- Choose Crisp if you run a support team that needs a full shared inbox — email, WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, phone — plus co-browsing, ticketing, and a knowledge base, all in one place.
- Choose Oscar Chat if you want AI-first automation with predictable flat-rate pricing, built-in popups and lead capture, 50+ languages, and one account covering up to 10 websites.
Pricing: the part that actually decides
Crisp charges a flat rate per workspace (one workspace = one website): Free ($0, 2 seats, 100 contacts, no AI), Mini $45/mo (4 seats, 5,000 contacts), Essentials $95/mo (10 seats, 50,000 contacts), Plus $295/mo (20+ seats, 200,000 contacts). Human conversations are unlimited on every plan — genuinely good value for human-driven support. But AI is metered separately: each paid plan ships with a fixed AI-credit balance — $5 (~90 automated conversations) on Mini, $25 (~450) on Essentials, $75 (~1,350) on Plus — and you top up when it runs out. Every paid plan starts with a 14-day free trial.
Oscar Chat charges a flat monthly fee: Lite is free, Basic is €39/month (€33 on annual) with 3,000 AI messages included, Pro is €65/month with 5,000 AI messages included. Extra messages cost a fixed €2.40 per 1,000 — no credits, no model-based weighting, no seat math. Every new account starts with a 7-day Pro trial. One Pro account covers up to 10 widgets/workspaces — multiple sites from a single login.
The math at 5,000 AI conversations a month
Assumptions stated openly: Crisp's "automated conversations" and Oscar's "AI messages" aren't identical units, but they're the closest comparable measure of AI workload. Crisp prices AI at roughly $0.056 per automated conversation ($5 ≈ 90).
| Crisp | Oscar Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Base plan | Essentials $95/mo (includes $25 AI credits ≈ 450 automated conversations) | Basic €39/mo (3,000 AI messages) |
| Usage | 5,000 − 450 included = 4,550 over | 2,000 over included |
| Overage / top-up | 4,550 × $0.056 ≈ $253 in extra AI credits | 2,000 × €2.40/1,000 = €4.80 |
| Monthly total | ≈ $348 | ≈ €43.80 |
Even at low volume the gap shows: 300 AI conversations a month on Crisp Mini costs $45 + top-up for ~210 conversations (~$12) ≈ $57, while Oscar Basic covers it entirely within the included 3,000 for €39. The metered-AI model penalizes exactly the thing you want — more automated conversations.
And multi-site: 10 websites on Crisp Mini cost $450/mo (one workspace per site); on Oscar Pro the same 10 sites cost €65/mo total.
Feature comparison
| Oscar Chat | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|
| AI chat agent | Yes | Yes (Essentials+; metered AI credits) |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly + fixed overage | Flat per workspace + metered AI credits |
| Popups / lead capture forms | Built in | No (contact form + campaigns only) |
| Click-to-chat widgets | Built in | No |
| Languages | 50+ | 50+ (LiveTranslate) |
| Live chat / human handoff | Yes | Yes |
| Voice / telephony | No | Yes (phone calls, audio/video chat) |
| Co-browsing | No | Yes (MagicBrowse) |
| Knowledge base / help center | No | Yes (Essentials+) |
| Ticketing system | No | Yes (Plus) |
| Websites per account | Up to 10 widgets (Pro) | 1 per workspace (paid per workspace) |
| Integrations | Shopify, Salesforce, Zoho, Klaviyo | 100+: Shopify, WooCommerce, Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Stripe, Zapier… |
| Training | Website URL crawling + file upload (PDF, CSV, TXT, DOCX) | Website + docs (AI knowledge training) |
| Analytics | Built-in | Built-in (advanced on Plus) |
| Compliance | GDPR-oriented | GDPR (French/EU company) |
| Free tier | Lite (free) | Free (2 seats, 100 contacts, no AI) |
Where Crisp genuinely wins
Fair is fair — three things Crisp does better today:
1. Maturity and the shared inbox. Founded in France in 2015 and trusted by 10,000+ companies, Crisp is a complete support suite: shared inbox, private notes, canned responses, routing rules, sub-inboxes, and a real ticketing system on Plus. If support is a team sport, Crisp's workflow tooling is years ahead. 2. Omnichannel and co-browsing. Email, WhatsApp Business, Instagram DMs, SMS, Line, Viber, Twitter DMs, Telegram, and phone calls all land in one inbox — plus MagicBrowse co-browsing and video/audio chat. Nobody else at this price point packs that much. 3. Human-heavy support economics. Conversations handled by humans are truly unlimited on every plan, so a support team that mostly answers manually gets enormous value out of Mini at $45/mo.
Where Oscar Chat wins
1. AI automation cost. Flat €39–65/mo plus €2.40 per 1,000 extra messages beats metered AI credits at any serious volume — see the 5,000-conversation math above. 2. Conversions, not just support. Popups, lead magnets, smart forms, and click-to-chat widgets are part of the platform — you don't need a second tool (and second subscription) for lead capture. 3. Multi-site and languages. Up to 10 websites from one €65/mo Pro account (vs one paid workspace per site on Crisp), and 50+ languages out of the box — built for agencies, brands with several stores, and businesses serving international audiences.
One platform, not one widget
Oscar Chat isn't just a chat bubble. It's a toolkit of website widgets: AI chatbot, live chat, popups, smart lead-capture forms, click-to-chat buttons (WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram), review widgets, and more — all managed from one dashboard, on one bill. Every touchpoint where a visitor can become a customer is covered.
Which should you pick?
- Support team running omnichannel inbox + ticketing: Crisp Essentials or Plus.
- Ecommerce / Shopify store focused on sales and lead capture: Oscar Chat — support plus conversion tools, one predictable bill.
- Agency or brand managing multiple websites: Oscar Chat Pro's 10 workspaces for €65/mo (vs $450+ on Crisp Mini).
- Human agents handling most conversations: Crisp Mini — unlimited human conversations at $45/mo is hard to beat.
- AI-heavy automation at scale: Oscar Chat — metered AI credits get expensive fast.
- Just testing the waters: both have real free tiers — Oscar Chat Lite or Crisp Free.
7-Day Pro Trial for Every New Account
For your first 7 days, you are automatically on the Pro plan.
Pricing verified September 2026 against both vendors' pricing pages. Plans change — check the live pages before deciding.
FAQ
-
Is Oscar Chat cheaper than Crisp?
For human-driven support, Crisp Mini at $45/mo is excellent value. For AI automation, Oscar Chat is much cheaper at scale: at 5,000 AI conversations a month, Oscar Chat Basic costs ~€43.80 vs ~$348 for Crisp Essentials with AI credit top-ups — see the math above. -
Does Crisp have a free plan?
Yes — a genuinely free tier with live chat, 2 seats, 100 contacts, mobile apps, and e-commerce integrations. It doesn't include AI credits, chatbots, triggers, or a knowledge base, but as a free live-chat widget it's one of the best in the category. -
Can I use Crisp for multiple websites?
Yes, but pricing is per workspace — one website per workspace. Ten websites on Mini cost $450/mo. If you run several sites, Oscar Chat Pro covers up to 10 widgets/workspaces for €65/mo total. -
Does Crisp offer an AI chatbot?
Yes, from the Essentials plan ($95/mo) with a no-code workflow builder, AI knowledge training, and an internal AI copilot. Note that AI usage is metered: Essentials includes ~450 automated conversations per month, and you top up AI credits beyond that. -
Does Oscar Chat integrate with Shopify?
Yes — Shopify is a core integration, alongside Salesforce, Zoho, and Klaviyo. There's a dedicated setup guide for adding Oscar Chat to a Shopify store. -
Does Oscar Chat have a free plan?
Yes — Oscar Chat Lite is free forever and includes real AI chat. Crisp's free tier covers live chat for 2 seats but no AI features. -
How long does it take to set up Oscar Chat?
Minutes. Add one JavaScript snippet to your site or connect via the Shopify integration, let the AI crawl your website for training, and you're live — with a 7-day Pro trial on every new account. -
Can Oscar Chat handle WhatsApp and Instagram messages?
Oscar Chat offers click-to-chat buttons for WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, and Instagram that open conversations instantly. For a full shared inbox where agents reply across all channels in one place, Crisp is the stronger tool.
