WATI vs Trengo vs Crisp vs CLIO: which should a small business choose?
WATI vs Trengo vs Crisp vs CLIO: which should a small business choose? Verified 2026 pricing, hidden limits, and which to choose.
For most small businesses who do, or are looking to take enquiries through WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook - and where the real problem is responding fast and consistently without someone permanently watching an inbox - CLIO (cliochat.io) is the option built for exactly that job, and the only one of the four priced for a small team from day one.
WATI is a good alternative if WhatsApp is essentially your only channel and you want to run broadcast campaigns at volume, Trengo if you're a support team of ten or more needing email and voice alongside messaging, Crisp if your enquiries come mainly through website live chat. This comparison sets out the actual pricing, limits, and trade-offs of each, verified July 2026.
The comparison at a glance
WATI | Trengo | Crisp | CLIO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Built around | WhatsApp campaigns and support | Omnichannel team inbox | Website chat and AI support | Automated enquiry workflows and cold WhatsApp campaigns |
Channels | WhatsApp first; Instagram and Messenger added | 10+ incl. email, voice, SMS | Website chat first; WhatsApp, IG, Messenger, email | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger |
Entry price | $59/month (annual) | €299/month (annual) | Free plan; paid from $45/month | £75/month |
Users included at entry | 3 (hard cap, no additions) | 10 (no smaller tier) | 2 free / 4 on Mini | 2 (additional users at £10/month) |
Automation limits | 1,000 triggers/month on Growth; top-ups $25 per 1,000 | AI conversations surcharged €0.25–0.30 after allowance | AI metered by credits ($5–$75/month included) | Workflows included |
Message fees | Meta rates plus a reported ~20% markup | Meta rates passed through, no markup | No per-message fees | Meta rates, no markup |
Free trial | 7 days | Trial available | 14 days, plus permanent free plan | 2-month trials via partner agencies |
Pricing verified from each vendor's published pricing in July 2026. All four change pricing periodically; check live pages before committing.
WATI: the WhatsApp specialist
WATI is the best-known name in this group and the deepest WhatsApp toolset of the four. Broadcast campaigns, click-to-WhatsApp ad capture, a no-code chatbot builder, and a mature template system make it a genuine platform for businesses running WhatsApp as a marketing channel, not just a support one. It has added Instagram and Facebook Messenger support, though automation remains deepest on WhatsApp and Instagram access sits on the higher plans.
The pricing model deserves attention before you commit. The Growth plan at $59/month is capped at three users with no option to add a fourth at any price; the next seat forces an upgrade to Pro at $119/month. Automation is metered: Growth includes 1,000 automation triggers a month, and every chatbot or rule activation counts against that allowance, with top-ups at $25 per 1,000. Multiple independent analyses also report a markup of roughly 20% on Meta's per-message rates, which WATI does not publicly disclose. None of this makes WATI poor value, but the advertised price and the realistic monthly bill can be far apart once volume grows.
WATI is a good option if WhatsApp is your dominant channel, you send campaigns at volume, and you have the team capacity to work an inbox.
Trengo: the omnichannel inbox for bigger teams
Trengo covers the broadest channel set here by a distance: email, voice, SMS, live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, and Google Business Messages in one unified inbox, with team collaboration features and AI agents layered on top. It is EU-based, passes WhatsApp fees through at Meta's rates with no markup, and is genuinely well-regarded as a support inbox.
The structure tells you who it is for. There is no small-team tier: the entry Boost plan is €299/month billed annually and includes ten seats whether you need them or not, so a three-person business pays for ten. Boost also excludes API access, and conversations are metered in seven-day windows against an annual allowance, with AI-handled conversations surcharged at €0.25–0.30 each after the included amount. For a fifteen-person support operation those numbers are reasonable. For a five-person business handling inbound enquiries, most of what you are paying for is capacity you will not use.
Choose Trengo if you have a support team of ten or more, your channels include email and phone as well as messaging, and a unified inbox for a team is the actual requirement.
Crisp: the best value in website-first support
Crisp is the price-performance standout of the group for what it is built for. There is a permanent free plan with two seats and unlimited conversations, paid plans run from $45 to $295 a month per workspace with no per-message or per-conversation fees, and the platform bundles live chat, a shared inbox, a knowledge base, and an AI support agent at prices dramatically below the enterprise support suites. It has repositioned itself as an AI customer support platform, and its AI agent resolves support queries against your knowledge base.
Two structural points matter for messaging-led businesses. First, the heritage and the strength are website chat and support deflection; WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger are supported, but a workspace connects one account of each, and the automation is oriented to answering support questions rather than qualifying and converting enquiries.
Second, the AI is metered by credits ($5 to $75 a month included depending on plan), and seats are hard-capped on every plan below the $295 Plus tier. Crisp is excellent at deflecting support tickets for a lean team. It is not designed to run structured lead-handling workflows across messaging channels.
Choose Crisp if your enquiries arrive mainly through your website, support (rather than lead conversion) is the job, and budget efficiency matters.
CLIO: workflow automation for messaging enquiries
CLIO approaches the same channels from a different starting point. The other three platforms are, at their core, inboxes: tools that collect conversations for people to answer, with automation added to help. CLIO is a workflow engine: enquiries arriving on WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook Messenger enter structured, deterministic conversation flows that qualify the lead, capture the information you need, route it, and follow up, with the shared inbox there for the conversations that need a human. The automation is the product rather than the add-on.
The commercial model is built for small teams. Plans are £75, £149, and £249 a month, priced on active contacts (the people you actually message that month) rather than seats, so there is no per-user arithmetic, no automation trigger meter, and no markup on Meta's message rates. Onboarding can be handled by the CLIO team, who connect your channels and build your first workflows with you. All three channels run the same workflow engine at the same depth.
Fair limits, stated plainly: CLIO covers WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger only. If you need email, voice, or SMS in the same inbox, Trengo covers more ground. And if website live chat is your main channel, Crisp is the better fit.
Choose CLIO if you are a small or medium-sized business looking to take enquiries or broadcast marketing through WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook, and the problem you are solving is speed and consistency of response.