Crisp

Overview

Crisp was founded in 2015 in Paris, France, by Baptiste Jamin, Pierre-Etienne Poirot, and Julien Vanroye as an all-in-one customer support platform. Crisp unifies live chat, a shared inbox, knowledge base, CRM, AI chatbot, email marketing, and video conversations in one interface, with simple transparent pricing and a modern design that appeals to global startups, serving over 30,000 companies.

Crisp's free plan supports 2 agents and requires no credit card, making it highly attractive to startups. Its shared inbox consolidates chat, email, Facebook, Twitter, and other channels, and features such as visitor tracking and heatmaps suit teams balancing pre-sales and after-sales support. See customer service platform guide and customer support ticketing systems for selection guidance.

Key Strengths

• Powerful free plan: the free edition supports 2 agents and covers live chat, inbox, and knowledge base basics without a credit card.
• All-channel inbox: the shared inbox consolidates 5+ channels including chat, email, Facebook, and Twitter, so agents avoid switching between backends.
• AI chatbot: automatically answers common questions based on knowledge base content, reducing the human support burden; see AI customer service bot guide.
• Built-in CRM and knowledge base: a lightweight CRM records visitor behavior and conversation history, and the SEO-friendly knowledge base enables self-service.
• Video conversations: built-in video calls and screen sharing suit remote demos and technical support.

Product Ecosystem

Crisp Chat (Live Chat)

In-site and in-app real-time chat with proactive invites, visitor info, and message history, serving as Crisp's core entry point.

Crisp Inbox (Shared Inbox)

Manages all customer messages from chat, email, Facebook, Twitter, and other channels in one place, with ticket assignment and handling flows; see customer support ticketing systems.

Crisp Knowledge Base

A self-service help center builder supporting rich-text articles and SEO optimization, combined with AI customer support automation to reduce repetitive inquiries.

Crisp AI Chatbot

Knowledge-base-driven AI auto-replies that handle common questions and hand off to human agents, easing the pressure on support staff.

Crisp CRM & Email Marketing

A lightweight CRM records visitor behavior and custom attributes; integrated email marketing supports template sending and automation sequences.

Limitations

• Limited advanced analytics: reporting is weaker than Zendesk and others, so complex data needs usually require external BI tools.
• Lighter enterprise capabilities: complex ticket workflows, auditing, and large-team permission management are less comprehensive than Zendesk, suiting SMBs mainly.
• Smaller ecosystem: the third-party app ecosystem is smaller than Intercom and others, with some features relying on built-in modules or API extension.
• Clear free-plan limits: agent count and advanced features require paid upgrades, so subscription costs rise as teams grow.

Use Cases

• Startups and SMBs (★★★★★): the free plan is enough to start with excellent value for budget-constrained teams.
• SaaS and internet products (★★★★★): live chat and AI bots suit pre-sales inquiries and in-product support.
• Multi-channel support teams （★★★★☆）: the shared inbox unifies chat, email, and social media messages.
• Large enterprises （★★★☆☆）: for complex ticketing and auditing, evaluate heavier solutions such as Zendesk or Intercom.

Pricing

Note: Crisp's free plan supports 2 agents; paid plans are billed per agent — check the official website for current prices.

FAQ

• How do Crisp, Intercom, and Zendesk compare? Crisp is lighter with a friendly free plan, suiting startups and SMBs; Intercom emphasizes messaging marketing and growth, while Zendesk offers stronger enterprise ticketing. See customer service platform guide.

• Is Crisp's free plan enough? For teams with up to 2 agents focused on chat and a basic knowledge base, yes; upgrade when more agents or automation are needed; see customer service platform guide.

• How is the AI chatbot trained? It generates replies from knowledge base content, so maintaining good articles improves answer quality; see AI customer service bot guide.

• Which channels does Crisp support? Website live chat, email, Facebook, Twitter, and 5+ more channels, all managed in the shared inbox; see customer support ticket system comparison.

• Does Crisp support Chinese? It supports a multilingual interface and message handling; check official documentation for the exact language list; see website internationalization guide.