Which AI customer service platform actually fits your business?
HighLevel, Text and Tidio all sell “AI customer service” — and they are built for three completely different buyers. This page exists to put you in the right one in under a minute, with real prices and the limits the vendors keep in the small print.
Start here: which one are you?
The single biggest mistake buyers make is comparing these three head-to-head. They are not competitors for the same job.
You deliver for clients, not just yourself
You need one account, many client workspaces, and the ability to white-label the whole thing.
- Unlimited client sub-accounts on the $297 plan
- White-label + SaaS mode available
- Flat monthly price — users and contacts don’t add up
You have a real support queue and real seats
B2B, SaaS or a busy store. You want AI to absorb the easy tickets and humans to keep the hard ones.
- Per-user pricing that matches how you staff
- AI resolutions metered per tier — watch this number
- Mature live chat, routing and reporting
You want it live today, cheaply
A free plan, a fast setup, and a bill that scales with conversations rather than seats.
- Free plan to start, no card required
- Billed by monthly billable conversations
- Lyro AI agent add-on with a 7-day trial
Side by side
Everything below was taken from each vendor’s own pricing page on 13 October 2026. Vendors change prices constantly — confirm before you buy.
| HighLevel | Text (LiveChat) | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Agencies, consultants, resellers | Growing B2B / SaaS / ecommerce teams | Small shops, solo founders, Shopify |
| Billing model | Flat monthly | Per user / month | Per billable conversation |
| Entry price | $97/mo — 3 sub-accounts | $25/user/mo monthly $19 billed yearly |
Free — 50 billable conversations $24.17/mo Starter (100) $29 monthly (reported) |
| Top self-serve tier | $297/mo Unlimited $497/mo Agency Pro (SaaS mode) |
$99/user/mo monthly $79 billed yearly |
from $300/mo Plus + usage, custom quota |
| Free trial | 14 days | trial available | Free plan + 7-day Lyro trial |
| AI agent included | Conversation AI in-plan | 1 Agent on entry → 10 on mid tier | Lyro AI, separate conversation quota |
| Metered AI limits | No per-resolution metering published | 10 resolutions/mo (120/yr) entry 200/mo (2,400/yr) mid +50 resolutions = $49.50 |
Lyro: first 50 free, then 50–1,000/mo only human replies count toward the quota |
| Users / contacts | Unlimited users & contacts | Priced per user | Seats on higher tiers |
| White-label | Yes | No | No |
| Best if… | You run more than one business or client | You staff a support queue with humans + AI | You want live today with minimal spend |
What each one is actually good at
Short version. Full breakdowns live on the individual review pages.
HighLevel
An all-in-one agency platform, not a standalone helpdesk. Its value is that one $97–$297 subscription can host every client you serve, with unlimited contacts and users. If you are an agency, the maths beats almost anything else per client.
Watch out: it is a platform, not a product. Expect setup work, and expect features you will never use.
Text (formerly LiveChat)
The most conventional of the three: per-seat pricing, a mature live chat product, and an AI agent layered on top. If your support is a real team with shifts and queues, this maps to how you already work.
Watch out: per-user pricing plus metered AI resolutions means costs can climb in two directions at once.
Tidio
The easiest on-ramp. A free plan, a genuinely quick install, and conversation-based billing that suits a shop with spiky traffic rather than a staffed queue.
Watch out: conversation-based billing is harder to forecast, and you will outgrow the cheap tiers as volume grows.
How we evaluate these platforms
We publish the criteria so you can judge whether our conclusions are worth anything.
- We go to primary sources, not summaries. Every price and limit here is read from the vendor’s own pricing page, documentation or terms. We are a research publication rather than a testing lab, and we say plainly where our knowledge stops instead of implying hands-on testing we have not done.
- We read the pricing page, then the limits. Headline prices are easy. Metered AI resolutions, seat minimums and add-on pricing are where budgets break.
- We check the affiliate terms. If a vendor caps commissions, excludes enterprise deals or restricts the countries that count, we say so — it tells you how they treat partners, and it tells you how they treat customers.
- We state what we get paid. Commissions do not change rankings. If a platform we earn nothing from is the better answer for you, we will say that.
- We stamp every price with a verification date. Anything older than six months should be treated as suspect until re-checked.
Common questions
What is the cheapest way to add AI customer service to a small business?
Tidio has a free plan and bills paid tiers by monthly conversation volume, which makes it the lowest-commitment way to start. HighLevel costs more per month but its $97 plan covers three client sub-accounts — so if you run more than one business or client, HighLevel is cheaper per business, not more expensive.
Do these platforms charge per user or per conversation?
All three do it differently, which is why head-to-head comparisons mislead. HighLevel charges a flat monthly fee regardless of users. Text charges per user per month and meters AI resolutions on top. Tidio bills on monthly billable conversations, so the price moves with traffic rather than headcount.
Are enterprise deals included in the affiliate commissions?
Generally no. Custom and enterprise agreements are typically excluded from partner programs, and some vendors state this explicitly in their terms. That means the money we earn comes from self-serve plans only — we tell you this because it tells you who our content is written for: small businesses, not procurement committees.
How current are these prices?
Every figure on this page was checked against the vendor’s own pricing page on 13 October 2026. Prices in this category change often, so confirm on the vendor’s site before you subscribe. If you spot something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
What if none of these three fit?
Then say so — we would rather you leave than buy the wrong tool. The three here cover agencies, staffed support teams and small shops. If you are an enterprise with a formal procurement process, or you need voice/telephony AI rather than chat, these are the wrong shortlist and you should look at dedicated contact-centre vendors instead.