Optlo: the Tidio alternative
Tidio owns the chat and the AI behind it. With Optlo the AI runs on your provider account, at your prices.
Last updated July 2026
Tidio is a popular live chat and customer service platform, especially strong for ecommerce and Shopify stores. Its Lyro AI agent resolves questions across live chat, email, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and there is a generous free tier to start on.
Tidio's Lyro is metered by conversation and runs on Tidio's own managed model. Optlo runs on your own AI provider account (OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google Gemini), so you pay for tokens directly with no markup and no per-conversation meter, and you see what each conversation costs.
If you run an ecommerce store and want live chat plus AI across social channels, Tidio fits well. If you want to own your AI and its cost, and shape the agent's prompt and workflow, Optlo is built for that.
Choose Optlo if…
You want to own your AI, pay providers directly with no markup or per-conversation metering, choose your models, and shape the prompt and workflow.
Try Optlo freeStick with Tidio if…
You run an ecommerce or Shopify store, want live chat across Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp with a free tier, and are fine with bundled, per-conversation AI.
Optlo vs Tidio at a glance
| Feature | Optlo | Tidio |
|---|---|---|
| Bring your own AI key (pay your provider directly) | OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini | Lyro AI is bundled |
| No markup / no per-conversation metering | Yes | Billed per conversation |
| Predictable cost at high volume | Plan + your AI at cost | Conversations scale cost |
| Choose from multiple AI models | Yes | One managed model |
| Edit the system prompt | Full control | Persona + knowledge |
| Custom conversation workflows | Yes | Flow builder |
| Shared inbox & human handoff | Yes | Yes |
| Trained on your content (site, docs, help center) | Yes | Yes |
| Support channels | Email & web | Adds Messenger, IG, WhatsApp |
| Ecommerce / Shopify integration | Via workflow code actions | Native Shopify |
| Free plan | 7-day trial | Free tier |
| Starting price | From $16/mo, billed annually | Free; paid from $24/mo |
Tidio pricing and features were read from Tidio's pricing page in July 2026 and may have changed since. Check the current terms there before you decide.
01Pricing model
Per-conversation pricing vs paying your provider directly
Tidio's Lyro AI is billed by conversation. Going by Tidio's own pricing, the free tier includes 50 Lyro conversations, and paid Lyro bundles start at about $32.50/mo for 50 more, on top of your Tidio plan. It's simple at low volume, but the bill grows with every conversation, and the underlying model cost is baked in rather than shown.
Optlo doesn't meter conversations. You pay an Optlo plan from $16/mo billed annually and your AI provider bills you directly for the tokens used. There's no per-conversation markup, and you can watch usage in your provider dashboard and tune it. At higher volumes this is usually cheaper.
9.6×more expensive on Tidio, $567 more every month at the same volume
- Growth plan$49
- Lyro conversations$583
- Optlo Growth plan$49
- Your AI tokens, at cost$17
How this is calculated
1,000 conversations a month, 70% resolved by AI, 3 seats, billed annually, with OpenAI GPT-5.4 Mini on your own key.
Estimate only. Tidio figures use public list prices; Optlo's AI line is your provider's token cost, not a markup.
Run your own numbers02Model choice
Lyro runs on Tidio's model, not yours
Lyro runs on Tidio's own managed model. Simple questions and hard ones get the same model, and new releases reach you when Tidio adopts them.
17 modelsfrom OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, swappable per workflow step
On Optlo the key is yours, which makes the model a dropdown rather than a roadmap item. Route on something cheap and fast, answer the hard questions on something stronger, and pick up new releases from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google as they ship.
03Control
A flow builder's ceiling vs an editable prompt
Tidio lets you give Lyro a persona and knowledge, and build rule-based flows in its builder. That covers common cases, but the builder sets the ceiling.
Optlo starts you on a preset too, but nothing underneath it is sealed. You write the system prompt yourself and decide at which step the agent checks an order, asks a qualifying question, or passes the thread to a person.
04Trade-offs
Where Tidio is the stronger choice
Tidio is a broad live chat and CX platform built with ecommerce in mind. If you need native Shopify actions, live chat across Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and a real free tier rather than a trial, Tidio is an excellent fit. Optlo covers email and web with a shared inbox and human handoff. It competes on what the AI costs and who owns it, not on channel coverage.
Optlo is stronger at
- Owning the AI account and paying providers at cost
- No per-conversation metering as volume grows
- Choosing and mixing models per workflow step
- Editing the system prompt and every workflow step
Tidio is stronger at
- Native Shopify actions for ecommerce stores
- Live chat across Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp
- A real free tier, not a trial
- A visual builder for rule-based flows
05Switching
Switching from Tidio to Optlo
Both are widgets that train on your site, so the mechanics are close. The work is translating your Lyro setup and flow builder into an Optlo workflow.
Point Optlo at the same pages
Optlo crawls your site and help center, following your sitemap, so the pages and FAQs that train Lyro train your Optlo agent. Notes cover anything you typed straight into Lyro's knowledge instead.
Connect your AI provider key
Create a key in OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google and pick your model. Your AI cost moves onto your provider account, so busy months cost tokens rather than another conversation bundle.
Rebuild your flows as a workflow
Start from a preset and translate your Tidio flows into workflow steps. You also get the system prompt here, and you can run a cheap model for routing and a stronger one for the reply itself.
Swap the widget script
Both install as a script tag, so going live is a one-line change. Test on a staging site, compare answers on real questions, then switch and use the shared inbox for human handoff.
What doesn't come across: Tidio chat history, its native Shopify actions, the Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp channels, and the free tier. Optlo covers email and web chat on a 7-day trial.
Start a free trialFrequently asked questions
Is Optlo cheaper than Tidio?
It depends on your volume. Tidio's free tier is great to start, but as conversations grow, Optlo's model of a plan plus paying your AI provider directly with no markup is often cheaper than per-conversation Lyro pricing. Check it against your own conversation volume.
Can I bring my own OpenAI or Anthropic key to Tidio?
No. Tidio's Lyro runs on its own managed AI and is billed by conversation. Optlo is built around bringing your own provider key, so you pay OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini directly with no markup.
Is Tidio better for ecommerce?
For Shopify stores, Tidio's native ecommerce actions and channels like Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp are a genuine advantage. Optlo focuses on email and web and competes on owning your AI and its cost.
Does Optlo have live chat and human handoff?
Yes. Optlo includes a website messenger, a shared inbox, and human handoff across email and web. Tidio adds more channels, but Optlo lets you own the AI behind the chat.
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