Chatwoot vs Crisp Comparison 2026
Chatwoot is open source, so the self-hosted version costs nothing beyond running your own server and keeps every conversation on infrastructure you control. Crisp is hosted only, but its paid plans charge per workspace rather than per person, so a team of five costs the same as a team of one. Chatwoot's hosted plans go the other way, billing per agent from $19 a month if paid annually, with monthly billing costing more. The real choice is not which is cheaper outright, it is whether you would rather run the software yourself or stop thinking about a per-seat bill.
Open-source inbox for every channel at once
Shared inbox priced per workspace, not per seat
At a glance
- Chatwoot starts cheaper, at $19.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Chatwoot | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $19 | From $45 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Yes |
Chatwoot
Open-source inbox for every channel at once
Chatwoot collects website chat, email, Instagram, WhatsApp and the rest into one queue, and it is open source, so the version you self-host costs nothing and keeps the conversation data on your own server. That is the reason most people arrive. The hosted plans are priced per agent for anybody who would rather not run it. Setting up the self-hosted route is a real infrastructure job and the docs do not pretend otherwise.
Our note
Be honest about whether you have somebody who will keep a self-hosted deployment patched, because the free version is only free if that person already exists. If not, the hosted tier at $19 an agent is competitive on its own terms and the open source part is a nice fallback rather than the plan.
Only on this side
- Covers community platforms
Crisp
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.
Why people weigh these two
- Crisp instead of Chatwoot
- Crisp is the hosted version of the same shared inbox, priced per workspace rather than per agent, with a free tier and paid from $45.
- Chatwoot instead of Crisp
- Chatwoot is the open-source version of the same every-channel inbox, with a free tier and paid from $19, and you can host it yourself.
Which one should you pick
Choose Chatwoot if you have someone who can keep a self-hosted deployment patched, because that route is free and unlimited and keeps conversation data on your own server. If not, its hosted plan is still reasonable at $19 a person a month billed annually, and it is the only one of this pair built to run entirely on infrastructure you own.
Choose Crisp if you want a small team answering messages without watching a per-seat bill grow. Its paid plans, starting at $45 a month per workspace, include unlimited agents, so a third and fourth person joining the inbox costs nothing extra. The free plan works too, with a real chat widget rather than a countdown, though extra agents on that tier are $10 a month each rather than included.
Common questions
- Which one avoids a per-seat bill as a team grows?
- Crisp does, on its paid plans: Pro at $45 a month, Unlimited at $95 and Enterprise at $295 all include unlimited agents per workspace. Chatwoot's hosted plans charge per agent, from $19 a month each if billed annually, so adding people raises the bill unless you self-host instead.
- Can either one be self-hosted?
- Chatwoot can. It is open source, and the self-hosted version is free and unlimited, with the only cost being the server it runs on. Crisp is hosted only; there is no self-hosted option in its listing.
- What does the free plan give you on each?
- Chatwoot's free hosted tier covers 500 conversations a month with 30 days of history. Crisp's free plan includes the chat widget itself with no conversation cap stated, though extra agents beyond the free allowance cost $10 a month each.
- Do both include AI credits?
- Yes. Chatwoot's Captain AI credits run 300 to 800 a month depending on tier, with more available at $20. Crisp includes $5, $25 or $75 of AI credits a month by tier, metered separately from the subscription.
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.