Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support
Close vs Intercom vs Tidio
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Small sales teams and solo sellers who call and email a lot of leads and want it all in one tool.
Pick it if: Online businesses and software companies with a support team that wants an AI agent to take the first pass at every question.
Pick it if: Small businesses and online stores that want website chat and an AI agent answering common questions, without a big help desk setup.
Intercom scores highest overall, but Close gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Close | Intercom | Tidio |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Sales CRM with calling, texting and email built in, plus an AI agent that calls leads. | Customer support inbox, help centre and chat, with the Fin AI agent answering first. | Live chat for your website with Lyro, an AI agent that answers customer questions. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | $9/user/mo | $0.99 per outcome | $0 |
| Free plan | No | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Close | Intercom | Tidio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.1 | 4.2Winner | 3.9 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Close | Intercom | Tidio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | – | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | – | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | No | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | Yes | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | No | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 7/ 17 | 10/ 17 | 12/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Close | Intercom | Tidio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Solo $9/user/mo billed yearly, or $19 monthly One person selling on their own. | Fin on its own $0.99 per outcome, monthly minimum Teams happy with their current helpdesk who want the AI agent only. | Free $0 Trying Tidio on a small site. |
Essentials $35/user/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly Small teams sharing leads. | Essential $29/seat/mo, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome Small teams starting out with live chat and an AI agent. | Starter $24.17/mo billed yearly, about $29 monthly A small business answering chats by hand. | |
GrowthOur pick $99/user/mo billed yearly, or $109 monthly Teams that want follow-ups and AI on autopilot. | AdvancedOur pick $85/seat/mo, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome Growing support teams that need automation and several inboxes. | GrowthOur pick From $49.17/mo billed yearly, about $59 monthly Busy stores with a few people in the inbox. | |
Scale $139/user/mo billed yearly, or $149 monthly High-volume calling teams. | Expert $132/seat/mo, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome Larger teams with security and multi-brand needs. | Plus From $300/mo plus usage Growing teams that need more control and lower usage rates. | |
Premium Custom Larger businesses that want Lyro managed for them. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Take the 14-day trial, which needs no card. Solo is a bargain if you sell alone and follow up by hand. Growth is where Close earns its price, because that's where automated follow-ups, the power dialer and Chloe in workflows start. Budget a little extra each month for call minutes. | Start the 14-day trial and see how many conversations Fin handles, because that number drives the bill more than seats do. Most teams with more than a couple of agents end up on Advanced for the workflows. If you already run Zendesk or Salesforce and like it, try Fin on its own first. | Start on Free or the 7-day trial, which needs no card. Growth is the plan most stores end up on, then add Lyro once you know how many chats it would handle. Check the price calculator on Tidio's pricing page, because the plan, Lyro and Flows are each billed separately. |
Key features
| Attribute | Close | Intercom | Tidio |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Close | Intercom | Tidio |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Close | Intercom | Tidio |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Close, Intercom or Tidio?
Intercom scores highest overall in our ratings (Close 4.1/5, Intercom 4.2/5 and Tidio 3.9/5). Close is best for calling and texting leads straight from the CRM and following up leads automatically by email and text. Intercom is best for answering common customer questions automatically and website and in-app live chat. Tidio is best for adding live chat to a Shopify, WordPress or Wix site and Answering FAQs and order questions automatically.
Which is cheaper, Close, Intercom or Tidio?
Close: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $9/user/mo. Intercom: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $0.99 per outcome. Tidio: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0.
Which is easier to use, Close, Intercom or Tidio?
Tidio rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small businesses and online stores that want website chat and an AI agent answering common questions, without a big help desk setup.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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