Widgent vs Tidio
Tidio is a live chat tool with an AI FAQ bot for support teams. Widgent is an AI agent embedded in your SaaS that can call your APIs and take real actions.
Try Widgent free →- Tool-calling — call any API
- Bring your own LLM key
- One script tag embed
- From $0 / month
- FAQ-based Lyro AI chatbot
- No BYOK — charged per conversation
- Built for e-commerce / CS teams
- Free limited; Lyro from $29/mo + credits
Why developers choose Widgent
An agent that acts, not just chats
Tidio's Lyro answers questions from your FAQ. Widgent agents can answer questions and take actions — fetch data from your APIs, update records, navigate your UI, trigger workflows. A fundamentally different capability built for SaaS products.
No Lyro credits, no per-conversation tax
Tidio charges Lyro credits on top of the monthly plan — you pay per AI conversation. With Widgent, you use your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini key. Your AI costs are on your provider invoice, not hidden inside Tidio's pricing.
Headless and fully programmable
Widgent's headless mode gives you the AI infrastructure — streaming, session management, tool execution, RAG — while you build any UI you want. Tidio is a fixed chat widget. You get what they designed.
User identity built in
Widgent supports signed JWT identity tokens so the agent knows exactly which user is chatting — their plan, permissions, and account context. Tidio tracks visitors anonymously by default. There's no JWT identity layer for developers.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Widgent | Tidio |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use case | AI agent inside your product | Live chat + chatbot for CS teams |
| Real tool-calling | ✓ Call any API or function | ✗ Rule-based flows only |
| Bring your own LLM key | ✓ OpenAI · Anthropic · Gemini · OpenRouter | ✗ Tidio/Lyro controls the LLM |
| Zero token markup | ✓ Flat fee — pay provider directly | ✗ Per-conversation Lyro credits |
| Embed type | Script tag (5 minutes) | Tidio script — support inbox required |
| User identity (JWT) | ✓ Signed per-user JWT | ⚠ Basic visitor identification |
| Conversation history | ✓ Built-in | ✓ Built-in |
| Embed types | Bubble · Sidebar · Popup · Inline · Headless | Bubble only |
| RAG (knowledge base) | ✓ Upload docs, auto-chunked | ⚠ FAQ-based training only |
| Model flexibility | ✓ Any OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter model | ✗ Locked to Lyro AI |
| Human escalation | ⚠ Via tool (custom) | ✓ Built-in live agent handoff |
| Pricing | From $0 (platform fee only) | Free limited; Lyro from $29/mo + credits |
| Target user | SaaS developers | Support managers / e-commerce teams |
Ship your AI agent today
Free tier. No credit card. One script tag.