CrispZendeskCrisp vs Zendesk

Crisp vs Zendesk: five seats for $55 or $275

A customer messaging platform against a help desk suite: Crisp is $220 a month cheaper for five people. What decides between Crisp and Zendesk, 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 Zendesk if your support is ticket-first and email-heavy, with SLAs and a queue to manage. For five people, Crisp is $220 a month cheaper than Zendesk ($55 a month on Crisp against $275 on Zendesk), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, $10 under Crisp. Crisp and Zendesk both include website chat, email and Instagram in the price; only Crisp has WhatsApp and Telegram. Between them Crisp and Zendesk cover every channel Sellio ships. A team of two to ten choosing between Crisp and Zendesk for chat and tickets at one price has a third option below.

At a glanceCrispCrispZendeskZendesk
Built aroundOne inbox, many channels · priced per workspaceTickets and a queue · messaging came later
Entry plan$45/mo · Mini: 4 seats$19/agent/mo · Support Team: email and tickets
Chat in the price$45/mo · chat on every plan, Free included$55/agent/mo · Suite Team
AI agentAI credit included · $5 on Mini, $25 on EssentialsPer automated resolution · rate quoted, not printed
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI drafts and summaries$50/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. Zendesk raises a ticket where Crisp keeps a conversation.

    ZendeskZendesk

    As a ticket. Every channel, chat included, becomes a ticket with a status, a priority and an SLA clock. 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 Zendesk.

    ZendeskZendesk

    $19 buys email and tickets. Live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and AI agents start at Suite Team, $55. $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. Zendesk meters AI (per automated resolution) above the seats instead.

    ZendeskZendesk

    AI agents are priced per automated resolution on top of seats, and the rate comes from your quote. 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 and Telegram are here and not on Zendesk.

    ZendeskZendesk

    Email, chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and voice on Suite plans; WhatsApp conversation fees still apply. Crisp adds WhatsApp and Telegram, which Zendesk lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    CrispCrisp

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

    ZendeskZendesk

    A contact center: voice, workforce management, QA, and a marketplace of over a thousand apps. 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. Zendesk is a project.

    ZendeskZendesk

    A project. Queue, SLAs, routing and macros are set up before the first ticket is answered. Crisp is an afternoon.

Sources: Crisp pricing · Zendesk 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 Zendesk Agent Workspace: a ticket view with the customer, the thread and the fields
ZendeskZendesk. The Zendesk Agent Workspace: a ticket view with the customer, the thread and the fields

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

Crisp, Zendesk 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.

FeatureCrispCrispZendeskZendeskSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per workspace, seats included per plan.
Per agent; AI per resolution; add-ons extra
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.
Suite 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.
Suite plans, plus conversation fees
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Yes.
Suite plans
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Yes.
Third-party apps only
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack integration.
Slack notifications and side conversations
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.
All plans, trained on the help center
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
Included credits, same amounts as Sellio.
Per automated resolution, on top of seats
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.
Triggers and automations, form-based
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Essentials and up.
Explore; advanced 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 $220 a month less than on Zendesk ($55 against $275), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp and Telegram in the price, which Zendesk does not include outright.

Pick Zendesk if

  • Your support is ticket-first and email-heavy, with SLAs and a queue to manage.
  • You need phone support and a contact center in the same tool.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Crisp does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is a project here and an afternoon on Crisp.

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 $275 on Zendesk 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 Zendesk meters AI (per automated resolution) above the seats, where Sellio's credit is included and capped by you.
  • You want native Windows and macOS apps and a free plan that never expires beside the paid tiers, which Crisp and Zendesk 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. Zendesk on Suite Team: $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 Zendesk for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $455 under Zendesk.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Crisp is a customer messaging platform built around one inbox, many channels; Zendesk is a help desk suite built around tickets and a queue. Only Crisp has a free plan (2 seats, 100 profiles); Zendesk offers a 14-day trial of Suite Professional. Crisp and Zendesk both include website chat, email and Instagram in the price; only Crisp has WhatsApp and Telegram. Between them Crisp and Zendesk cover every channel Sellio ships. Crisp folds AI (AI credit included) into the plan; Zendesk meters AI (per automated resolution) above the seats. Zendesk has tickets and Crisp does not, and only Crisp ships desktop apps. Crisp is an afternoon; Zendesk is a project.

What each price leaves out

Crisp: AI credits included: $5 on Mini, $25 on Essentials, $75 on Plus. Zendesk: AI agents are billed per automated resolution on top of the seat price; the Copilot add-on is $50 per agent per month. Beside Crisp's AI credit included and Zendesk's per automated 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
    ZendeskZendeskAssumed $1.5$720
    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
    ZendeskZendesk · 14-day trial of Suite Professional
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Crisp vs Zendesk: the questions people ask

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

  • Entry plan: Crisp $45/mo (Mini: 4 seats); Zendesk $19/agent/mo (Support Team: email and tickets).
  • Chat in the price: Crisp $45/mo (chat on every plan, Free included); Zendesk $55/agent/mo (Suite Team).
  • Sellio's inbox: all five channels on every paid plan, where Crisp and Zendesk each include only some.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Crisp and Zendesk 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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