Intercom alternatives: LiveChat and Tidio, priced
LiveChat and Tidio against Intercom, from each vendor's pricing page: seat prices, conversation tiers and the cost of AI answers for a team of 3. Read September 23, 2026.
The short answer
LiveChat and Tidio are the two Intercom alternatives we priced. Intercom charges per seat, $29 a month on Essential billed annually, and adds $0.99 for each outcome of Fin, its AI agent. LiveChat charges per person, $49 a month on Team billed annually, with no per-conversation fee in its plan table. Tidio charges by billable conversations and includes up to 10 seats: $24.17 a month for 100 conversations and $149.17 for 1,000, billed annually.
For 3 agents billed annually and no AI answers, Intercom Essential is $87 a month and LiveChat Team $147. Tidio ranges from $24.17 to $290.83 a month, depending on volume.
Prices were read in a browser on intercom.com/pricing, livechat.com/pricing and tidio.com/pricing on September 23, 2026, in US dollars. StackOnSale has not tested these products.
Three pricing models
Each tool charges for a different thing: seats on Intercom, people on LiveChat, conversations on Tidio. The AI agent is priced separately on all three.
How each one charges| Tool | Unit | Entry price, billed annually | AI agent |
|---|
| Intercom | Seat | Essential: $29 per seat a month, $39 billed monthly | Fin: $0.99 per outcome |
|---|
| LiveChat | Person | Starter: $19 a month for 1 user. Team: $49 per person, $59 billed monthly | Text, sold separately, listed from $19 per user a month |
|---|
| Tidio | Billable conversations, up to 10 seats | Starter: $24.17 a month for 100 conversations, $29 billed monthly | Lyro: 50 one-off conversations, then from $39 a month |
|---|
Read in a browser on intercom.com/pricing, livechat.com/pricing and tidio.com/pricing, September 23, 2026. Prices in US dollars.
Three agents for a month
The table prices a team of 3 on each tool's entry plan for that volume, billed annually and shown per month.
Three agents, billed annually, price per month| Monthly volume | Intercom Essential | LiveChat Team | Tidio |
|---|
| 100 conversations, no AI answers | $87 | $147 | $24.17, Starter |
|---|
| 1,000 conversations, no AI answers | $87 | $147 | $149.17, Growth |
|---|
| 1,000 conversations, 200 answered by AI | $87 + $198 in Fin outcomes = $285 | $147, plus Text if you add it | $149.17, plus a Lyro plan if you add it |
|---|
StackOnSale arithmetic on annual prices: 3 x $29 for Intercom, 3 x $49 for LiveChat. Intercom charges at most one Fin outcome per conversation and nothing when Fin cannot answer. Tidio's price covers up to 10 seats.
Which one fits which buyer
Intercom: a shared inbox, ticketing and a public help center on Essential, and an Early Stage program advertising 93% off for startups with under $10M raised and 15 employees or fewer, on application. Its AI answers cost $0.99 per outcome.
LiveChat: a fixed price per person, with no per-conversation fee in its plan table and unlimited chat history from Team.
Tidio: up to 10 seats in one price, so a small team with low volume pays the least. Its price rises with billable conversations, to $290.83 a month for 2,000, billed annually.
What we could not verify
Intercom's charges for messaging channels such as SMS or WhatsApp. What LiveChat's AI product, Text, includes at its $19 starting price. What Tidio does when you pass your billable conversation limit during a month. Whether any annual price holds at renewal.
StackOnSale earns a commission if you buy LiveChat through our link. We have no relationship with Intercom or Tidio.
Questions
What is the cheapest Intercom alternative?
For a small team with low volume, Tidio: $24.17 a month billed annually for 100 billable conversations, with up to 10 seats. For 3 agents, Intercom Essential is $87 a month and LiveChat Team $147, billed annually. Read September 23, 2026.
Does LiveChat charge for AI answers like Intercom?
Its AI product, Text, is sold separately and listed from $19 per user a month. Intercom charges $0.99 per Fin outcome.
How does Tidio count usage?
By billable conversations: conversations that include a message from your team. Unanswered messages are not counted.
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