Crisp alternatives for mobile apps in 2026
Hailbell is our product, built by an indie app developer who uses it in his own apps. We've tried to say plainly where each tool, Crisp included, is the better buy. Facts come from each vendor's own pricing pages and developer docs, checked on November 9, 2026, in US dollars on monthly billing unless noted.
Why app teams look past Crisp
Crisp is a good product, priced per workspace instead of per seat: Free is $0 for 2 seats, Mini $45 a month for 4 seats, Essentials $95 for 10 seats and Plus $295. For a website, that's hard to beat.
App teams usually hit one of three things:
- Customer profiles. Each plan caps contacts: 100 on Free, 5,000 on Mini, 50,000 on Essentials. An app with 10,000 people chatting or identified lands on Essentials at $95 a month.
- Push is for replies only. The SDKs notify users when they get a new chat message. Crisp Campaigns sends email, chat, SMS and WhatsApp, with no mobile push campaigns listed.
- Flutter. Crisp has official SDKs for iOS (iOS 13+), Android and React Native (Expo SDK 53+), but no official Flutter SDK. Flutter apps rely on community packages.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Native mobile SDKs | Push campaigns | AI | Price: 1 seat / 3 seats / 10,000 MAU | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crisp (for reference) | iOS 13+, Android, React Native; no official Flutter | No, reply push only | Hugo, AI credits per plan (none on Free) | Free (2 seats, 100 profiles); $45 (4 seats, 5,000 profiles); $95 for 50,000 profiles | Small teams with a website and many channels |
| Hailbell | Swift (iOS 16+), Kotlin (Android 8+); Flutter and React Native wrap them; web | Yes, every plan | Included on every plan | $29 for 10,000 MAU, any number of seats | App teams and agencies that want chat and push in one SDK |
| Intercom | iOS 15+, Android API 23+, React Native | Add-on, $99/mo for 500 messages | Fin, $0.99 per outcome | $29 / $87 per month ($19 per seat annual), plus Fin | Funded teams with a support department |
| Zendesk | iOS 16+, Android (minSdk 24), Unity; no official Flutter or React Native | No; proactive messages show only while the app is open | 5 automated resolutions per agent a month, then $1.50 to $2.00 each | $69 / $207 on Suite Team ($55 per agent annual) | Large support teams that need ticketing and SLAs |
| Gleap | iOS 15+, Android, React Native, Flutter, Unity and more | Yes, from Growth | Kai, billed by usage | $35 for 1 seat ($29 yearly); push and 4 seats need Growth at $119 ($99 yearly) | Teams that want session replay, surveys and a roadmap in the same SDK |
| Helpshift | iOS 15+, Android, React Native, Unity, Unreal; no official Flutter | Yes | Care AI | Quote only | Game studios with large player bases |
| Chatwoot | Web widget; official Flutter and React Native packages (web view), no native iOS/Android SDK | No | Captain, 300 credits on Startups | $19 / $57 per month; free for 2 agents and 500 conversations | Open source and self-hosting |
| tawk.to | None; load the chat link in a web view | No | AI Assist, free tier, paid from $29/mo | Free, unlimited agents | Websites and apps with no budget |
1. Hailbell
Hailbell is in-app support chat and push for iOS, Android and web apps, in one SDK. The Flutter plugin and the React Native package (Expo included) wrap the native Swift and Kotlin SDKs, so cross-platform apps get the same native chat screen.
Customers write from inside the app. You answer from the dashboard, a Discord forum thread (one per customer) or a Telegram bot, and the reply arrives in the app or as a push. A Hailbell iPhone app for answering on the go is coming soon. When nobody is around, the AI answers first in the customer's language from a knowledge note you write and your Superwall or RevenueCat plans, labels its replies, and hands off when unsure.
Each conversation shows the customer's plan, purchases and paywall events from Superwall and RevenueCat, plus device and country. You can send an offer card that opens one of your paywalls, and see whether they tapped or bought, or a card that opens the store's review page once a problem is solved. Push campaigns go out through APNs, FCM and Web Push with segments, scheduling, local time, quiet hours and daily caps. Customers can also send a bug report by shaking the phone (once you turn it on) or from your own "Report a problem" button: a screenshot they can mark up, their app version, device and last screens arrive in the same chat, and the inbox can filter for them.
Price Pro is $29 a month ($290 a year) for 10,000 monthly active users. Scale is $79 a month ($790 a year) for 100,000. Extra users cost $5 per 10,000. Unlimited seats and apps, AI replies and push on every plan. 14-day trial, no card.
Good to know Hailbell is new. Its public help center is simple: articles with search, no categories or translations, and only the web chat suggests them so far. There's no ticketing and no email, SMS or social inbox. Native chat needs iOS 16 or Android 8, where Crisp goes back to iOS 13.
Fits Subscription apps, small teams and agencies with many client apps. See pricing or read the docs.
2. Intercom
Intercom is the best-known customer service platform, with native iOS and Android SDKs, a React Native package and Fin, one of the strongest AI support agents around.
Price Essential is $29 per seat a month ($19 on annual billing), Advanced $99 ($85 annual), Expert $139 ($132 annual). Fin costs $0.99 per outcome. Push campaigns are in the Proactive Support Plus add-on, $99 a month for 500 messages. 14-day trial, no card.
Good to know Help center, ticketing, many channels and mature reporting. Seats, Fin outcomes and add-ons add up for a small team.
Fits Funded apps with a support team and real ticket volume. More detail in Hailbell vs Intercom for mobile apps.
3. Zendesk
Zendesk is a full customer service suite: ticketing, messaging, help center, voice and AI agents. Its SDKs cover iOS 16 and later, Android (minSdk 24) and Unity. There's no official React Native or Flutter SDK, only community packages.
Price In-app chat starts on Suite Team at $69 per agent a month ($55 annual). Support Team at $25 ($19 annual) is email tickets only. Plans include 5 automated AI resolutions per agent a month (10 on Professional), then $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay as you go. 14-day trial.
Good to know Its mobile "proactive messages" only show while the app is open (Zendesk's own FAQ), so they won't reach people who left.
Fits Large support teams that need SLAs, workforce tools and a big marketplace.
4. Gleap
Gleap mixes support chat with product feedback: bug reports with session replay, a help center, roadmap and surveys, with the Kai AI agent. It has the widest SDK list here, including an official Flutter package.
Price Gleap changed its plans in November 2026. Hobby is $29 a month billed yearly ($35 monthly) for 1 seat and 1 project, with live chat and bug reporting. Push campaigns, session replay, the help center, integrations, API and MCP start on Growth at $99 a month yearly ($119 monthly) with 4 seats, then $25 per extra seat. Pro ($299 yearly, $359 monthly) has unlimited seats. No plan caps users. AI is paid separately, about $0.05 per conversation by Gleap's estimate. 7-day trial, no card. Checked November 12, 2026.
Good to know Hobby costs about what Hailbell Pro does, plus AI usage, but has no push campaigns, session replay or integrations. Gleap's session replay is in beta, and on iOS and Android Gleap doesn't yet recommend it for production apps. Hailbell's bug reports put a screenshot and device details in the chat, with no replay. Gleap's MCP server (Growth and up) can send replies. For a deeper look, see Hailbell vs Gleap.
Fits Product teams that want session replay, surveys and support in one SDK, especially in Flutter.
5. Helpshift
Helpshift is player support for game studios: in-game SDKs including Unity and Unreal, the Care AI agent, push campaigns and optional human agents.
Price No public prices, free plan or self-serve trial. You request a quote based on volume, languages and services.
Good to know No official Flutter SDK. Built for millions of players, with trust and safety tools.
Fits Mid-size and large game studios.
6. Chatwoot
Chatwoot is an open-source support inbox, in the cloud or on your own server, with many channels, a help center and the Captain AI assistant.
Price Cloud Hacker is free for 2 agents and 500 conversations a month. Startups is $19 per agent a month, Business $39, Enterprise $99. Self-hosted Community Edition is free without Captain. 15-day trial.
Good to know Chatwoot publishes official Flutter and React Native packages, but both show the web widget in a web view (the Flutter one can also drive a custom UI over the API). There's no maintained native iOS or Android SDK, and no push campaigns.
Fits Teams that want to own their support data or run it on their own server.
7. tawk.to
tawk.to is free website chat with ticketing, a knowledge base and unlimited agents.
Price Free. Removing the branding is $29 a month per property, and AI Assist has a free tier, then starts at $29 a month.
Good to know There's no mobile SDK; tawk.to says one is on its roadmap and suggests loading its Direct Chat Link in a web view. No push campaigns.
Fits A web app or an app on no budget that can live with chat in a web view.
When to stay on Crisp
Crisp beats Hailbell, and much of this list, in a few places:
- Many channels in one inbox. Email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS, Telegram and phone sit next to chat.
- Ticketing and a fuller knowledge base. Plus adds a ticketing portal, which Hailbell doesn't have. Essentials adds a knowledge base with categories and languages; Hailbell's help center is a plain list of articles with search.
- A real free plan. 2 seats at $0.
- Older devices. Crisp's iOS SDK supports iOS 13; Hailbell needs iOS 16.
If push is already sorted and users mostly write from your website or by email, stay.
How to choose
- You want in-app chat and push campaigns at one price, with purchases in the chat: Hailbell.
- You're an agency answering for many client apps: Hailbell, since seats and apps are unlimited.
- You have a support team with a ticket queue and a help center: Intercom or Zendesk.
- You want session replay, surveys and a roadmap next to support: Gleap Growth.
- You run a big game: Helpshift.
- You want open source or self-hosting: Chatwoot.
- You need chat for nothing and a web view is fine: tawk.to.
Count how many people answer and how many users you have a month before comparing: per-seat prices grow with the team, per-user prices with the app. Try Hailbell or read the docs.
Questions
Does Crisp have a Flutter SDK?
Not an official one. Crisp publishes SDKs for iOS, Android and React Native. Flutter apps use community packages on pub.dev. Hailbell and Gleap have official Flutter packages, and Chatwoot has an official Flutter package that shows its web widget.
Can Crisp send push notification campaigns to app users?
Crisp's mobile SDKs send a push when a customer gets a new chat message. Crisp Campaigns covers email, chat, SMS and WhatsApp, and its campaigns page lists no mobile push campaigns. Hailbell includes push campaigns on every plan, Gleap from its Growth plan, and Intercom through its Proactive Support Plus add-on.
What is the cheapest Crisp alternative for a mobile app?
tawk.to is free but has no mobile SDK, so the chat runs in a web view. With native SDKs, Hailbell is $29 a month for 10,000 monthly active users with unlimited seats, and Gleap Hobby is $29 a month billed yearly ($35 monthly) for one seat, with AI billed per conversation and no push campaigns. Prices checked November 9, 2026, and Gleap's on November 12.
Questions about switching from Crisp? Start a chat with us. It runs on Hailbell, so you see the product while you ask.