Tidio Lyro and Intercom Fin are both AI support agents that answer customer questions from your help content, but they sit inside very different products. Lyro is the AI layer of Tidio, a live-chat tool aimed at small online shops, with a free plan and self-serve tiers sold by the number of Lyro conversations. Fin is the AI agent inside Intercom's per-seat helpdesk, billed for each resolution, and it can also run on top of another helpdesk.
The choice usually comes down to one question: do you need a full helpdesk with seats and ticketing, or a chat widget with an AI agent attached? The two tools also count different things. Tidio charges for every conversation Lyro handles, while Fin charges only when a conversation counts as resolved, plus seat fees, so their unit prices are not directly comparable. Our guides on what counts as a conversation and containment rate explain how to convert one into the other.
Bottom line
- Tidio Lyro is the cheaper, simpler start for a small shop that wants a free plan and a fixed monthly price, while Intercom Fin fits a funded support team that wants to pay per resolution inside a full helpdesk.
Side by side
| Tidio Lyro | Intercom Fin | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 7.5 | 8.2 |
| Type of tool | AI agent for support | AI agent for support |
| Pricing model | Mixed | Mixed |
| Paid plans from | $29 per month | $0.99 per resolution |
| What the bill grows with | conversations | resolutions |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Visual flow builder | Yes | Yes |
| Extensible with code | Partly | Yes |
| Choose or bring your own AI model | No | No |
| Bot export | Partly | Partly |
| Self-hosting | No | No |
| Built-in inbox for human handoff | Yes | Yes |
| Channels | Website widget, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Email | Website widget, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, SMS, Email, Voice, Slack |
| Languages | 48+ languages | 45+ languages |
| EU data hosting | Yes | Partly |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR DPA (on request), CCPA/CPRA, EU-US DPF | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, ISO 42001, AIUC-1, HIPAA (Expert), GDPR |
| Vendor's headline claim | 67% | 76% |
| Figure | 83% (Borrowell, Lyro running inside Zendesk (case study published by Tidio)) | 50% (Robin) |
| Best for | Small online shops and support teams that want an AI agent, simple automations and a shared inbox from one vendor, with published self-serve prices | Funded support teams that want an AI agent, a shared inbox and ticketing in one tool |
Choose Tidio Lyro if
- You run a small store on Shopify or WooCommerce, both of which Tidio lists as integrations.
- You want to start for free: Tidio's Free plan includes 50 Lyro conversations, though that grant is one-off and does not reset.
- You want a fixed monthly price for a set number of AI conversations, starting at $39 a month for 50 Lyro conversations.
- You need data hosted in the EU, which Tidio documents, while Intercom documents it only partly.
Choose Intercom Fin if
- You have a support team that needs a shared inbox, ticketing and seats, starting at $39 per seat a month on Essential.
- You want to pay only for outcomes: Fin charges $0.99 per resolution rather than per conversation.
- You need channels Tidio does not list, such as SMS, voice or Slack.
- You already run another helpdesk and want the AI agent only, which Intercom sells with a monthly minimum of $49.
Score breakdown
| Criterion | Weight | Tidio Lyro | Intercom Fin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing clarity | 25% | 4/5 | 5/5 |
| Access: free plan and time to a first bot | 15% | 5/5 | 3/5 |
| Builder depth and control | 20% | 3/5 | 4/5 |
| Reach and human handoff | 20% | 4/5 | 5/5 |
| Data, compliance and evidence | 20% | 3/5 | 3/5 |
What it costs at three volumes
| Product | What the bill grows with | 100 | 1,000 | 5,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tidio Lyro | conversations | $75 (Lyro AI Agent 100) | $700 (Lyro AI Agent 1,000) | Custom quote |
| Intercom Fin | resolutions | $99 | $990 | $4,950 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Tidio Lyro cheaper than Intercom Fin?
For a small shop, usually yes, because Tidio has a free plan and fixed monthly Lyro tiers, while Intercom Fin needs a paid seat plus $0.99 per resolution. The two meters differ: Tidio counts every Lyro conversation, Fin counts only resolved ones. Compare them on your own volume and expected resolution rate using the Tidio pricing and Intercom Fin pricing pages.
Does Intercom Fin have a free plan?
No. Intercom Fin has no free plan, but Intercom offers a 14-day free trial. Tidio, by contrast, has a free plan that includes a one-off grant of 50 Lyro conversations.
What happens when Tidio Lyro runs out of conversations?
Tidio does not publish a per-conversation overage price for Lyro. Its help center says the quota either stops or, on monthly billing where the setting is on by default, moves you up a tier at 95% of the allowance. Check that setting before a busy month.
Can Intercom Fin work with a helpdesk other than Intercom?
Yes. Intercom sells Fin on other helpdesks at $0.99 per resolution, with a monthly minimum of $49. Its listed integrations include Salesforce, HubSpot, Freshworks, Front, Zoho and Gorgias.
Related pages
- Tidio Lyro reviewreview
- Tidio Lyro pricing explainedpricing
- Intercom Fin reviewreview
- Intercom Fin pricing explainedpricing
Sources
- Tidio pricing — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- The free version and downgrading your account — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- The Lyro AI agent limit — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- The monthly conversations limit — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- The monthly flow limit — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Automatic upgrades — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Lyro AI Agent — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Lyro, the conversational AI agent — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Data sources: Lyro's knowledge base — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Lyro Actions — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Connect Lyro with MCP servers — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- How do flows, Lyro and live agents work together — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Tidio Flows — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Flow templates — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Flows: making an API call (HTTP request) — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Integration with Zapier — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Transfer flows between projects — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Flow and handoff analytics — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Developer resources in Tidio — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Lyro multilanguage support — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Change and add languages in your chat widget — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Privacy policy and GDPR compliance — Tidio Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Tidio trust center — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Tidio integrations — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- About Tidio — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Lyro achieves best resolution rates in industry (31 March 2025) — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Borrowell case study — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Tidio support team achieves 58% automation with Lyro — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Fin home page — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Fin pricing — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Intercom pricing — Intercom (Fin) · September 18, 2026
- Fin and Intercom plans explained — Intercom Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Fin pricing: outcomes — Fin Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Manage Fin usage alerts and limits — Fin Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Fin FAQs — Fin Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Usage-based channels — Intercom Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Workflows explained — Intercom Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Workflows FAQs — Intercom Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Workflow version history and rollback — Intercom (Fin) · September 18, 2026
- Workflows REST API reference — Intercom Developers · September 18, 2026
- Hand over conversations from Fin AI Agent to your support team — Intercom Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Fin channels — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Set up Fin AI Agent's multilingual support — Intercom Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Use Intercom in your preferred language — Intercom Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Regional data hosting — Fin Help Center · September 18, 2026
- Intercom security — Intercom (Fin) · September 18, 2026
- Lightspeed customer story — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Anthropic customer story — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Today, Intercom becomes Fin — Intercom (Fin) · September 18, 2026
- Salesforce signs definitive agreement to acquire Fin — Salesforce · September 18, 2026
- Salesforce completes acquisition of Fin — Salesforce · September 18, 2026
Researched and drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed on this page. We have not built or tested bots on these platforms yet. Method: How we review