Crisp vs Zendesk
Both ladders below were read from the vendors’ own pricing pages, in this market, on the dates shown. Nothing is converted: what you see is what each page showed a reader here.
What each one is
Crispsite ↗pricing ↗
A customer messaging tool bundling chat, shared inbox and a knowledge base at a flat price. Paid plans start at $45/mo (Mini); no free plan is published. The ladder we hold runs 3 paid tiers, topping out at $295/mo (Plus). We read the same $45/mo in every market we check, so this vendor does not price by country. It quotes USD here rather than local currency, so your bank sets the conversion.
Zendesksite ↗pricing ↗
A customer service platform built around ticketing, aimed at larger support operations. Paid plans start at £45/mo (Suite Team); no free plan is published. The ladder we hold runs 2 paid tiers, topping out at £89/mo (Suite Professional). It bills by country — entry $55/mo to a US reader, from our same-day reads. Its published prices moved on 2026-10-12 — the change log holds the rows.
The two ladders
Crispsite ↗pricing ↗
read 2026-10-13 · USD
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Mini | $45/mo |
| Essentials | $95/mo |
| Plus | $295/mo |
Zendesksite ↗pricing ↗
read 2026-10-13 · GBP
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Suite Team | £45/mo |
| Suite Professional | £89/mo |
Where they differ
- Cheapest way in: both start at $45/mo in this market.
- Free plans: neither publishes one. Any free access here is a trial, which is a deadline.
- How far each ladder goes: Crisp tops out at $295/mo, Zendesk at £89/mo. A deeper ladder is not a worse deal — it is a bill that keeps climbing if you keep growing.
- Recently moved: Zendesk (2026-10-12). A change only counts once a second clean read agrees.
- Crisp: We read the same $45/mo in every market we check, so this vendor does not price by country. It quotes USD here rather than local currency, so your bank sets the conversion.
- Zendesk: It bills by country — entry $55/mo to a US reader, from our same-day reads.
How to choose in this category
- A per-conversation plan can beat a per-seat one for a small team and lose badly as ticket counts grow.
- Free rows are common here; read whether they cap seats, conversations or channels.
- Count your monthly conversations before comparing — the two billing bases only meet at one volume.