CrispIntercomCrisp vs Intercom

Crisp vs Intercom: five seats for $55 or $425

Two customer messaging platforms: Crisp is $370 a month cheaper for five people. Where Crisp and Intercom split, 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 Intercom if your support lives in the website messenger and in-app, and you want product tours and outbound messages in the same tool. For five people, Crisp is $370 a month cheaper than Intercom ($55 a month on Crisp against $425 on Intercom), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $10 below Crisp. Crisp and Intercom both include website chat and email in the price; only Crisp has WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram. Between them Crisp and Intercom cover every channel Sellio ships. For a team of two to ten weighing Crisp against Intercom, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceCrispCrispIntercomIntercom
Built aroundOne inbox, many channels · priced per workspaceThe Messenger · tickets came later
Entry plan$45/mo · Mini: 4 seats$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and Messenger
Chat in the price$45/mo · chat on every plan, Free included$29/seat/mo · Essential, with tickets
AI agentAI credit included · $5 on Mini, $25 on EssentialsFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing page
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI drafts and summaries$29/agent/mo
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. Intercom raises a ticket where Crisp keeps a conversation.

    IntercomIntercom

    As a message in the Messenger, with ticketing available from Essential. 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 $425 on Intercom.

    IntercomIntercom

    $29 buys the inbox, Messenger and ticketing. Advanced at $85 adds workflows and round-robin routing. $425 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. Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats instead.

    IntercomIntercom

    Fin is $0.99 or more per outcome on every plan, printed on the pricing page, on top of seats. 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. WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram are here and not on Intercom.

    IntercomIntercom

    Messenger and email on every plan; WhatsApp, SMS and phone are pay-as-you-go lines. Crisp adds WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, which Intercom lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    CrispCrisp

    Campaigns, a knowledge base, co-browsing, a status page and mobile apps. Intercom is the same kind of product, a customer messaging platform.

    IntercomIntercom

    Product tours, banners, surveys and outbound campaigns; Proactive Support Plus is $99 a month. Crisp is the same kind of product, a customer messaging platform.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    CrispCrisp

    An afternoon: paste the script, connect the channels, invite the team. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

    IntercomIntercom

    An afternoon for a website-first team: install the Messenger, invite the team, answer. Crisp is an afternoon.

Sources: Crisp pricing · Intercom 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 Intercom Inbox: a conversation list with the Messenger thread and the customer profile
IntercomIntercom. The Intercom Inbox: a conversation list with the Messenger thread and the customer profile

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

Crisp, Intercom 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.

FeatureCrispCrispIntercomIntercomSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per workspace, seats included per plan.
Per seat; Fin per outcome; channels metered
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
2 seats, 100 profiles.
None; 14-day trial
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Yes.
The Messenger, all plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Yes.
All plans
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Yes.
Pay-as-you-go
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Yes.
Via integration
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 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.
Fin, trained on your help center
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
Included credits, same amounts as Sellio.
From $0.99 per outcome, on top of seats
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Yes.
Fin hands to a teammate
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with status; no ticket object.
Included from Essential
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Bot builder.
Visual builder, Advanced and up
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Essentials and up.
Reports; custom on higher plans
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 $370 a month less than on Intercom ($55 against $425), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram in the price, which Intercom does not include outright.

Pick Intercom if

  • Your support lives in the website messenger and in-app, and you want product tours and outbound messages in the same tool.
  • Fin's AI quality matters more to you than its per-outcome price.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Crisp does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is an afternoon for a website-first team here and an afternoon on Crisp.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $55 a month on Crisp against $425 on Intercom for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Crisp folds AI (AI credit included) into the plan, Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You want native Windows and macOS apps and a free plan that never expires beside the paid tiers, which Crisp and Intercom 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. Intercom on Advanced: $170, $425 and $850 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 $380 less than Intercom for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $755 under Intercom.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Both Crisp and Intercom are customer messaging platforms, so the category is settled and the question is what each seat buys: Crisp is built around one inbox, many channels, Intercom around the Messenger. Only Crisp has a free plan (2 seats, 100 profiles); Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card. Crisp and Intercom both include website chat and email in the price; only Crisp has WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram. Between them Crisp and Intercom cover every channel Sellio ships. Crisp folds AI (AI credit included) into the plan; Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats. Intercom has tickets and Crisp does not, and only Crisp ships desktop apps. Crisp is an afternoon; Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

What each price leaves out

Crisp: AI credits included: $5 on Mini, $25 on Essentials, $75 on Plus. Intercom: Fin AI agent from $0.99 per outcome on every plan; Copilot $29 per agent per month yearly ($35 monthly). WhatsApp, SMS and phone are pay-as-you-go. Beside Crisp's AI credit included and Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome, 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
    IntercomIntercom$0.99$475
    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
    IntercomIntercom · 14-day trial, 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 Intercom: the questions people ask

Both Crisp and Intercom are customer messaging platforms, so the category is settled and the question is what each seat buys: Crisp is built around one inbox, many channels, Intercom around the Messenger.

  • Entry plan: Crisp $45/mo (Mini: 4 seats); Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger).
  • Chat in the price: Crisp $45/mo (chat on every plan, Free included); Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets).
  • Sellio: all five channels on every paid plan, where Crisp and Intercom each include only some.

Sellio's side of the Crisp and Intercom 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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