Crisp alternatives

The best Crisp alternatives

Some teams leave Crisp for a bigger live chat set-up. Others want fewer chats in the first place: answers customers can read, and an AI that answers from them. Here are both kinds, and who each suits.

Try AskBase on your help centreImport it, or draft one from your website. Free.

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At a glance

Crisp first, for reference, then the alternatives.

  • Crisp

    Small businesses whose support happens in live chat and messaging apps.

    Help centre
    From Essentials: your own domain, multiple languages, sitemap and SEO settings.
    How the AI answers
    An AI chatbot built with a no-code workflow builder; an AI agent trained on your data on Plus.
    Inbox and channels
    Live chat and shared inbox on Free; WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Line and Viber from Essentials.
    Starting price
    Free; paid from $45 a month per workspace.

  • AskBase

    Teams who want a help centre customers can read, an AI that answers from it, and a shared inbox for the rest.

    Help centre
    Published on every plan, on your own domain from $29. Each article is for everyone, the AI only, or your team.
    How the AI answers
    Only from your published articles, linking the ones it used. When they don't cover a question, it says so and offers your team. A person approves every AI draft.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox for support email from $29. No live chat, phone or messaging apps.
    Starting price
    Free; paid plans from $29 a month for the whole team.

  • Intercom

    Teams built around live chat, who want an AI agent that can also carry out workflows.

    Help centre
    A public help center on every plan; private and multilingual from Advanced.
    How the AI answers
    Fin answers customers and can complete workflows (Procedures), handing over to a person when asked.
    Inbox and channels
    Messenger live chat, shared inbox and ticketing on every plan; WhatsApp and SMS charged per use.
    Starting price
    From $29 per seat a month, billed annually, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome.

  • Help Scout

    Small and mid-sized teams who want one shared inbox across email, chat and messaging apps.

    Help centre
    Docs sites: 1 on Free, up to 5 by plan, more at $20 a month each.
    How the AI answers
    AI Answers (an add-on) answers from your website or other sources you add, with your team a click away.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox on every plan; live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger from Standard.
    Starting price
    Free for up to 5 users; paid from $25 per user a month, billed annually.

  • Freshdesk

    Teams that want a full ticketing help desk with a customer portal and knowledge base.

    Help centre
    Customer portal and knowledge base on every plan.
    How the AI answers
    Freddy AI Agent answers customers; Freddy AI Copilot (an add-on) helps agents reply.
    Inbox and channels
    Ticketing and shared inbox on every plan; multilingual help desk and intelligent routing from Pro.
    Starting price
    From $19 per agent a month, billed annually.

  • Chatbase

    Teams that want a configurable AI agent that takes actions, on several channels.

    Help centre
    Not listed on its pricing page.
    How the AI answers
    An AI agent trained on the sources you add, with AI Actions; Pro suggests sources to add.
    Inbox and channels
    Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram from Hobby; a helpdesk inbox, voice and telephony from Standard.
    Starting price
    From $40 a month, or $32 a month billed yearly.

From each tool's own pricing page, checked 15 October 2026; each entry below links to its source. Each tool counts AI use in its own unit, so compare the unit as well as the price.

Why teams look for a Crisp alternative

Live chat needs cover

Chat works when someone's there to answer. Teams who can't staff it want customers to find answers themselves, with email for the rest.

A help centre at the centre

Some teams want a published help centre as the base everything answers from, rather than an add-on to the chat. Crisp's help center comes with Essentials.

AI that shows its sources

Teams want an AI that answers only from their own articles, links them, and says when they don't cover a question.

A bigger help desk

Growing teams sometimes need ticketing with a customer portal, routing and SLA policies.

The alternatives

We make AskBase, so it's first. The rest are in no particular order. Each says who it suits, what it's good at and what to weigh.

  1. 1

    AskBase

    Teams who want a help centre customers can read, an AI that answers from it, and a shared inbox for the rest.

    Good at

    • A real, published help centre that customers, search engines and the AI all read
    • Answers only from your articles, links its sources, and says “I couldn’t find that” rather than guessing
    • Drafts what's missing from your website, your current help centre or your documents (PDF, Word, Markdown); a person approves every draft
    • Content gaps: the questions it couldn't answer, grouped by meaning and ranked by how often they're asked
    • Import any public help centre by pasting its address; on your domain, every article keeps its address
    • A shared inbox for the questions the AI hands over, with team members and AI answers included in each plan

    Worth weighing

    • No live chat: the chat on your site is the AI, with “Email a person” beside it
    • Email is the only inbox channel: no phone, SMS or messaging apps
    • No SLAs, priorities or automation rules yet
    • The AI answers questions; it doesn't take actions in other systems
    • The Free plan is for one person, without your own domain
    Help centre
    Published on every plan, on your own domain from $29. Each article is for everyone, the AI only, or your team.
    How the AI answers
    Only from your published articles, linking the ones it used. When they don't cover a question, it says so and offers your team. A person approves every AI draft.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox for support email from $29. No live chat, phone or messaging apps.
    Price
    Free, then $29, $79 or $199 a month, with 1, 3, 10 or 25 team members included.
    How the AI is charged
    Included in the plan: 50, 750, 3,000 or 10,000 AI answers a month. No fee per answer or per resolution.

    From the AskBase pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  2. 2

    Intercom

    Teams built around live chat, who want an AI agent that can also carry out workflows.

    Good at

    • Live chat, shared inbox, ticketing and a help center in one product
    • Fin can carry out workflows (Procedures), not only answer questions
    • Fin also works with other helpdesks, such as Salesforce, HubSpot or Freshdesk
    • Workflow automation and round robin assignment from Advanced; SSO, HIPAA support and SLAs on Expert

    Worth weighing

    • Cost grows with seats and with every Fin outcome
    • Product tours, checklists and surveys are a separate add-on
    Help centre
    A public help center on every plan; private and multilingual from Advanced.
    How the AI answers
    Fin answers customers and can complete workflows (Procedures), handing over to a person when asked.
    Inbox and channels
    Messenger live chat, shared inbox and ticketing on every plan; WhatsApp and SMS charged per use.
    Price
    Essential $29, Advanced $85, Expert $132 per seat a month, billed annually. 14-day free trial.
    How the AI is charged
    Fin AI Agent: $0.99 per outcome, at most once per conversation. No charge if Fin can't answer or the customer asks for a person.

    From the Intercom pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  3. 3

    Help Scout

    Small and mid-sized teams who want one shared inbox across email, chat and messaging apps.

    Good at

    • One inbox for email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger
    • Docs sites alongside the inbox, with several knowledge bases from Standard
    • Basic workflows and an SLA policy from Standard; advanced workflows on Plus
    • Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot integrations and unlimited AI Drafts on Plus

    Worth weighing

    • The AI is an add-on, charged per resolution on top of a per-user plan
    • The free plan allows 100 contacts a month
    Help centre
    Docs sites: 1 on Free, up to 5 by plan, more at $20 a month each.
    How the AI answers
    AI Answers (an add-on) answers from your website or other sources you add, with your team a click away.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox on every plan; live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger from Standard.
    Price
    Free for up to 5 users. Standard $25, Plus $45, Pro $75 per user a month, billed annually (monthly billing costs more).
    How the AI is charged
    AI Answers add-on: $0.75 per resolution, billed monthly, with a 3-month free trial and a monthly spending cap.

    From the Help Scout pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  4. 4

    Freshdesk

    Teams that want a full ticketing help desk with a customer portal and knowledge base.

    Good at

    • Ticketing, shared inbox, customer portal and knowledge base from the first plan
    • Multilingual help desk, intelligent routing and multiple SLA policies on Pro
    • Skill-based routing, sandbox and audit logs on Enterprise

    Worth weighing

    • Priced per agent; AI Agent sessions beyond the first 500 are billed per 100
    • Copilot for agents is a separate add-on
    Help centre
    Customer portal and knowledge base on every plan.
    How the AI answers
    Freddy AI Agent answers customers; Freddy AI Copilot (an add-on) helps agents reply.
    Inbox and channels
    Ticketing and shared inbox on every plan; multilingual help desk and intelligent routing from Pro.
    Price
    Growth $19, Pro $55, Enterprise $89 per agent a month, billed annually (20% less than monthly).
    How the AI is charged
    Freddy AI Agent: first 500 sessions included, then $49 per 100 sessions. Freddy AI Copilot is $29 per agent a month.

    From the Freshdesk pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  5. 5

    Chatbase

    Teams that want a configurable AI agent that takes actions, on several channels.

    Good at

    • AI Actions on every plan (5, 8 or 12 per agent)
    • The agent on Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Shopify from Hobby
    • A choice of models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and others
    • Voice and telephony from Standard

    Worth weighing

    • One AI agent per plan; more are $300 per agent a year
    • 2, 3 or 5 team seats; removing “Powered By Chatbase” is $1,188 a year
    Help centre
    Not listed on its pricing page.
    How the AI answers
    An AI agent trained on the sources you add, with AI Actions; Pro suggests sources to add.
    Inbox and channels
    Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram from Hobby; a helpdesk inbox, voice and telephony from Standard.
    Price
    Hobby $40, Standard $150, Pro $500 a month, or $32, $120 and $400 a month billed yearly. 7-day trial.
    How the AI is charged
    700, 4,000 or 15,000 message credits a month; more at $40 per 1,000 on auto recharge.

    From the Chatbase pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

Which one to choose

  • Fewer chats: a help centre with an AI that answers from it, and a shared inbox: AskBase
  • Live chat with an AI agent that carries out workflows: Intercom
  • One shared inbox across email, chat, SMS and messaging apps: Help Scout
  • A full ticketing help desk with a customer portal: Freshdesk
  • An AI agent with actions on WhatsApp, Slack and more: Chatbase
  • Live chat and messaging apps for a small business: stay with Crisp

Questions people ask

What's a good alternative to Crisp?
If you want more live chat, Intercom and Help Scout are the closest. If you want fewer chats, AskBase gives you a published help centre, an AI that answers only from it, and a shared inbox for what's left.
Does AskBase have live chat?
No. The chat on your website is the AI, answering from your help centre. “Email a person” sends the question to your team's inbox, and you reply by email.
What if I don't have help articles yet?
AskBase can draft them from your website or from documents you upload (PDF, Word or Markdown). Anything it couldn't confirm is marked for you to check, and nothing is published until a person approves it.
Can I import my Crisp help center?
If it's public on the web, yes: paste its address and AskBase reads the published articles, the same way it imports any public help centre.
How is Crisp priced?
Crisp's pricing page lists a free plan, then Mini at $45, Essentials at $95 and Plus at $295 a month per workspace, with extra agents at $10 a month. We checked it on 15 October 2026.

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