The price anchor
| Chatlet | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $0 — no subscription | $95/mo (Plus) |
| Annual | $0 after purchase | $1,140 |
| 5-year total | $129 | $5,700 |
| 10-year total | $129 | $11,400 |
Subscription figures from the vendor's published pricing ($95/mo (Plus), ~$1,140/yr); the Chatlet column is the full price, paid once.
Break-even analysis
Chatlet pays for itself in under 6 weeks vs Crisp's team plan — then live chat is free for as long as you run a website.
- After 1 year: Chatlet has cost you $129 total — Crisp has cost $1,140.
- After 3 years: Chatlet is still $129 — the subscription is at $3,420.
- After 5 years: Chatlet is still $129 — the subscription is at $5,700.
What you get for $129 once
- 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.
- No renewal, ever. The license does not expire and there is no per-seat meter — $129 is the whole price.
Pricing questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/live-chat-mvp. $129 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.
Is there a mobile app for agents?
Not yet — honestly. The dashboard is responsive and works in a phone browser, with sound and browser notifications, but there's no native iOS/Android agent app like Crisp's.
Chatlet — $129, one time
Or get Chatlet plus every other app in the suite: the OneTimeSuite bundle is currently $97, one time.