# Crisp vs Zendesk

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Zendesk

| Attribute | Crisp | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 59.6 (54% (medium)) | 68.2 (69% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A unified inbox platform that consolidates emails, live chat, SMS, and social media messages from multiple channels, featuring AI-powered chatbots, automated workflows, and team collaboration tools for managing customer support at scale. It is indexed under Customer Support.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"What is Crisp?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Crisp is a paid product; published pricing starts at $10 per agent per month. It is sold across 3 plans (Starter, Team and Enterprise). There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"How much does Crisp cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Crisp supports the web, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"What platforms does Crisp support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Crisp, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"Can Crisp be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 12 integrations for Crisp, including Email, WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Slack and Zapier, plus 4 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"What does Crisp integrate with?","confidence":0.6}]` | `[{"answer":"A cloud platform that deploys AI agents to handle customer and employee service requests. Agents improve with each interaction, manage high volumes autonomously, and operate across voice and digital channels without requiring technical configuration. It is indexed under Customer Support.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com","question":"What is Zendesk?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Zendesk offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com","question":"Is Zendesk free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Zendesk. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com","question":"What platforms does Zendesk support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Zendesk, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com","question":"Can Zendesk be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA for Zendesk. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Zendesk not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com/security","question":"What security certifications does Zendesk have?","confidence":0.7}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A unified platform that enables businesses to manage customer communications through chat and messaging, with APIs and SDKs for web and mobile app integration. | A cloud platform that deploys AI agents to handle customer and employee service requests. Agents improve with each interaction, manage high volumes autonomously, and operate across voice and digital channels without requiring technical configuration. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"cloud","ai_agent":true,"sso_scim":false,"free_tier":true,"live_chat":true,"ticketing":true,"api_access":true,"omnichannel":true,"sla_routing":true,"shared_inbox":true,"knowledge_base":true,"voice_telephony":false,"automation_macros":true,"reporting_dashboards":true}` | `{"hosting":"cloud","ai_agent":true,"free_tier":true,"live_chat":true,"ticketing":true,"omnichannel":true,"knowledge_base":true,"voice_telephony":true,"deployment_model":"cloud_managed_saas","automation_macros":true,"reporting_dashboards":true}` |
| integrations.count | 100 | 1,800 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Email"},{"name":"WhatsApp"},{"name":"Messenger"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"Twitter"},{"name":"Instagram"},{"name":"Slack","native":true,"category":"chat","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Zapier","native":true,"category":"automation"},{"name":"n8n","native":true,"category":"automation"},{"name":"Facebook Messenger","native":true,"category":"chat","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"WhatsApp Business","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Viber","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Line","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Telegram","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"bidirectional"}]` | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Starter","features":["Shared inbox","Chat SDKs","E-Commerce integrations"],"description":"For solopreneurs and entrepreneurs starting their first shared inbox","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Team","summary":"$295/mo for 20 agents, $10/mo per additional agent","features":["Omnichannel AI Chatbot","100+ integrations","Custom dashboards","Workflow automation builder"],"minSeats":20,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":295,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"agent","amount":10,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For medium-sized businesses with AI-powered omnichannel customer support","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","features":["Dedicated onboarding","Personalized SLAs","Custom features"],"description":"For large-scale companies with dedicated support and personalized SLAs","contactSales":true}],"summary":"From $295/mo for 20 agents. 14-day free trial. Yearly billing available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-03T17:53:03.939Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":295,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.zendesk.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T16:47:54.531Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | no | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | high | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":295,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.fedramp | - | yes |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.pci | - | yes |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |

## Capabilities (Customer Support)

| Capability | Crisp | Zendesk |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Ticket / case management | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Channels** |  |  |
| Live chat | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shared inbox | ✓ | - |
| Omnichannel (email+chat+social+voice) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Voice / telephony | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Self-service** |  |  |
| Self-service knowledge base | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Automation** |  |  |
| SLAs, triggers & routing | ✓ | - |
| Automation / macros | ✓ | ✓ |
| **AI** |  |  |
| AI agent / copilot | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Insight** |  |  |
| Reporting & dashboards | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Cloud only |
| **Enterprise** |  |  |
| SSO / SCIM | ✗ | - |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Public API | ✓ | - |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Free tier | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:15:15.722Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*