tawk.to is free, and sells add-ons per property; Tidio sells plans per workspace, priced by conversation volume. tawk.to's free core documents unlimited agents, conversations and chat history, and charges US$39 a month per property to remove its branding. Tidio's Free plan has 10 seats and 50 conversations a month, and paid plans start at US$29 a month.
tawk.to therefore costs nothing in all three worked examples, while Tidio costs more as volume rises. tawk.to suits cost-sensitive teams of any size that accept US data storage. Tidio suits teams that need EEA hosting, a SOC 2 report or Instagram as a channel. Details in the tawk.to review, the Tidio review and is a free plan enough.
Bottom line
- tawk.to is the better pick for most small teams, because its free core covers any team size and volume at no cost. Choose Tidio if EU data hosting or a SOC 2 report is a requirement, or Instagram is a key channel.
Side by side
| tawk.to | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 8.8 | 6.1 |
| Pricing model | Free, with paid add-ons | Tiers by conversation volume |
| Paid plans from | Free | US$24.17 per workspace per month, billed annually |
| Free plan | Yes — Free | Yes — Free |
| Free plan: Free seats | Unlimited | 10 |
| Free plan: Conversations | Unlimited | 50 / month |
| Free plan: Chat history | Unlimited | Not documented |
| Free plan: Remove branding | Paid add-on | No |
| Free plan: AI on the free plan | 100 / month | 50, one-off |
| Free plan: Beyond website chat | Yes | Yes |
| AI chatbot | AI Assist — billed per credit | Lyro AI Agent — billed per conversation |
| Channels | Website chat, Email, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, SMS, Voice | Website chat, Email, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp |
| Languages | Widget in 49+ languages | Not documented |
| EU data hosting | No | Yes |
| Compliance | GDPR DPA (SCCs, UK Addendum), Data Privacy Framework (self-certified), CCPA notice, FERPA support, UK ICO registration | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR DPA (on request), CCPA/CPRA, EU-US Data Privacy Framework |
| Best for | Budget teams wanting unlimited free agents | Small teams with low, predictable chat volume |
What it costs at 2, 5 and 10 seats
| Product | 2 seats · 100 conversations a month | 5 seats · 500 conversations a month | 10 seats · 2,000 conversations a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| tawk.to | Free (Free) | Free (Free) | Free (Free) |
| Tidio | US$29 a month (Starter) | US$129 a month (Growth) | US$349 a month (Growth) |
Choose tawk.to if
- you want no chat bill at all: tawk.to's free core documents unlimited agents and conversations, while Tidio Free stops at 50 conversations a month.
- you want the logo off cheaply: tawk.to's Remove Branding add-on is priced per property, while Tidio's branding add-on requires a Growth plan from US$59 a month first.
- you want a monthly AI allowance for free: tawk.to's AI Assist includes 100 message credits a month per property, while Tidio's free Lyro allowance of 50 conversations is one-off and never resets.
- you need Telegram or SMS: tawk.to lists both as part of the free core (SMS through your own Twilio account); Tidio's pricing table lists neither.
Choose Tidio if
- you need data hosted in the EU: Tidio states that all data is kept in the EEA on every plan, while tawk.to stores data in the United States with no EU region.
- your buyers ask for a security report: Tidio lists a SOC 2 Type II report; no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 of tawk.to's own was found.
- you answer customers on Instagram: Tidio lists Instagram, while no tawk.to page mentions it.
Score breakdown
| Criterion | Weight | tawk.to | Tidio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free-plan usability | 25% | 5/5 | 2/5 |
| Cost as you add agents | 25% | 5/5 | 3/5 |
| AI billing clarity | 20% | 5/5 | 3/5 |
| Channels and integrations | 15% | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Data location and compliance | 15% | 2/5 | 4/5 |
Frequently asked questions
Is tawk.to really free compared with Tidio?
tawk.to documents unlimited agents, conversations and history on its free core and sells add-ons such as branding removal, AI Assist and hired agents. Tidio's Free plan caps conversations at 50 a month, and agents cannot see new messages at the cap until the quota resets or the plan is upgraded. See free live chat software.
How much does it cost to remove branding on tawk.to and Tidio?
tawk.to contradicts itself: its pricing page says US$29 a month, its help centre says US$39 billed monthly or US$348 a year. Tidio lists its No Tidio branding add-on at US$16.67 a month billed annually, available from Growth. See tawk.to pricing and Tidio pricing.
Which is better for GDPR, tawk.to or Tidio?
Tidio keeps data in the EEA on every plan and lists a SOC 2 Type II report. tawk.to offers a DPA with standard contractual clauses but stores data in the United States. The privacy and law guide explains what that means for EU visitors.
Related pages
- tawk.to reviewreview
- tawk.to pricing explainedpricing
- Tidio reviewreview
- Tidio pricing explainedpricing
- Free-plan audit: does your team fit a free live chat plan?
Sources
- tawk.to pricing — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- tawk.to add-ons — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Add-on pricing and key features — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Why is tawk.to free? — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- tawk.to live chat — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- How to manage billing for AI Assist — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- How to add message credits (overages) to your AI Assist plan — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- How to purchase tawk.to's Hired Agent service — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Why do you need my personal data? — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Data Processing Addendum — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Sub-processors — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Data protection — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- GDPR — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- What languages does tawk.to support? — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- An introduction to integrations in tawk.to — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- How to add the tawk.to widget to your mobile application — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Viewing, deleting and exporting your chat history — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Q1 2026: omnichannel grows, automation expands and AI gets smarter — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- tawk.to company profile — Dealroom · 18 September 2026
- Tidio pricing — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Lyro AI Agent — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- About Tidio — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- The free version and downgrading your account — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- The monthly conversations limit — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- The Lyro AI agent limit — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- The monthly flow limit — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Automatic upgrades — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Chat history — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Change and add languages in your chat widget — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Lyro multilanguage support — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Privacy Policy and GDPR compliance — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- How are security matters handled at Tidio — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Tidio trust centre — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Tidio integrations — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Tidio mobile SDK — Tidio · 18 September 2026
This page was researched and drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed on it. We have not installed or tested these products ourselves. Method: How we review