KOAEE, Intercom and Crisp — a factual comparison
Every row below comes from the official website of the vendor concerned, accessed on 19 September 2026. None comes from a third-party comparison site, a blog post, or our own assessment.
Prices change. The ones below are those displayed on that date. Verify them at the source before deciding.
The three products don't aim at the same thing: Intercom is a customer support platform with human agents and an AI agent; Crisp is a multichannel messaging tool with an AI agent; KOAEE is an industry-specific assistant placed on a company's website. A row-by-row comparison sheds light on differences — it doesn't crown a winner.
The table
| KOAEE | Intercom | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Ubnbee LLC (Delaware, United States) | Intercom R&D Unlimited Company (Dublin, Ireland); a multi-entity group including Intercom, Inc. (Delaware, United States) | Crisp IM SAS (Nantes, France) |
| Data hosting | European Union — IONOS, Frankfurt, Germany | United States, European Union or Australia depending on the chosen region | European Union — Netherlands and Germany, on DigitalOcean |
| EU hosting tied to a plan? | No, it's the only configuration | Yes — limited to new workspaces on the Advanced and Expert plans; billing is still processed in the United States even for a European workspace | No, it's the default configuration described |
| Billing unit | per workspace per month, based on a conversation quota | per seat per month, plus a charge per conversation resolved by the AI agent | per workspace per month, seats included then a charge per additional seat; AI billed separately in credits |
| Entry price shown | 49€/month (39€/month as a special offer until 31 December 2026) | $29 per seat per month (Essential) | $0/month (Free, 2 seats); first paid plan $45/month |
| Higher plan price shown | 349€/month; Enterprise on quote | $132 per seat per month (Expert) | $295/month; Enterprise on quote |
| AI agent languages | 16 | 45 (stated by the vendor for its AI agent) | not published by the vendor for its AI agent — its official page documents the interface and states that it does not cover the AI agent |
| SOC 2 | no certification | SOC 2 Type II | no certification — the vendor writes: « Crisp hasn't been over any SOC2 audit » |
| ISO 27001 | no certification | ISO 27001 (and 27701, 27018, 42001) | no certification — the vendor states it is « committed to aligning with ISO 27001 standards » |
| HIPAA | no | yes | not found at the official source |
| Explicit mention of the EU AI Act | yes — dedicated public page for Article 50, disclosure served in every language | yes — dedicated page; the vendor places responsibility for disclosure on the deployer, who can rename the agent | no mention found on the official website at the date of consultation |
| Conversation retention | not retained beyond the session; security logs twelve months at most | automatic deletion of visitors inactive for nine months; manual deletion via API; default overall duration not found at the source | retained « for as long as needed for technical support »; inactive account twelve months; system logs one year; backups one week |
| Trial | 7 days free | 14 days free, no credit card | permanent Free plan |
Where KOAEE falls short, and why we say so
A comparison that loses nowhere isn't worth reading.
Certifications. Intercom holds SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, ISO 27018, ISO 42001 and HIPAA compliance. We hold none. If your procurement process requires a third-party certification, the matter is settled before you even compare the rest. We do, however, grant a direct right to audit our security, once a year, by you or by an independent non-competing third party — something a certification report doesn't always replace.
The number of languages. Intercom advertises 45 languages for its AI agent; we cover 16.
Voice dependency outside the European Union. Used in writing, our assistant lets no data leave Europe. Used by voice, it does in certain languages: read-aloud beyond French and English, transcription in Thai, Vietnamese and Hebrew. Crisp, a French vendor hosting in the Netherlands and Germany, publishes no equivalent dependency. On this precise point, our chain isn't the shortest.
The vendor's nationality. Ubnbee LLC is a Delaware company. Crisp IM SAS is a French company. If the law governing the vendor is a criterion in your selection, it works against us, and we say so rather than let you find out.
Where the differences are structural
The billing model doesn't compare the same things. Intercom bills per seat: the cost follows the number of people on your team, plus an amount per conversation resolved by the AI. KOAEE bills a conversation quota: the cost follows your visitor traffic, not the size of your team. Crisp bills the workspace at a flat rate, with separate AI credits. Three logics, three company profiles for which one or the other comes out cheaper. Do the math on your own volume.
European hosting doesn't have the same status. At Intercom, it's a plan option: reserved for the Advanced and Expert plans, on new workspaces, and billing is still processed in the United States. At Crisp and at KOAEE, it's the default setup.
AI disclosure doesn't rest on the same shoulders. Intercom lets the customer name and dress up its agent, and notes that the duty to inform falls on the deployer. KOAEE serves the notice itself, in the visitor's language, without the customer having to add it.
Frequently asked questions
Is KOAEE a European alternative to Intercom?
Our servers are in Germany and text processing is handled by a French vendor, with no plan condition. But our vendor is a Delaware company, and part of our voice features runs through American providers. « European alternative » would claim more than the facts.
Does Intercom host in Europe?
It offers it, on the Advanced and Expert plans only, for new workspaces. Billing is still processed in the United States.
Is Crisp SOC 2 certified?
No. The vendor itself writes that it has undergone no SOC 2 audit. A namesake company, gocrisp.com, claims this certification: it is neither the same product nor the same company.
Which of the three is cheapest?
It depends entirely on your number of agents and your conversation volume, because the three don't bill the same unit. A comparison of list prices makes no sense here — do the math on your own figures.
Which one complies with the EU AI Act?
Compliance under Article 50 is established on the surface as served, not on a statement. We publish ours and we measure it. Intercom publishes a page on the subject and places the responsibility for disclosure on its customer. We found no mention of the subject on Crisp's website as of the consultation date; this is not a conclusion about their product.
Competitor sources, consulted on 19 September 2026.
Intercom — intercom.com/pricing · intercom.com/security · intercom.com/legal/privacy · help center «Regional Data Hosting» · help center «AI Agent Disclosure» · announcement of the AI agent's 45 languages.
Crisp — crisp.chat/en/pricing · crisp.chat/en/privacy · help center «EU GDPR compliance status» · help center «compliance status with SOC2» · help center «compliance with ISO 27001» · help center «what languages are supported».
KOAEE sources. koaee.ai · /faq.php · /trust/ · /sous-traitants.php
Last fact-check of this page: 19 September 2026. To be repeated every quarter: the prices and certifications of the three vendors change.