What is the difference between Intercom and Crisp?

Intercom is best for SaaS companies that want unified customer messaging, while Crisp is best for Startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk. Intercom starts at $39/seat/mo and Crisp starts at Free.

Is Intercom or Crisp cheaper?

Intercom starts at $39/seat/mo. Crisp starts at Free and is free.

Intercom vs Crisp

Intercom is customer messaging platform with live chat, bots, help center, and product tours, while Crisp is all-in-one business messaging platform with live chat, chatbot, help desk, and CRM. The biggest difference up front: Crisp is free, while Intercom starts at $39/seat/mo. Intercom is built for saas companies that want unified customer messaging, whereas Crisp targets startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk.

At a glance

	Intercom	Crisp
Best for	SaaS companies that want unified customer messaging	Startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk
Starting price	$39/seat/mo	Free
Free tier	—	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	—	✓
Open source	—	—
AI Chatbot	✓	—
CRM	—	✓
Chatbot	—	✓
Help Center	✓	—
Help Desk	—	✓
Live Chat	✓	✓
Product Tours	✓	—
Shared Inbox	✓	✓

Intercom

Strengths

Unified platform for chat, bots, help center, and email
AI-powered chatbot (Fin) handles routine queries
Product tours and in-app messaging
Strong reporting and analytics

Weaknesses

Expensive — pricing starts at $39/seat/mo
Complex pricing with many add-ons
Can be overwhelming to set up
Some features feel half-baked

Try Intercom → Full review

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

The bottom line

Pricing: Crisp is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Intercom starts at $39/seat/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: Intercom offers AI Chatbot, Help Center and Product Tours that Crisp lacks. Crisp brings CRM, Chatbot and Help Desk that Intercom does not have. Both share Live Chat and Shared Inbox.

Team fit: Intercom is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Crisp is aimed at small teams 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: Intercom's biggest strengths are: unified platform for chat, bots, help center, and email. ai-powered chatbot (fin) handles routine queries. Crisp's biggest strengths are: generous free tier for basic live chat. much cheaper than intercom.

Watch out for: With Intercom, users commonly note that expensive — pricing starts at $39/seat/mo. With Crisp, the main complaint is that less powerful ai than intercom's fin.

Choose Intercom if...

You need a tool built for saas companies that want unified customer messaging
You specifically need AI Chatbot and Help Center
You care about ai-powered chatbot (fin) handles routine queries
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Intercom is designed for

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, Intercom is not
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