Crisp
Customer messaging platform with live chat, chatbots and helpdesk — a European alternative to Intercom.
Overview
Crisp is a Nantes, France-based European company building customer support and saas software since 2015. As an EU-headquartered provider, Crisp operates under GDPR and is outside the reach of the US CLOUD Act, making it a privacy-friendly alternative to Intercom and Zendesk for European teams.
Why European teams pick Crisp
Teams in Europe pick Crisp when they want a customer support provider that bills in EUR, supports their local data-protection officer requirements, and keeps customer data under France law, operating since 2015. Compared with Intercom and Zendesk, Crisp avoids cross-border data transfers under Schrems II and the US CLOUD Act, which is often the deciding factor for European procurement and legal teams.
See more EU customer support tools or browse other startups from France.
About
Crisp is a French customer support platform offering live chat, email, CRM and automation. All data is stored in Europe and the product is fully GDPR compliant.
Details
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- Nantes, France
Categories
Other EU startups like Crisp
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- BaserowNetherlands — Open-source no-code database and Airtable alternative — built in the Netherlands.
- ImateFrance — European AI image generation platform.
- DatawrapperGermany — Create embeddable charts and maps without coding — a German alternative to Tableau.
- TidioPoland — Live chat and AI chatbot platform — a Polish alternative to Drift.
- UserlikeGermany — GDPR-compliant live chat and messaging for websites — a German alternative to Intercom.
Frequently asked questions
What is Crisp?
Crisp is a French customer support platform offering live chat, email, CRM and automation. All data is stored in Europe and the product is fully GDPR compliant.
What does Crisp do?
Crisp is customer messaging platform with live chat, chatbots and helpdesk — a european alternative to intercom. It is listed under customer support and saas on EU Alts because its core functionality serves teams looking for a European customer support tool with EU data residency, typically as a switch away from Intercom and Zendesk.
Is Crisp a good European customer support alternative?
Crisp is a fit for European businesses evaluating customer support options where data residency and GDPR alignment matter — typical buyers include EU-based SaaS teams, public-sector projects, regulated industries (healthcare, finance, legal), and any organisation that needs to demonstrate that customer data does not leave the EU. It also overlaps with saas use cases.
Is Crisp GDPR compliant?
Crisp is headquartered in Nantes, France and falls under EU jurisdiction, so it processes user data under the GDPR by default. Customer data processing is supervised by France's data protection authority, the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL). Because the company is not US-incorporated, it is not subject to the US CLOUD Act — meaning US authorities cannot compel Crisp to disclose customer data the way they can with Intercom and Zendesk. For European buyers, that often simplifies DPIA paperwork and standard contractual clauses.
How do teams switch from Intercom to Crisp?
Most teams move to Crisp from Intercom and Zendesk because they want EU data residency without giving up the core customer support workflow. Crisp's France base means a single jurisdiction for both the company and (typically) its hosting infrastructure, so you can drop Schrems II transfer impact assessments for this part of your stack. Plan the migration in stages: export your data from the US incumbent, pilot Crisp with a small team, then move the rest once the integration coverage you need is confirmed.
Where is Crisp based?
Crisp is headquartered in Nantes, France. The company was founded in 2015. Its main website is https://crisp.chat.