CrispHelp ScoutCrisp vs Help Scout

Crisp vs Help Scout: entry plans at $45 and $25

A customer messaging platform against a shared inbox and help desk: Crisp is $70 a month cheaper for five people. What decides between Crisp and Help Scout, and a third option for small teams.

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 Help Scout if email is your main channel and you want the calmest inbox your agents will ever use. For five people, Crisp is $70 a month cheaper than Help Scout ($55 a month on Crisp against $125 on Help Scout), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, $10 under Crisp. Crisp and Help Scout both include website chat, email, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price; only Crisp has Telegram. Between them Crisp and Help Scout cover every channel Sellio ships. A team of two to ten choosing between Crisp and Help Scout for chat and tickets at one price has a third option below.

At a glanceCrispCrispHelp ScoutHelp Scout
Built aroundOne inbox, many channels · priced per workspaceA calm email inbox · Beacon adds chat
Entry plan$45/mo · Mini: 4 seats$25/user/mo · Standard: 2 inboxes
Chat in the price$45/mo · chat on every plan, Free included$25/user/mo · Beacon on every plan
AI agentAI credit included · $5 on Mini, $25 on Essentials$0.75 per resolution · AI Answers
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI drafts and summariesIncluded · AI inbox assistant
Free planYes · 2 seats, 100 profilesYes · 5 users, 100 contacts a month

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. Help Scout has no ticket queue either.

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    As a conversation in a shared inbox, assigned and tagged; it is email first, with Beacon chat beside it. Crisp has no ticket queue either.

  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 $125 on Help Scout.

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    $25 buys two inboxes on Standard. More inboxes are $10 a month each; Pro has a ten-user minimum. $125 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. Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats instead.

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    AI Answers, the chatbot, is $0.75 per resolution. The AI inbox assistant is included. 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. Telegram is here and not on Help Scout.

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Email, Beacon chat, Messenger and SMS; no WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram in the inbox. Crisp adds Telegram, which Help Scout lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    CrispCrisp

    Campaigns, a knowledge base, co-browsing, a status page and mobile apps. Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk instead.

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Docs, the knowledge base, and customer profiles with properties; no contact center or campaigns. 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. Help Scout is an afternoon.

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    An afternoon: forward the support address, add Beacon, invite the team. Crisp is an afternoon.

Sources: Crisp pricing · Help Scout 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 Help Scout inbox: a conversation list, the email thread and the customer sidebar
Help ScoutHelp Scout. The Help Scout inbox: a conversation list, the email thread and the customer sidebar

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

Crisp, Help Scout 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.

FeatureCrispCrispHelp ScoutHelp ScoutSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per workspace, seats included per plan.
Per user; extra inboxes $10; AI per resolution.
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
2 seats, 100 profiles.
5 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts a month.
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Yes.
Beacon.
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Yes.
The core of the product.
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Yes.
Included on paid plans.
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Yes.
Included on paid plans.
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Yes.
Not a channel.
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack integration.
Slack 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.
AI Answers, trained on Docs.
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
Included credits, same amounts as Sellio.
$0.75 per resolution.
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Yes.
Hands to the inbox.
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with status; no ticket object.
Conversations with status; no separate ticket object.
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Bot builder.
Workflows; rule lists with counts per plan.
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Essentials and up.
Reports and Happiness ratings.
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Desktop and mobile apps.
Browser and mobile apps.
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 $70 a month less than on Help Scout ($55 against $125), before AI.
  • You need Telegram in the price, which Help Scout does not include outright.

Pick Help Scout if

  • Email is your main channel and you want the calmest inbox your agents will ever use.
  • You want a mature knowledge base in the same product.
  • Its pricing model suits you better than Crisp's: per user per month. Extra inboxes $10 a month each.

The third option: Sellio

  • Two to ten of you answer chat, messaging and email. Compare Sellio's workspace plans with $55 a month on Crisp against $125 on Help Scout for five people, including each product's limits.
  • The AI invoice should be known in advance: Crisp folds AI (AI credit included) into the plan and Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats, where Sellio's credit is included and capped by you.
  • You need tickets raised from a chat, which neither Crisp nor Help Scout includes.

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. Help Scout on Standard: $50, $125 and $250 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 $80 less than Help Scout for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $155 under Help Scout.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Crisp is a customer messaging platform built around one inbox, many channels; Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox. Both have a free plan: Crisp's is 2 seats, 100 profiles, Help Scout's is 5 users, 100 contacts a month. Crisp and Help Scout both include website chat, email, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price; only Crisp has Telegram. Between them Crisp and Help Scout cover every channel Sellio ships. Crisp folds AI (AI credit included) into the plan; Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats. Neither Crisp nor Help Scout has a ticket queue, and only Crisp ships desktop apps. Crisp is an afternoon; Help Scout is an afternoon.

What each price leaves out

Crisp: AI credits included: $5 on Mini, $25 on Essentials, $75 on Plus. Help Scout: AI Inbox assistant included; AI Answers (the chatbot) $0.75 per resolution. Beside Crisp's AI credit included and Help Scout's $0.75 per resolution, 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
    Help ScoutHelp Scout$0.75$360
    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
    Help ScoutHelp Scout · 15 days, no card
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Crisp vs Help Scout: the questions people ask

Crisp is a customer messaging platform built around one inbox, many channels; Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox. Neither Crisp nor Help Scout has a ticket queue, and only Crisp ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Crisp $45/mo (Mini: 4 seats); Help Scout $25/user/mo (Standard: 2 inboxes).
  • Chat in the price: Crisp $45/mo (chat on every plan, Free included); Help Scout $25/user/mo (Beacon on every plan).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: all five channels on every paid plan, where Crisp and Help Scout each include only some.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Crisp and Help Scout on the same rows.

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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