Crisp vs Intercom. Pricing, AI and which to pick.
Crisp charges per workspace, with seats and AI credits included; Intercom charges per seat, plus a fee for each Fin outcome. Crisp has a free plan, Intercom a 14-day trial.
Every price and feature here comes from Crisp's and Intercom's own websites, with links. ChatBento, our product, appears as a third column so you can see where a simpler website chatbot fits.
Live chat and help desks
Crisp
Crisp is a customer support platform with a website chat widget, a shared and omnichannel inbox, an AI agent, a knowledge base, CRM and ticketing, priced per workspace with a set number of seats.
- Starts at
- $45per month per workspace, 4 seats (Mini)
- Billing
- Per workspace with seats and AI credits
- Free option
- Yes, 2 seats, no AI
Live chat and help desks
Intercom
Intercom is an AI-first customer service help desk with a shared inbox, ticketing, a help center and Messenger live chat, priced per seat, with its Fin AI Agent charged per outcome.
- Starts at
- $19per seat / mo billed yearly, new-customer price; plus $0.99 per Fin outcome
- Billing
- Per seat, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome
- Free option
- No (14-day trial)
Crisp vs Intercom, side by side
"Not confirmed" means we couldn't verify it on that company's site, not that it's missing.
| Feature | Crisp | Intercom | ChatBentoOur product |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, 2 seats, no AI | No (14-day trial) | Yes, 50 AI messages/mo |
| Lowest paid plan | $45/mo per workspace | $19/seat/mo billed yearly, plus Fin | $8/mo (2,000 AI messages) |
| How the AI is billed | Per workspace with seats and AI credits | Per seat, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome | Flat monthly price, no seats |
| AI answers trained on your website | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Install with one script tag | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hand-off to a human | Yes, to your team in Crisp | Yes, to agents in the inbox | Yes, by email |
| Live chat inbox for your team | Yes | Yes | No |
| WhatsApp, Messenger and other channels | Essentials and up | Yes | Not yet |
| Native integrations (CRM, Slack and others) | Yes | Hundreds, incl. Slack, Jira, Salesforce | Not yet |
| Help desk ticketing | Plus plan | Yes | No |
Crisp details checked October 23, 2026; Intercom details checked October 23, 2026. Prices change, so check each company's pricing page before you decide.
Where each one is stronger
Crisp's strengths
From Crisp's own site. Check Intercom's column in the table above for the same rows.
A shared inbox and apps
Even the free plan has a website chat widget, shared inbox and mobile apps, plus desktop apps for Windows and Mac.
crisp.chat/en/pricingOmnichannel from Essentials
WhatsApp Business, Instagram DMs, SMS, Line, Viber and more in one inbox, and the AI agent can answer on WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and email.
crisp.chat/en/aiMore AI training sources
Crisp's AI learns from a website crawl, its knowledge base, saved answer snippets, past conversations and uploaded files from PDFs to CSVs.
crisp.chat/en/aiIntegrations and translation
WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, Slack, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Zapier and Make, and message translation into over 50 languages.
crisp.chat/en/pricing
Intercom's strengths
From Intercom's own site. Check Crisp's column in the table above for the same rows.
A full help desk
Shared inbox, ticketing system, public help center, reports and automation, with workflow builders and SLAs on higher plans.
intercom.com/pricingFin works everywhere
Fin answers across channels including email, live chat, phone, WhatsApp and SMS, transfers to agents in the inbox, and can run on top of Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot or Freshdesk.
fin.aiHundreds of integrations
Intercom says Fin connects to hundreds of integrations out of the box, including Slack, Jira, Linear, Salesforce and HubSpot, with Shopify and Stripe data in the inbox.
intercom.com/pricingMobile apps for your team
Intercom Conversations for iOS and Android lets teammates reply, add notes, and tag and assign conversations.
intercom.com/help/en/articles/447-respond-to-users-and-visitors-on-the-go-with-the-intercom-conversations-app
Crisp and Intercom pricing
Each plan as the company lists it, with the fees that come on top.
Crisp pricing
- Free2 seats, website chat and shared inbox, no AI credits$0
- Miniper mo per workspace. 4 seats, $5 of AI credits$45
- Essentialsper mo per workspace. 10 seats, $25 of AI credits$95
- Plusper mo per workspace. 20+ seats, $75 of AI credits$295
Free forever plan with 2 seats and no AI credits; 14-day trial of paid plans, no card required. Checked October 23, 2026 on crisp.chat/en/pricing.
- Crisp sizes the included AI credits at around 90, 450 and 1,350 automated conversations a month on Mini, Essentials and Plus. The Free plan has no AI credits. Source
Intercom pricing
- Essentialper seat / mo billed yearly, new-customer price (list $29)$19
- Advancedper seat / mo billed yearly$85
- Expertper seat / mo billed yearly$132
- Fin AI Agentper outcome, on any plan$0.99
No free plan; a 14-day free trial, no card required. Checked October 23, 2026 on intercom.com/pricing.
- Intercom counts a Fin outcome when a customer confirms their issue is resolved or doesn't ask for more help after Fin responds. Fin can also run on another help desk at $0.99 per outcome with a minimum monthly commitment. Source
Which to choose
It comes down to who answers your chats and how you'd rather be billed.
Choose Crisp if
- Several teammates answer chats live and want a shared inbox with mobile and desktop apps.
- You need WhatsApp, Instagram or SMS in the same inbox.
- You want a CRM, knowledge base and ticketing portal from the same tool.
Choose Intercom if
- You run a support team that needs a shared inbox, ticketing and a help center in one place.
- You want one AI agent across chat, email, phone and WhatsApp.
- Paying per seat plus $0.99 per resolved outcome fits your volume.
- You need SSO, HIPAA support or SLAs (Expert plan).
Choose ChatBento if
Our product
- You want an AI chatbot on your website that answers from your own pages, Q&As and text, not a full support suite.
- You'd rather pay a flat $8, $30 or $100 a month than per seat or per resolution, or start on the free plan with 50 AI messages a month.
- An email hand-off is enough when a visitor needs a person.
Only need AI answers on your website?
ChatBento reads your site in about a minute and answers visitors from it. Free plan forever, paid plans from $8 a month.
Crisp vs Intercom. Questions, answered.
Which is cheaper, Crisp or Intercom?
It depends on how you'd use them, because they bill differently. Crisp starts at $45 (per month per workspace, 4 seats (Mini)), billed as: per workspace with seats and AI credits. Intercom starts at $19 (per seat / mo billed yearly, new-customer price; plus $0.99 per Fin outcome), billed as: per seat, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome. Price your own monthly volume on both before you decide.
Do Crisp and Intercom have free plans?
Crisp: Free forever plan with 2 seats and no AI credits; 14-day trial of paid plans, no card required. Intercom: No free plan; a 14-day free trial, no card required.
What is the main difference between Crisp and Intercom?
Crisp charges per workspace, with seats and AI credits included; Intercom charges per seat, plus a fee for each Fin outcome. Crisp has a free plan, Intercom a 14-day trial.
Which should I choose, Crisp or Intercom?
Choose Crisp if several teammates answer chats live and want a shared inbox with mobile and desktop apps. Choose Intercom if you run a support team that needs a shared inbox, ticketing and a help center in one place.
Do I need a live chat inbox at all?
Only if someone on your team will answer chats in real time. Crisp and Intercom both include one. If you mostly want visitors' questions answered from your website, an AI chatbot with an email hand-off does that without a seat for each person.
Is there a simpler, flat-priced alternative to Crisp and Intercom?
ChatBento is an AI chatbot for your website that learns from your pages and Q&As, captures leads and hands off to you by email. It has a free plan with 50 AI messages a month, then $8, $30 or $100 a month, with AI answers included and no seats. It has no live chat inbox, ticketing or messaging channels, so it fits when the website chatbot is the job.
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All comparisonsAI chatbot pricing guide
Crisp and Intercom are trademarks of their owners; ChatBento is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.
Sources: crisp.chat/en/pricing, crisp.chat/en/ai, intercom.com/pricing, fin.ai, intercom.com/help/en/articles/447-respond-to-users-and-visitors-on-the-go-with-the-intercom-conversations-app
Put AI answers on your site. Free to start, then $8 a month.
Free plan forever. No card required.