Tidio vs Crisp (2026)
Tidio and Crisp are both affordable live-chat and helpdesk tools for small teams, but Tidio leans into chatbots and ecommerce while Crisp leans into a startup-friendly shared inbox. Here's how to pick.
Tidio
Live chat, help desk and AI chatbot (Lyro) for small and mid-size businesses, with Flows automations. Used mostly by ecommerce stores and small support teams.
Crisp
Customer support platform with a shared inbox, web chat widget, no-code AI agents, knowledge base and a support CRM. Priced per workspace, not per agent, with a free plan.
TL;DR
- Pick Tidio if you run an online store and want live chat plus easy-to-build chatbots and AI replies that recover carts and answer FAQs automatically — strong Shopify and ecommerce fit.
- Pick Crisp if you're a startup or SaaS team that wants an all-in-one shared inbox tying together chat, email, and social, with a generous feature set at a flat, predictable price.
Pricing
Tidio has a free plan with limited conversations, then tiers (Starter, Growth, Plus) that scale by seats and conversation volume, plus metered pricing for its Lyro AI agent. Crisp also offers a free tier, with Pro and Unlimited plans priced per workspace rather than strictly per seat, which gets cheaper as your team grows. For a small team that wants many agents, Crisp's flat pricing often wins; for low-volume stores, Tidio's free tier is a strong start.
Core strengths
Tidio's strength is its visual chatbot builder and ecommerce automations — abandoned-cart flows, product cards in chat, and the Lyro AI agent that resolves common questions. Crisp's strength is breadth as a unified inbox: it bundles chat, a shared team inbox, a CRM-lite contact view, a knowledge base, status pages, and a chatbot builder into one product. Tidio is the sharper conversion tool; Crisp is the broader support platform.
Ticketing and automation
Both turn conversations into a manageable queue. Crisp's MagicBrowse, co-browsing, and integrated inbox make it feel like a lightweight helpdesk for product teams. Tidio's automations are tuned for triggered messages and chatbot flows that nudge shoppers. Crisp handles multi-channel triage a bit more naturally; Tidio handles proactive, sales-oriented automation better.
Channels and integrations
Tidio integrates tightly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other ecommerce platforms, and connects Messenger and Instagram. Crisp connects email, Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Line, and Twitter/X into one inbox, plus a good API and a public plugin marketplace. If your customers live across messaging channels, Crisp consolidates more of them.
Reporting
Both provide conversation volume, response-time, and satisfaction metrics. Tidio adds ecommerce-flavored analytics around chatbot performance and revenue influenced; Crisp adds team-performance and inbox analytics suited to support operations.
Bottom line
Choose Tidio if you're selling online and want chat plus conversion-focused bots. Choose Crisp if you want one affordable, multi-channel inbox for a growing startup. Both have free plans — install each on a test page and see which matches your channels and volume.
Try them yourself
Need help moving to Tidio or Crisp?
Craftt, the CRM team behind weekcrm, plans and runs the migration: field mapping, deduplication, history and a cutover your team won't notice. You get a fixed quote within one business day.