What is the difference between Crisp and Help Scout?

Crisp is best for Startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk, while Help Scout is best for Teams that want email-like support conversations. Crisp starts at Free and Help Scout starts at $20/user/mo.

Is Crisp or Help Scout cheaper?

Crisp starts at Free and is free. Help Scout starts at $20/user/mo.

Crisp vs Help Scout

Crisp is all-in-one business messaging platform with live chat, chatbot, help desk, and CRM, while Help Scout is help desk that feels like email — shared inboxes, knowledge base, and live chat without the ticket numbers. The biggest difference up front: Crisp is free, while Help Scout starts at $20/user/mo. Crisp is built for startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk, whereas Help Scout targets teams that want email-like support conversations.

At a glance

	Crisp	Help Scout
Best for	Startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk	Teams that want email-like support conversations
Starting price	Free	$20/user/mo
Free tier	✓	—
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	—
Open source	—	—
Beacon	—	✓
CRM	✓	—
Chatbot	✓	—
Help Desk	✓	—
Knowledge Base	—	✓
Live Chat	✓	—
Reports	—	✓
Shared Inbox	✓	✓

Crisp

Strengths

Generous free tier for basic live chat
Much cheaper than Intercom
All-in-one: chat, bot, help desk, CRM
Clean, modern interface

Weaknesses

Less powerful AI than Intercom's Fin
Fewer integrations
Reporting less detailed than enterprise tools
Some features less polished

Try Crisp → Full review

Help Scout

Strengths

Includes Shared Inbox as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Includes Knowledge Base as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Pricing starts at $20/user/mo, which includes the full customer support feature set
Established product with 15+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Starts at $20/user/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Help Scout → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Crisp is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Help Scout starts at $20/user/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Crisp offers CRM, Chatbot and Help Desk that Help Scout lacks. Help Scout brings Beacon, Knowledge Base and Reports that Crisp does not have. Both share Shared Inbox.

Team fit: Both tools target small teams teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Where each tool shines: Crisp's biggest strengths are: generous free tier for basic live chat. much cheaper than intercom. Help Scout's biggest strengths are: includes shared inbox as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. includes knowledge base as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows.

Watch out for: With Crisp, users commonly note that less powerful ai than intercom's fin. With Help Scout, the main complaint is that starts at $20/user/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users.

Choose Crisp if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk
Budget is a hard constraint — Crisp is free, Help Scout is not
You specifically need CRM and Chatbot
You care about much cheaper than intercom

Choose Help Scout if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams that want email-like support conversations
You specifically need Beacon and Knowledge Base
You care about includes knowledge base as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows