Shortlist by what you need
Start here if you know why you are leaving Crisp.
Want the closest match?
TidioMost similar to Crisp in what it does, its category and its price.
Visit (opens Tidio in a new tab)Need a free plan?
Help ScoutHas a free plan, rated 4.5 out of 5.
Visit (opens Help Scout in a new tab)Want to pay less than Crisp?
FreshchatFrom $19/mo, against from $45/mo for Crisp.
Visit (opens Freshchat in a new tab)Want the best rated?
ChatbaseRated 4.2 out of 5 in our review, against 4.4 for Crisp.
Visit (opens Chatbase in a new tab)
At a glance
Green means better than Crisp, red means worse. Prices are starting prices per month.
| Tool | Our rating | Starts at | Free plan | Best for | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 CrispBaseline | 4.4 | $45/mo | Yes | A multichannel messaging inbox, not just an enterprise AI agent | |
| Tidio | 4.3−0.1 | Free | Yes | Live chat and AI support built for small business budgets | vs Crisp |
| Help Scout | 4.5+0.1 | $25/mo$20 less | Yes | A shared inbox designed to feel like email, not enterprise ticketing | vs Crisp |
| Freshchat | 4.3−0.1 | $19/mo$26 less | Yes | Freshworks' AI-powered messaging platform for live chat, chatbots, and omnichannel support. | vs Crisp |
 Whelp | 4.1−0.3 | $29/mo$16 less | Yes | Customer support platform that pairs AI agents trained on your FAQs, policies and catalog with one inbox for WhatsApp, web chat, SMS, email, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram. | vs Crisp |
| Chatbase | 4.2−0.2 | $19/mo$26 less | Yes | The accessible, self-serve option in a category full of enterprise sales calls | vs Crisp |
 Synthflow AI | 3.9−0.5 | Not listed | No | No-code voice AI priced per minute, built for appointment scheduling and lead qualification calls | vs Crisp |
 Watermelon | 3.7−0.7 | Not listed | No | Customer service AI agent that answers order, return and delivery questions across chat, email, WhatsApp and Instagram from one inbox. | vs Crisp |
 Heymarket | 3.7−0.7 | Not listed | No | Three specialized AI Agents handle Q&A, appointment scheduling, and lead enrichment via text - so your shared inbox needs less manual coordination. | vs Crisp |
The alternatives in detail
In order of how closely each one matches Crisp.
Tidio
4.3Free
vs Crisp−0.1
Live chat and AI support built for small business budgets.
- Live chat, shared inbox, and Lyro AI chatbot in one platform
- Genuinely published, self-serve pricing
- E-commerce-specific features like order status lookups
Accessible, transparent pricing unlike most enterprise-only competitors
Less suited to large-scale enterprise support volume
Help Scout
4.5$25/mo
vs Crisp$20 less+0.1
A shared inbox designed to feel like email, not enterprise ticketing.
- Shared inbox designed to feel like personal email
- No visible ticket numbers shown to customers
- AI-drafted reply suggestions and conversation summaries
Genuinely lighter-weight and easier to adopt than enterprise ticketing platforms
Less suited to very high-volume or highly complex enterprise support operations
Freshchat
4.3$19/mo
vs Crisp$26 less−0.1
Freshworks' AI-powered messaging platform for live chat, chatbots, and omnichannel support.
- Unified inbox spanning web, mobile, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, email, and SMS
- No-code chatbot builder for automating routine conversations
- Freddy AI Agent and Copilot add-ons for automated responses and agent assistance
Genuinely free tier for up to 10 agents, not a time-limited trial only
Freddy AI Agent and Copilot are billed as separate add-ons on top of per-agent pricing
Whelp
4.1$29/mo
vs Crisp$16 less−0.3
Customer support platform that pairs AI agents trained on your FAQs, policies and catalog with one inbox for WhatsApp, web chat, SMS, email, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram.
- AI Agents trained on FAQs, policies and catalog
- Order and booking lookups inside conversations
- Unified inbox for WhatsApp, chat, SMS, email and social
Free plan with unlimited conversations for one seat
AI Agents start at the $79 per seat plan
Chatbase
4.2$19/mo
vs Crisp$26 less−0.2
The accessible, self-serve option in a category full of enterprise sales calls.
- Fully self-serve, no enterprise sales process required
- Trains a chatbot on a business's own website and documents
- Embeddable widget for any website
Genuinely accessible without an enterprise sales cycle
Less sophisticated than enterprise platforms built for complex, high-volume support
Synthflow AI
3.9Not listed
vs Crisp−0.5
No-code voice AI priced per minute, built for appointment scheduling and lead qualification calls.
- No-code voice AI builder for appointment scheduling and lead qualification calls
- Per-minute pricing on the voice engine, roughly $0.09/minute plus model costs
- Direct calendar and CRM integrations configurable without code
No-code setup makes voice automation accessible without an engineering team
Per-minute-plus-model pricing structure needs tracking to avoid surprise costs at scale
Watermelon
3.7Not listed
vs Crisp−0.7
Customer service AI agent that answers order, return and delivery questions across chat, email, WhatsApp and Instagram from one inbox.
- AI agent for routine service questions
- Shared inbox with human takeover
- Website chat, email, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram
Clean handover to humans in a shared inbox rather than a dead end
Quote-based pricing with no self-serve entry
Heymarket
3.7Not listed
vs Crisp−0.7
Three specialized AI Agents handle Q&A, appointment scheduling, and lead enrichment via text - so your shared inbox needs less manual coordination.
- Q&A Agent - answers FAQs from your knowledge base
- Scheduling Agent - books and reschedules appointments via text
- Lead Enrichment Agent - extracts and syncs customer data to CRM
Specialized agents per function tend to perform more reliably than one generic AI chatbot
No pricing disclosed on the homepage
FAQ
Questions people ask
Is Crisp free?
Crisp has a free plan, and paid plans start from $45/mo.
What is the best free alternative to Crisp?
Help Scout is the highest-rated alternative here with a free plan (4.5 out of 5). Other free options: Tidio, Freshchat, Chatbase.
What is the cheapest alternative to Crisp?
Among paid plans, Freshchat has the lowest starting price (from $19/mo). If you need it free, start with Help Scout.
How did you pick these alternatives?
We match tools on what they do, their category and their price, using the details in our directory. Ratings come from our reviews and reader reviews.