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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Close 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.

Best overall

Close

4.1

From $9/user/mo

Tidio

3.9

From $0

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Best overallBest value

Pick it if: Small sales teams and solo sellers who call and email a lot of leads and want it all in one tool.

Easiest to use

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.

Overview

AttributeCloseTidio
In one lineSales CRM with calling, texting and email built in, plus an AI agent that calls leads.Live chat for your website with Lyro, an AI agent that answers customer questions.
Pricing modelPaidFreemium
Starting price$9/user/mo$0
Free plan No Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeCloseTidio
Overall rating4.1Winner3.9
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.0
3.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeCloseTidio
Access & platform
Free plan No Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes
Desktop app Yes Yes
Browser extension No Yes
API access Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO No Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes
Understands images––
Makes images No No
Makes video No No
Writes code No No
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style No Yes
Works in many languages No Yes
Capabilities score7/ 1712/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeCloseTidio
Plans

Solo

$9/user/mo billed yearly, or $19 monthly

One person selling on their own.

Free

$0

Trying Tidio on a small site.

Essentials

$35/user/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly

Small teams sharing leads.

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.

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.

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 pickTake 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 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

AttributeCloseTidio
Standout features
  • Built-in calling and texting
  • Chloe AI agent
  • Power and predictive dialers
  • Email and text sequences
  • Two-way email sync
  • AI summaries
  • Live chat widget
  • Lyro AI agent
  • One shared inbox
  • Flows
  • Help desk tickets
  • Store connections

Pros and cons

AttributeCloseTidio
Pros
  • Calling, texting and email built in, with everything logged
  • Solo plan is one of the cheapest proper CRMs around
  • Chloe can call and qualify leads without hiring a rep
  • Fast to learn compared with Salesforce or HubSpot
  • Official MCP connector for Claude
  • Installs on most website builders in a few minutes
  • Free plan and a 7-day trial with no card
  • Lyro is quick to train on your existing help pages
  • One inbox for chat, email and social messages
  • Clean mobile apps for answering on the go
Cons
  • Calls and texts are billed on top of the plan
  • Automations and the power dialer need Growth, which is a big jump from Essentials
  • Chloe launched for US and Canadian numbers in English only
  • Less suited to marketing or businesses that rarely pick up the phone
  • The plan, Lyro and Flows are billed separately, so costs climb quickly
  • Each part has its own monthly cap, and going over pushes you up a tier
  • Long-time users complained about a big price rise in late 2024
  • Some reviews mention surprise renewals and slow support on billing
  • Thinner reporting and fewer team tools than Zendesk or Intercom

Who each one is for

AttributeCloseTidio
Best for
  • Calling and texting leads straight from the CRM
  • Following up leads automatically by email and text
  • Having AI call and qualify new leads
  • Small inside sales teams and solo sellers
  • Adding live chat to a Shopify, WordPress or Wix site
  • Answering FAQs and order questions automatically
  • One inbox for chat, email, Instagram and Messenger
  • Catching leads and abandoned carts on your website
You'll find it used by
  • Small sales teams
  • Solo founders
  • Agencies
  • Inside sales reps
  • Online stores
  • Small businesses
  • Shopify sellers
  • Service businesses

Questions people ask

Which is better, Close or Tidio?

Close scores highest overall in our ratings (Close 4.1/5 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. 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 or Tidio?

Close: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $9/user/mo. Tidio: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0.

Which is easier to use, Close 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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