Crisp chat alternatives for Shopify in 2026: 8 tools priced for one store

Last updated October 12, 2026. Every price and rating below was checked that day on the vendor's own pricing page and Shopify App Store listing.

Crisp is a customer messaging app with one flat price per workspace, and many small teams like it for that. You are probably not here to escape a bad app.

Merchants who look around usually hit the AI side of the bill. Crisp's AI runs on included credits, and AI trained on your own content starts at its $95 plan.

So the useful comparison is how each alternative charges for AI. Below are eight Shopify-ready options, sorted by that question.

Crisp alternatives and competitors at a glance

Each row shows what the tool bills for and its one catch. Ratings come from each app's Shopify App Store listing on October 12, 2026:

Why merchants look for a Crisp alternative

Crisp is not a weak app. Its Shopify listing shows 4.0 stars from 34 reviews, and 82% of them are five stars. A March 2025 reviewer wrote that it "offers unbeatable pricing."

We read all 34 Crisp reviews on October 12, 2026. Only 6 are three stars or lower, so treat these as examples rather than a trend:

• Account access. Three one-star reviews from 2023 and 2024 describe blocked sign-ups, staff who could not log in, or an account suspended mid-verification. In September 2025 another wrote that it is "very hard to leave once you've registered."
• Email handling. A two-star review from September 2025 says spam and real customer emails "appear together," and you "can't bulk-select and delete multiple emails."
• Cost on a small store. A three-star review from 2023 found it "too high of a cost for a monthly fee," with a free version that is "too limited."

The structural reason sits on Crisp's pricing page. Crisp argues against billing "based on consumption," yet its AI runs on credits. Mini includes about 90 automated conversations, Essentials about 450, and the Free plan includes none.

So once AI does real work in your store, the question becomes how each alternative charges for it.

What a Crisp alternative costs for the same store

List prices hide the real question. So we priced one store under every tool, using each vendor's monthly list prices on October 12, 2026.

The store has 3 support agents and 400 chats a month. AI resolves 250 of them on its own, trained on the store's own products and policies. The team handles the other 150.

Two notes keep this fair. Help Scout, Re:amaze, Intercom and Zendesk charge only when the AI resolves a chat. Chatty counts every conversation the AI replies to, and Crisp's credits are an estimate.

Tidio is left out because its Lyro price at this volume comes from a calculator, not a list price. Our Tidio alternatives guide prices it for a similar store.

Crisp alternatives that bill per AI conversation

These two count chats rather than seats. Your cost follows how many shoppers the AI talks to:

Chatty: AI that sells from your Shopify catalog

Chatty is the app we build, so weigh this section with that in mind. Its AI learns your products, custom answers, URLs and files. Even the Free plan trains it on up to 200 products.

It recommends products as cards with an Add to cart button, which puts the item in the shopper's real Shopify cart. There is no seat fee, and a chat your team answers by hand never counts.

Chatty also includes a Helpdesk on every plan, including Free. It turns support emails into tickets with a priority, an assignee and a status. Here is how it lines up:

• Best for: Shopify stores where shoppers ask about products before they buy, and you want catalog-trained AI on a small budget.
• Not a fit if: your team runs on SLA policies, macros and automation rules. Chatty's Helpdesk has none of those, so a dedicated helpdesk will serve you better.
• Pricing: Free includes 50 AI conversations a month. Basic is $19.99 for 100, Pro $68.99 for 500 and Plus $199 for 1,000. Extras cost $0.40 each, and you can set a spending limit in the app.
• Rating: 4.9 from 1,877 reviews, with 96% at five stars. Many reviews name the support staff who helped them.

The full plan table lists the products, team members and chat history on each plan.

Tidio: chat, AI and Flows priced as separate parts

Tidio counts conversations in two meters. A Lyro conversation is one the AI handles, and a billable conversation is one where your team replies. Flows, its automation builder, is priced on its own.

Here is where it fits:

• Best for: small teams that want chat, AI and automation flows in one app.
• Not a fit if: you liked Crisp for its single bill. Human chats and AI chats move to bigger tiers separately.
• Pricing: its Shopify listing sells Customer Service at $29 a month for 100 conversations, Flows at $29 and Lyro at $39. Tidio's own pricing page sells bundled tiers, from $24.17 a month billed yearly.
• Rating: 4.8 from 1,354 reviews.
• The catch: three meters instead of Crisp's one.

Crisp alternatives that charge seats plus a fee per AI resolution

These four bill each person who logs in, then add a fee when the AI resolves a chat. They are full helpdesks, and the AI rate decides how fast the bill grows:

Help Scout: a shared inbox with AI as an add-on

Help Scout is built around a shared email inbox, with live chat, social channels and a knowledge base. Its Shopify app shows order details next to each conversation and lets agents edit, cancel or refund orders.

Here is where it fits:

• Best for: email-heavy teams that want a clean inbox and a help center in one tool.
• Not a fit if: you want AI included in the plan price.
• Pricing: Standard is $25 per user a month billed yearly, Plus $45 and Pro $75, on Help Scout's pricing page. AI Answers costs $0.75 per resolution.
• Rating: 3.7 from 19 reviews, a small sample.
• The catch: AI Answers is billed per resolution on top of every seat.

Re:amaze: a helpdesk with a few AI resolutions included

Re:amaze combines email, live chat, social, SMS and calls in one inbox, with a public FAQ and order details next to each conversation. Each plan includes a few AI Agent resolutions per user.

Here is where it fits:

• Best for: small teams that want a full helpdesk with chat and an FAQ at a low seat price.
• Not a fit if: AI will handle most of your volume, since only a few resolutions are included.
• Pricing: Basic $29, Pro $49 and Plus $69 per team member a month, on Re:amaze's pricing page. Plans include 5, 10 or 20 AI resolutions per user a month, then $0.85 each.
• Rating: 4.4 from 181 reviews.
• The catch: at real AI volume, the resolution fee soon costs more than the seats.

Intercom with Fin: AI priced per outcome

Intercom pairs a full helpdesk with Fin, its AI agent. Fin bills per outcome, and it can also run on top of a helpdesk you already use.

Here is where it fits:

• Best for: larger support teams that want deep reporting and AI they pay for only when it closes a chat.
• Not a fit if: you are a small store watching every dollar, since seats and outcomes both grow.
• Pricing: Essential $39, Advanced $99 and Expert $139 per seat a month on its Shopify listing, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome. Intercom's own site shows $19, $85 and $132 per seat billed yearly.
• Rating: 3.7 from 18 reviews, with 22% at one star.
• The catch: an outcome counts when a shopper confirms the answer, and also when they simply do not ask for more help.

Our guide to cheaper options prices Intercom against eight other tools.

Zendesk: enterprise ticketing with AI agents

Zendesk is the enterprise standard for ticketing, SLAs and routing across many channels. Each Suite plan includes a few automated resolutions for its AI agents.

Here is where it fits:

• Best for: large teams with strict SLAs and many channels.
• Not a fit if: you are a small Shopify team, since you pay per agent and per extra resolution.
• Pricing: Suite Team is $69 per agent a month, or $55 billed yearly, on Zendesk's pricing page. It includes 5 automated resolutions per agent a month, then $1.50 each committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go.
• Rating: 3.2 from 94 reviews, with 30% at one star.
• The catch: its Shopify listing warns that Zendesk may bill charges separately from your Shopify invoice.

A Crisp alternative that bills per ticket: Gorgias

Gorgias is a Shopify helpdesk built around tickets. It pulls order data into each ticket, and seats are unlimited from Basic up. On Basic and up, its AI Agent can run actions such as cancelling an order or applying a discount.

Here is where it fits:

• Best for: support teams with several agents who handle order questions across email, chat and social.
• Not a fit if: most of your chats are pre-sale product questions.
• Pricing: Starter $10 a month for 50 tickets, Basic $60 for 300, Pro $360 for 2,000. The AI Agent adds $0.85 to $1.00 per automated interaction, by plan, on Gorgias's pricing page.
• Rating: 4.3 from 704 reviews, with 10% at one star.
• The catch: two meters. A busy month raises both your ticket count and your AI interactions.

Shopify Inbox: the free Crisp alternative to beat

Shopify Inbox is Shopify's own chat app, and it now puts an AI sales associate on your storefront. It learns from your catalog, policies and store content, and you set its tone and rules.

Any paid tool on this list has to beat it:

• Best for: new stores that want free chat with AI and no extra bill.
• Not a fit if: you need email tickets or social channels in one inbox. Its App Store category is Chat, not Helpdesk.
• Pricing: free on its Shopify App Store listing.
• Rating: 4.6 from 5,810 reviews.
• The catch: the agent personalizes replies with Shop preferences and purchase history only when the buyer signs in with Shop.

Which Crisp alternative fits your store

Start from how much work the AI will do, then pick the tool that charges least for it:

• AI handles most chats, mostly product questions: Chatty, which bills neither seats nor human chats.
• Your team still answers most chats and wants flows: Tidio.
• Email-heavy support with a help center: Help Scout or Re:amaze.
• Order problems worked as tickets: Gorgias.
• A large team with strict SLAs: Zendesk or Intercom.
• No budget yet: Shopify Inbox, or stay on Crisp's free plan.

Before you commit, run three checks:

• Count last month's chats in Crisp, and how many the AI closed without a person.
• Find out what happens at the limit: a credit top-up, a per-unit fee you can cap, or a forced upgrade.
• Ask the AI ten real questions from your inbox during the free trial.

If the AI meter is the part you are pricing, our guide to AI chatbot pricing explains each model.

FAQ