Comparison
Gorgias vs Tidio vs an AI sales agent: which fits your Shopify store?
Gorgias and Tidio both offer live chat, an inbox and an AI agent for Shopify stores, but they are built for different teams and priced in different ways. This page compares them fairly, with a source and a check date for every vendor fact, then explains when a storefront AI sales agent is the better fit or a useful complement.
What is the difference between Gorgias and Tidio?
Gorgias is a helpdesk built for ecommerce support teams, priced by tickets, with an AI Agent billed per automated interaction. Tidio is a chat suite that combines live chat, a shared inbox, chatbot Flows and the Lyro AI agent, with a free plan and pricing based on conversations. Gorgias goes deeper on ticket work; Tidio is lighter to start.
Both connect to Shopify, both show order details beside the conversation, and both now sell an AI agent that can answer order questions and recommend products. The real differences are how you pay, how many channels a team works from, and how much of the work happens inside a ticket rather than in a chat window. The sections below go through each point with the vendors' own pages as sources, all checked October 27, 2026.
What is Gorgias, and who is it built for?
Gorgias is a Shopify-focused helpdesk that puts email, live chat, SMS, social media and voice into one inbox, with each customer's order history beside the ticket. It is built for stores with a support team that handles a steady stream of tickets and wants to edit, refund or cancel orders without switching screens.
Its Shopify App Store listing describes order edits, refunds and cancellations inside tickets, and integrations such as Shopify Flow, Klaviyo, Loop Returns, Recharge and AfterShip. The AI Agent is an add-on. Gorgias documentation describes two roles: a Support Agent for returns, order tracking, cancellations and missing items, and a Shopping Assistant that helps pre-purchase shoppers find products and buy.
The same documentation says the AI Agent works across email, chat, SMS and social channels (including Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp), draws on help center articles, website content, documents, guidance and Shopify data, supports over 80 languages, and hands conversations to your team when it cannot respond with confidence, meets a sensitive topic or detects frustration.
What is Tidio, and who is it built for?
Tidio is a customer service suite that bundles live chat, a ticketing inbox, chatbot Flows and Lyro, its AI agent. It is built for small and mid-sized stores that want to start free, add live chat quickly and grow into automation, without the setup of a full helpdesk. It works with Shopify and WooCommerce.
Its Shopify App Store listing describes one inbox for email, Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger with Shopify orders beside each chat, and says Lyro can start proactive chats on product pages, recommend products based on what is in stock, answer FAQs and order status questions in the shopper's language, and add products to the cart. The listing also shows the team editing and refunding Shopify orders from the inbox.
Tidio's home page FAQ says that with Shopify or WooCommerce connected, Lyro checks order status, shares tracking details and uses your live catalog to suggest products. The Lyro page says Lyro scrapes your support content to build its knowledge base, follows escalation rules you set, and alerts your team when a customer needs a person.
How do Gorgias, Tidio and an AI sales agent compare side by side?
The table lines up what each vendor states publicly. Gorgias and Tidio are support tools with AI agents added; the third column describes a storefront AI sales agent, using Tycoon (in early access) as the example. Where a vendor's public pages do not address a point, the cell says so instead of guessing.
| Gorgias | Tidio | AI sales agent (e.g. Tycoon) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core purpose | Ecommerce helpdesk with ticketing across many channels | Live chat, inbox, chatbot Flows and the Lyro AI agent in one suite | Storefront AI sales agent: guided selling plus everyday questions |
| Pricing model | Per ticket, by plan; AI Agent per automated interaction | By billable conversations (those with a human agent message); Lyro by AI conversations | By AI conversations, billed through Shopify; see pricing |
| Entry price (vendor page) | Starter $10/month for 50 tickets (App Store listing) | Free plan $0 with 50 billable conversations; Starter $24.17/month (pricing page) | Free plan available; see pricing |
| AI agent | AI Agent add-on with Support Agent and Shopping Assistant roles | Lyro AI agent, plus Flows for rule-based automation | The whole product is the AI agent |
| How the AI is billed | $1.00 per automated interaction monthly, $0.90 annual; each also counts as a ticket | Lyro from $32.50/month for 50 Lyro conversations; first 50 free | Included in the plan |
| Channels | Email, live chat, SMS, voice, social, contact form; Voice and SMS are add-ons | Live chat, email, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger on every plan | Storefront chat only; hands off to your own channels |
| Shopify order actions | Edit, refund and cancel orders inside tickets | Edit and refund Shopify orders from the inbox | Order status for signed-in shoppers on plans that include it; no edits or refunds |
| Product recommendations | Shopping Assistant recommends products | Lyro suggests products from your live catalog | One short question, then one to three products, each with a reason |
| Live price and stock per answer | Not stated publicly | Lyro uses your live catalog; per-answer checks not stated publicly | Read live from the store for every answer |
| Pre-send fact checks | Not stated publicly | Not stated publicly | Every draft checked whole before sending; a mismatched figure is blocked and rewritten |
| Human hand-off | On low confidence, sensitive topics, frustration or your rules | Escalation rules you set; alerts your team | Always offers a person, through the store's own channel |
| Free trial or plan | 7-day free trial | Free plan plus a 7-day trial of paid plans | Free plan; early access |
How much do Gorgias and Tidio cost on Shopify?
Gorgias charges by tickets: its Shopify App Store listing showed Starter at $10 a month for 50 tickets and Basic at $60 a month for 300 tickets on October 27, 2026. Tidio has a free plan and paid plans from $24.17 a month on its pricing page. Both meter their AI agents separately from the base plan.
Gorgias's App Store listing also showed Pro at $360 and Advanced at $900 a month for 2,000 and 5,000 tickets, with extra tickets at $40 or $36 per 100 depending on plan, and a 7-day free trial. The Gorgias pricing page listed the AI Agent at $1.00 per automated interaction on monthly contracts and $0.90 on annual contracts, and says Voice and SMS can be added to any plan. The pricing page also carried a second set of plan figures, so confirm current prices with Gorgias.
Tidio's pricing page listed Free at $0 with 50 billable conversations, Starter at $24.17 a month with 100, and Growth from $49.17 a month. It defines a billable conversation as a chat, ticket, email or social conversation that includes a message from a human agent; Lyro and Flows replies do not count. Lyro starts at $32.50 a month for 50 Lyro conversations, and new accounts get their first 50 free. The Shopify App Store listing shows a different layout: Customer Service at $29 a month and a Lyro AI Chatbot plan at $39 a month for up to 200 Lyro conversations.
| Gorgias | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Base unit | Tickets per month | Billable conversations (with a human agent message) |
| AI unit | Automated interaction, which also counts as a ticket | Lyro AI conversation |
| Seats | 3 agents on Starter; unlimited on Basic (App Store listing) | 10 seats on Free, Starter and Growth (pricing page) |
| What grows the bill | More tickets and more AI-resolved interactions | More human-handled conversations and more Lyro conversations |
Note. Prices change often and vendors show different figures in different places. We quote each number from the page named next to it, as read on October 27, 2026. Check the vendor's page before you buy.
Should you choose Gorgias or Tidio for your store?
Choose by team size, ticket volume and channels. A small store that wants to start free leans toward Tidio. A store with a dedicated support team and many tickets from email, social and phone leans toward Gorgias. A store whose main goal is converting storefront shoppers should also look at a dedicated AI sales agent.
These scenarios are illustrations, not rules. Run a trial with your own real questions before you commit, and compare tools by the volume you expect rather than by the entry price. Our guide on how to choose an AI shopping assistant lists the questions to ask any vendor.
Small store, mostly one person on support
Tidio is usually the easier start: a free plan, live chat in minutes and Lyro when you are ready. Gorgias's Starter plan is affordable too, but its strengths (a ticket queue across many channels, order edits inside tickets) pay off more once several people share the queue.
High ticket volume and a support team
Gorgias fits better. It is built around the ticket, with order edits, refunds and cancellations in the same screen and an AI Agent that takes on part of the queue. If many tickets are "where is my order" questions, our guide to WISMO tickets and the tools that cut them shows where each kind of tool helps.
Multi-channel social selling
Both cover Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. Gorgias adds SMS and voice as add-ons and its AI Agent works across social channels, per its documentation. Tidio includes its social channels on every plan, including Free, which suits stores that sell mostly through DMs on a small budget.
Sales-focused store with product questions
Both AI agents recommend products. If pre-purchase help is your main goal and support volume is modest, a storefront AI sales agent built around guided selling may fit better than a helpdesk, or work alongside one. See the next section.
When is a storefront AI sales agent the better fit?
A storefront AI sales agent fits when most conversations are shoppers deciding what to buy, not customers with order problems. Its job is to ask what the shopper needs, suggest a few products with reasons and get the right variant into the cart, with every price and stock figure correct at the moment it is shown.
Tycoon, currently in early access, is one example. It reads price and stock live from the store for every answer, checks every draft whole before it is sent, and makes at most one offer per reply, none when a shopper is upset or hesitant, except the store's own discount code when the price is the objection. It also answers everyday questions; see support automation. It is not a helpdesk: it has no ticket queue for email, SMS or social channels. Our article on live chat that sells explains the difference between chat for support and chat for selling.
- Better fit: stores with many pre-purchase questions about size, shade, fit or which product to pick.
- Better fit: owners who want a dashboard of conversations, orders and sales of products the agent recommended.
- Not a fit on its own: teams that need to manage email, phone and social tickets in one queue. Keep a helpdesk for that.
Can you use a helpdesk and an AI sales agent together?
Yes, and it is often the cleanest setup: the helpdesk (Gorgias or Tidio) runs email, social and post-purchase tickets, and one AI sales agent handles storefront conversations. The rule is one chat bubble per page, so shoppers see a single conversation, and a tested hand-off route from the storefront into your helpdesk.
Tycoon is built for that split. When a shopper asks for a person, it opens the store's own service channel in one tap. On WhatsApp and email, and in the Gorgias chat, the question is already typed in; Tidio's chat opens empty. Hand-off into Gorgias or Tidio is available on plans that include it, as shown on the pricing page. Otherwise it routes to WhatsApp, phone, email or your contact page. For a direct look at each pairing, see Tycoon vs Gorgias and Tycoon vs Tidio.
Disclosure. This page is written by the Tycoon team. Tycoon is not affiliated with Gorgias or Tidio. Gorgias and Tidio are trademarks of their owners.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gorgias or Tidio cheaper for a small Shopify store?
Tidio has a free plan with 50 billable conversations and paid plans from $24.17 a month on its pricing page. Gorgias starts at $10 a month for 50 tickets on its App Store listing. Both meter AI separately, so compare by the volume you expect (checked October 27, 2026).
How are the Gorgias AI Agent and Tidio Lyro billed?
Gorgias listed its AI Agent at $1.00 per automated interaction on monthly contracts and $0.90 on annual, each also counting as a ticket. Tidio's Lyro started at $32.50 a month for 50 Lyro conversations, with the first 50 free. Both checked October 27, 2026.
Does Tidio work with Shopify?
Yes. Tidio is on the Shopify App Store, shows Shopify orders beside each chat, and lets the team edit and refund orders from its inbox. With Shopify connected, Lyro checks order status, shares tracking details and suggests products from your live catalog.
Which is better for live chat on Shopify, Gorgias or Tidio?
For live chat alone, Tidio is quicker to set up and has a free plan. Gorgias suits teams that treat chat as one channel in a larger ticket queue with email, social, SMS and voice. If chat is mainly for selling, consider a storefront AI sales agent too.
Can Tycoon hand off to Gorgias or Tidio?
Yes, on plans that include it (see pricing). A shopper who asks for a person reaches the store's chosen channel in one tap. The Gorgias chat opens with her question already typed in; the Tidio chat opens empty, ready for her to write. Tycoon is in early access, and it always offers a person from the merchant's team.
Sources
- Gorgias pricing · checked October 27, 2026
- Gorgias: AI Helpdesk & Chat on the Shopify App Store · checked October 27, 2026
- Gorgias docs: AI Agent explained · checked October 27, 2026
- Gorgias AI Agent product page · checked October 27, 2026
- Tidio pricing · checked October 27, 2026
- Tidio: AI Chatbot & Live Chat on the Shopify App Store · checked October 27, 2026
- Tidio Lyro AI Agent · checked October 27, 2026
- Tidio home page (FAQ on Shopify and WooCommerce integration) · checked October 27, 2026
Tycoon is not affiliated with Gorgias and Tidio. Gorgias and Tidio are trademarks of their owners. Competitor details come from their public pages on the dates shown; tell us if something changed and we will update this page (see our editorial policy).
See Tycoon on your own store
Leave your store address and get a private demo in about a minute: your real products and prices, Tycoon asking and recommending like it would for your shoppers. Valid for 7 days.
Early access: join now, start free the day we open. Nothing is charged. Free: 25 AI conversations a month, free forever. See pricing.
Keep reading
- OverviewShopify chatbot comparison: how to compare AI chat apps fairlyHow to compare AI chat apps for Shopify fairly, plus sourced side-by-sides of Tycoon with Tidio, Gorgias, Shopify Inbox and Rep AI. Checked October 2026.
- ComparisonTidio alternative for Shopify: Tycoon vs Tidio and LyroLooking for a Tidio or Lyro alternative for Shopify? How Tidio's plans and the Lyro AI add-on relate, free options compared, and when each tool fits.
- ComparisonTycoon vs Gorgias: switch, or keep Gorgias and add an AI sales associateSwitch from Gorgias or keep it and add an AI sales associate? Tycoon vs Gorgias: hand-off, AI Agent pricing (checked Oct 28, 2026) and a fair table.
- ArticleShopify live chat that sells: what to look forMany store chats answer questions. A chat that sells helps a hesitating shopper decide, without slowing your site or nagging every visitor.