Does Crisp or Zendesk have a free plan?

Crisp has a free plan. Zendesk does not, though it offers a free trial.

How long is the Crisp and Zendesk free trial?

Crisp offers a 14-day free trial, and Zendesk offers a 14-day free trial.

Which is easier to use, Crisp or Zendesk?

In VERILO's editorial assessment Crisp is the easier of the two, scoring 4 out of 5 against 3 for Zendesk. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

Crisp vs Zendesk

A side-by-side look at Crisp and Zendesk: what each costs to start, whether there is a free plan, how easy they are to pick up, and which features and integrations they cover.

Which should you choose?

Choose Crisp if

Startups and small businesses that want chat-first support on a flat budget
Teams handling WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram alongside website chat
Founders who want a self-serve tool with desktop apps

Visit Crisp

Choose Zendesk if

Support teams of 10 or more agents handling high ticket volumes
Companies that need multiple channels, SLAs and audit-ready reporting
Businesses with a large existing app stack that need marketplace integrations

Visit Zendesk

Cheapest to start

Not confirmed

Free plan

Crisp

Highest editor rating

Zendesk · 4.5

Comparison of Crisp and Zendesk
Compare	Crisp Visit site	Zendesk Visit site
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Starting price	From $45/mo	From $19/mo
Editor rating	3.9	4.5
Ease of use	Easy (4/5)	Moderate (3/5)
Category	Customer Support	Customer Support
Pricing model	A free plan covers two seats with basic live chat. Paid plans are flat fees per workspace: Mini at approximately $45 per month, Essentials at approximately $95 per month and Plus at approximately $295 per month, each bundling a fixed number of seats, with Crisp AI sold as an add-on.	Support-only plans start at $19 per agent per month billed annually; the full Zendesk Suite runs from $55 (Team) to $115 (Professional) per agent per month annually, with Enterprise priced on request. AI agent resolutions and the copilot add-on are billed separately.
Plans	Free — Free Mini — $45/mo Essentials — $95/mo Plus — $295/mo	Support Team — $19/user/mo Suite Team — $55/user/mo Suite Professional — $115/user/mo Suite Enterprise — Custom
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, API	Web, iOS, Android, API
Integrations	Facebook & Instagram, HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify, Slack, WhatsApp, WordPress, Zapier	Facebook & Instagram, HubSpot, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Shopify, Slack, Trello, WhatsApp, Zapier
Best for	Startups and small businesses that want chat-first support on a flat budget Teams handling WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram alongside website chat Founders who want a self-serve tool with desktop apps	Support teams of 10 or more agents handling high ticket volumes Companies that need multiple channels, SLAs and audit-ready reporting Businesses with a large existing app stack that need marketplace integrations
Pros	Flat per-workspace pricing instead of per-seat fees Live chat, shared inbox, knowledge base, chatbot and campaigns in one product Native desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux plus iOS and Android apps Lightweight chat widget with a large set of channel connectors	Mature ticketing engine with triggers, automations, macros, SLAs and skills-based routing Covers email, chat, voice, WhatsApp and social messaging in one agent workspace Largest app marketplace in the category, plus a well-documented API Strong reporting and dashboards through Zendesk Explore Multi-brand help centers with localization
Cons	No formal ticketing, SLA management or skills-based routing Reporting is basic compared with Zendesk or Intercom Seat caps on each plan mean growing teams jump to the next tier Vendor support is chat and documentation based, with no account management on lower plans	Per-agent pricing gets expensive, and useful features are gated behind Professional and Enterprise AI agents, copilot and advanced data retention are paid add-ons on top of seat fees Configuration of views, triggers and routing takes real setup time and often an admin Smaller teams pay for capabilities they will not use
AI agents	Yes	Yes
API access	Yes	Yes
Chatbot	Yes	Yes
Desktop app	Yes	No
Knowledge base / help centre	Yes	Yes
Live chat	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	No
Multichannel inbox (email, chat, social)	Yes	Yes
Reporting & dashboards	No	Yes
Shared inbox	Yes	No
SLA management	No	Yes
SSO / SAML	No	Yes
Ticketing	No	Yes
Webhooks	Yes	No
WhatsApp channel	Yes	Yes
Workflow automation	Yes	Yes

Common questions

Does Crisp or Zendesk have a free plan?: Crisp has a free plan. Zendesk does not, though it offers a free trial.
How long is the Crisp and Zendesk free trial?: Crisp offers a 14-day free trial, and Zendesk offers a 14-day free trial.
Which is easier to use, Crisp or Zendesk?: In VERILO's editorial assessment Crisp is the easier of the two, scoring 4 out of 5 against 3 for Zendesk. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

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