Crisp vs SparrowDesk (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SparrowDesk grades higher than Crisp: 2.8 against 2.6 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 platforms. SparrowDesk grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features 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
SparrowDesk
Help desk with shared inbox, live chat and a per-resolution AI agent
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 SparrowDesk if
- Fits if you want a free help desk for a team of 3 or fewer
- Works for a small team that wants phone apps
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you use the AI, as Zoona is $0.49 a resolution and Copilot $8 an agent a month
- Tight if you stay free, since it stops at 500 conversations a month and has no portal, CSAT or teams
- Skip it if you need workflows or SLAs on the cheap plan, because they start at Professional, $49
- Watch out: Salesforce needs Enterprise, and Lite seats are capped from 5 on Starter
How we grade them
| 2.6GPACrispGood | 2.8GPASparrowDeskGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | B$16 an agent a month billed annually, inside the category's cheaper quarter of $19. Professional is $49. |
| 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. | BFree for up to 3 users and 500 conversations a month, plus a 14-day trial with no card. |
| 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. | BInbox, live chat, AI, workflows, SLAs and a help center. The listing shows no gap in the core support job, though workflows and SLAs start at Professional. |
| 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. Channels, workflows and the AI need setting up. |
| 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 plus iOS and Android, with Slack, Linear, HubSpot, Salesforce and WhatsApp. |
| Best for | flat-priced chat and inbox for small teams | a help desk with a free plan for 3 users |
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 SparrowDesk. 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. SparrowDesk starts at $16 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Crisp scores higher, and starts $29 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 1 scores higher than SparrowDesk 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
- SparrowDesk also covers workflow automation, help desk and whatsApp messaging.
At a glance
| Crisp | SparrowDesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $45 per workspace / month, with 4 seats | $16 per agent / month, billed annually |
| 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. | Free plan for up to 3 users: live chat, email ticketing, shared inbox, prebuilt reports, public help center, 500 conversations a month. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of any plan | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Crisp IM SAS | SurveySparrow Inc. |
| Price read from | crisp.chat | sparrowdesk.com |
| 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.
SparrowDesk
- Zoona costs $0.49 per resolution, Copilot $8 per agent a month for 1,000 credits, and Account Intelligence $8 a month for 1,000 credits.
- The free plan is limited to 500 conversations a month and no customer portal, CSAT or teams.
- Slack, Linear and HubSpot integrations start at Starter; Salesforce needs Enterprise.
- Lite seats are capped per plan, from 5 on Starter to 50 on Enterprise.
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.
SparrowDesk
- Shared inbox
- Email, chat and channels such as Slack, WhatsApp, Facebook, Discord and Instagram arrive in one inbox with macros and merging.
- Zoona AI agent
- Answers customers in 40+ languages, hands off to a person with context, and trains on your site, PDFs and help center.
- AI Copilot
- An in-inbox assistant that summarizes conversations, drafts replies for agents to review and translates as you read.
- Workflows and SLAs
- Advanced workflows, round robin assignment, SLA policies and business hours are available from the Professional plan.
- Help center and portal
- A public help center on every plan; a customer portal where customers submit and track tickets starts at Starter.
- Account Intelligence
- Groups conversations into topics, flags problem ones early and drafts help center articles from resolved conversations.
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.
SparrowDesk
Free$0
Up to 3 users with live chat, email ticketing, prebuilt reports and a public help center.
Starter$16
per agent / month, billed annually
Unlimited conversations, teams, ticket forms, customer portal and CSAT surveys, with 5 Lite seats.
Professional$49
per agent / month, billed annually
Adds workflows, round robin assignment, SLAs, business hours and 20 Lite seats.
Enterprise$89
per agent / month, billed annually
Adds SSO, custom roles, password policy and multiple brands, with 50 Lite seats; sold through sales.
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.
SparrowDesk
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page shows yearly billing as saving 20% against monthly billing; the prices listed here are the yearly ones.
- Startups
Startup program for 90% off
SparrowDesk's pricing page advertises a startup program that takes 90% off; eligibility terms are not shown on the page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Crisp or SparrowDesk?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Crisp starts at $45 per workspace / month, with 4 seats, and SparrowDesk starts at $16 per agent / month, billed annually. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Crisp or SparrowDesk?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Crisp and SparrowDesk have a free plan.
Which platforms do Crisp and SparrowDesk run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Crisp lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app and 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.