Every price on this page comes from the app's own pricing page or its Shopify App Store listing, read on 19 October 2026. Prices are in USD and billed monthly unless we say otherwise. Most apps charge less if you pay for a year, and prices change, so check the source links at the end before you decide.
The five ways chat apps charge
Per seat
You pay for each person on your team who logs in. It is a common helpdesk model. It suits a store with one or two people answering, and gets expensive as the team grows. None of the Shopify chat apps we checked this month charge mainly by seat. Seats show up as a plan limit instead: Gorgias Starter includes 3 customer support agents, Chatty Basic includes 5 members, and Tidio's Free, Starter and Growth plans list 10 seats. Gorgias says its helpdesk is "never priced per agent".
Per ticket
A ticket is one customer conversation handled in a helpdesk, whoever answers it. Gorgias is the clearest example. Its Starter plan is $10 a month for 50 tickets, then $0.40 for each extra ticket. Its Basic plan is $60 a month for 300 tickets, then $40 for each extra 100 tickets. Its AI Agent is a separate charge per automated interaction. On monthly billing, the pricing page shows AI Agent on Starter and Basic at $30 a month with 30 automated interactions included.
Per AI conversation
You pay for chats where the AI replied, usually as a monthly allowance with a charge for anything over it. Chats your team answers by hand are often free. Chatty works this way: Free gives 50 AI conversations a month, Basic is $19.99 for 100, Pro is $68.99 for 500 and Plus is $199 for 1,000, with $0.40 for each extra AI conversation on the paid plans. Tidio's Lyro AI Chatbot plan is $39 a month for up to 200 Lyro conversations.
Per AI reply or per visitor
Some apps meter something other than the conversation. Zipchat counts AI replies: every message the AI sends is one reply. Its Starter plan is $80 a month for 750 replies, which Zipchat estimates at around 300 conversations, and extra replies cost $49 for 250. Rep AI counts store visitors: its Starter plan is $104 a month for up to 10,000 visitors, then $12 for each extra 1,000 visitors. With visitor pricing, the bill follows your traffic, not how many people chat.
Flat tiers and free plans with caps
A flat tier is a fixed monthly price for a fixed allowance, with no charge beyond it. What matters is what happens when you reach the cap. Some apps bill the extra, some stop the AI, and some let you set a spending limit. Shopify Inbox is free on its App Store listing, with no paid plans shown. Catchly uses flat tiers: Free has 50 AI conversations a month, Starter is $19 for 500, Growth is $49 for 2,000 and Pro is $129 for 6,000. Paid plans have a 14 day free trial. There is no overage: at the limit the AI pauses until next month, and the chat, lead capture and your team's replies keep working.
What 300 and 1,000 chats a month cost
Here is the arithmetic for a small store, using monthly prices and the cheapest plan that covers each volume. We assume every chat gets an AI reply, except where an app charges for human replies instead.
Chatty, per AI conversation
- 300 chats. Basic: $19.99 plus 200 extra at $0.40, which is $19.99 + $80 = $99.99. Pro includes 500 for $68.99, so Pro is cheaper: $68.99.
- 1,000 chats. Pro: $68.99 plus 500 extra at $0.40, which is $68.99 + $200 = $268.99. Plus includes 1,000 for $199: $199.
Zipchat, per AI reply
- 300 chats. Starter, 750 replies, around 300 conversations by Zipchat's estimate: $80. If your shoppers ask more follow up questions, they use more replies.
- 1,000 chats. Zipchat's estimate works out to about two and a half replies per conversation, so 1,000 chats is about 2,500 replies. Starter plus packs: 1,750 extra replies is 7 packs at $49, so $80 + $343 = $423. Pro includes 3,000 replies, around 1,250 conversations, for $300: $300.
Gorgias, per ticket
- 300 chats. Basic includes 300 tickets: $60 for the helpdesk.
- 1,000 chats. Basic plus 700 extra tickets at $40 per 100, which is $60 + $280 = $340 for the helpdesk. Pro includes 2,000 tickets for $360.
If the AI Agent answers some of those chats, its per interaction charge comes on top. We have not added it here, because the rate beyond the included interactions depends on your plan and billing period. Check it on the Gorgias pricing page for your volume.
Catchly, flat tiers
- 300 chats. Starter includes 500 AI conversations: $19.
- 1,000 chats. Growth includes 2,000 AI conversations: $49.
Where the numbers do not line up
Tidio's listing prices its Customer Service plan by conversations: $29 for 100, and $59 for its 250 to 1,000 range. Its pricing page explains that these are billable conversations, meaning chats with a reply from your team; AI replies are not counted. The listing does not say how the price moves inside that range, so we have not put a number on 300 or 1,000. For AI chats, its Lyro plan covers up to 200 conversations at $39, and the listing does not show the price above that either. Rep AI depends on visitors, not chats: a store with 15,000 visitors a month would pay $104 + 5 × $12 = $164 on Starter, whatever its chat volume. Shopify Inbox costs nothing at any volume.
Side by side
| App and model | 300 chats | 1,000 chats |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Inbox, free | $0 | $0 |
| Catchly, flat tiers | $19 | $49 |
| Tidio, per conversation | Not listed at these volumes: team replies $59 for its 250 to 1,000 range, AI $39 for up to 200 | |
| Gorgias, per ticket (helpdesk only) | $60 | $340 |
| Chatty, per AI conversation | $68.99 | $199 |
| Zipchat, per AI reply | $80 | $300 |
| Rep AI, per visitor | Depends on traffic: $104 for up to 10,000 visitors | |
Price is not the whole story
These apps do different jobs, so the cheapest line is not automatically the right one. Gorgias is a full helpdesk for email, chat, SMS, social and voice, built for support teams. Tidio, Chatty and Zipchat include social and messaging channels. Shopify Inbox is made by Shopify, costs nothing and has thousands of reviews. Catchly is a focused AI sales chat for your storefront: it has no mobile app and no social channels, and it is new, with no reviews yet. If you need a helpdesk, a per ticket price buys you one.
The words also differ. Catchly counts a conversation once per 24 hours. Tidio counts a Lyro conversation once even if the customer comes back later. Zipchat counts every AI message. Two apps with the same allowance can cover very different months.
Five questions to ask before you pay
- What exactly is counted? A seat, a ticket, a conversation, a reply or a visitor.
- Do chats my team answers count? On some plans they are free, on others they are the thing you pay for.
- What happens at the limit? An extra charge, a spending cap you set, or an AI that pauses while the chat stays open.
- What does my busiest month cost? Work it out for your sale weeks and holidays, not an average month.
- Is the AI included or an add on? Some plans price the helpdesk and the AI separately.
See Catchly's plans on the pricing page, read our comparison pages for each app above, or try the AI on our demo store.
Sources
Prices come from these public pages, read on 19 October 2026. Plans and prices may have changed since.
- Chatty on the Shopify App Store and Chatty pricing
- Zipchat on the Shopify App Store and Zipchat pricing
- Gorgias on the Shopify App Store and Gorgias pricing
- Tidio on the Shopify App Store and Tidio pricing
- Rep AI on the Shopify App Store
- Shopify Inbox on the Shopify App Store
Product names are trademarks of their owners. Catchly is an independent app and is not made or endorsed by any of the companies named here.