Gorgias vs Tidio
Side-by-side total cost of ownership: subscription fees, labor, hidden costs, and AI alternatives.
Published pricing
The subscription is only part of the cost.
| Gorgias | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Published rate | $50/seat/mo | $29/seat/mo |
| Team size modeled | 10 | 5 |
| Annual subscription | $6,000/yr | $1,740/yr |
What the invoice doesn't show
Gorgias
Gorgias prices by ticket volume, not seats. The Starter plan ($10/mo, annual only) includes 50 tickets. Basic ($50/mo) includes 300 tickets. Pro ($360/mo) includes 2,000 tickets. Additional tickets cost $0.36–$0.40 each. A mid-size ecommerce brand handling 5,000 tickets/month on Pro pays $1,944/month including overages.
Gorgias AI Agent is billed per automated resolution at $0.90/resolution (annual) or $1.00 (monthly) — and double-billed: you pay both the helpdesk ticket fee AND the AI resolution fee for every conversation the AI handles. A team achieving 30% automation on 2,000 Pro tickets pays $360/mo (helpdesk) plus $540/mo (600 AI resolutions × $0.90) = $900/mo total.
Gorgias is built exclusively for ecommerce and integrates deeply with Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento. If your business model expands beyond ecommerce (SaaS, services, marketplace), you'll outgrow Gorgias and face a platform migration.
Users report that Gorgias's reporting and analytics are limited compared to Zendesk or Intercom. Custom report building requires the Advanced plan ($750/mo for 5,000 tickets) or exporting data to external BI tools.
Tidio
Growth's $59/month ceiling hides a 12x pricing cliff — the plan caps at 10 agent seats and 2,000 conversations/month, and the next tier (Plus) starts at $749/month with no mid-tier option. Any team needing an 11th seat or higher volume must absorb a ~$690/month jump overnight.
Lyro AI is a separately metered add-on, not a bundled feature — 50 AI conversations cost $32.50/month on the annual plan. A realistic 200–500 AI conversation workload pushes that line item to $80–$120/month, nearly doubling the advertised $49.17 Growth base price before Flows or branding-removal fees are added.
Auto-upgrade triggers at 95% of monthly quota with no grace period — hit the threshold and Tidio charges the next tier automatically; disable it and conversations stop cold at 100% of limit. One Trustpilot reviewer documented their bill jumping from $25 to $120 in a single month due to this mechanism.
Tidio's December 2024 pricing restructuring doubled existing customers' bills with no advance email notice — Trustpilot reviews document charges moving from $32 to $64/month in one billing cycle. Flows automation ($24.17/month) and branding removal ($16.67/month) were simultaneously repositioned as separate paid line items.
What teams are switching to
Replacing Gorgias
Tidio + Lyro AI
Free–$749/mo, Lyro add-on from $32.50/mo
Flat-rate pricing instead of per-ticket billing. Lyro AI chatbot handles up to 70% of routine ecommerce inquiries at a predictable monthly cost. No per-resolution or per-ticket overage fees.
Richpanel
$500/AI agent/mo + $0.25/conversation; helpdesk seats $100/seat/mo, Enterprise custom
Ecommerce-focused helpdesk with AI self-service portal. Customers resolve order tracking, returns, and exchanges without creating tickets — reducing volume rather than charging per ticket.
Re:amaze
$29–$69/agent/mo, unlimited conversations
Per-agent pricing ($29/agent/mo) with unlimited conversations — no ticket caps or overage charges. Built for ecommerce with Shopify integration. AI-powered suggested replies and FAQ bot included.
Replacing Tidio
Intercom Fin
$0.99/resolved outcome; 50-outcome minimum ($49.50/mo floor) on standalone plan; integrates with Salesforce, Freshworks, Gorgias, and more
Outcome-based pricing means you pay $0.99 only when Fin fully resolves a ticket — escalations to a human agent are never charged. The standalone product carries no per-seat fee, eliminating Tidio's three-axis billing across chat platform, AI conversations, and automation flows.
eesel AI
$0.40/support task (pay-as-you-go); $300/mo annual commitment for 25% off all usage; $1,000/mo flat enterprise fee + usage
Pure pay-as-you-go support AI with no per-seat fees, no platform fee, and no separate automation add-on — each support ticket or chat session is one task regardless of message count. Automatic spending alerts at 50%, 75%, and 100% of your monthly limit prevent the surprise tier upgrades Tidio customers encounter.
Gorgias
Basic $60/mo (300 tickets); Pro $360/mo (2,000 tickets); AI Agent $0.90/resolved conversation (annual) or $1.00/mo; overages ~$0.40/ticket
E-commerce helpdesk where AI Agent resolutions are priced per outcome rather than layered on top of a separate conversation meter. Ticket volume tiers scale linearly — no cliff between $60 and $749 — and the per-ticket model makes cost forecasting straightforward for seasonal traffic spikes.
StackCut doesn't sell or recommend any of these tools. We show them for context. The decision is yours.
Total Cost of Ownership
Subscription fees plus labor and error costs, modeled at $50/hr loaded rate (BLS ECEC).
| Cost Component | Gorgias | Tidio |
|---|---|---|
| Annual subscription | $6,000 | $1,740 |
| Labor cost | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Error & rework cost | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| Total Cost of Ownership | $20,400/yr | $16,140/yr |
| Est. AI alternative | $8,488/yr | $8,488/yr |
Labor rate based on BLS ECEC June 2025 ($45.65/hr private industry total compensation, rounded to $50). Team sizes differ because each vendor targets different market segments. Your actual numbers depend on team size, role mix, and usage. Run it with your own data.
Which one fits your team?
Both Gorgias and Tidiocost more than their published pricing suggests. The right choice depends on your team size and how you weigh each tool's trade-offs.
Gorgias starts at $50/seat/mo , but watch for Gorgias prices by ticket volume, not seats. The Starter plan ($10/mo, annual only) includes 50 tickets. Basic ($50/mo) includes 300 tickets. Pro ($360/mo) includes 2,000 tickets. Additional tickets cost $0.36–$0.40 each. A mid-size ecommerce brand handling 5,000 tickets/month on Pro pays $1,944/month including overages.
Tidio starts at $29/seat/mo , but watch for Growth's $59/month ceiling hides a 12x pricing cliff — the plan caps at 10 agent seats and 2,000 conversations/month, and the next tier (Plus) starts at $749/month with no mid-tier option. Any team needing an 11th seat or higher volume must absorb a ~$690/month jump overnight.
An AI-native alternative may replace the workflow at a fraction of the TCO.
See all SaaS cost comparisonsBrowse alternatives for every tool
FAQ
Gorgias vs Tidio: quick answers
Is Gorgias or Tidio cheaper?
On total cost of ownership, Gorgias runs about $20,400/year (10-person team) versus $16,140/year for Tidio (5-person team) once labor and hidden costs are counted, not just the published subscription. Adjust the inputs to your own team to compare them directly.
What can replace Gorgias or Tidio?
Gorgias is often replaced by Tidio + Lyro AI and Richpanel; Tidio by Intercom Fin and eesel AI. StackCut shows the cost case for each AI-first alternative without taking referral fees.
What are the hidden costs of Gorgias and Tidio?
Gorgias: Gorgias prices by ticket volume, not seats. The Starter plan ($10/mo, annual only) includes 50 tickets. Basic ($50/mo) includes 300 tickets. Pro ($360/mo) includes 2,000 tickets. Additional tickets cost $0.36–$0.40 each. A mid-size ecommerce brand handling 5,000 tickets/month on Pro pays $1,944/month including overages. Tidio: Growth's $59/month ceiling hides a 12x pricing cliff — the plan caps at 10 agent seats and 2,000 conversations/month, and the next tier (Plus) starts at $749/month with no mid-tier option. Any team needing an 11th seat or higher volume must absorb a ~$690/month jump overnight.
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