Crisp vs Dashly (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Crisp grades higher than Dashly: 2.6 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Crisp grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Crisp
Live chat and shared inbox priced per workspace, not per seat
Dashly
Website chat and AI agents that qualify and book inbound leads
Which one is for you
Pick Crisp if
- Fits if you want one flat monthly price instead of per-conversation billing
- Works for a team of up to 4 on a Shopify, WooCommerce or WordPress store that mostly needs chat and email
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're on your own, since the first paid plan is $45 a month
- Pricey if you need WhatsApp, Instagram or a help center, as they start on Essentials at $95 a month
- Tight if you lean on the AI agent, as Mini's $5 of credits covers around 90 conversations and top-up prices aren't listed
- Tight if you stay free: 2 seats, chat and a contact form only, 100 customer profiles and no AI
- Watch out: ticketing needs Plus at $295, and a workspace connects one account per messaging channel
Pick Dashly if
- Fits if you want chat and lead bots on a low-traffic site
- Works for teams who want unlimited seats
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you have traffic, because the price follows visitors and past the quota it adds a per-visitor fee
- Skip it if you want the AI support bot, as it is an add-on from $60 a month
- Skip it if you want branding gone, since that is $15 a month extra
- Watch out: Facebook and Telegram bots are listed as early access
How we grade them
| 2.6GPACrispGood | 1.8GPADashlyWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | C$31.20 a month for up to 1,000 visitors billed annually, with unlimited seats. Marketing is $87.20. |
| Free plan and 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. | FNo free plan and no trial listed; the page offers a demo. |
| Features | 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. | CLive chat, a team inbox, bots, triggered messages and email. The AI support bot is an add-on unavailable on Conversation. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. Bots and triggers have to be built. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb, Windows, iOS and Android apps, with Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram and Instagram. |
| Best for | flat-priced chat and inbox for small teams | website chat and bots that qualify leads |
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: Crisp and Dashly. How we grade
Price against what you get
Crisp starts at $45 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Dashly starts at $31.20 a month and scores 2.3.
Crisp scores higher, and starts $13.80 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, 2 score higher than Crisp for less, and 23 score higher than Dashly 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
- Dashly also covers marketing automation, chatbots and popups.
At a glance
| Crisp | Dashly | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $45 per workspace / month, with 4 seats | $31.20 per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($39 monthly) |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of any plan | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Crisp IM SAS | Dashly |
| Price read from | crisp.chat | dashly.io |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Dashly
- The price is set by monthly unique website visitors; past the quota it charges a per-visitor fee, from $0.023 on Conversation for the first 1,000 over.
- The AI support bot is an add-on from $60 a month, depending on user queries, and is unavailable on Conversation.
- Removing Dashly branding costs $15 a month, and a welcome bot $29 a month, on top of the plan.
- Facebook and Telegram bots are listed as early access.
Key features
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.
Dashly
- Live chat and team inbox
- Chat with visitors and answer messages from one inbox, with auto-replies for working and non-working hours.
- Leadbots and triggered messages
- Bots ask qualifying questions and messages fire on visitor behavior; the number of active ones depends on the plan.
- AI agents for inbound
- Qualifier, Support and Booking agents engage visitors, answer from the knowledge base and book meetings across chat and messengers.
- Messenger and email channels
- Conversations can run through Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, email and Instagram, plus live chat for mobile apps.
- Lead profile
- Visitor behavior, CRM data and conversation history are gathered into one profile that the agents and team can read.
- Marketing automation
- Email campaigns, funnels, A/B testing and a visual email builder on the Marketing plan.
Plans
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.
Dashly
Conversation$31.20
per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($39 monthly)
Live chat, team inbox, 1 leadbot and 1 triggered message. Price rises with monthly visitors.
Support$63.20
per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($79 monthly)
Adds 2 leadbots, 3 triggered messages, reports, knowledge base and auto-assignment. Price rises with visitors.
Marketing$87.20
per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($109 monthly)
10 leadbots, 30 triggered messages, A/B tests, visual email builder and funnels. Price rises with visitors.
Ways to pay less
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.
Dashly
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Dashly's pricing page shows paying annually as 20% cheaper than paying monthly, for example $31.20 instead of $39 on Conversation.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Crisp or Dashly?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Dashly is cheaper to start with: $31.20 a month, against $45 a month for Crisp. Crisp starts at $45 per workspace / month, with 4 seats, and Dashly starts at $31.20 per month for up to 1,000 visitors, billed annually ($39 monthly).
Which has a free plan, Crisp or Dashly?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Crisp has a free plan. Dashly does not.
Which platforms do Crisp and Dashly run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Crisp lists a macOS app. Both list a web app and Windows, iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.