Overwhelmed by features and confusing pricing while choosing between Tidio and Freshworks?
You’re not alone. Both promise faster support, smart chatbots, and happier customers, but picking the right fit can feel tricky. This guide keeps it simple so you can decide with confidence.
We’ll cover:
Key features and unique advantages
Pricing, free plans, and total cost
User reviews, pros and cons, and the best fit for your team
Why Ringly.io is the better choice ; )
Built for e-commerce
With experience in both AI and e-commerce, we set out become the best AI phone agent platform for online stores.
Stupid-simple user interface
Super easy to work with, and you can set it up without being tech savvy. If you create a free account you can see it for yourself though!
Quick and easy setup
Our pre-trained AI phone support agent and will have your online store automated in minutes.
Founded in 2013 in Szczecin, Poland, Tidio is an AI customer support suite with a help desk, live chat, chatbot flows, and an AI agent for ecommerce and SMBs. It serves over 300,000 businesses globally and operates from San Francisco, Warsaw, and Szczecin. Tidio was founded by Tytus Gołas, its CEO.
Tidio’s core is helping support and sales teams automate service and boost conversions through live chat, AI chatbots, multichannel inbox, ticketing, ecommerce integrations, and CRM connections. Recognitions include AI Company of the Year at the Global Business Tech Awards 2025. Next, we’ll cover features, pros/cons, pricing, and user reviews compared to Freshworks and Ringly.io.
Tidio features
Tidio Live chat and multichannel inbox centralizes website chat, email, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, reducing tab switching and speeding responses.
Tidio AI chatbot (Lyro) uses a no-code, intent-based engine to answer FAQs from your content, qualify leads, and hand off to human agents when needed.
Tidio E-commerce integrations connect Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce for product recommendations, cart previews, and shopper context inside chat to streamline purchases.
Tidio Visitor monitoring and proactive messaging tracks pages viewed, time on site, and cart value to trigger targeted greetings or discounts that increase engagement.
Tidio Lead capture and qualification uses pre-chat forms, bots, and routing rules to collect contact details and prioritize high-intent prospects for fast follow-up.
Suitable for small to midsize online retailers and customer support teams needing unified messaging, automated FAQs, lead capture, and behavior-based engagement across websites and social channels.
Tidio: Key Pros and Cons
Pros
Fast setup, Easy onboarding, shortens time to first response for small stores, particularly on Shopify.
Always-on coverage, Live chat and AI chatbots, captures FAQs and leads around the clock.
Higher checkout completion, Conversion and cart recovery, nudges buyers with instant answers that reduce abandonment.
Single workspace, Multichannel inbox, routes email, social, and site chat together, though Ringly.io leans deeper into CRM-level syncs.
On-the-go responsiveness, Mobile apps and stable widget, keeps agents connected and the chat experience consistent.
Cons
Rising total cost, Pricing and add-ons, pushes advanced features and seats into pricier tiers while Ringly.io markets more transparent packaging.
Time investment, Automation builder, makes complex chat flows slower to design and test.
Extra steps, Integration depth, leave some connections manual or shallow versus platforms that center on native coverage.
Missed replies risk, Widget refresh and notifications, can hide responses if visitors switch tabs until the window is reopened.
Limited visibility, Reporting and exports on lower tiers, restricts granular analysis without an upgrade.
Best for lean ecommerce teams needing quick live chat plus AI on Shopify-like stacks; consider alternatives if you need transparent pricing, deeper native integrations, or very simple automation setup.
Founded in 2010 in Chennai, India, by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy, Freshworks is a leading cloud-based software company specializing in customer engagement, CRM, IT service management, and e-commerce marketing solutions. The company has grown rapidly, serving over 150,000 organizations worldwide, including major brands like Honda and Cisco.
Freshworks offers a suite of user-friendly products such as Freshdesk for customer support, Freshsales for CRM, and Freshservice for IT management, designed to streamline business operations and enhance customer experiences. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Freshworks went public on Nasdaq in 2021, marking a milestone as the first Indian SaaS company to do so.
In the following section, we’ll explore Freshworks’ features, pros and cons, pricing, and user reviews, comparing them with Tidio and Ringly.io to highlight their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Freshworks Features
Freshworks Omnichannel support unifies email, chat, social, and voice in one workspace to speed replies and improve CSAT and first-response times.
Freshworks AI agents and Copilot auto-resolve routine issues and assist with summaries, translations, and reply suggestions to cut handle time and standardize responses.
Freshworks Intelligent ticketing and routing assigns by skills, workload, and sentiment to reduce backlogs, misroutes, and time to resolution.
Freshworks Workflow automation automates assignments, escalations, approvals, and follow-ups to reduce manual work and enforce SLAs.
Freshworks Knowledge base and self-service portal provides a branded help center, multilingual articles, FAQs, and community to deflect tickets and deliver instant answers.
Best suited for customer support teams and IT service desks that need unified channels, AI assistance, and automation to increase resolution speed and consistency at scale.
Freshworks: Key Pros and Cons
Pros
Faster onboarding, intuitive interface, so teams ramp quickly compared with more configurable options like Ringly.
Shorter handle times, built-in automation, streamlining tickets and follow-ups at scale.
Quicker answers, Freddy AI, improving deflection and agent productivity over time.
Fewer silos, omnichannel ticketing and collaboration, unifying email, chat, and social for consistent responses.
Risk of disruption, feature deprecations, which can require rework where Ringly emphasizes steadier iteration.
Less tailoring depth, customization limits, constraining complex workflows some enterprises expect.
Extra steps to insights, reporting and search friction, slowing analysis across modules.
Occasional slowdowns, performance and bugs, interrupting work during peak volumes.
Rising total cost, higher-tier pricing, as advanced modules and seats accumulate.
Best for SMB to mid-market teams needing approachable service, sales, or IT support with automation. Consider alternatives like Ringly for highly configurable workflows, steadier release cadence, faster search and analytics, or when long-term cost control and governance matter most.
Pricing - Tidio vs Freshworks
Note: The pricing information below is accurate at the time of writing and may be subject to change. For the most up-to-date pricing, please visit each company's pricing page.
Tidio pricing
Product
Plan (tiered)
Price
Key features (grouped)
Tidio (core suite with live chat, helpdesk, automations; Lyro AI available via quotas/add-ons)
Free
Free/month
Basic live chat and helpdesk, small quotas (e.g., limited handled conversations, Lyro conversations, flows reach), multichannel basics; intended for solo/very small use.
Tidio (core suite with live chat, helpdesk, automations; Lyro AI available via quotas/add-ons)
Starter
Starting at $24.17/month
Live chat support focus; entry analytics; small conversation quotas; suitable for small teams enhancing customer satisfaction.
Tidio (core suite with live chat, helpdesk, automations; Lyro AI available via quotas/add-ons)
Growth
Starting at $49.17/month
Larger conversation quotas, advanced analytics, “power” features, branding controls/permissions suited for scaling teams; add-ons for AI and flows available.
Tidio (core suite with live chat, helpdesk, automations; Lyro AI available via quotas/add-ons)
Plus
Starting at $749/month (contact sales)
Higher limits, additional integrations, advanced features, and premium support for larger orgs.
Tidio (core suite with live chat, helpdesk, automations; Lyro AI available via quotas/add-ons)
Premium
Starting at $2,999/month (contact sales)
Enterprise-grade limits/features for complex businesses.
Lyro AI (AI agent quotas; add-on style)
Starter AI
$39/month (typical)
~100 AI conversations/month; entry AI capability for Lyro; branding more limited.
Lyro AI (AI agent quotas; add-on style)
Communicator + Lyro
$59+/month (typical)
~150 AI conversations/month; combined agent + AI usage; ability to adjust bot naming at higher spend.
Lyro AI (AI agent quotas; add-on style)
Growth AI
$329/month (typical)
~1,000 AI conversations/month; scales with unique visitors and usage; intended for higher AI volume.
Freshworks pricing
Product
Plan (tiers)
Price (USD)
Key features (condensed)
Freshdesk (Customer Support)
Free
$0/agent/month
Email/social ticketing, knowledge base, ticket trends, team collaboration, data security.
Everything in Growth plus customized support portals, custom objects, advanced ticketing, custom reporting/dashboards, routing mechanisms; multiple time zones, custom roles, SLA management, multilingual KB.
Freshdesk (Customer Support)
Pro + AI Copilot Bundle
$78/agent/month billed annually
Pro plan bundled with Freddy AI Copilot; includes Copilot and Freddy AI Insights eligibility.
Freshdesk (Customer Support)
Enterprise
$79/agent/month billed annually
Everything in Pro plus audit logs, approval workflows, skills-based assignments, additional security features.
Everything in Free plus web forms, SMS/WhatsApp, basic workflows, Slack collaboration, product catalog, curated dashboards, Marketplace access, 1 CPQ license, basic call queues, team inbox, custom domains, rotten deals mgmt.
Freshsales (Freshworks CRM)
Pro
$39/user/month billed annually
Everything in Growth plus Freddy AI (contact scoring, sales email automation, deal insights), advanced workflows/auto-assign, sequences, account hierarchies, multiple pipelines, custom reports.
Freshsales (Freshworks CRM)
Enterprise
$59/user/month billed annually
Everything in Pro plus field-level permissions, custom modules and workflows, sandbox, forecasting insights, audit logs, dedicated account manager.
Ringly.io pricing
Ringly.io has simple, usage-based pricing with no hidden fees or long-term commitments. Test drive it risk-free for 14 days, then scale up or down on month-to-month terms—or book a demo for fully tailored enterprise support.
Tidio excels for SMB ecommerce with intuitive live chat and AI chatbots. Freshworks (Freshdesk/Freshchat) suits teams needing omnichannel support, richer integrations, and enterprise-grade ticketing. Choose Tidio to boost storefront conversions; pick Freshworks for unified, scalable support operations.
What users are saying about Tidio
"Extremely helpful" — Kristy W., Business Owner. Great way to immediately answer customers’ questions and avoid lost sales; quick answers are key.
"Limited depth" — Summary of critical sentiment, Senior e‑commerce user. Advanced customization and chatbot depth can feel limited for complex workflows; some note billing/pricing changes.
What users are saying about Freshworks
"Much easier now" — Verified G2 Reviewer, IT Operations Lead. Freddy AI and the interface improved; more marketplace apps; easier to manage internal vs customer tickets.
"Sudden deprecations" — Verified G2 Reviewer, Support Manager. Some features were deprecated without prior notice; teams had little time to adapt, and support/forum responses could be faster.
What users are saying about Ringly.io:
Ringly.io is known for its simplicity, and a focus on e-commerce, with features like abandoned cart recovery and order status lookups. It has a 4.8 star rating from 12 reviews on Product Hunt and other platforms.
"it stands out significantly ahead" - Bertrand, Director. We are at the initial stage of testing and have made only a few calls so far. Consequently, I have rated the product with four stars for now. However, I must express that the product has shown significant promise. When compared to competitors, it stands out significantly ahead.
"This is such a great product" - Jim Miranda, Founder. This is such a great product. I have been with you for less than a week and already closed 3 deals with it."
"It really sounds like a human" - Laix, Founder. Tried Ringly.io today and the quality of the phone calls surprises me! It really sounds like a human, and it reacts really fast. Will need to deploy it in action to see the full capabilities.
Quick take: Tidio is great for small online stores that want fast live chat and simple bots. Freshworks fits teams that need full omnichannel ticketing and automation. Ringly.io is often the best overall choice for businesses of any size because it adds human-sounding AI phone agents, simple usage pricing, and fast time to value.
Who Tidio is best for…
Small to midsize ecommerce teams on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce that want live chat, AI chatbots for FAQs, and lead capture to lift conversions.
Lean support squads that need a multichannel inbox for website chat, email, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in one place.
Storefronts focused on conversions using visitor tracking, proactive messages, and cart recovery to reduce drop-off.
Teams ok with tiered pricing and AI quotas that do not need deep native integrations or advanced reporting on lower tiers.
Who Freshworks is best for…
SMB to mid-market support teams that need omnichannel ticketing across email, chat, social, and voice with SLAs and workflows.
IT service desks that rely on skills-based routing, approvals, and a knowledge base to standardize resolution.
Managers wanting AI assist with Freddy for summaries, translations, and deflection to cut handle time.
Orgs seeking a friendly UI and low entry price and are comfortable with higher-tier costs and lighter customization at scale.
Who Ringly.io is best for…
Ecommerce and consumer brands that want AI phone agents to answer 24x7, recover abandoned carts, check order status, and recommend products.
Teams of any size that prefer simple, usage-based pricing with a free trial, month-to-month terms, and easy scaling from Start to Scale.
Leaders who want quick setup and a self-learning agent that knows your customers and reduces ticket volume fast.
Best overall pick for most businesses if you want higher conversions and lower support load without complex chat flows or long contracts.
Why Ringly.io is a Better Choice
Highly Rated: 4.8/5
Founded in 2024 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by Maurizio Isendoorn and Ruben Boonzaaijer, Ringly.io is revolutionizing e-commerce customer service with AI phone agents. Designed for online businesses, Ringly handles customer calls on autopilot—solving support issues, recovering abandoned carts, and even boosting sales—at just 20% of the cost of human agents.
With 2,300+ customers, Ringly.io is the go-to solution for e-commerce stores looking to scale without scaling their support team. With award-winning technology (BubbleCon 2024's "Most Innovative App"), Ringly.io transforms your phone system into a revenue-driving powerhouse—without the headaches of traditional call centers.
Features that make Ringly.io the #1 alternative to Tidio and Freshworks:
No-code setup, instant results – Ringly.io is ready to go in minutes. Just add your website, docs, or text—no engineering required—and your AI phone agent instantly understands your business. It even updates automatically as your website changes.
AI-powered sales & support – Ringly.io does both inbound and outbound calls. Recover 35%+ of abandoned carts with automated follow-up calls, provide real-time order tracking from Shopify, and convert more customers with personalized AI-driven conversations—not just reactive support.
Advanced analytics for smarter decisions – Ringly.io gives you real-time call data, customer intent tracking, and performance reports—helping you optimize support and sales strategies.
Scalable pricing without enterprise contracts – Ringly.io offers transparent, scalable pricing—pay for what you use, no locked-in contracts.
Conclusion
All three tools can improve support and conversions—each in a different way. Your best fit depends on channel strategy, complexity, and speed to value.
Tidio: Best for small to midsize online stores that want fast live chat, simple AI chatbots, and multichannel messaging. Choose it when you need quick setup on Shopify-like stacks and basic automation, and you’re fine with tiered pricing and AI quotas.
Freshworks: Strong for SMB–mid-market teams that need omnichannel ticketing, Freddy AI assist, SLAs, and workflows across support and IT. Choose it when you want scale and governance across channels, and you can manage higher-tier costs and occasional deprecations.
Ringly.io: Ideal for ecommerce brands of any size that want human-sounding AI phone agents to recover carts, check orders, and drive sales—without complex setup or contracts. Choose it when you want fast time to value, usage-based pricing, and AI that reduces tickets while lifting revenue. For ecommerce, it’s the best overall pick.
Bottom line: If you run ecommerce, start with Ringly.io for immediate impact on revenue and support load. Tidio and Freshworks remain solid choices for live chat-centric teams or large ticketing operations, respectively.