CrispFreshdeskCrisp vs Freshdesk

Crisp vs Freshdesk: $220 apart for five people

A customer messaging platform against a help desk: Crisp is $220 a month cheaper for five people. The six differences, what five people pay on each, and a third option.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick Crisp if you need more channels than most inboxes offer: Messenger, SMS, X, Viber, Line and phone. Pick Freshdesk if your support is email tickets first and you want SLAs, time tracking and field service in one help desk. For five people, Crisp is $220 a month cheaper than Freshdesk ($55 a month on Crisp against $275 on Freshdesk), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $10 under Crisp. Crisp and Freshdesk both include email in the price; only Crisp has website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram. Between them Crisp and Freshdesk cover every channel Sellio ships. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Crisp and Freshdesk sell here at one price.

At a glanceCrispCrispFreshdeskFreshdesk
Built aroundOne inbox, many channels · priced per workspaceEmail tickets · chat is the separate Freshchat
Entry plan$45/mo · Mini: 4 seats$19/agent/mo · Growth: email and tickets
Chat in the price$45/mo · chat on every plan, Free included$55/agent/mo · Pro, with Freshchat on top
AI agentAI credit included · $5 on Mini, $25 on Essentials$49 per 100 sessions · 500 trial sessions once per account
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI drafts and summaries$29/agent/mo · Freddy Copilot
Free planYes · 2 seats, 100 profilesNone · 14-day trial

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    CrispCrisp

    As a conversation in one inbox, whatever the channel; there is no ticket object, only states and assignment. Freshdesk raises a ticket where Crisp keeps a conversation.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    As a ticket in an email queue. Chat conversations live in Freshchat and become tickets when escalated. Crisp has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    CrispCrisp

    $45 buys the workspace with four seats; a fifth seat is $10, and Essentials at $95 includes ten. $55 for five people, against $275 on Freshdesk.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    $19 buys email tickets on Growth. Chat and messaging mean adding Freshchat or an Omni bundle. $275 for five people, against $55 on Crisp.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    CrispCrisp

    An AI credit is included in each paid plan ($5, $25, $75) and metered per message; top-ups after that. Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats instead.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Freddy AI Agent: 500 trial sessions once per account, then $49 per 100. Freddy Copilot is $29 per agent on top. Crisp folds AI (AI credit included) into the plan instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    CrispCrisp

    Chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Messenger, SMS, X, Viber, Line and phone on the paid plans. website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram are here and not on Freshdesk.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Email and web forms on every plan; chat, WhatsApp and Instagram arrive with Freshchat. Crisp adds website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, which Freshdesk lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    CrispCrisp

    Campaigns, a knowledge base, co-browsing, a status page and mobile apps. Freshdesk is a help desk instead.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Field service, time tracking, SLAs and a marketplace; the wider Freshworks suite for IT and sales. Crisp is a customer messaging platform instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    CrispCrisp

    An afternoon: paste the script, connect the channels, invite the team. Freshdesk is a day or two.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    A day or two: connect the support address, set groups and SLAs, then add Freshchat for the widget. Crisp is an afternoon.

Sources: Crisp pricing · Freshdesk pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The Crisp inbox: the conversation list with channel badges and the visitor profile
CrispCrisp. The Crisp inbox: the conversation list with channel badges and the visitor profile
The Freshdesk ticket view: the queue on the left, the ticket thread and the properties panel
FreshdeskFreshdesk. The Freshdesk ticket view: the queue on the left, the ticket thread and the properties panel

Pricing references: Crisp pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Freshdesk pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Crisp, Freshdesk and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureCrispCrispFreshdeskFreshdeskSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per workspace, seats included per plan.
Per agent; AI per agent and per session
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
2 seats, 100 profiles.
Not on the pricing page; 14-day trial
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Yes.
Via Freshchat or Omni
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Yes.
Core of the product
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Yes.
Via Freshchat or Omni
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Yes.
Via Freshchat or Omni
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Yes.
Not native
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack integration.
Slack and Teams notifications
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
AI agent on Plus; MagicReply on lower plans.
Freddy, trained on the knowledge base
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
Included credits, same amounts as Sellio.
500 one-time trial sessions, then $49 per 100
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Yes.
Escalates to agents
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with status; no ticket object.
Ticket-first
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Bot builder.
Automations, form-based
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Essentials and up.
Reports and CSAT
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Desktop and mobile apps.
Browser and mobile only
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Crisp if

  • You need more channels than most inboxes offer: Messenger, SMS, X, Viber, Line and phone.
  • You want co-browsing, campaigns and a status page in the same subscription.
  • Five people cost $220 a month less than on Freshdesk ($55 against $275), before AI.
  • You need website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram in the price, which Freshdesk does not include outright.

Pick Freshdesk if

  • Your support is email tickets first and you want SLAs, time tracking and field service in one help desk.
  • You are already on Freshworks products and want the same admin and billing.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Crisp does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is a day or two here and an afternoon on Crisp.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Crisp or Freshdesk who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $55 a month on Crisp against $275 on Freshdesk for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Crisp folds AI (AI credit included) into the plan, Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You want native Windows and macOS apps and a free plan that never expires beside the paid tiers, which Crisp and Freshdesk have only in part.

What two, five and ten people pay

Crisp: $55 a month for five ($45 for 4 seats + $10 for the fifth); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Freshdesk on Pro: $110, $275 and $550 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $10 less than Crisp and $230 less than Freshdesk for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $455 under Freshdesk.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Crisp is a customer messaging platform built around one inbox, many channels; Freshdesk is a help desk built around email tickets. Only Crisp has a free plan (2 seats, 100 profiles); Freshdesk offers 14 days of Enterprise. Crisp and Freshdesk both include email in the price; only Crisp has website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram. Between them Crisp and Freshdesk cover every channel Sellio ships. Crisp folds AI (AI credit included) into the plan; Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats. Freshdesk has tickets and Crisp does not, and only Crisp ships desktop apps. Crisp is an afternoon; Freshdesk is a day or two.

What each price leaves out

Crisp: AI credits included: $5 on Mini, $25 on Essentials, $75 on Plus. Freshdesk: Freddy AI Copilot $29 per agent per month yearly; 500 AI agent trial sessions once per account, then $49 per 100 sessions. Beside Crisp's AI credit included and Freshdesk's $49 per 100 sessions, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    CrispCrispSee vendorNot quoted
    FreshdeskFreshdesk$0.49$245
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    CrispCrisp · 14 days, no card
    FreshdeskFreshdesk · 14 days of Enterprise
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

Crisp vs Freshdesk: the questions people ask

Crisp is a customer messaging platform built around one inbox, many channels; Freshdesk is a help desk built around email tickets. Freshdesk has tickets and Crisp does not, and only Crisp ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Crisp $45/mo (Mini: 4 seats); Freshdesk $19/agent/mo (Growth: email and tickets).
  • Chat in the price: Crisp $45/mo (chat on every plan, Free included); Freshdesk $55/agent/mo (Pro, with Freshchat on top).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: all five channels on every paid plan, where Crisp and Freshdesk each include only some.

Sellio's side of the Crisp and Freshdesk rows is on the shared inbox page.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

Get startedRead the docs

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