Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover social media management. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Buffer | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $5 | From $45 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | Some of it | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Not stated | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Covers | Social Media Management, Analytics | DM & Comment Automation, Social Media Management |
| Works with | TikTok, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Threads | Instagram, Facebook |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Schedule posts across every account at once
Buffer queues posts for most networks, suggests times and reports on what landed. The free plan covers three channels, which is enough for a lot of people. It stays out of the way, which is the main thing a scheduler can do.
Our note
Buy it for the calm rather than the features. Per-channel pricing punishes anyone posting everywhere, so count your channels before comparing the headline price with a competitor's flat fee.
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Shared inbox priced per workspace, not per seat
Crisp puts live chat, email, and the social inboxes into one thread per customer, and charges for the workspace rather than for each person in it. For a small team that pricing is the reason to look: adding a second and third person changes nothing on the bill. The free tier is a real chat widget rather than a countdown, which makes it a fair place to start.
Our note
Per-workspace pricing is the whole argument, and it gets stronger with every person you add. At one seat it is unremarkable; at five it is a fraction of what the per-seat inboxes charge for the same job.
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Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.