Crisp vs Tawk.to
Crisp is all-in-one business messaging platform with live chat, chatbot, help desk, and CRM, while Tawk.to is 100% free live chat software with no limits on agents, chats, or contacts. Crisp is built for startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk, whereas Tawk.to targets businesses wanting completely free live chat.
At a glance
|
Crisp
|
Tawk.to
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk | Businesses wanting completely free live chat |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Free tier | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | — | — |
| Free tier available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | — | — |
| CRM | ✓ | — |
| Chatbot | ✓ | — |
| Free Live Chat | — | ✓ |
| Help Desk | ✓ | — |
| Knowledge Base | — | ✓ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | — |
| Shared Inbox | ✓ | — |
| Unlimited Agents | — | ✓ |
| Video Chat | — | ✓ |
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
Tawk.to
Strengths
- Includes Free Live Chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
- Includes Unlimited Agents as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
- The core product is free with no paywalled essentials
- Established product with 13+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem
Weaknesses
- May lack some advanced features
- Some advanced features require upgrading to a paid plan
- Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
- Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation
The bottom line
Pricing: Both Crisp and Tawk.to are free, so this decision comes down to features and philosophy rather than budget.
Feature gaps: Crisp offers CRM, Chatbot and Help Desk that Tawk.to lacks. Tawk.to brings Free Live Chat, Knowledge Base and Unlimited Agents that Crisp does not have.
Team fit: Crisp is geared toward small teams teams, while Tawk.to is aimed at any size teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.
Where each tool shines: Crisp's biggest strengths are: generous free tier for basic live chat. much cheaper than intercom. Tawk.to's biggest strengths are: includes free live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. includes unlimited agents 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 Tawk.to, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.
Choose Crisp if...
- Your profile matches its sweet spot: startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk
- You specifically need CRM and Chatbot
- You care about much cheaper than intercom
- Your team size fits the small teams profile Crisp is designed for
Choose Tawk.to if...
- Your profile matches its sweet spot: businesses wanting completely free live chat
- You specifically need Free Live Chat and Knowledge Base
- You care about includes unlimited agents as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
- Your team size fits the any size profile Tawk.to is designed for
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