Enterprise support tools charge per-seat, per-resolution, and per-feature—pricing models that punish one-person operations with unpredictable bills. For solopreneurs with low to moderate support volume, the right tool costs nothing or follows predictable flat-rate pricing.
This guide compares four support platforms built for smaller operations, plus warnings about enterprise tools that drain budgets without proportional value.
The Quick Answer
Choose tawk.to if: You want genuinely free support with unlimited agents, chats, and sites. 99% of tawk.to users never pay anything.
Choose Tidio if: You want to test AI deflection before committing. The 50 free Lyro AI conversations reveal actual resolution rates.
Choose Help Scout if: Your audience expects email support over chat. Contact-based pricing scales fairly for solopreneurs.
Choose Crisp if: You manage multiple brands and want predictable workspace-based pricing regardless of agent count.
Avoid Intercom, Zendesk, and Drift unless you have enterprise needs and enterprise budgets.
tawk.to: The Genuinely Free Option
tawk.to commands over 35% market share in live chat—a dominance built on offering what competitors charge hundreds for at zero cost.
Why It’s Actually Free
tawk.to monetizes through optional paid add-ons and hired agent services, not by restricting the core product. The business model works because most users never need add-ons, and those who do generate enough revenue to subsidize everyone else.
99% of tawk.to businesses use it completely free.
What Free Includes
| Feature | Included |
|---|---|
| Agents | Unlimited |
| Chats | Unlimited |
| Websites | Unlimited |
| Knowledge base | Yes |
| Ticketing | Yes |
| Visitor monitoring | Real-time |
| Chat triggers | Automated |
| Canned responses | Unlimited |
| Mobile apps | iOS + Android |
| File sharing | Yes |
This isn’t a stripped-down trial. It’s the full product without artificial limits.
AI Capabilities
The free tier includes 100 AI message credits per month—enough for light automation or agent suggestions. AI can pull answers from your knowledge base and respond directly to customers.
For heavier AI usage, the AI Assist add-on costs $29/month flat. No per-resolution pricing. No surprise bills.
Optional Paid Add-ons
| Add-on | Cost | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| AI Assist | $29/month | 24/7 automated chat, agent suggestions, multilingual support |
| Remove branding | $29/month | White-label widget |
| Video + Voice | $29/month | Video calls, voice chat, screensharing |
| Hired agents | From $1/hour | Human agents handle your support 24/7 |
The hired agent option is notable—$728/month gets you 24/7 human coverage, useful for scaling without hiring employees.
Limitations
The widget displays tawk.to branding unless you pay $29/month. For most solopreneurs, this is acceptable. The interface is functional but not as polished as premium alternatives. Advanced reporting requires paid plans.
Best For
Any solopreneur wanting professional support without monthly costs. The clear $29/month AI upgrade path provides expansion room without usage-based uncertainty.
Tidio: Best for Testing AI First
Tidio’s differentiator is Lyro AI—a Claude-powered chatbot claiming 67% resolution rates by learning from your support content. More importantly, you can test this claim free before committing.
The AI Testing Advantage
The free plan includes 50 Lyro AI conversations (lifetime allocation). This isn’t a monthly refresh—it’s 50 chances to see exactly how well AI handles your specific questions.
Use these 50 conversations to measure:
- What percentage resolve without human intervention
- Which question types AI handles well
- Where AI struggles and needs human backup
This data tells you whether AI investment makes sense for your support patterns.
Free Plan Details
| Feature | Limit |
|---|---|
| Live chat conversations | 50/month |
| Lyro AI conversations | 50 (lifetime) |
| Operator seats | 10 |
| Ticketing | Yes |
| Analytics | Basic |
| Chatbot flows | Yes |
The 50 monthly live chat limit constrains active users, but for low-volume solopreneurs, it’s sufficient for testing.
AI Pricing After Free Allocation
| Tier | AI Conversations | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 50/month | $39/month |
| Growth | 100-200/month | $59-79/month |
| Scale | 500-1,000/month | $149/month |
Per-conversation cost ranges from $0.15 to $0.78 depending on volume. Higher tiers get better economics.
What counts as a conversation: A customer interaction with at least one AI reply. Multiple AI responses within a single thread count as one conversation. Threads close after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Limitations
The free tier’s 50 monthly chat limit makes it unsuitable as a long-term free solution. After testing, you’ll likely need to upgrade or switch to tawk.to for unlimited free chat.
Best For
Solopreneurs wanting to validate AI support effectiveness before committing budget. The 50 free AI conversations provide concrete data on resolution rates for your specific use case.
Help Scout: Best for Email-First Support
Help Scout approaches support as email-centric rather than chat-centric—a better fit when your audience expects thoughtful responses over instant replies.
Contact-Based vs. Seat-Based Pricing
Most support tools charge per agent seat, penalizing solo operators who only need one seat but still pay minimum tiers. Help Scout’s free plan works on contacts, not seats—fairer scaling for small operations.
Free Plan Details
| Feature | Limit |
|---|---|
| Users | Up to 5 |
| Shared inbox | 1 |
| Knowledge base (Docs) | 1 site, 10 articles |
| Contacts | 100/month |
| Beacon widget | Yes |
| AI Answers | Yes |
The 100 contacts/month limit covers most low-volume solopreneurs. “Contact” means unique individuals reaching out—one person sending three emails counts as one contact.
AI Answers Pricing
Help Scout’s AI chatbot works differently from competitors:
- First 3 months: Unlimited AI resolutions free
- After trial: $0.75 per resolution
- Monthly caps available to prevent surprise bills
A “resolution” is when AI handles a conversation completely without escalating to a human. If the customer indicates they still need help, you don’t get charged.
This model rewards effective AI—you only pay when AI successfully handles tickets.
Paid Plans
| Plan | Cost | Key Additions |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $50/month | 100 contacts, multiple inboxes, 100+ integrations |
| Plus | $75/month | Salesforce/Jira/HubSpot integrations, teams |
Limitations
The 10-article knowledge base limit on free constrains self-service content. Heavy knowledge base users need paid plans. The email-centric approach isn’t ideal for audiences expecting instant chat responses.
Best For
Solopreneurs with audiences expecting email support—professional services, consulting, course creators. The contact-based pricing scales fairly without per-seat penalties.
Crisp: Best for Multiple Brands
Crisp charges per workspace, not per agent—predictable pricing regardless of how many people access support.
Workspace-Based Pricing
If you run multiple brands, each needs a separate workspace. But within each workspace, agent count doesn’t affect cost. This model suits solopreneurs managing several properties.
Pricing Structure
| Plan | Cost | Agents | AI Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | €0 | 2 | None |
| Mini | €45/month | 4 | None |
| Essentials | €95/month | 10 | 50 uses/month |
| Plus | €295/month | 20+ | Unlimited |
AI Reality Check
Crisp’s AI requires significant investment. The Essentials plan at €95/month includes only 50 AI uses per month—barely enough to test effectiveness. Unlimited AI requires the €295/month Plus plan.
For AI-focused solopreneurs, this makes Crisp expensive compared to tawk.to’s $29/month flat AI add-on.
What Works Well
- Clean, modern interface
- Built-in knowledge base
- Video calling capability
- CRM features included
- WhatsApp/Messenger/Instagram integration
Limitations
AI pricing makes it expensive for automation-focused users. The free tier limits you to 2 agents and no AI. Euro pricing adds exchange rate variability for US users.
Best For
Solopreneurs managing multiple separate brands where workspace-based pricing creates predictability. Not ideal for AI-heavy use cases.
Enterprise Tools to Avoid
The following platforms dominate enterprise support but punish solopreneurs with pricing structures designed for 50+ seat deployments.
Intercom: Death by Per-Resolution
Intercom’s Essential plan starts at $29/seat—reasonable until you add AI.
The AI trap: Fin AI costs $0.99 per resolution. Low volume seems cheap, but:
- A viral article can generate hundreds of support tickets
- Product launches spike inquiries unpredictably
- No monthly cap on AI charges
Meaningful automation requires the Advanced plan at $85+/seat plus AI charges. For a solopreneur, monthly costs easily exceed $150 for capabilities tawk.to provides at $29 flat.
Zendesk: The Add-on Maze
Zendesk’s base ticketing starts at $19/agent, but meaningful features require Suite plans at $55+/agent.
Hidden AI costs:
- AI Copilot add-on: $50/agent/month
- Automated resolutions: $1.50-2.00 each
- Advanced AI features: Enterprise plans only
A solopreneur wanting chat, email, and AI support faces $150+/month minimum—for capabilities available elsewhere at $0-29/month.
The 2,000+ integration marketplace doesn’t justify these costs for simple support needs.
Drift: Sales Tool Disguised as Support
Drift requires a $2,500/month minimum ($30,000/year billed annually).
Its conversational marketing focuses on sales qualification, not support. Zero functionality relevant to content sites or teaching businesses. Even if you could afford it, it’s the wrong tool.
LiveChat: Split Product Trap
LiveChat separates chat and AI into distinct products:
- LiveChat: $20+/month
- ChatBot: $52+/month
Getting both requires $72+/month minimum—worse economics than integrated alternatives where AI is an add-on to existing chat, not a separate purchase.
Pricing Model Comparison
Understanding pricing models prevents expensive mistakes.
| Model | How It Works | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited free (tawk.to) | No usage limits, optional add-ons | None |
| Flat AI fee (tawk.to $29) | Predictable monthly cost | Low |
| Per-conversation (Tidio) | Pay per AI interaction | Medium |
| Per-resolution (Help Scout, Intercom) | Pay only when AI succeeds | Medium-High |
| Per-seat (Zendesk, Intercom) | Pay per agent regardless of usage | High for solo |
| Per-workspace (Crisp) | Pay per brand/property | Medium |
For solopreneurs: Unlimited free or flat fee models create predictability. Per-resolution and per-seat models create uncertainty and typically favor larger teams.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | tawk.to | Tidio | Help Scout | Crisp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best For | Free unlimited | AI testing | Email support | Multi-brand |
| Free Tier | Unlimited | Limited | 100 contacts | 2 agents |
| AI Cost | $29/mo flat | $0.15-0.78/conv | $0.75/resolution | €95-295/mo |
| Chat Widget | Yes | Yes | Yes (Beacon) | Yes |
| Knowledge Base | Yes | Yes | 10 articles free | €95/mo |
| Ticketing | Yes | Yes | Yes | €45/mo |
| Video/Voice | $29/mo add-on | No | No | Yes |
| Unpredictable Bills | No | Possible | Possible | No |
Decision Framework
Start with tawk.to if:
- Budget is your primary constraint
- You want professional support at zero cost
- Flat $29/month AI upgrade is acceptable
- tawk.to branding on widget doesn’t bother you
- You don’t need the most polished interface
Start with Tidio if:
- You want to test AI effectiveness first
- 50 free AI conversations will inform your decision
- You might switch to tawk.to after testing
- Per-conversation AI pricing works for your volume
- Lyro’s 67% resolution claim interests you
Start with Help Scout if:
- Your audience expects email over chat
- Contact-based pricing suits your volume
- You want a polished, professional interface
- The $0.75/resolution AI model appeals to you
- You’ll use email as primary support channel
Start with Crisp if:
- You manage 3+ separate brands/websites
- Workspace-based pricing creates predictability
- You can afford €95+/month for useful features
- AI automation isn’t your primary goal
- WhatsApp/social integration matters
The Knowledge Base Priority
Before investing in any AI support tool, build your knowledge base first.
AI chatbots derive effectiveness from the content they can reference. A comprehensive FAQ covering:
- How to access content
- Billing and refund policies
- Technical requirements
- Common questions about your topic
…resolves most inquiries through self-service, making expensive AI automation unnecessary.
tawk.to includes free knowledge base. Help Scout’s free tier allows 10 articles. Build this foundation before evaluating AI costs.
The Bottom Line
For most solopreneurs, tawk.to delivers everything needed at zero cost. The unlimited free tier isn’t a marketing gimmick—it’s the core product used by millions without paying anything.
When AI becomes necessary, tawk.to’s $29/month flat add-on provides predictability that per-resolution pricing can’t match. A viral article or product launch won’t generate surprise bills.
Tidio serves one specific purpose: testing AI before committing. Use the 50 free Lyro conversations to measure actual resolution rates, then make an informed decision about AI investment.
Help Scout wins for email-centric support. If your audience expects thoughtful email responses over instant chat, the interface and workflow justify the contact-based pricing.
Avoid enterprise tools—Intercom, Zendesk, Drift—until your support volume and complexity genuinely require them. Their pricing models extract maximum value from large teams, not solopreneurs.
The support tool that costs nothing and handles unlimited volume exists. Start there.