Looking for a Crisp alternative?

Crisp is a multi-channel customer support platform. Chat, email, SMS, WhatsApp, and more, all flowing into a single shared inbox with AI workflows and a built-in CRM. For teams running support across multiple channels, it’s a well-regarded option with a polished product.

The catch is that Crisp’s value proposition is breadth. If you’re only using the live chat widget and you’re replying from your phone between meetings, you’re paying for infrastructure you don’t touch. And Crisp’s “Telegram integration” means Telegram messages get pulled into Crisp’s inbox. You’re still replying from Crisp, not from Telegram.

The TL;DR

Crisp is a strong platform if you genuinely need omnichannel support. If you’re a small site that just needs a chat widget and wants replies in Telegram, it’s overbuilt and overpriced for that use case. Bubblegram is narrower by design: it routes chat to Telegram and nothing else.

If this describes your setup, you can try Bubblegram free at dash.bubblegram.co. No credit card needed.

Why people switch

The seat pricing cliff. Crisp’s free plan caps at 2 seats. The moment you need a third person, you jump to Mini at $45/mo for 4 seats. Need more than 4? Essentials is $95/mo for 10. Need more than 10? Plus is $295/mo for 20. These aren’t gradual increases. They’re cliffs. On Capterra and G2, reviewers frequently cite this as the reason they left: the pricing felt fair until they needed one more seat.

Telegram integration isn’t what it sounds like. Crisp advertises Telegram support, and technically it delivers: Telegram messages appear in Crisp’s shared inbox. But “supports Telegram” and “lets you reply from Telegram” are different things. Teams who chose Crisp specifically for Telegram often realize they’re still tied to Crisp’s dashboard. The messages go through Crisp’s system, not through your Telegram app.

Too much product for a simple need. Crisp’s interface is built around its multichannel inbox: conversations, contacts, campaigns, automations, a help center. If you’re using all of it, the interface makes sense. If you just wanted a chat widget, you’re navigating past features you’ll never open. Several Reddit threads mention this: “I just wanted live chat, not a whole platform.”

Free plan limitations hit suddenly. The free plan has no workflows, no AI, and no integrations beyond basic chat. Teams start there, build a workflow around it, then discover the features they assumed were included are locked behind the $45/mo tier. The gap between “free” and “first paid plan” is larger than it appears from the pricing page.

What Crisp does better

Crisp is genuinely good at being a unified inbox. If your support involves email threads, SMS follow-ups, WhatsApp messages, and live chat, all for the same customer, Crisp connects those conversations into one view. It has internal notes so your team can discuss a case without the customer seeing it. It has AI that can draft replies. It has a CRM that tracks contact history.

Bubblegram does none of that. It doesn’t handle email, SMS, or WhatsApp. There’s no CRM, no internal notes, no AI. If you need any of those things, Crisp is the right tool and Bubblegram isn’t.

Also considering Tawk.to, Tidio, or Chatwoot? We compared those too. Want the pricing math specifically? See our Crisp pricing breakdown, or head-to-head with Tawk.to and Tidio.