Crisp vs Zendesk
Crisp and Zendesk are both customer support tools. Crisp is aimed at small businesses and freelancers, while Zendesk is aimed at enterprise and small businesses. Zendesk costs less, from $25/mo versus $45/mo for Crisp. Only Crisp has a free plan.
| Pricing | Freemium · $45 | Paid · $25 |
| Starting price | $45/mo | $25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| Built for | Small businesses, Freelancers | Enterprise, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android, macos, windows | web, ios, android |
| Country | FR · 2015 | US · 2007 |
| 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 Zendesk if
Mid-market and enterprise support teams with multiple channels and compliance needs.
- Mature, reliable at enterprise scale
- Broadest channel and app coverage
- Strong reporting and routing
Look elsewhere if: Startups and small teams; Help Scout, Freshdesk, Crisp or Plain are leaner.
Crisp vs Zendesk 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
Zendesk
- Support Team$25/agent/mo$19 billed annually; core ticketing
- Suite Team$69/agent/mo$55 billed annually; AI agents, messaging, voice
- Suite Professional$149/agent/mo$115 billed annually; skills routing, IVR
- Suite EnterpriseCustomSandbox, custom roles, approval workflows
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
Zendesk · Key features
- Omnichannel ticketing: email, chat, voice, social, WhatsApp
- Help center and community with multiple brands
- AI agents, agent copilot and intelligent triage
- Skills-based routing, SLAs, macros and triggers
- Explore analytics and dashboards
- Workforce management, QA and marketplace apps
Cons
- Expensive per agent plus AI add-ons
- Complex packaging and frequent changes
- Overkill for small teams
Crisp vs Zendesk: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Crisp or Zendesk?
Zendesk starts at $25/mo and Crisp at $45/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Crisp and Zendesk have a free plan?
Crisp has a free plan. Zendesk has no free plan, a 14-day free trial.