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Entagl vs Tidio: AI in Every Plan or Lyro as an Add-On
Tidio is a website live chat and email help desk with an optional AI agent. Entagl is an AI agent for WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok DMs, included in every plan. Here is where each one stops, read from Tidio's own pages.
Entagl vs Tidio comes down to where your customers talk and whether the AI is part of the plan. As of October 2026, Tidio sells its AI agent, Lyro, as an add-on from $32.50 a month billed yearly, and its WhatsApp integration can only reply to incoming messages, while Entagl includes the AI agent in every plan and starts WhatsApp campaigns and reminders itself. Tidio suits a business whose customers arrive through website chat and email; Entagl suits one that sells and books inside WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok DMs, at a higher list price.
Weighing a Tidio alternative? Every Tidio limitation below links to Tidio's own pages; where we found nothing, we say so.
Where is Tidio the stronger choice?
For live chat on your website plus an email help desk, Tidio is the stronger pick, and Entagl's list price is higher. Tidio has a free plan. With yearly billing, Starter is $24.17 a month with 10 seats included, Growth starts at $49.17 and Plus at $300 plus usage (pricing). Its WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email integrations are free on every plan.
Lyro replies in 48 languages and, per Tidio, can be set up from your website in about 10 minutes. Your team gets internal notes with @mentions, one-click AI translation and Copilot suggested replies. On Growth, agents can send Shopify product cards and check a customer's cart or order history from the chat. Tidio also holds a SOC 2 Type II report.
If your customers mostly arrive through a chat bubble on your site, you may be done reading.
Where does Tidio limit you?
You pay for the AI separately
The Lyro add-on "Starts at $32.50/mo. From 50 Lyro AI conversations" with the yearly toggle on (pricing), about $0.50 per conversation. Every account gets 50 free, which the help center calls "a non-renewable quota" (source). Paid quotas run from 50 to 1,000 a month, and Premium bills per resolution. A Starter customer who wants the AI answering pays $24.17 plus $32.50 a month, both billed yearly, for 50 AI conversations.
WhatsApp replies, but does not start
Tidio's WhatsApp article: "it is not possible to initiate WhatsApp conversations from Tidio's end; it's only possible to reply to incoming messages" (source). For SMS or WhatsApp follow-ups, Tidio offers its Twilio integration, on your own Twilio account, from the Plus plan.
When your team steps in
Tidio's WhatsApp article tells you to remove the number from the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app before connecting (source), so your team takes over a Lyro chat from the Tidio inbox with the "Join conversation" button (source). We found no setting on Tidio's public pages that hands a chat back to Lyro after a set time.
Channels and comments
Lyro can be switched on for Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and email tickets, but on email "Lyro will only respond to the initial email that arrives" (source). Telegram is listed on Plus and Premium. We found no mention of TikTok DMs on Tidio's multichannel page.
Instagram and Facebook comments arrive as tickets for your agents: "Each top-level comment creates one ticket in Tidio" (source). We found no mention of a comment-to-DM handoff or TikTok comments.
Calls
The WhatsApp article says audio and video calls "are not supported on WhatsApp API" (source), and the pricing page lists no AI voice feature in any plan. Its live video calls are started by a human agent inside the website widget.
Details before a quote, and booking
Tidio forms can require fields and take files up to 10 MB each, but "the Send a form node is available for widget use only. That means the form will not work for Instagram, WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger flows" (source). Lyro Procedures, Tidio's tool for collecting a set of details, are capped at 5 below Plus (source).
Booking goes through the "Book a call (Calendly)" Action: Lyro hands the visitor a Calendly link, and the booking happens on Calendly (source). Google Calendar slots can show in the chat if you connect it through Zapier or the Tidio API (source). We found no mention of automated appointment reminders there.
Memory, records and ads
"Lyro can see three hours into the past for the most recent history" (source). Tidio's FAQ says "Tidio is not a full CRM tool, but it offers some CRM-like features" (source); pipelines go to a separate CRM such as HubSpot or Pipedrive. The Facebook integration page brings the campaign behind a visit into the conversation through Zapier or the Tidio API. It does not say whether Lyro sees that, and we found no mention of Meta's Conversions API.
Shopify and Trendyol
Native Shopify actions start on Growth (source), and Lyro product recommendations need a paid Lyro quota (source). Trendyol is not mentioned anywhere on tidio.com.
What does Entagl do instead?
Receptionist, Entagl's messaging agent, comes with every plan, Free included. You buy credits; there is no add-on for the messaging AI, no per-seat or per-resolution fee, and team members and contacts are unlimited. It reads your website, goes live the same day without a flow builder, and answers on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, email, web chat and your Shopify store, plus Trendyol public questions. On WhatsApp it starts conversations too (campaigns with Meta-approved templates and reminders), smart follow-ups nudge idle chats, and the AI handles the replies.
Where a live conversation usually breaks:
- A teammate replies. From the Entagl inbox or the WhatsApp or Instagram app itself, the AI pauses and comes back after the time you set (60 minutes by default; you can also choose never).
- A customer wants a price first. An "Info to collect" checklist must be complete before the AI can quote, book or check out, in chat or through a hosted form link on any channel. More in conversational intake vs form links.
- A booking. Real calendar slots, no double bookings, rescheduling in the same thread. WhatsApp reminder buttons (Confirm, Reschedule, Cancel) reach the AI; SMS reminders are plain SMS.
- A call. Coordinator, a separate Entagl product with its own credits, answers and places phone and WhatsApp calls, rings your team first and can warm-transfer. You set the maximum call length.
- One record. Calls, chats, bookings and orders sit on one contact. The same phone number links WhatsApp chats and calls; other duplicates you merge (how that works). The contact shows which ad it came from, and results can go back to Meta's Conversions API.
- A comment. Comments Automation, a separate add-on, sends your prewritten reply publicly, by DM or both (TikTok gets the public reply only); when the customer answers the DM, Receptionist carries on.
How do Tidio and Entagl compare, row by row?
| Capability | Tidio | Entagl |
|---|---|---|
| How AI replies are priced | Lyro AI add-on from $32.50/mo (yearly) for 50 chats; free 50 are one-time only | AI included in every plan; credits, no per-seat or per-resolution fees |
| Follow-ups and campaigns | Native WhatsApp is reply-only; outreach needs own Twilio, from Plus plan | Smart follow-ups on idle chats; WhatsApp campaigns whose replies the AI works |
| Incoming and outgoing Voice AI | WhatsApp calls not supported; AI voice calls not listed in Tidio plans | Coordinator: answers and places phone and WhatsApp calls; you set call length |
| When your team steps in | WhatsApp number must leave the WhatsApp app; takeover is in the Tidio inbox | AI pauses when a person replies and resumes by itself after your set time |
| Comment replies that move to DM | Instagram, Facebook comments become agent tickets; TikTok comments not listed | Instagram and Facebook comments answered publicly and in DM; TikTok publicly |
| Collecting details before a quote or booking | Forms in web chat only; Lyro Procedures capped at 5 below Plus; 10 MB per file | Required details asked in chat or a secure hosted form; no quote until complete |
| Messaging channels the AI answers | TikTok DMs not listed; Telegram from Plus plan; Lyro answers first email only | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, email, web chat |
| Bookings, rescheduling and reminders | Needs Calendly or a calendar linked via Zapier or API | Books real calendar slots, reschedules or cancels in chat, sends reminders |
| One memory across messages and calls | Lyro sees only 3 hours of recent history; one shared inbox and contact list | One record for calls, chats, bookings and orders; you can merge duplicates |
| Knowing which ad a customer came from | Facebook ad context needs Zapier or API setup; Meta Conversions API not listed | Ad shown in the inbox, AI answers about that offer, results sent back to Meta |
| Built-in customer records and sales stages | Tidio says it is not a full CRM; pipelines need a separate CRM integration | Built-in contacts and pipeline board with automatic stage moves |
| Catalog, Shopify and Trendyol workflows | Shopify actions from Growth plan; product recs need paid Lyro; no Trendyol | Catalog and stock levels, Shopify checkout and orders, Trendyol orders and Q&A |
FAQ
Where is Tidio the stronger choice?
Tidio is the stronger pick if you need website live chat plus an email help desk, and Entagl's list price is higher. Tidio has a free plan, Starter at $24.17 a month billed yearly with 10 seats (source), Lyro in 48 languages and a SOC 2 Type II report.
Do I pay for the AI separately, like with Lyro?
Not with Entagl: the AI agent is in every plan, Free included. On Tidio's self-serve plans, Lyro starts at $32.50 a month billed yearly for 50 AI conversations (source), and the 50 free ones are a one-time quota (source). Entagl's list price is still higher.
What changes in a live conversation if I move from Lyro to Entagl?
Tidio says a number used in the WhatsApp app must be removed from it before you connect (source). With Entagl the AI pauses when a person replies, even from the WhatsApp or Instagram app, and comes back after the time you set. Lyro sees three hours of history (source); Entagl keeps one record for messages, bookings and orders.
Want to see your own WhatsApp and Instagram traffic on Entagl? Book a demo with a few real conversations, and we will show the AI answering them and a teammate stepping in.
Facts about Tidio were read from Tidio's public pricing, integration and help center pages on October 1, 2026; prices are those shown with Tidio's yearly billing toggle and can change. Row by row: the Tidio alternative compare page.