Crisp vs Help Scout
Crisp and Help Scout are both customer support tools. Crisp is aimed at small businesses and freelancers, while Help Scout is aimed at small businesses. Help Scout costs less, from $25/mo versus $45/mo for Crisp. Both have a free plan.
Affordable all-in-one messaging and helpdesk
Email-centric helpdesk with a human touch
| Pricing | Freemium · $45 | Freemium · $25 |
| Starting price | $45/mo | $25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | 15 days |
| Built for | Small businesses, Freelancers | Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android, macos, windows | web, ios, android |
| Country | FR · 2015 | US · 2011 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Crisp if
Small teams and indie founders who want chat, inbox and help center in one affordable package.
- Per-workspace pricing, not per agent
- Many channels in one inbox
- Free plan with 2 seats and apps
Look elsewhere if: Large support organizations needing advanced analytics, QA and enterprise permissions.
Choose Help Scout if
Small and mid-size companies that want personal email-based support with a knowledge base.
- Free plan for up to 5 users
- Simple, email-like experience agents like
- Fast to set up; good docs product
Look elsewhere if: Call centers or enterprises needing WFM, QA and voice.
Crisp vs Help Scout pricing
Crisp
- Free$02 seats, 100 customer profiles
- Mini$45/workspace/mo4 seats, 5,000 profiles, $5 AI credits
- Essentials$95/workspace/mo10 seats, 50,000 profiles, 2 sub-inboxes
- Plus$295/workspace/mo20+ seats, 200,000 profiles, 5 sub-inboxes
- EnterpriseCustomDedicated onboarding, custom SLAs, team training
Help Scout
- Free$05 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts/mo
- Standard$25/user/mo25 users, 2 inboxes, unlimited contacts; 16% off annually
- Plus$45/user/mo50 users, 5 inboxes, Salesforce/Jira/HubSpot
- Pro$75/user/moMin 10 users; 10 inboxes, SSO/SAML, HIPAA
Crisp · Key features
- Live chat widget with mobile and desktop apps
- Shared inbox for email, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram and SMS
- Knowledge base and chatbot builder
- Light CRM with contact profiles and segments
- Campaigns and sequences for onboarding emails
- Co-browsing, screen sharing and MagicReply AI
Cons
- Reporting and permissions are basic
- Knowledge base lacks advanced customization
- Email deliverability for campaigns is not its strength
Help Scout · Key features
- Shared inboxes with assignments, tags and workflows
- Docs knowledge base with multiple sites
- Beacon widget for chat, contact forms and article suggestions
- AI drafts, summaries and AI Answers for customers
- Customer profiles with app data via integrations
- Reports on volume, happiness and productivity
Cons
- No phone support channel
- Routing and automation less deep than Zendesk
- Per-user pricing adds up as the team grows
Crisp vs Help Scout: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Crisp or Help Scout?
Help Scout starts at $25/mo and Crisp at $45/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Crisp and Help Scout have a free plan?
Yes, both Crisp and Help Scout have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.