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Customer Support · head to head

Cresta vs Freshchat

Cresta logo

Cresta

Customer Support

Real-time AI coaching and autonomous agents that sit on top of an existing contact centre platform

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Freshchat logo

Freshchat

Live Chat

Modern messaging for customer engagement

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Freshchat has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cresta cresta depends on the CCaaS platforms it integrates with, and NICE, Genesys and Five9 are all shipping native real-time assist and auto-QA of their own, so at renewal you may be paying twice for capability your platform vendor will bundle at a discount.; Freshchat the free plan covers up to 10 agents and omits social messengers, SMS and reporting
  • They diverge on capability: Cresta covers Real-time agent assist, Freshchat covers Live chat.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cresta and Freshchat actually diverge.

Attributes where Cresta and Freshchat differ
AttributeCrestaFreshchat
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotesubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryCustomer SupportLive Chat
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cresta

  • Real-time agent assist
  • Autonomous AI Agent
  • Conversation intelligence
  • Automated quality management
  • Behavioural coaching
  • Knowledge surfacing
  • Multilingual deployment
  • Supervisor dashboards

Only in Freshchat

  • Live chat
  • Chatbots
  • Campaigns
  • WhatsApp
  • Instagram
  • Apple Business Chat
  • Freshdesk
  • Freshsales

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cresta

  • A 1,500-seat telecommunications sales centre that wants conversion lift from live agent prompting without migrating off an incumbent Genesys deploymentnot Freshchat
  • An insurance contact centre replacing manual QA sampling of two per cent of calls with automated scoring of every call for regulatory evidencenot Freshchat
  • A retail support operation deploying autonomous voice agents on high-volume order status calls while keeping humans on complex claimsnot Freshchat
  • A contact centre director who needs to prove which specific agent behaviours drive outcome differences, rather than relying on post-call survey scoresnot Freshchat

Freshchat

  • Live chat on a website or in an appnot Cresta
  • Shared inbox across chat, email and social messengersnot Cresta
  • Chatbot deflection before a conversation reaches an agentnot Cresta
  • Routing conversations by skill or language on the higher tiersnot Cresta

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cresta

  • Cresta depends on the CCaaS platforms it integrates with, and NICE, Genesys and Five9 are all shipping native real-time assist and auto-QA of their own, so at renewal you may be paying twice for capability your platform vendor will bundle at a discount.
  • Pricing is not published and contracts are seat-based and annual at enterprise scale, which in practice means six-figure commitments and a procurement cycle measured in months rather than weeks.
  • Real-time guidance only pays back where conversation outcomes are measurable and repeatable, so support teams handling long, varied, low-volume cases rarely recover the licence cost.
  • Deploying real-time assist requires agents to accept on-screen prompting mid-call, and contact centres with strong union representation or experienced tenured agents frequently see adoption resistance that no amount of model quality fixes.
  • Automated quality scoring changes what agents are measured on, and organisations that switch from human QA without rewriting their evaluation rubric and appeals process create industrial-relations problems that surface months after go-live.

Freshchat

  • The free plan covers up to 10 agents and omits social messengers, SMS and reporting
  • Reporting and social channels need Growth at $19 per agent per month billed annually
  • Intelligent routing, multilingual support and custom dashboards require Pro at $49 per agent per month
  • Skill-based routing, audit logs and IP whitelisting are Enterprise only at $79 per agent per month
  • Freddy AI is charged on top of the seat price, at $49 per 100 agent sessions and $29 per agent per month for Copilot

Pricing, plan by plan

Cresta

On request
  • Cresta$undefined/year
    • AI Agent
    • Agent Assist
    • Conversation Intelligence

Freshchat

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 10 agents
    • Chat widget for web and mobile
    • Shared inbox
  • Growth$19/month
    • Per agent, billed annually
    • Social media messengers, SMS/text messaging
    • Reporting and analytics
  • Pro$49/month
    • Per agent, billed annually (marked Most Popular)
    • Multilingual conversations
    • Custom dashboards, intelligent routing
  • Enterprise$79/month
    • Per agent, billed annually
    • Skill-based routing, audit logs
    • JWT authentication, IP whitelisting

Which should you pick?

Choose Cresta if

  • You need real-time agent assist.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want autonomous ai agent.
Cresta review

Choose Freshchat if

  • You need live chat.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want chatbots.
Freshchat review

Questions people ask

Is Cresta or Freshchat better?
Neither clearly leads. Cresta starts at On request and Freshchat at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cresta or Freshchat?
Freshchat has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cresta and Free for Freshchat.
Does Cresta or Freshchat run on more platforms?
Cresta runs on Web, API. Freshchat runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Freshchat for free?
Yes. Freshchat has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cresta starts at On request.
What is Cresta best used for?
Cresta is most often used for a 1,500-seat telecommunications sales centre that wants conversion lift from live agent prompting without migrating off an incumbent genesys deployment, an insurance contact centre replacing manual qa sampling of two per cent of calls with automated scoring of every call for regulatory evidence, a retail support operation deploying autonomous voice agents on high-volume order status calls while keeping humans on complex claims, a contact centre director who needs to prove which specific agent behaviours drive outcome differences, rather than relying on post-call survey scores. Of those, a 1,500-seat telecommunications sales centre that wants conversion lift from live agent prompting without migrating off an incumbent genesys deployment and an insurance contact centre replacing manual qa sampling of two per cent of calls with automated scoring of every call for regulatory evidence are not what Freshchat is typically brought in for.
What can Cresta do that Freshchat cannot?
Cresta covers Real-time agent assist, Autonomous AI Agent, Conversation intelligence, Automated quality management. Freshchat covers Live chat, Chatbots, Campaigns, WhatsApp.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cresta: Does Cresta replace my contact centre platform?

No. It is designed to sit on top of NICE, Genesys, Five9, Amazon Connect and similar platforms, which is why it is chosen where a full CCaaS migration is not feasible.

Freshchat: What is the cost of Freshchat's Growth plan?

Growth plan costs $19 per agent per month when billed annually. It includes social media messengers, SMS/text messaging, and reporting. AI agent features are available as an add-on at $49 per 100 sessions.

Source
Cresta: What does it cost?

Cresta does not publish pricing. Contracts are seat-based and annual, and at the enterprise scale it sells into they are typically six figures per year.

Freshchat: Does Freshchat offer a free trial?

Yes. Freshchat provides a 14-day free trial with full Enterprise plan access. After trial expiration, the Free plan supports up to 10 agents at $0/month, with no cancellation fees.

Source
Cresta: Is it viable for a contact centre under 100 seats?

Rarely. The commercial model, implementation effort and required outcome measurement all assume several hundred seats or more.

Freshchat: How much does Freshchat's Pro plan cost?

The Pro plan (marked Most Popular) costs $49 per agent per month when billed annually. It includes multilingual conversations, custom dashboards, intelligent routing, and multiple SLA policies. AI Copilot is available as an add-on at $29/agent/month.

Source
Cresta: Who owns Cresta?

It is an independent venture-backed company, having raised roughly 282 million USD in total including a 125 million USD Series D in November 2024 co-led by World Innovation Lab and the Qatar Investment Authority.

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