Overview

Crisp combines a collaborative inbox for conversations across channels with live agent chat, a website chatbot and visitor tracking. The chat widget works on websites and web apps, as well as native iOS, Android and React apps. A built-in help center lets teams create and manage articles for customer self-service.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Nantes, France, Crisp says it is bootstrapped and has more than 600,000 users. Its positioning is broader than a web-chat tool: it also targets inbound sales and marketing teams that need to manage customer conversations.

Key features

Inbox, help center and automation

The shared inbox gives agents one place to work across channels, a practical advantage for teams that would otherwise split conversations between separate tools. The help center adds a self-service option, while no-code workflows can automate internal processes and power customer-facing AI agents. These capabilities cover several support needs in one product, though the included seats and AI allowances depend on the plan.

AI, integrations and API

Crisp can train AI using website content, PDFs, help articles, conversations and private snippets. That range gives teams multiple ways to ground customer-facing automation in their own material, but the free plan includes no AI credits. The integrations directory includes 2,000 integrations across CRM, CMS, marketing, messaging and teamwork, including Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, Slack, WhatsApp and Jira. A REST API provides access to and control over data such as conversations and contacts, making Crisp more adaptable to an existing stack than a closed inbox.

Security and hosting

Crisp says it does not sell customer data, uses encrypted backups and applies GDPR protections with need-to-know access. Public network channels use TLS with forward secrecy and HTTP Strict Transport Security. Messaging servers are hosted in the Netherlands and plugin servers in Germany; its architecture and databases are replicated. These controls may suit teams assessing data handling and hosting, though they do not replace a review against an organization’s own security requirements.

Pricing

Crisp is freemium, with a 14-day trial of all features for new accounts and no card required. The main pricing tradeoff is capacity: the free plan permits unlimited conversations, but caps the team at two seats and customer profiles at 100, and includes no AI credits.

Plan	Price and term	Included capacity
Free	0.00 USD per free, billed Forever	2 seats, 100 customer profiles, unlimited conversations, no AI credits
Mini	45.00 USD per month, per workspace	4 seats, around 90 automated conversations, $ 5 included AI credits, 5,000 customer profiles
Essentials	95.00 USD per month, per workspace	10 seats, around 450 automated conversations, $ 25 included AI credits, 50,000 customer profiles
Plus	295.00 USD per month, per workspace	20+ seats, around 1350 automated conversations, $ 75 included AI credits, 200,000 customer profiles
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Dedicated onboarding, personalized SLA, enhanced rate limits, custom features and team training

Mini is the entry point for teams that need more than two seats or meaningful profile capacity, but its four-seat limit and roughly 90 automated conversations make it a constrained fit for heavier support volume. Essentials raises those ceilings to ten seats, 50,000 profiles and roughly 450 automated conversations, a more plausible tier for a growing team. Plus targets larger teams with 20 or more seats and substantially higher allowances. Enterprise is for teams needing onboarding, a personalized SLA or custom features, with pricing set to fit the workspace.

Platforms

Crisp supports Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, web and API access. Its desktop app is available on macOS and Windows, while the chat widget can also be embedded in websites, web apps and supported mobile and React apps.

Who it's for

Crisp is a strong fit for teams that want a shared multichannel inbox, help center and automation connected to customer conversations, particularly when they also handle inbound sales or marketing. The free plan can work for a small team with modest profile needs that does not require AI credits. Teams needing more seats, profiles or automated conversations should budget for a paid plan; those seeking only a small amount of AI usage may find the step up in workspace pricing difficult to justify.

Pros and cons

Pros: One inbox spans channels, while the widget supports web, mobile and React app touchpoints.
Pros: AI training accepts multiple company content sources, and no-code workflows cover internal and customer-facing automation.
Pros: The REST API and 2,000 integrations offer routes into an existing software stack.
Cons: Free includes just two seats and 100 customer profiles, limiting room for team or contact growth.
Cons: Free has no AI credits; paid plans meter AI-related capacity through included credits and approximate automated-conversation allowances.
Cons: Mini remains capped at four seats and around 90 automated conversations, so teams scaling beyond a small operation may need a higher-priced tier.

Alternatives

For teams focused on building an AI chatbot through an API or web widget, ConvoCore offers a free tier with 500 monthly credits, roughly 182 estimated messages, Tier 4 models and a web widget; its Starter plan is 29.00 USD per month. It is a narrower alternative to Crisp’s shared support workspace.

AthenaText is another API-and-web option with a free plan, but that tier has 0 credits, no AI replies and no voice calls. Crisp is the more relevant choice when the priority is managing live customer conversations alongside help content and automation.

For SMS-centered messaging, Clickatell SMS API offers pay-as-you-go outgoing messages, with prices varying by destination and message type. Gupshup charges a standard 0.001 USD per message, with WhatsApp fees billed at actuals. These are alternatives to consider when messaging APIs, rather than a shared support inbox, are the focus.

Sarufi is a freemium API-and-web alternative with a Developer plan listed at 1,000 messages per month. Jack The Butler is a free, open-source option across API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web and Windows; hosting and AI API usage may cost extra.

Botsify SMS Chatbot is a paid API-and-web option, with a Basic plan at 49.00 USD per month for two AI agents, 6,000 messages and one month of chat history. Sinch Engage is a paid messaging alternative with Android, iOS, web and API support, and a free trial.

Readers comparing category options can also browse SMS Chatbot Software, Social Media Customer Service Software and Live chat software.

Verdict

Choose Crisp if your team wants multichannel customer conversations, self-service content and AI workflows in one workspace, and can match its plan limits to your seat and profile needs. The free tier is a credible small-team starting point, while the paid plans add substantial capacity. Look elsewhere if you need only a low-cost AI or messaging API, or if the workspace pricing and profile caps do not fit your scale.

	Crisp	Five9 Contact Center Software
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$45/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, macOS, Web, Windows	Web
Free plan	Yes	—

Crisp vs Five9 Contact Center Software

Crisp

Five9 Contact Center Software