Drift vs Tidio (2026)
By Noahlast updated
Drift
DriftConversational marketing and live-chat platform now being sunset by owner Salesloft in favor of 1mind, its AI successor.
- Pricing
- Custom pricing
- License
- Paid
Best for existing Drift customers evaluating migration timing, not recommended as a new purchase given the announced sunset
Tidio
TidioA customer service platform combining live chat, an AI agent (Lyro), help desk, and automation for small and mid-sized businesses, free for 50 conversations/month or from $24.17/month.
- Pricing
- Free tier · paid from $24.17/mo
- License
- Freemium
Best for small and mid-sized e-commerce and SaaS businesses that want AI-assisted live chat support without a large support team
Which should you choose?
Choose Drift if…
wins 1/5 use cases
- You are already a Drift customer and need time to plan a migration, since existing customers were not cut off as of mid-2026
- Your sales team routes qualified chat leads straight into seller workflows through Salesloft's Rhythm engine
- You rely on chat replies personalized from each visitor's web activity and CRM history
- You are a B2B sales organization on Salesloft that plans to evaluate 1mind, Drift's named successor
Choose Tidio if…
wins 4/5 use cases
- You are buying live chat today and want a product that is actively sold rather than being sunset
- You want a free plan with 50 billable conversations a month and 10 seats
- You want an AI agent, Lyro, that Tidio says resolves up to 67% of conversations, plus a help desk for tickets
- You run an online store and want 120+ integrations including Shopify, HubSpot, and Zapier
- Your agents answer chats from Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android apps, not only a browser
Drift vs Tidio: feature comparison
| Feature | Drift | Tidio |
|---|---|---|
| Product status | Partialbeing sunset since March 2026; 1mind named successor, no end date | Yesactively sold, pricing published |
| Starting price | Noquote-only, no public pricing page | Yesfree plan; Starter $24.17/mo billed monthly or $290/year |
| Free tier | No | Yes50 billable conversations/month, 10 seats |
| Pricing basis | Partialquoted per contract by seats and conversation volume | Partialbillable conversations; reviewers say costs are hard to predict |
| Platforms | Partialweb only | Yesweb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| AI chatbot or agent | YesAI chatbot personalizes replies from web activity and CRM history | YesLyro, which Tidio says resolves up to 67% of conversations |
| Lead routing to sales | Yesroutes qualified leads into seller workflows via Salesloft's Rhythm engine | PartialFlows add-on automates lead capture and booking, from $24.17/mo |
| CRM sync | Yesreal-time CRM sync through Salesloft | PartialHubSpot integration; friction reported with some CRMs |
| Help desk and ticketing | Unknown | Yesticketing included from the Free plan |
| Integrations | Unknown | Yes120+, including Shopify, HubSpot, and Zapier |
| Dedicated success manager | Unknown | Yesfrom $300/mo plus usage (Plus) |
| Security record | NoSeptember 2025 OAuth token breach affected 700+ organizations using Drift integrations | Unknown |
| Learning curve | Partialmoderate | Yeslow |
| External rating (Capterra) | Yes4.5/5 from 200 reviews (pre-sunset) | Yes4.7/5 from 590 reviews |
Drift vs Tidio: pricing
Every tier both tools publish, as we last checked them — not just the entry price.
Drift
- Custom (sales-assisted)Drift never published self-serve list pricing even before the 2026 sunset announcement; plans were quoted per contract based on seats and conversation volume. No current pricing page is published as of mid-2026.Custom
Tidio
- Free50 billable conversations/month, 10 seats, basic live chat and ticketing features.Free
- Starter$24.17/month billed monthly, or $290/year billed annually; 100 billable conversations/month, 10 seats. Adds live chat, ticketing, basic analytics.$24.17/mo
- GrowthStarts at $49.17/month billed monthly, or $590/year billed annually; from 250 billable conversations/month, 10 seats. Adds advanced analytics, user permissions, automatic chat assignment, macros. Marked as Popular.$49.17/mo
- PlusStarts at $300/month plus usage-based charges; custom billable conversations and seats. Adds premium support, dedicated success manager, departments, multiproject, custom branding.$300/mo
- PremiumCustom pricing; custom conversations and seats, enterprise features including a guaranteed 50% Lyro AI resolution rate.Custom
Is Drift still a good choice in 2026?
Drift is not a good choice for new buyers, because Clari and Salesloft announced in March 2026 that Drift is being gradually sunset in favor of 1mind, with no confirmed end-of-life date and no public pricing.
Drift's product pages were still live as of mid-2026, and existing customers were not immediately cut off, so current users have time to plan. A September 2025 OAuth token breach that affected over 700 organizations using Drift's integrations, including Cloudflare, Palo Alto Networks, and Zscaler, is widely reported to have accelerated the decision. Drift's 4.5/5 Capterra rating from 200 reviews reflects sentiment from before the sunset announcement.
Drift vs Tidio pricing: which costs less?
Tidio is the only one of the two with published prices, starting with a free plan for 50 conversations a month and Starter at $24.17/month billed monthly, while Drift was always quote-only and now publishes no pricing at all.
Tidio Starter costs $290/year billed annually for 100 billable conversations a month. Growth starts at $49.17/month billed monthly, or $590/year, for 250+ conversations and adds advanced analytics, user permissions, and automatic chat assignment. Plus starts at $300/month plus usage, and Premium is custom-quoted. The standalone Lyro AI agent starts at $32.50/month for 50 conversations. Tidio's catch is that per-conversation billing makes costs harder to predict as volume grows. Drift quoted plans per contract based on seats and conversation volume.
Which is better for B2B sales teams, Drift or Tidio?
Drift is built for B2B sales, routing qualified chat leads into seller workflows through Salesloft's Rhythm engine with real-time CRM sync, while Tidio is built for customer service at small and mid-sized businesses.
Drift's chatbot personalizes replies from a visitor's web activity and CRM history, then hands high-intent prospects to a salesperson. Tidio's closest equivalent is Flows, an add-on from $24.17/month for 2,000 visitor reaches that automates lead capture and appointment booking. Tidio integrates with HubSpot, though some users report friction with WordPress and certain CRMs. Sales teams that want Drift-style routing going forward should evaluate 1mind, the successor Salesloft named, rather than assume Tidio covers the same job.
Which is easier to use, Drift or Tidio?
Tidio is easier to use, with a low learning curve rating and Capterra reviewers praising its ease of setup, while Drift carries a moderate learning curve.
Tidio holds 4.7/5 from 590 Capterra reviews, against Drift's pre-sunset 4.5/5 from 200 reviews. Tidio runs in the browser and as apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, while Drift is web only. Some Tidio users report inconsistent notification delivery.
Strengths and weaknesses
Drift
Pros
- Deep CRM and sales-workflow integration through Salesloft's Rhythm engine for routing qualified leads.
- Personalizes chat responses using a visitor's web activity and past CRM interactions rather than static scripts.
- Historically strong review scores (4.5/5 on Capterra from 200 reviews) from its pre-sunset years.
- Product pages and existing integrations remained functional as of mid-2026, giving current customers time to plan a migration.
Cons
- Actively being sunset as of March 2026, with 1mind named as the official successor and no confirmed shutdown date.
- No current public pricing; Drift was already quote-only before the sunset and now lacks even that.
- A September 2025 OAuth token breach affected over 700 organizations using Drift's integrations, including major enterprise customers.
- New customers have little reason to adopt a product its own parent company is winding down.
Tidio
Pros
- AI agent (Lyro) trained on business-specific data is included rather than a separate paid add-on on most tiers.
- Free plan supports 50 billable conversations/month across 10 seats, usable for small stores before any payment.
- 120+ native integrations including Shopify, HubSpot, and Zapier speed up setup for e-commerce and SaaS teams.
- 4.7-out-of-5 rating from 590 reviews on Capterra, with users praising ease of setup and the Lyro chatbot.
Cons
- Billable-conversation pricing model makes monthly costs harder to predict than a flat per-seat fee as volume grows.
- Free plan's 50-conversation cap and advanced-feature gating push growing businesses to upgrade faster than expected.
- Some users report inconsistent notification delivery.
- Integration friction reported with certain platforms like WordPress and some CRM systems.
Which fits your use case?
| Use case | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small online store adding live chat for the first time | Tidio | Tidio's Free plan covers 50 conversations a month with 10 seats and integrates with Shopify; Drift has no free plan and is being sunset. |
| Existing Drift customer whose sales routing runs on Salesloft | Drift | Drift still worked as of mid-2026 and routes leads through Salesloft's Rhythm engine, so staying put buys time to plan a migration without a firm deadline. |
| Support team that wants AI to answer routine questions | Tidio | Tidio's Lyro AI agent, which Tidio says resolves up to 67% of conversations, comes with a help desk for tickets, and Tidio Premium guarantees a 50% Lyro resolution rate. |
| Company signing a multi-year chat contract | Tidio | Drift has no confirmed end-of-life date and no public pricing, while Tidio publishes annual prices such as $290/year for Starter and $590/year for Growth. |
| Agents who answer chats from desktop and phone apps | Tidio | Tidio runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android as well as the web; Drift is web only. |
Neither a match?
Both lists carry verified pricing and honest weaknesses for every option.
Popular comparisons
Drift vs Tidio: migration FAQ
Should I use Drift or Tidio?
- Use Tidio for any new live chat purchase, since Clari and Salesloft announced in March 2026 that Drift is being sunset in favor of 1mind. Use Drift only if you are an existing customer who needs time to migrate its Salesloft lead routing.
Is Drift cheaper than Tidio?
- No direct comparison is possible, because Drift publishes no pricing and was always quote-only. Tidio is free for 50 conversations a month, and Tidio Starter costs $24.17/month billed monthly or $290/year.
Can Tidio replace Drift?
- Yes for website chat, AI-assisted answers, and lead capture, since Tidio combines live chat, the Lyro AI agent, a help desk, and Flows automation. Tidio is not a direct match for Drift's routing of qualified leads into seller workflows through Salesloft's Rhythm engine; Salesloft names 1mind as Drift's successor.
Is Drift shutting down?
- Yes — Clari and Salesloft announced in March 2026 that Drift is being gradually sunset in favor of 1mind, its named successor. No end-of-life date has been confirmed, and Drift's product pages were still live as of mid-2026.
Does Tidio have a free plan?
- Yes — Tidio's Free plan includes 50 billable conversations a month across 10 seats with basic live chat and ticketing. Drift has no free plan.