An honest comparison By James Mulholland Updated May 2026
Clevaa Tidio
Tidio is the live chat and Lyro AI chatbot platform built for online stores, founded in Poland in 2013 and used by 300,000+ businesses. It is text-only. Clevaa is the AI receptionist for UK service businesses, embedded on your website with inbound voice and chat in 13 native languages, flat-rate, EU-hosted, 60-second self-serve setup. They are built for two different markets:
Tidio chats with shoppers.
Clevaa answers for your business.
- GDPR
- UK DPA
- EU-hosted (Hetzner Germany)
- No credit card
- 60s setup
Are they direct competitors? Different markets.
Tidio is a live chat and chatbot platform built for e-commerce. Its strongest work is on a Shopify or WooCommerce store, recovering carts and recommending products inside the chat. Clevaa is an AI receptionist for UK service businesses, a trade, a clinic, a law firm or an agency, where most new enquiries still arrive by phone. Tidio is text-only and cannot answer a call: Tidio for online stores, Clevaa for service businesses where the phone still rings.
01 Anatomy
What kind of product is each?
Before you compare features, it helps to see that these are built for two different markets.
| Anatomy |  | Tidio |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Autonomous AI receptionist for service businesses | Live chat and chatbot platform for online stores 1 |
| Built for | UK service businesses, 1 to 100 employees | E-commerce and online retailers 1 |
| Founded | 2024 (Revenuru Ltd, UK) | 2013 (Tidio, Szczecin, Poland) 6 |
| Lives on | Your website, as a voice and chat widget | Your website, as a chat widget |
| Channels | Inbound voice and web chat | Web chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email. No voice. 1 |
| AI model | Native AI agent, included in every plan | Lyro AI, a paid add-on on top of the base plan 1 |
| Pricing model | Flat-rate, three published tiers, no per-conversation fees | Base plan plus per-conversation Lyro AI add-on plus Flows add-on 1 |
| Time to live | 60 seconds, self-serve | 15 to 30 minutes to configure a working setup 2 |
| Languages | 13 native languages, voice and text | Around 45 text languages via Lyro AI; no voice 2 |
| Hosting | EU only (Hetzner Germany), GDPR-native | EU (AWS), with disclosed data transfer to the USA under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework 3 |
02 Which one
Which one is right for you?
Six common situations and a direct recommendation for each.
-
You run a Shopify or WooCommerce store and want chat that recovers carts and recommends products?
Choose Tidio
Tidio is built for e-commerce. Its native Shopify integration lets the chat see the basket, recommend products and recover abandoned carts. For an online store that is exactly the right tool, and Clevaa does not try to be it.
-
Most of your new enquiries still arrive by phone?
Choose Clevaa
Trades, clinics, law firms and agencies take most new enquiries by phone. Tidio is text-only and cannot answer a call. Clevaa runs an inbound voice agent that picks up, qualifies the caller and books the job, day or night.
-
You want a free plan to put basic chat on your website today?
Choose Tidio
Tidio has a genuine free plan of 50 conversations and a 7-day no-card trial of the paid tiers. For a micro business that just wants a basic website chat box, that is a low-friction place to start.
-
You want one flat monthly price with no per-conversation metering?
Choose Clevaa
Tidio's working cost rises with Lyro AI conversations at roughly €0.65 each, and the plan auto-upgrades at 95% of quota. Clevaa publishes flat-rate tiers with no per-conversation fee, so the bill stays the bill.
-
You need chat across Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp for a consumer brand?
Choose Tidio
Tidio's omnichannel inbox covers Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp in one place. For a consumer brand fielding social messages all day, that breadth is a genuine strength.
-
You are a UK service business that needs voice and chat, EU-only data, live in 60 seconds?
Choose Clevaa
Clevaa is purpose-built for UK service businesses. Voice and chat in 13 native languages, all customer data on Hetzner servers in Germany with no US transfer, and a working agent in about 60 seconds.
Tidio is built for online stores. Clevaa is built for service businesses. If the phone is still your front door, that is the line.
03 Features
Feature comparison
Ten capabilities, head to head. Both products win where they were built to.
| Capability | | Tidio |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 60 seconds, self-serve via URL paste | 15 to 30 minutes to configure a working setup 2 |
| Pricing model | Flat-rate; three published tiers, no per-conversation fees | Base plan plus Lyro AI and Flows add-ons 1 |
| Real cost of a working AI setup | The published tier price, nothing on top | About €106 a month with Lyro AI and Flows added (Tidio's annual billing) 1 |
| Per-conversation fees | None | Lyro AI is metered, about €0.65 per AI conversation 1 |
| Voice and phone answering | Yes, inbound voice agent in 13 native languages | No, text-only platform 1 |
| E-commerce and Shopify integration | Booking and commerce links inside the conversation (Stripe, Shopify, Cal.com) | Deep native Shopify integration: basket view, product recommendations, order management in chat 1 |
| Channels | Inbound voice and web chat | Web chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email 1 |
| EU data residency | Yes, EU only (Hetzner Germany), no US transfer | EU AWS, but the privacy policy discloses data transfer to the USA 3 |
| Free trial and contract | 14-day full trial, no card, no lock-in | Free plan plus 7-day no-card trial; paid plan auto-upgrades at 95% of quota 2 |
| Compliance | UK GDPR, UK Data Protection Act 2018, ICO ZB851355 | SOC 2 Type II; GDPR DPA clauses in the terms, separate signed DPA on request 3 |
Sources: tidio.com/pricing and Tidio Help Center (retrieved May 2026), Tidio privacy policy, G2, Trustpilot. Pricing in US dollars as Tidio publishes it. Check tidio.com/pricing for the current values.
04 The real cost
What Tidio actually costs
Tidio advertises plans from €0. The working price, with the AI switched on, is higher. Below is one common setup, priced line by line from tidio.com/pricing on annual billing, Tidio's cheapest rate.
One common working setup
- Growth plan Tidio's mid-tier base plan €49.17
- Lyro AI add-on 50 conversations, about €0.65 each €32.50
- Flows add-on 2,000 reached visitors €24.17
Tidio's own Help Center documents that at 95% of the monthly conversation quota, the account is automatically upgraded to the next paid tier, effective immediately. Auto-upgrade is on by default and can be switched off in the panel. 2
The Clevaa difference
Clevaa publishes three flat-rate tiers. No per-conversation fee, no add-on needed to make the AI work, no automatic upgrade. The plan price is the price you pay.
All prices from tidio.com/pricing on annual billing (EUR), retrieved May 2026. Monthly billing costs more (Growth alone is €59/mo).
05 Customer voice
What Tidio's customers say
Tidio is a well-liked product. It scores 4.6 out of 5 on G2 across 1,904 reviews, and about 4.7 on Capterra. On Trustpilot, which tends to collect more billing and support complaints, it scores about 3.8 out of 5. The gap between those scores is the part worth reading.
-
What customers praise
The setup process was quick, and the integration with our website worked smoothly. The live chat and chatbot features make it easy to connect with customers in real time.
Trustpilot, 5 stars, October 2025 Fast setup and the Shopify integration are the steady themes in Tidio's positive reviews, and the main reason it scores 4.6 on G2 and about 4.7 on Capterra. 4
-
What customers flag
No way to prevent recurring billing, price increased with no notice, moved to a higher plan.
Trustpilot, 2 stars, September 2025 Billing, not the product, is the recurring complaint on Trustpilot: price changes, auto-renewals and refunds. Several reviewers describe the same pattern. 5
-
From Tidio's own documentation
Tidio's Help Center states that at 95% of the monthly conversation quota, the account is automatically upgraded to the next paid tier, effective immediately. It is on by default and can be switched off in the panel. 2
Individual reviews are not a verdict, and the scores here were retrieved in May 2026. But a strong product score sitting next to a weaker billing score is a pattern worth checking before you commit to an annual plan.
06 Questions
The questions buyers actually ask
-
Is Clevaa a Tidio alternative?
For a UK service business, yes. Clevaa is an AI receptionist built for businesses that take enquiries by phone and web. Tidio is a live chat and chatbot platform built for online stores. If you run a Shopify shop, Tidio is the better fit. If you run a trade, clinic, firm or agency, Clevaa is.
-
Does Tidio handle voice or phone calls?
No. Tidio is a text-only platform. It handles web chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email, but it cannot answer an inbound phone call. Clevaa adds an inbound voice agent that answers calls in 13 native languages.
-
How much does Tidio actually cost?
Tidio advertises plans from €0. A working AI setup costs more. On Tidio's annual billing, the Growth plan at €49.17 a month, plus the Lyro AI add-on at €32.50 a month for 50 conversations, plus the Flows add-on at €24.17 a month, is about €106 a month, before the €16.67 a month to remove Tidio branding (Tidio pricing page, retrieved May 2026). Monthly billing costs more.
-
Can Clevaa replace Tidio?
If you are a UK service business, yes. Clevaa covers voice and web chat, qualifies enquiries and books meetings. If you run an online store and rely on cart recovery and product recommendations inside the chat, Tidio's Shopify integration is purpose-built for that and Clevaa is not.
-
Where is the data hosted, Tidio compared with Clevaa?
Clevaa hosts all customer data on Hetzner servers in Germany, inside the EU, with no transfer to the USA. Tidio hosts in the EU on AWS, but its privacy policy discloses that data is also transferred to the USA under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. For a UK or EU business that needs data to stay in the EU, that is a material difference.
-
Can I use Tidio and Clevaa together?
Yes. Some businesses run Tidio for e-commerce chat on an online store and Clevaa for voice and service enquiries. They cover different channels and do not conflict.
Your agent is one URL away.
Paste your website, watch Clevaa extract your brand and content, and have your AI agent live on your site in 60 seconds. Free to start, no credit card.
- 60-second setup
- 14-day full trial
- Cancel any time