Crisp vs tawk.to:
staff the service behind the chat widget.
Separate the software package, the people answering and customer-facing AI usage.
A free widget does not provide
an answered conversation.
Include tawk.to when you want to evaluate its free chat, ticketing and knowledge-base core while providing your own staffing. Include Crisp when the required shared inbox, routing, knowledge base and AI features fit a paid workspace package. Map the channels and agent access first; neither a free licence nor a flat fee establishes the response time or quality you will deliver.
Seven differences that change the shortlist
| Buying question | Crisp | tawk.to |
|---|---|---|
| Free agent arrangement | Free includes two agents | Free core; any number of property members can be invited |
| Next paid scope | Mini includes four agents and shared email; Essentials includes ten and a knowledge base | Optional paid branding, AI and staffing services sit alongside the free core |
| Knowledge base | Essentials and above | Hosted knowledge base is free |
| Workspace fee | Rendered EUR: Mini 45, Essentials 95, Plus 295 per month | Core software has no subscription fee; price selected add-ons separately |
| Agent expansion | Plus lists 20+ included agents; additional seats are a separate EUR10 monthly line | Adding members does not provide an employee or an outsourced agent |
| AI usage | Hugo uses credits separately from the workspace fee | AI Assist has its own package and capacity; it is not unlimited core chat |
| Buying evidence | Test the selected channel, role, routing and handover | Test chat, ticket follow-up, notifications and the chosen staffing model |
Four worked buying briefs
These are hypothetical scenarios with explicit assumptions. They do not establish equal capabilities, measured usability or a negotiated price.
| Crisp package | Listed monthly workspace fee EUR | Twelve identical monthly fees EUR | Included agents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini | €45 | €540 | 4 |
| Essentials | €95 | €1140 | 10 |
| Plus | €295 | €3540 | 20+ |
Two people answering website chat
Can the initial licence arrangement fit the team?
Crisp: The Free two-agent allowance fits this headcount; verify retained features.
tawk.to: The free core can include both property members.
Set hours, ownership and an offline handover. A licence fit says nothing about whether one or both people are available when a customer writes.
Four people need shared email
Which package completes the email workflow?
Crisp: Mini has four included agents and a shared inbox; twelve listed monthly fees total EUR540.
tawk.to: Test ticket/email handling on the free core and confirm any needed extras.
The Crisp total is 12 × EUR45 with a fixed workspace package. Tax, other channels, AI and staffing are not priced, and the two arrangements are not declared equivalent.
Six agents need a customer knowledge base
Does the knowledge base change the entry package?
Crisp: Essentials includes a knowledge base and ten agents; twelve monthly fees total EUR1,140.
tawk.to: The knowledge-base core is free; test its customer journey and access.
The same brief includes search, a useful answer and an escalation into a human conversation. Separate optional tawk.to branding removal and other services from the free core.
A larger team also wants automated replies
Does included agent access include all AI consumption?
Crisp: Quote Plus or the required arrangement, actual additional seats and Hugo usage.
tawk.to: Quote AI Assist capacity, handover behaviour and any hired-agent coverage.
No shared unit or quality benchmark is assumed between Hugo and AI Assist. Keep the human staffing cost even when AI handles part of the queue.
Define one customer journey in each channel
Write the full path from the first question to a completed answer: widget, email, assignment, follow-up and escalation. The package must support the channels you actually use. A ticketing feature and a shared mailbox can organise different work, so check the thread, sender identity and reply history in the trial.
Crisp’s checked EUR monthly workspace fees are 45 for Mini, 95 for Essentials and 295 for Plus. These are not per-agent prices and are not verified GBP rates. Agent allowances and paid extra seats remain package-specific. Ask for the billing cycle and full GBP proposal before comparing invoices.
Put human coverage in a separate budget line
tawk.to’s core software is free and supports property members without a per-agent core licence fee. That does not pay those people or provide 24-hour coverage. Optional hired agents, AI Assist, branding removal and communication add-ons have their own service terms.
For a hypothetical two-hour daily support window on 22 working days, budget 44 coverage hours. Multiply by the applicable internal or contracted fully loaded hourly cost only after you know what the service includes. Training, escalation and supervision still require ownership.
Ask who answers an urgent question, what they may approve and how they reach your team. Test a missed conversation and an unresolved ticket as well as a successful chat.
AI credits and ordinary conversations are different budgets
Crisp’s Hugo allowance is a USD usage value, even when the workspace subscription is displayed in EUR. The included credit amount is not a fixed promise of resolved conversations: context, model, reply length and tools can change consumption.
Crisp’s current billing guidance says that if included Hugo credits are used up and Pay-As-You-Go is disabled, new conversations are escalated to human operators. Decide on the spending setting and the handover before enabling customer-facing AI. Tests and Playground use can also consume credits.
Ask tawk.to for the AI Assist arrangement, capacity and what happens at its limit. Do not assume a free core chat conversation is a free AI answer. No AI quality, resolution-rate or cost-per-resolution benchmark was run here.
Try chat, offline follow-up and a safe escalation
On a test website, send a synthetic question, assign it to another test agent and check that the context follows. Use an offline message and verify the email/ticket path. Read the customer-facing answer on a phone.
Publish one synthetic help article and test its search, linking and escalation path. With any AI, ask a question it cannot answer and confirm that it reaches a human with the relevant context.
No Crisp–tawk.to service trial, widget installation or customer email was performed for this article. Treat this as the matched acceptance checklist for the package you intend to keep.
Questions before you choose
Is Crisp priced per agent?
The checked base packages use a workspace fee with included agent allowances. Additional seats on the relevant package and AI usage can be separate charges.
Is tawk.to’s free core the same as free staffed support?
No. The software licence is separate from the people answering. Providing internal coverage or purchasing an optional staffing service adds its own cost and scope.
Which Crisp plan includes a knowledge base?
The checked Essentials package and higher include a knowledge base. Its ten included agents make a six-agent example fit that seat allowance, but other requirements still need review.
Will a fixed AI allowance guarantee a number of resolved chats?
A credit allowance is not a verified resolution guarantee. Model usage, conversation context and handover rules differ; no comparable resolution benchmark is established.
Keep the assumptions with the figures
Use the date, billing cycle, units and limits with each example. Check current account terms before purchasing. Unverified prices and model costs stay unpriced.
Download the buying examples as JSON ↓Share the comparison
Use these examples when discussing the shortlist with your team.