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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Pipedrive vs Retell AI 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.

Pipedrive

4.1

From $14/seat/mo

Retell AI

4.1

From About $0.07–$0.31/min

Tidio

3.9

From $0

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: Small businesses, agencies and sales teams of one to twenty people who want a clear view of every deal without a complicated CRM.

Pick it if: Service businesses and agencies that want an AI receptionist or phone agent without hiring developers.

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

AttributePipedriveRetell AITidio
In one lineSimple sales CRM that shows every deal as a card on a board, with an AI sales assistant.AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls.Live chat for your website with Lyro, an AI agent that answers customer questions.
Pricing modelPaidPaidFreemium
Starting price$14/seat/moAbout $0.07–$0.31/min$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.

AttributePipedriveRetell AITidio
Overall rating4.14.13.9
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
3.5
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.0
4.5
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
4.0
3.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

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

AttributePipedriveRetell AITidio
Access & platform
Free plan No No Yes
Mobile app Yes– Yes
Desktop app–– Yes
Browser extension Yes– Yes
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO– 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
Understands images–––
Makes images No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code No– No
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style–– Yes
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score7/ 177/ 1712/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributePipedriveRetell AITidio
Plans

Lite

$14/seat/mo billed yearly, or $24 monthly

One person who just needs a pipeline and reminders.

Pay as you goOur pick

About $0.07–$0.31/min

Most small businesses and agencies.

Free

$0

Trying Tidio on a small site.

GrowthOur pick

$39/seat/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly

Small teams who live in their inbox.

Enterprise

Custom

High call volumes and compliance needs.

Starter

$24.17/mo billed yearly, about $29 monthly

A small business answering chats by hand.

Premium

$59/seat/mo billed yearly, or $79 monthly

Teams that want to capture and score leads too.

GrowthOur pick

From $49.17/mo billed yearly, about $59 monthly

Busy stores with a few people in the inbox.

Ultimate

$79/seat/mo billed yearly, or $99 monthly

Bigger teams that need the highest limits and tighter security.

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 pickGrowth is the plan most small teams should start on, because Lite has no proper email sync or automations. Move to Premium if you want web forms and lead scoring without paying for add-ons. Prices exclude tax and vary by country.Start on pay as you go with the free credits, build one agent for your most common call and test it on your own phone. Talk to sales only once you run thousands of minutes a month.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

AttributePipedriveRetell AITidio
Standout features
  • Visual pipeline
  • AI Sales Assistant
  • Email sync and tracking
  • Automations
  • Lead capture
  • Reports and forecasts
  • Phone agents
  • Flow builder
  • Appointment booking
  • Knowledge base
  • Batch calling
  • Call analysis
  • Live chat widget
  • Lyro AI agent
  • One shared inbox
  • Flows
  • Help desk tickets
  • Store connections

Pros and cons

AttributePipedriveRetell AITidio
Pros
  • Very easy to learn, even for people who hate CRMs
  • The pipeline view makes it obvious what needs doing
  • Official Claude connector for reading and updating deals
  • Huge app marketplace with 500+ integrations
  • Good mobile app for updating deals on the go
  • Natural voices and quick responses
  • Visual builder makes it usable for non-developers
  • Pay per minute with no platform fee
  • Strong reviews from small businesses and agencies
  • 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
  • No free plan, only a 14-day trial
  • Lite is too limited, so the real starting price is Growth
  • Lead capture, campaigns and web visitor tracking cost extra on lower plans
  • Marketing tools are thin next to HubSpot
  • Reporting gets limited once you want detailed custom reports
  • Per-minute cost varies a lot with your model and voice choices
  • Takes testing to handle real callers reliably
  • Some users want more voice and customisation options
  • 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

AttributePipedriveRetell AITidio
Best for
  • Tracking deals from first contact to signed
  • Reminders so no lead is forgotten
  • Small sales teams who want a simple CRM
  • Forecasting what's likely to close this month
  • AI receptionist for a small business
  • Booking appointments by phone
  • Answering after-hours and overflow calls
  • Outbound reminder and follow-up calls
  • 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 businesses
  • Agencies
  • Sales teams
  • Consultants
  • Real estate
  • Small business owners
  • Clinics
  • Voice AI agencies
  • Customer service teams
  • Developers
  • Online stores
  • Small businesses
  • Shopify sellers
  • Service businesses

Questions people ask

Which is better, Pipedrive, Retell AI or Tidio?

They tie on our overall rating (Pipedrive 4.1/5, Retell AI 4.1/5 and Tidio 3.9/5). Pipedrive is best for tracking deals from first contact to signed and reminders so no lead is forgotten. Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone. Tidio is best for adding live chat to a Shopify, WordPress or Wix site and Answering FAQs and order questions automatically.

Which is cheaper, Pipedrive, Retell AI or Tidio?

Pipedrive: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $14/seat/mo. Retell AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at About $0.07–$0.31/min. Tidio: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0.

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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