Chatwoot vs Crisp
We give Chatwoot a 2.4 GPA and Crisp a 2.6, out of 4.0. Crisp grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Chatwoot
Open-source support inbox you can self-host or use in the cloud
Crisp
Live chat and shared inbox priced per workspace, not per seat
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAChatwootFair | 2.6GPACrispGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStartups is $19 an agent a month, a little under this category's middle, with all channels and 300 AI credits. The page doesn't say if that's monthly or yearly. The free self-hosted edition needs your own server, so it doesn't lift the grade. | CMini is $45 a month for 4 seats, about $11 each, but $45 for one person. A team of five needs Essentials at $95 for 10 seats, $19 a head, a little under the middle of help desks. That's also where WhatsApp, Instagram and a help center start. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free cloud plan is 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, but live chat only, with 30 days of history. The self-hosted Community Edition is free forever if you can run a server. Paid cloud plans have a 15-day trial. | CA free plan with 2 seats, the chat widget, a contact form and the apps, plus a 14-day trial. The cap you'll hit is 100 customer profiles, and there's no email channel and no AI. |
| Features | BOne queue for chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, the Captain AI agent, a help center, voice calls on Business, an open API and webhooks. It covers the job, and you can read and change the source code. | BChat with a live visitor map, a shared inbox for email, social, WhatsApp, SMS and phone, the Hugo AI agent, a chatbot and workflow builder and a multilingual help center. Across the plans it covers the job, though ticketing needs Plus. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. The cloud version means connecting each channel and training Captain on your help center. Self-hosting is real work: PostgreSQL, Redis and Docker or Kubernetes. | C4.43 from 522 App Store ratings, below most support apps here. The chat box is quick to add, but the chatbot builder and channel connections take setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with an open API, webhooks and Slack, Shopify, Stripe, HubSpot, Linear and Dialogflow. There's no desktop app, so it stops at a B. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android apps, with Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, Slack, HubSpot, Zapier, Stripe and Salesforce, and an API. Every device type is covered. |
| Best for | an open-source support inbox you can host | flat-priced chat and inbox for small teams |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Chatwoot and Crisp. How we grade
Price against what you get
Chatwoot starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Crisp starts at $45 a month and scores 3.0.
Crisp scores higher, and starts $26 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Chatwoot for less, and 2 score higher than Crisp for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Chatwoot starts at $19 per agent / month, billing term not stated. Crisp starts at $45 per workspace / month, with 4 seats.
- Only Crisp lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Chatwoot is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| Chatwoot | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per agent / month, billing term not stated | $45 per workspace / month, with 4 seats |
| Free plan | Hacker cloud plan: up to 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, live chat only, 30 days of history. The self-hosted Community Edition is also free. | 2 seats, the website chat widget, a contact form and shared inbox, mobile and desktop apps, store integrations and 100 customer profiles. No AI credits. |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial of the cloud plans | 14-day free trial of any plan |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Chatwoot Inc | Crisp IM SAS |
| Price read from | chatwoot.com | crisp.chat |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Chatwoot
- Teams that want to run their support inbox on their own servers
- Small teams starting free with website chat
- Developers who want an open API and source code they can change
Crisp
- Small teams that want chat and email support at a flat monthly price
- Online stores on Shopify, WooCommerce or WordPress
- Teams that dislike being billed per conversation
Worth knowing
Chatwoot
- The free Hacker plan is limited to 2 agents, 500 conversations a month, live chat only and 30 days of history.
- Captain AI credits are 300, 500 or 800 a month by plan; more cost $20 per 1,000, and Captain is not in Hacker or the Community Edition.
- Voice, teams and automation rules need Business at $39 per agent; SSO and audit logs need Enterprise at $99.
- The pricing page does not say whether per-agent prices are billed monthly or annually.
Crisp
- The Free plan has 2 seats, chat and contact forms only, 100 customer profiles and no AI.
- AI use is capped by credits: $5 on Mini, $25 on Essentials and $75 on Plus. The pricing page does not say what extra credits cost.
- WhatsApp, Instagram, a help center and analytics need Essentials at $95 a month; ticketing and white labelling need Plus.
- A workspace connects one account per messaging channel; more require higher limits. Agents beyond 20 on Plus cost $10 a month each.
Key features
Chatwoot
- One queue for every channel
- Website chat, email from Gmail, Outlook or any IMAP inbox, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger are threaded into a single conversation queue.
- Captain AI agent
- Learns from your help center, PDFs and website, answers routine questions, hands off to a person, and drafts replies for agents.
- Help center
- A public knowledge base on paid plans that Captain also draws on, with suggestions for questions the articles do not yet answer.
- Self-hosting
- Runs on a Linux server with PostgreSQL and Redis, with guides for Docker and Kubernetes. Paid self-hosted plans add AI and support.
- Open API and webhooks
- Send messages, create channels and listen to events through the API, and export conversations and contacts at any time.
- Voice calls
- Voice calls are included on the Business and Enterprise cloud plans and on paid self-hosted plans.
Crisp
- Chat widget
- A customizable chat box for websites with a live visitor map, proactive messages and, from Essentials, video and audio chat and live translation.
- Shared inbox for every channel
- Chat, contact forms, email, Messenger, Telegram and X from Mini; WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Viber, LINE and phone from Essentials.
- Hugo AI agent
- An AI agent answers customers from Mini up, paid from included AI credits. Essentials adds knowledge training, an internal copilot and writing help.
- Chatbot and workflow builder
- A no-code builder for AI chatbots and automated flows with conditions, webhooks and CRM triggers, from the Essentials plan.
- Help center
- A multilingual help center with its own domain, search and SEO settings, included from Essentials.
- Unlimited conversations
- Every plan is a flat monthly price per workspace with no cap on the number of conversations handled.
Plans
Chatwoot
Hacker$0
Cloud plan for up to 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, live chat only, with 30 days of data retention. No AI, help center or automation.
Community Edition$0
The open-source edition you host yourself, free forever. No Captain AI, voice calls, custom branding or SSO; help comes through Discord and GitHub.
Startups$19
per agent / month, billing term not stated
Cloud plan with all channels, unlimited conversations under fair use, a help center, 300 Captain AI credits a month and 1 year of history.
Premium Support$19
per agent / month, billing term not stated
Self-hosted plan adding Captain AI, voice calls, custom branding, agent capacity, roles and permissions, and priority email support.
Business$39
per agent / month, billing term not stated
Cloud plan adding voice, teams and automation rules, with 500 Captain AI credits a month and 2 years of history.
Enterprise$99
per agent / month, billing term not stated
Cloud plan adding SSO and SAML, audit logs, 800 AI credits and 3 years of history. The self-hosted Enterprise Edition costs the same and adds SLA policies.
Crisp
Free$0
2 seats, website chat and a contact form in a shared inbox, 100 customer profiles and Shopify, WooCommerce and WordPress links. No AI.
Mini$45
per workspace / month, with 4 seats
Adds email, Telegram, Messenger and X, canned replies, internal notes, full history and the AI Agent with $5 of credits, around 90 automated conversations.
Essentials$95
per workspace / month, with 10 seats
Adds WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS and phone, a help center, a workflow and chatbot builder, analytics, round-robin and $25 of AI credits (about 450).
Plus$295
per workspace / month for 20 seats, plus $10 per extra agent
Adds a ticketing portal, white labelling, Stripe and Salesforce, AI spam filter and summaries, and $75 of AI credits, around 1,350 automated conversations.
EnterpriseCustom
A custom plan arranged with Crisp for larger needs.
Ways to pay less
Chatwoot
- Other savings
Startups plan free for open-source projects
Chatwoot gives open-source projects the Startups plan free of charge and asks open-source projects and nonprofits to email it to arrange this.
Crisp
- Nonprofit
50% off for nonprofits
Crisp's pricing FAQ offers nonprofits a 50% discount through a promo code requested in chat.
- Education
50% off for students
Crisp's pricing FAQ offers students a 50% discount through a promo code requested in chat.
- Other savings
20% off extra workspaces
Accounts paying for several Essentials or Plus workspaces can get 20% off three additional workspaces by asking Crisp in chat.
