12 Min
Tidio covers your website. Central covers every platform.
One inbox. WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, SMS, and more. Leads qualified and appointments booked automatically.
Never miss another call.
One channel vs. every channel.
Tidio is a solid live chat platform for ecommerce and small business websites. Fast setup, good Shopify and WordPress integrations, and an approachable flow builder.
Central covers every platform your customers actually message on. Web chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, SMS, email, X, Discord, Telegram, and LinkedIn, all in one inbox. Leads qualified. Appointments booked in chat. No separate tool for each channel.
No commitment required.
Caps, add-ons, and missing channels.
Tidio's free plan caps at 50 conversations per month. The Starter plan caps at 100. Most businesses outgrow both immediately. Lyro AI, the feature that handles conversations automatically, is a separate add-on. When Lyro handles a conversation that then transfers to a human, it counts against both limits. One interaction burns two credits. Instagram, Facebook, and SMS are not covered.
What this means in practice:
Free plan: 50 conversations/month. Starter: 100. Real costs with AI run 2 to 3x the advertised price.
Lyro AI is a separate add-on; a transferred conversation counts against two limits simultaneously
Instagram DMs, Facebook messages, and SMS are not supported
Standard plans cap at 10 human agents; more requires the $749/month Plus tier
No appointment booking inside the chat
Every platform. Appointments booked. One price.
Central connects to every platform your customers message on and handles the full conversation automatically. No separate AI add-on. No conversation caps. No channel left uncovered.
Every message that comes in becomes an outcome delivered.
What this means in practice:
Web chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, SMS, email, X, Discord, Telegram, and LinkedIn in one inbox
AI qualifies intent and routes accordingly, included in every plan
Appointments confirmed inside the chat, calendar checked in real time
Knowledgebase auto-trained from your website, no manual uploads required
Flat monthly pricing. No caps. No separate AI add-on.
What each product actually does
Feature
Platforms covered
Instagram DMs
SMS
Unified inbox
AI included in base plan
Conversation caps
Appointment booking in chat
Agent cap
Knowledgebase training
Free trial
Built for service SMBs
Tidio
Website, Facebook Messenger, email
—
—
—
—
— (Lyro is a separate add-on)
Yes (50 free; 100 Starter)
—
10 agents on standard plans
Manual upload; no auto-sync
✓ 7 days
Ecommerce and website chat
Central
Web, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, SMS, email, X, Discord, Telegram, LinkedIn
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓ Included
✓ None
✓
✓ No documented cap
✓ Auto-trained from your website
✓ 10 days
✓
Live today. Every platform, one inbox.
Paste your URL, connect your social platforms, and Central starts handling conversations. No manual FAQ uploads. No conversation cap to monitor. Most businesses are live the same day.
Don't take our word for it
"Tidio handled our website fine but we were missing leads on Instagram and WhatsApp every day. I switched to Central and everything came into one inbox. Appointments book automatically. Haven't missed a lead since."
Sarah Mitchell
Marketing Director, ScaleForge
"Tidio handled our website fine but we were missing leads on Instagram and WhatsApp every day. I switched to Central and everything came into one inbox. Appointments book automatically. Haven't missed a lead since."
Sarah Mitchell
Marketing Director, ScaleForge
"Tidio handled our website fine but we were missing leads on Instagram and WhatsApp every day. I switched to Central and everything came into one inbox. Appointments book automatically. Haven't missed a lead since."
Sarah Mitchell
Marketing Director, ScaleForge