Chatlet and Crisp solve the same problem from opposite directions: one is source-available software you can own outright for $49, the other is a subscription at $95/mo (Plus) run entirely on someone else's servers.
Head to head
| 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 |
What Chatlet does well
- 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.
What Crisp still does better
There's a real reason Crisp costs what it does: a bigger team, broader integrations and dedicated support behind it. If that ecosystem is genuinely what you need, it's worth paying for.
Which one should you pick
If your workflow depends on Crisp's specific integrations or you'd rather not run anything yourself, stay put — that's a legitimate call. If you're comfortable owning the tool and want to stop paying $95/mo (Plus) for a job your own hardware can do, Chatlet pays for itself and then some: 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.
Try Chatlet — $49, once
Self-hosted live chat — real-time widget, agent dashboard, canned replies, offline messages.