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Hi, how can I help you with Smart Store?
— Eero, Founder & CEO
Tidio is a live chat and customer service app with an AI agent called Lyro. BOBBI Smart Store is a conversational storefront for Shopify that guides each visitor to the right product. Here is how they compare, what each costs, when to choose each, and how they can work together.
Disclosure: this comparison is published by BOBBI Oy, the maker of BOBBI Smart Store. The rows on form factor, who starts, main job and checkout are our own summary. Prices, free plans and ratings come from each app's official Shopify App Store listing, checked on 7 October 2026; the last row links each listing.
Tidio is a live chat and customer service app for online stores. On its Shopify App Store listing it offers a free plan with live chat, a Customer Service plan from $29 per month for 100 conversations, Flows automation from $29 per month, and the Lyro AI chatbot from $39 per month for up to 200 Lyro conversations. Annual billing lists 17% lower prices, paid plans have a 7-day free trial, and the app is rated 4.8 from 1,351 reviews.
When Tidio is the right choice: Choose Tidio when most of your chats are support questions about orders, shipping and returns that your team or the Lyro AI agent should answer in a chat widget.
Tidio is a chat widget on top of your existing page: the shopper opens it and asks. BOBBI Smart Store is the storefront itself. A Smart Store is a storefront where shoppers say what they need, tap simple choices and see matching products from your catalog, instead of searching and filtering. BOBBI guides the whole shopping journey and then sends the shopper to your native Shopify checkout. It runs in parallel with your theme, and in the BOBBI Portal you choose how much of your traffic it receives.
| Tidio | BOBBI (Smart Store) | |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | Chat widget on the page | Conversational storefront |
| Who starts | Shopper opens the widget | Guidance is the experience |
| Main job | Support questions and live chat, with the Lyro AI agent | Product discovery, guidance and purchase |
| Checkout | Not applicable | Your native Shopify checkout |
| Price (USD) | Free plan; Customer Service from $29/month; Lyro AI from $39/month (200 Lyro conversations) | 3% of sales made through BOBBI (max $2,000/month); no monthly fee; billed through Shopify |
| Free plan / trial | Free plan; 7-day trial | No monthly fee; pay only on BOBBI sales |
| App Store rating | 4.8 (1,351) | 5.0 (4) |
| Source, date checked | App Store listing, 7 Oct 2026 | BOBBI pricing, App Store listing, 9 Oct 2026 |
Prices in USD from each app's Shopify App Store listing on 7 October 2026; Tidio lists 17% lower prices for annual billing. Prices and ratings are a snapshot of that day and change over time.
Yes. BOBBI runs in parallel with your existing Shopify store and uses your native checkout, so it sits alongside Tidio rather than replacing it: Tidio keeps answering support chats, and BOBBI guides shoppers who are still choosing a product. If you want to learn what the Smart Store category is, see what is a Smart Store.
Tidio is a live chat and customer service app with an AI agent (Lyro) that answers support questions in a chat widget. BOBBI Smart Store is a conversational storefront for Shopify: shoppers say what they need, tap simple choices and see matching products, then check out in your native Shopify checkout. Tidio mainly helps once a shopper asks a question; BOBBI guides shoppers while they choose.
Only partly. If you want help for shoppers who are choosing a product, BOBBI is built for that and Tidio is not. If most of your chats are about orders, shipping and returns, Tidio's helpdesk and Lyro AI agent fit better. Many stores run both.
On its Shopify App Store listing (checked 7 October 2026), Tidio has a free plan, a Customer Service plan from $29 per month and the Lyro AI chatbot from $39 per month for up to 200 Lyro conversations, with 17% off for annual billing. BOBBI Smart Store charges a 3% platform fee on the net sales made through BOBBI, at most $2,000 a month, with no monthly fee; Shopify bills it, and nothing is charged until you approve the plan in your Shopify admin.
Yes. BOBBI runs in parallel with your existing Shopify store and uses your native checkout, so it complements Tidio rather than replacing it.
No. BOBBI adds a conversational storefront layer and always sends shoppers to your own native Shopify checkout. Your catalog, payments, and theme stay as they are.
Eero