Crisp's team plan is $95/month — $1,140 a year. Intercom bills per seat, plus usage. Chatlet is the same chat bubble in the corner of your site, except you host it: one tiny Node server, one SQLite file, unlimited sites, unlimited agents, unlimited conversations, and no branding-removal fee because there's no branding.
If you've searched for a Crisp alternative, Chatlet is the pay-once option worth putting at the top of the list: Chatlet is $49, one time, and covers the same core job Crisp charges $95/mo (Plus) for.
What makes Chatlet the pick for 2026
- One-line embed — A single script tag. Shadow-DOM widget (~9 KB of dependency-free JS), so your site's CSS can't break it.
- Real-time over WebSockets — Automatic reconnect, an outgoing message queue, and a transparent HTTP-polling fallback when corporate firewalls block WS.
- Agent dashboard — Live-updating inbox with open/closed states and unread badges, typing indicators both ways, sound + browser notifications.
- Visitor context sidebar — Current page, referrer, browser and full past-conversation history beside every chat.
- Canned responses — Type /shortcut in the composer to fire saved replies instantly — full CRUD in the dashboard.
Chatlet vs Crisp, at a glance
| Chatlet | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 once | $95/month Plus plan ($1,140/yr) |
| Cost over 3 years | $49 | ~$3,420 |
| Agents | Unlimited | Per-plan limits |
| Sites | Unlimited | Per-plan limits |
| Remove branding | There is none | Paid |
| Canned responses | Included | Paid tier |
| Your data | Your server, one SQLite file | Their cloud |
| Source code | MIT, yours | Closed |
Chatlet pays for itself in under 3 weeks vs Crisp's team plan — then live chat is free for as long as you run a website.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/live-chat-mvp. $49 buys the packaged version, 1-click setup and updates.
Does it have chatbots or AI answers?
No — Chatlet is human-to-human live chat done properly: real-time delivery, typing indicators, canned responses, offline messages. Intercom's Fin-style AI agents and workflow bots are genuinely beyond its scope; if you need those, Intercom earns its (considerable) price.
Do I need a server?
For visitors on the public internet, yes — the widget needs a public address, so budget a $5 VPS. Desktop mode runs the same server locally and doubles as your agent console.
The bottom line
Chatlet won't out-feature Crisp on every axis — no subscription tool with a bigger team and a bigger roadmap loses on everything. But for the core job, $49 once against $95/mo (Plus) forever is a trade most people should at least look at. Chatlet is part of OneTimeSuite, a catalog of pay-once apps that replace subscription SaaS.
Try Chatlet — $49, once
Self-hosted live chat — real-time widget, agent dashboard, canned replies, offline messages.