SMBs buy make growing teams awkward. Ours are unlimited on every tier.
Rates from tidio.com's pricing page, checked July 2026. Tidio can change them; our pricing comparison is re-verified monthly.
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