How Crisp and Heartbeat compare
Crisp is a shared inbox that small teams can afford. Live chat, email, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram land in one place, with chatbots, a knowledge base, campaigns, a CRM, and MagicReply AI to speed answers. It is priced per workspace rather than per seat, which is rare and kind.
Heartbeat is a friendly place to start a paid community without a big budget. For $49 a month you get channels, threads, chat, voice rooms, DMs, unlimited courses and events, a custom domain, checkout pages, five automation workflows, and Pulse, an AI that actually sets up channels, offers, and pages for you. Grow adds unlimited workflows, DM rules, an affiliate program, and white-label email; Scale adds a branded app. For a founder with a small group who wants courses and calls next to the conversation, Heartbeat covers a lot for the price.
Where they are different
Crisp
- Crisp bolts onto any site.
- Crisp chats with anyone who lands.
- Crisp campaigns are support-flavored.
Heartbeat
- Heartbeat's landing page is the door to a private space.
- Heartbeat emails members through workflows and a weekly digest.
- Heartbeat's events sync to members' calendars.
- Heartbeat charges 5% to 1.25% on payments.
Choose Crisp when you need a multichannel support inbox with live chat and bots for a team.
Choose Heartbeat when a small paid community with courses, calls, and member chat is the product.
Compare features
What's on Crisp and Heartbeat
A check means that capability is available. Crisp and Heartbeat are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.
Site and brand
- Workspace siteCrisp: Not includedHeartbeat: Included
Audience and email
- AudienceCrisp: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Email on your domainCrisp: IncludedHeartbeat: Not included
- Marketing emailsCrisp: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Campaign workflowsCrisp: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
Messaging
- Built-in chatCrisp: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Messaging CenterCrisp: IncludedHeartbeat: Not included
Commerce
- Shop paymentsCrisp: Not includedHeartbeat: Included
Team
- Admin usersCrisp: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Per-admin permissionsCrisp: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Crisp or Heartbeat, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Crisp or Heartbeat may add or remove features that are not shown here.
Crisp vs Heartbeat pricing
Compare plans, prices, and what it costs to get started.
Crisp
Current plans and prices
See what Crisp charges on their pricing page.
Heartbeat
Current plans and prices
See what Heartbeat charges on their pricing page.
Cardel: An alternative to
Crisp and Heartbeat
You don't pay until you publish.
Cardel provides a home for your craft. Share and sell your work, grow your audience, and bring your community together on a site of your own.
Common questions
Is Cardel an alternative to Crisp or Heartbeat?
Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace Crisp or Heartbeat when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where Crisp and Heartbeat are marked.
Can I use Cardel with Crisp or Heartbeat?
Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Crisp or Heartbeat for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.
How much does Cardel cost compared with Crisp and Heartbeat?
You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Crisp and Heartbeat set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.
How do I switch from Crisp or Heartbeat to Cardel?
Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.