Chatfuel vs Tidio vs Helply: Features and Pricing Compared

Choose Chatfuel if you need a simple, cheap marketing bot for your social media pages, but it won't work on your website, its AI is very basic, and it cannot connect to a real helpdesk.

Choose Tidio if you're a small shop that needs an all-in-one tool that includes a website chat widget. But you'll be forced to use its limited ticketing system, leaving your professional tools behind. You also risk facing buggy AI and surprise billing.

However, Helply is the best AI agent for customer support because it solves both of these problems.

Unlike Chatfuel, Helply works everywhere (especially your website) and has a self-learning AI that supports over 40 languages. And unlike Tidio, Helply works with your existing helpdesk to reduce your support tickets.

Chatfuel

Chatfuel is a tool for building simple chatbots without needing to code. It is important to know that it only works with Meta platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.

This is a major limitation for any business that needs to help customers on their own website or through email.

It acts as a basic AI helper for simple sales and marketing tasks. It can schedule meetings or answer very common questions, but it is not a serious customer support tool.

Smaller businesses and influencers use it because it's cheap, but it struggles with real business needs.

It does not support many languages and its "AI" is very simple. While it's easy to use, it creates problems for businesses that want to grow.

Features

• Always available. Like any bot, it works 24/7.
• Visual builder. A drag-and-drop tool lets you build chat flows. This is easy for beginners but gets very messy and hard to manage for complex bots.
• Use cases. It has templates for basic sales tasks, but it is not built to handle complex support tickets or learn from customer issues.
• Integrations. It connects to a few tools like Shopify and Google Sheets, but it cannot connect to real helpdesk software (like Zendesk, Help Scout, or Freshdesk). This means it can't help your support team, and all conversations are stuck inside Chatfuel.

Pricing plans

Pros

• Simple to set up. Its main benefit is that a beginner can make a simple bot quickly.
• Affordable for small businesses. The plans are cheap, which is why it is popular with influencers or very small shops that only use Instagram.
• Strong for Meta marketing. It's good at automating Instagram comments and messages.

Cons

• Trapped on Meta Platforms. This is its biggest weakness. The bot will not work on your website. You are forced to build different bots for Facebook and Instagram, which wastes time. Tools like Helply can work everywhere, including your website.
• Fails a Global Audience. It barely understands other languages. This is a major problem if you have customers around the world. (Helply, for comparison, supports over 40 languages).
• Very Basic AI. Chatfuel's AI mostly just looks for keywords. It cannot understand what users really mean or learn from new questions. It is not a true "learning" AI and will not get smarter or help you find gaps in your knowledge base.
• Not a Support Tool. It has no features for managing support tickets, helping human agents, or tracking customer problems. It creates a separate, new inbox instead of working with the tools your team already uses.
• Reliability and Support Issues. Many users report that the platform breaks down, their bots stop working, and customer service is hard to reach. This is a serious risk for a business.

Who it's for

• Influencers, creators, and marketers who only use Instagram or Facebook.
• Small shops that need a very basic bot for simple sales questions.
• Teams that need a quick, temporary bot and don't care about website support or powerful AI.

Who it's not for

• Any business that needs a chatbot on its website.
• Professional support teams. It does not connect to any helpdesk software (like Zendesk, Groove, or Freshdesk), so it cannot help your agents or solve support tickets.
• Growing businesses. You will outgrow its features very quickly and be forced to move to a better platform.
• Companies that need a smart AI. Its AI is not smart, does not learn, and cannot handle complex questions.
• Global companies. The poor language support makes it useless for a global audience.

Tidio

Tidio is an all-in-one customer chat tool. It combines live chat, a basic AI called "Lyro," and its own ticketing system. Unlike Chatfuel, it can work on your website, which seems better at first.

However, Tidio's biggest problem is that it tries to replace your helpdesk. It forces you to manage all customer support tickets inside Tidio's simple inbox.

This is a major problem for any business that already uses (and likes) professional tools like Zendesk, Freshdesk, or Help Scout. Tidio does not work with them; it makes you switch.

Features

• AI (Lyro). Tidio's AI can answer simple, common questions. But many users report it is buggy and not very smart. It is not a true "learning" AI and is not designed to find gaps in your help articles.
• Ticketing System. Tidio forces you to use its built-in system. This is a huge step down for teams used to powerful, professional helpdesks. It's a closed system that stops your support team from using the best tools.
• Flows (Automation). It has a visual builder, but it's for simple chat flows, not complex support automation.
• Shopify Integration. It does connect well with Shopify, which is why it is popular with very small e-commerce stores.

Pricing plans

This is a major problem area for Tidio. Their pricing is based on "billable conversations" and can get expensive very fast.

Worse, a large number of users report that Tidio has confusing plans, unexpected price increases, and terrible billing practices.

Additional notes: Flows and Lyro quotas reset each month, while unused billable conversations do not roll over.

Pros

• Easy to Use (at first). It is fast to add a simple chat widget to your site.
• Works on your Website. Unlike Chatfuel, it is not trapped on social media.
• Good for small Shopify Stores. It's most useful for a one-person Shopify store that only needs to check on order status.

Cons

• Bad Customer Support. This is one of the biggest complaints. Many users say Tidio's support team is slow, unresponsive, or does not show up to scheduled meetings.
• Hidden Costs and "Scam" Billing. A large number of users report being charged for expensive annual plans they didn't agree to and then being denied refunds. This is a serious business risk.
• A "Jack of All Trades." Tidio tries to do everything (live chat, tickets, AI) but does none of them well. Its AI is basic, its ticketing system is weak, and its analytics are poor.
• Does NOT Work With Your Helpdesk. This is the most important drawback. Tidio is a replacement system, not an integration. If your team needs a smart AI that helps your existing agents in Zendesk, Groove, or Help Scout, Tidio is the wrong choice. (A tool like Helply is built to do this).

Who it's for

• Very small businesses or one-person shops that need a basic website chat widget and have no other support tools.
• Shopify store owners who only need to handle simple order questions.

Who it's not for

• Any professional support team. It forces you to abandon powerful helpdesks like Zendesk or Freshdesk.
• Businesses that care about good support. Tidio's own support is known to be a problem.
• Companies that want a smart, learning AI. Tidio's AI is basic and cannot help you improve your knowledge base.
• Anyone who wants fair, clear billing. The number of user complaints about billing is a major red flag.

Helply

Helply is a truly smart AI support assistant. It is designed for professional teams that want to provide the best customer support, save time, and lower costs.

The most important difference is that Helply works with your existing helpdesk. Unlike Tidio, it does not replace your tools. Instead, it connects directly to Zendesk, Groove, Freshdesk, Help Scout, and others. This means Helply helps your agents and solves tickets inside the system you already use.

And unlike Chatfuel, Helply works everywhere: on your website, in your help center, and across all your channels.

Key Features

• A Truly Smart AI. Helply's AI is self-learning. It does more than just answer questions; it learns from every customer chat. It gets smarter over time and gives better, more personal answers.
• Works With Your Helpdesk. This is its biggest strength. Helply automatically resolves Tier-1 support tickets before they ever reach a human agent. This frees up your team to focus on hard problems.
• Finds Knowledge Gaps. Helply is the only tool that actively finds questions it can't answer. It then drafts new help articles for you. This makes your whole support center smarter.
• Speaks Over 40 Languages. While other tools fail, Helply supports over 40 languages. You can support all of your customers around the world instantly.
• Takes Actions. Helply can do more than just talk. It can connect to other tools (like Stripe) to check an order, give a refund, or send an email. It actually solves problems.
• Fast, No-Code Setup. You get all this power with a simple setup that connects to your tools in minutes.

Pricing Plans

Helply offers clear, flexible plans that grow with your business. The pricing is based on how much you use the AI, so you only pay for the value you get.

There are no hidden fees or billing tricks like you find with Tidio.

Compared to alternatives like the Lyro AI Agent, Helply is designed for small and medium-sized businesses that want a cost-effective, easy-to-use AI support solution with flexible pricing and advanced features.

Pros

• Works With Your Professional Tools. You don't have to throw away your helpdesk. Helply makes your current tools better.
• Actually Reduces Support Tickets. It automatically solves common questions, saving your team huge amounts of time.
• Improves Your Knowledge Base. The AI finds what's missing in your help articles and writes new drafts for you.
• Supports a Global Audience. You can instantly talk to customers in 40+ languages.
• Powerful Automation. It can handle real tasks, like checking order status or running workflows.
• Custom Personality. You can change the AI's tone to match your brand's voice.
• Smooth Handoff to Humans. If a problem is too complex, Helply perfectly passes the chat and all its info to a human agent inside your helpdesk.

Cons

• Works Best With a Helpdesk. Helply is a professional tool. It is built to connect to a helpdesk (like Zendesk, Freshdesk, etc.). It is not an all-in-one system for a brand new shop, but that is its strength. It focuses on being the best AI assistant, not a weak, all-in-one tool.
• Needs Content to Learn. Like any smart AI, Helply works best when it can learn from your help articles. But unlike other tools, it helps you create the content you're missing.

Who it's for

• Professional support teams. Any business that uses Zendesk, Help Scout, Groove, Freshdesk, or another helpdesk will see huge benefits.
• Growing e-commerce stores. Teams that need to automate order questions, cart recovery, and lead capture.
• Global companies. Businesses that need to support customers in many languages.
• Teams that want to be more efficient. If you want to lower costs and free up your support agents, Helply is the right choice.

Who it's not for

• Teams looking for a replacement helpdesk. Helply is smart and adds on to your existing helpdesk; it doesn't replace it. (For a basic, all-in-one system, you might try Tidio, but you will quickly outgrow it).

The Verdict

Choosing the right tool depends on your goals. Chatfuel is a simple marketing tool, Tidio is a basic all-in-one system, and Helply is a professional AI assistant for support teams.

The choice is simple. Chatfuel is a basic marketing toy for social media, not a serious support tool. Its AI is basic, and it can't even work on your website.

Tidio asks you to throw away your professional helpdesk for its own limited all-in-one system, which is a huge step backward for any growing business.

Helply is the only tool designed for professional teams. It works with the tools you already use (like Groove, Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Help Scout), making your entire support system smarter, faster, and more efficient.

It's the only AI that actively improves your knowledge base and supports your customers in over 40 languages.

Stop wasting your agents' time on repetitive tickets. See how Helply can transform your customer support.

Book your FREE demo today!