Table of Contents
- Key takeaways: the best Intercom alternatives and competitors at a glance
- What is Intercom, and what does it cost?
- Problems with Intercom that send teams to competitors
- How Intercom competitors solve these problems
- How these Intercom alternatives were ranked
- The 8 best Intercom alternatives and competitors in 2026
- 1. Zendesk: best Intercom competitor for ticketing in larger teams
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 2. Crisp: best cheaper Intercom alternative
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 3. SiteGPT: best knowledge-trained answer layer next to a helpdesk
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 4. Tidio: best Intercom alternative for small teams and online stores
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 5. Help Scout: best Intercom alternative for email-first teams
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 6. HubSpot Service Hub: best Intercom alternative with a CRM
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 7. Chatwoot: best open source Intercom alternative
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- 8. Tawk: best free Intercom alternative
- Key features
- Pros
- Cons
- Pricing
- Rating
- Best for
- Intercom competitors comparison table
- What a 10-agent team pays on Intercom and its competitors
- The stack: which tool does which job
- How to choose an Intercom alternative
- Intercom alternatives use-case cheat sheet
- Intercom alternatives FAQ
- Basics
- What is the best alternative to Intercom?
- Who are Intercom's main competitors?
- Is Intercom now called Fin?
- Pricing
- How much does Intercom cost?
- What is a cheaper alternative to Intercom?
- Is there a free alternative to Intercom?
- Comparisons
- Is there an open source alternative to Intercom?
- Which Intercom alternative includes a CRM?
- Zendesk vs Intercom: which is better?
- AI and integrations
- Does SiteGPT integrate with Intercom?
- Can SiteGPT replace Intercom?
- Which Intercom alternatives have their own AI agent?
- Compliance
- Which Intercom alternatives list HIPAA support?
- Which Intercom alternative suits EU buyers?
- Sources
Created by
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Created time
Mar 26, 2024 06:57 AM
The best Intercom alternative for most service teams in 2026 is Zendesk when ticketing depth matters, and Crisp when the goal is a cheaper inbox at $95 a month for 10 seats.
No tool in this guide is best overall. Each of the eight Intercom competitors below has a "best for" label, a price read from the vendor's pricing page, and a G2 rating.
TL;DR
- Zendesk is the closest full competitor to Intercom. Suite Team costs $55 per agent a month paid yearly and includes AI agents, messaging, and telephony.
- Crisp is the cheaper Intercom alternative. Essentials is a flat $95 a month for 10 seats. Ten Intercom Essential seats cost $290 a month billed annually.
- SiteGPT does not replace the Intercom inbox, and it has no Intercom integration. It is the knowledge-trained answer layer next to a helpdesk such as Crisp or Zendesk, from $59 a month, or $39 a month billed yearly.
- Tawk is the free alternative, Chatwoot is the open source alternative, and HubSpot Service Hub is the CRM alternative. Tidio and Help Scout fit small stores and email-first teams.
- Intercom charges seats plus $0.99 per Fin outcome. Ten Essential seats and 1,000 Fin outcomes cost $1,280 a month on annual billing.
Key takeaways: the best Intercom alternatives and competitors at a glance
Tool | Best for | Type | Starting price | G2 rating |
1. Zendesk | Ticketing and routing for larger service teams | Helpdesk suite | $19 per agent a month paid yearly. Suite Team is $55 | 4.3 (7,091 reviews) |
2. Crisp | A cheaper shared inbox with flat pricing | Shared inbox with an AI agent | Free plan. Mini is $45 a month per workspace | 4.5 (205 reviews) |
3. SiteGPT | Knowledge-trained AI answers next to a helpdesk | AI chatbot trained on your content. No shared inbox | $59 a month, or $39 a month billed yearly | 4.9 (12 reviews) |
4. Tidio | Small teams and online stores | Live chat and helpdesk with an AI agent add-on | Free plan. Starter $24.17 a month billed annually | 4.6 (1,962 reviews) |
5. Help Scout | Email-first service teams | Shared inbox with a knowledge base | Free plan. Standard $25 per user a month billed annually | 4.4 (431 reviews) |
6. HubSpot Service Hub | Teams that run on the HubSpot CRM | Helpdesk inside a CRM | Free plan. Starter from $7 per seat a month paid annually | 4.4 (3,018 reviews) |
7. Chatwoot | Open source and self-hosting | Shared inbox with Captain AI | Free for 2 agents. Startups $19 per agent a month | 4.5 (16 reviews) |
8. Tawk | A free inbox and chat widget | Live chat with paid add-ons | Free. AI Assist is $29 a month | 4.5 (203 reviews) |
What is Intercom, and what does it cost?
Intercom is a customer service helpdesk with a messenger, a shared inbox, ticketing, a help center, and a native AI agent named Fin. The company behind it now trades as Fin, and Salesforce completed its acquisition of Fin on 10 September 2026, according to Salesforce news.
The vendor still sells the helpdesk under the Intercom name. G2 lists the product as Fin. The plans, limits, and AI agent are covered in the Intercom Fin AI review.
Intercom pricing has two parts: seats and usage. The table below comes from the Intercom pricing page.
Item | Price | What it covers |
Essential | $29 per seat a month, billed annually | Messenger, shared inbox, ticketing, public help center |
Advanced | $85 per seat a month, billed annually | Workflows, multiple team inboxes, round robin assignment, 20 free Lite seats |
Expert | $132 per seat a month, billed annually | SSO, HIPAA support, SLAs, multibrand, 50 free Lite seats |
Fin AI agent | $0.99 per outcome | Charged once per conversation, on every plan |
Copilot add-on | $29 per agent a month billed annually, or $35 billed monthly | AI assistant for human agents. 10 conversations per agent a month are free |
Pro add-on | From $99 a month | AI analysis, quality monitoring, and the Operator agent |
Proactive Support Plus | $99 a month | Product tours, checklists, surveys, and series campaigns |
Live chat, service email, and in-app chats are unlimited on all plans. Email campaigns, SMS, WhatsApp, and phone are pay-as-you-go. The trial lasts 14 days and needs no credit card.
Problems with Intercom that send teams to competitors
The problems with Intercom fall into five groups: two meters on one bill, how an outcome is counted, paid add-ons, plan gating, and reviewer complaints. Each point comes from Intercom's own pricing page or from reviews on G2.
- The bill has two meters. Intercom charges per seat and per Fin outcome. Ten Essential seats cost $290 a month billed annually. 1,000 Fin outcomes add $990. The total is $1,280 a month.
- An outcome does not need a confirmed fix. Intercom counts an outcome when the customer confirms the issue is resolved, when the customer does not ask for more help after Fin responds, or when Fin completes a procedure, including handoffs.
- Add-ons sit on top of seats. Copilot costs $29 per agent a month billed annually. The Pro add-on starts at $99 a month, and Proactive Support Plus costs $99 a month. SMS, WhatsApp, and phone are billed by usage.
- Automation and security sit on higher plans. Workflows and multiple team inboxes start on Advanced at $85 per seat. That is $56 more per seat than Essential, a 193% increase. SSO, SLAs, and HIPAA support start on Expert at $132 per seat.
- Reviewers ask for more. The top complaint tags on G2 are Missing Features (135 mentions), AI Limitations (117), Limited Features (103), Learning Curve (102), and Poor Customer Support (81).
Intercom still rates well. It holds 4.5 out of 5 from 3,918 reviews on G2, and its top praise tags are Helpful (378) and Ease of Use (356). The competitors below fit teams that hit one of these five limits.
How Intercom competitors solve these problems
Each Intercom problem maps to one type of competitor.
Intercom problem | What solves it | Tools |
Seats plus a per-outcome fee | Flat workspace pricing or a free platform | Crisp, Tawk |
Per-outcome AI billing | A flat plan with a message quota | |
Paid add-ons for channels and automation | A suite that bundles messaging and telephony | Zendesk |
Workflows gated to $85 per seat | A helpdesk with automation on lower plans | Help Scout, Tidio, Chatwoot |
Customer data split from the CRM | A helpdesk built into the CRM | HubSpot Service Hub |
Vendor lock-in | Open source software you can host | Chatwoot |
How these Intercom alternatives were ranked
These Intercom alternatives were ranked on five criteria, in this order.
- Fit as a replacement. Does the tool replace the Intercom inbox and ticketing, or only one part of it?
- Price for a 10-agent team. What does the tool cost on published prices before AI usage?
- AI answers. Is an AI agent included, and how is it billed?
- Channels. Does the tool cover chat, email, social messaging, and phone?
- Third-party reviews. What is the G2 rating, and how many reviews sit behind it?
Zendesk is first because it matches Intercom on inbox, ticketing, AI agents, and phone, and it has the largest G2 review base in this list. Crisp is second because it is the lowest-priced paid inbox for 10 agents among the tools that include an AI agent in the plan.
SiteGPT is this site's own product. It is third for a different job. SiteGPT is not a helpdesk and has no Intercom integration. It answers customer questions from your own content and hands the conversation to people. Its limits are listed with the same weight as the others.
The 8 best Intercom alternatives and competitors in 2026
1. Zendesk: best Intercom competitor for ticketing in larger teams
Zendesk is a helpdesk suite built around ticketing. The Suite plans add messaging, live chat, a knowledge base, telephony, and AI agents. It is the closest like-for-like competitor to Intercom for teams with many agents. The head-to-head is in Zendesk vs Intercom.
Key features
- Email and ticketing system with routing, automations, and triggers
- Messaging and live chat, knowledge base, and telephony from Suite Team
- AI agents on every Suite and Support plan, billed by automated resolution
- Omnichannel routing from Suite Team and skills-based routing from Suite Professional
- Sandbox, approval workflows, and custom agent roles on Suite Enterprise
Pros
- The largest G2 review base in this list: 7,091 reviews
- Support Team starts at $19 per agent a month paid yearly
- Suite Team lists telephony as a plan feature. Intercom bills phone as pay-as-you-go.
- A startups program gives early-stage companies a 6-month trial for up to 50 agents
Cons
- The $19 Support Team plan covers email and ticketing. Live chat starts on Suite Team at $55.
- Ten Suite Team agents cost $550 a month paid yearly. That is $260 more than ten Intercom Essential seats.
- AI agents are billed per automated resolution on top of seats, and the pricing page lists no rate.
- Copilot is an add-on at $50 per agent a month paid yearly.
Pricing
Plan | Price per agent a month, paid yearly | What it covers |
Support Team | $19 | Email and ticketing, routing, prebuilt dashboards |
Suite Team | $55 | AI agents, knowledge base, messaging and live chat, telephony |
Suite Professional | $115 | Skills-based routing, IVR, admin Copilot, writing tools |
Suite Enterprise | Not listed | Sandbox, approval workflows, custom roles |
Source: Zendesk pricing.
Rating
Zendesk for Customer Service holds 4.3 out of 5 from 7,091 reviews on G2.
Best for
Zendesk is best for service teams with dozens of agents that need ticket routing and telephony in one suite. Lighter options are in the Zendesk chat alternatives guide.
2. Crisp: best cheaper Intercom alternative
Crisp is a shared inbox and live chat helpdesk that bills a flat price per workspace. One workspace collects website chat, email, and social messaging in a single team inbox, and it includes an AI agent named Hugo. Plan limits are covered in the Crisp alternatives guide.
Key features
- Website chat widget, shared inbox, and mobile apps on the Free plan
- Shared email inbox, chat triggers, and private notes from Mini
- Omnichannel inbox, workflow automation builder, AI chatbot, and knowledge base from Essentials
- Ticketing system, white labelling, and 100+ integrations on Plus
- AI credits included in every paid plan
Pros
- Flat price per workspace. Essentials includes 10 seats for $95 a month.
- No limit on the number of conversations
- Free plan with 2 seats
- Every new account gets a 14-day trial of all features
Cons
- The ticketing system and white labelling start on Plus at $295 a month.
- Included AI credits are small: $5 on Mini, $25 on Essentials, and $75 on Plus.
- Customer profiles are capped at 5,000 on Mini and 50,000 on Essentials.
- Extra agents cost $10 each a month.
Pricing
Plan | Price per workspace | Seats included | Customer profiles | Included AI credits |
Free | $0 | 2 | 100 | None |
Mini | $45 a month | 4 | 5,000 | $5 |
Essentials | $95 a month | 10 | 50,000 | $25 |
Plus | $295 a month | 20 or more | 200,000 | $75 |
Source: Crisp pricing.
Rating
Crisp holds 4.5 out of 5 from 205 reviews on G2.
Best for
Crisp is best for teams of 4 to 20 agents that want an Intercom-style inbox on one flat bill. Ten seats cost $95 a month on Crisp and $290 a month on Intercom, a saving of $195 a month (67%).
3. SiteGPT: best knowledge-trained answer layer next to a helpdesk
SiteGPT is an AI chatbot trained on your own content. It is an alternative to the Fin part of Intercom. It does not replace the Intercom inbox, and it does not connect to Intercom.
SiteGPT works in two ways for a team leaving Intercom. It can run as its own website widget with human escalation. It can also answer first inside another helpdesk: Crisp from the Growth plan and Zendesk from the Scale plan. The capability map is in SiteGPT vs Intercom.
Key features
- Trains on websites, YouTube videos, uploaded files, text snippets, GitHub, Notion, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Box
- Escalation to a human, with notifications for your team
- Chat integrations from Growth: Crisp, Slack, Messenger, Google Chat, Freshdesk Messaging, and Zoho SalesIQ
- Zendesk AI Agent integration from Scale
- Auto refresh of trained content: monthly on Growth, weekly with a daily scan on Scale
- 95+ languages
Pros
- Flat monthly price with a message quota. No per-outcome fee and no per-seat fee for the chatbot.
- Starter includes 4k GPT-4.1-mini messages a month, and Growth includes 10k.
- Answers come from your own website and documents.
- Full control over the widget's look, language, and tone.
Cons
- No shared inbox for email, social channels, or tickets. SiteGPT is the answer layer only.
- No Intercom integration and no HubSpot integration.
- Starter has no chat integrations. Crisp needs Growth, and Zendesk needs Scale plus Zendesk Suite Professional or above.
- No free plan. The 7-day free trial requires a credit card.
- The quota is in GPT-4.1-mini messages. GPT-4.1 messages count as ten each.
- Removing SiteGPT branding is an add-on at $39 a month billed yearly.
- A HIPAA BAA and a signed DPA are on the Enterprise plan only, and integrations are not available in a HIPAA workspace.
Pricing
Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | Messages a month | Chatbots | Members | Chat integrations |
Starter | $59 | $39 | 4k GPT-4.1-mini | 1 | 1 | No |
Growth | $129 | $79 | 10k GPT-4.1-mini | 2 | 4 | Yes |
Scale | $429 | $259 | 40k GPT-4.1-mini | 3 | 10 | Yes, plus Zendesk |
Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom | Yes |
Rating
SiteGPT holds 4.9 out of 5 from 12 reviews on G2.
Best for
SiteGPT is best for teams that mainly used Intercom for AI answers and want a flat bill for that part. It also fits teams that only need a website chatbot with human escalation and no email inbox. Escalation options across vendors are in the AI chatbots with human handoff roundup.
4. Tidio: best Intercom alternative for small teams and online stores
Tidio is a live chat and helpdesk platform for small businesses and online stores. It combines live chat, ticketing, and email in one inbox, and it adds an AI agent named Lyro. Plans and limits are covered in the Tidio review.
Key features
- Live chat, ticketing, and an email management system
- Lyro AI agent with human handoff and knowledge-based answers
- Flows, a visual builder for sales and FAQ automations
- Automatic chat assignment, macros, and advanced analytics from Growth
- Lyro is also sold as a stand-alone AI agent for other helpdesks
Pros
- Free plan with 50 billable conversations a month
- Ticketing is included from the Starter plan
- Growth includes 10 seats from $49.17 a month billed annually
- 4.6 out of 5 on G2 from 1,962 reviews
Cons
- Plans are metered by billable conversations. Starter includes 100 a month.
- Lyro is priced separately. It starts at $32.50 a month billed annually for 50 AI conversations, which is $0.65 per conversation.
- Departments, custom branding, and OpenAPI start on Plus at $300 a month plus usage.
- SSO is on the Premium plan, which has no public price.
Pricing
Plan | Price | Included |
Free | $0 | 50 billable conversations, 50 Lyro conversations one time |
Starter | $24.17 a month billed annually | 100 billable conversations, live chat and ticketing |
Growth | From $49.17 a month billed annually | From 250 billable conversations, 10 seats, analytics, macros |
Plus | From $300 a month plus usage | Custom limits, departments, custom branding, OpenAPI |
Premium | Contact sales | From 3,000 Lyro conversations, pay-per-resolution billing |
Lyro AI agent | From $32.50 a month billed annually | From 50 Lyro conversations |
Source: Tidio pricing. Paid plans have a 7-day free trial.
Rating
Tidio holds 4.6 out of 5 from 1,962 reviews on G2.
Best for
Tidio is best for small teams and online stores that want live chat and ticketing at a low entry price. The feature and price math against SiteGPT is in SiteGPT vs Tidio.
5. Help Scout: best Intercom alternative for email-first teams
Help Scout is a shared inbox for customer service teams that work mainly in email. Paid plans add live chat, SMS, and social messaging, and an AI add-on named AI Answers resolves questions on its own.
Key features
- Shared inboxes with saved replies, tags, and views
- Live chat and SMS, plus WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, from Standard
- Knowledge base sites, with multiple knowledge bases from Standard
- Workflows and SLA policies, with advanced versions on Plus and Pro
- AI Inbox assistant on Standard and unlimited AI Drafts from Plus
Pros
- Free plan with 5 users, 1 inbox, and 1 knowledge base site
- Standard costs $25 per user a month billed annually. That is $4 less per seat than Intercom Essential.
- AI Answers costs $0.75 per resolution. That is 24% less than Fin at $0.99.
- AI Answers has a 3-month free trial
Cons
- The Free plan is limited to 100 contacts a month.
- Standard is capped at 25 users and 2 inboxes. Extra inboxes cost $10 a month each.
- SSO and HIPAA compliance are on Pro at $75 per user a month billed annually, with a 10-user minimum.
- Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot integrations start on Plus.
Pricing
Plan | Billed annually (per user a month) | Billed monthly (per user a month) | Users | Notable features |
Free | $0 | $0 | Up to 5 | 1 inbox, 1 knowledge base site, 100 contacts a month |
Standard | $25 | $30 | Up to 25 | Live chat, SMS, social channels, basic workflows |
Plus | $45 | $54 | Up to 50 | Advanced workflows, customer portal, round robin routing |
Pro | $75 | $90 | Unlimited, minimum 10 | SSO, HIPAA compliance, unlimited workflows |
AI Answers add-on | $0.75 per resolution | $0.75 per resolution | Any plan | Autonomous answers, billed monthly |
Source: Help Scout pricing.
Rating
Help Scout holds 4.4 out of 5 from 431 reviews on G2.
Best for
Help Scout is best for teams of up to 25 people that answer most customers by email and want a simple shared inbox. If you are leaving a support and product platform and need tickets tied to Jira, Linear or GitHub issues, read the DevRev alternatives guide.
6. HubSpot Service Hub: best Intercom alternative with a CRM
HubSpot Service Hub is the customer service product inside the HubSpot customer platform. Tickets, chats, and the AI agent sit on the same contact records that sales and marketing use. The three-way view with Intercom and Drift is in HubSpot vs Intercom vs Drift.
Key features
- Help desk and customer success software on the HubSpot CRM
- Live chat and conversational bots, with HubSpot branding on the Free plan
- Customer Agent, an AI agent for chat, email, forms, and calling
- HubSpot Credits included in each paid plan to pay for AI features
- More than 2,000 apps in the HubSpot marketplace
Pros
- Free plan for up to 2 users, with no credit card
- Starter starts at $7 per seat a month paid annually
- Service, sales, and marketing share one customer record
- 4.4 out of 5 on G2 from 3,018 reviews
Cons
- Professional starts at $90 per seat a month paid annually. That is $61 more per seat than Intercom Essential.
- Professional has a required one-time onboarding fee of $1,500. Enterprise onboarding is $3,500.
- AI features draw down HubSpot Credits. Starter includes 500, Professional includes 3,000, and Enterprise includes 5,000.
- The value depends on using the HubSpot CRM for sales or marketing as well.
Pricing
Plan | Price per seat a month | HubSpot Credits | Notes |
Free | $0 | Not listed | Up to 2 users |
Starter | From $7 paid annually, or $20 paid monthly | 500 | Removes HubSpot branding from live chat |
Professional | From $90 paid annually, or $100 paid monthly on an annual commitment | 3,000 | One-time onboarding fee of $1,500 |
Enterprise | From $150 | 5,000 | One-time onboarding fee of $3,500 |
Source: HubSpot Service Hub pricing.
Rating
HubSpot Service Hub holds 4.4 out of 5 from 3,018 reviews on G2.
Best for
HubSpot Service Hub is best for teams that already keep customers and deals in HubSpot and want service on the same records.
7. Chatwoot: best open source Intercom alternative
Chatwoot is an open source customer service platform with a shared inbox, a help center, and an AI teammate named Captain. Teams can use Chatwoot Cloud or host the software on their own servers. The vendor describes Chatwoot as an alternative to Intercom and Zendesk.
Key features
- Shared inbox for live chat, email, and social channels on paid plans
- Captain AI: an assistant that answers customers, a copilot for agents, reply suggestions, and summaries
- Help center, teams, and automation rules
- Self-hosted plans as well as cloud plans
- Voice channel
Pros
- Free Hacker plan for up to 2 agents and 500 conversations a month
- Paid plans list unlimited conversations under a fair use policy
- Captain AI credits are included with paid plans. Extra credits cost $20 per 1,000.
- Ten Startups agents cost $190 a month. That is $100 less than ten Intercom Essential seats (34%).
Cons
- The free plan is limited to live chat and keeps data for 30 days.
- Self-hosting needs someone to run and update the server.
- Startups includes 300 Captain AI credits, and Enterprise includes 800.
- The G2 base is small at 16 reviews.
Pricing
Plan | Price per agent a month | Conversations | Captain AI credits | Data retention |
Hacker | $0, up to 2 agents | 500 a month | Not listed | 30 days |
Startups | $19 | Unlimited, fair use | 300 | 1 year |
Business | $39 | Unlimited, fair use | 500 | 2 years |
Enterprise | $99 | Unlimited, fair use | 800 | 3 years |
Source: Chatwoot pricing. Chatwoot Cloud has a 15-day free trial.
Rating
Chatwoot holds 4.5 out of 5 from 16 reviews on G2.
Best for
Chatwoot is best for technical teams that want an open source inbox they can host themselves.
8. Tawk: best free Intercom alternative
Tawk, styled tawk.to by the vendor, is a free live chat platform with an inbox, a knowledge base, and ticketing. The company charges for four optional add-ons and keeps the platform free. More options in this price range are in the tawk.to alternatives guide.
Key features
- Chat widget and shared inbox at no cost
- Knowledge base, chat page, and ticketing emails
- AI Assist: AI agents trained on your knowledge base, with handoff to your team
- Whitelabel add-on for custom domains and branded emails
- Add-ons are billed per property and not per seat
Pros
- The platform is free, with no credit card needed to start
- AI Assist has a free tier for limited volume
- Add-ons can be switched off at any time
- 4.5 out of 5 on G2 from 203 reviews
Cons
- The widget shows the vendor's badge unless you pay $29 a month for Whitelabel.
- AI Assist paid plans start at $29 a month.
- Voice Agents and Data Enrichment are on a waitlist.
- A free inbox still needs people to answer every chat that the AI does not handle.
Pricing
Item | Price | Notes |
Tawk platform | $0 | Chat widget, inbox, knowledge base |
AI Assist | From $29 a month | Free tier for limited volume |
Whitelabel | $29 a month | Removes the badge, adds custom domains |
Voice Agents | From $49 a month plus usage | Waitlist |
Data Enrichment | From $59 a month | Waitlist |
Source: tawk.to add-ons.
Rating
Tawk holds 4.5 out of 5 from 203 reviews on G2.
Best for
Tawk is best for teams with no software budget that need a chat widget and an inbox today. Free AI options are compared in the free chatbot for website guide.
Intercom competitors comparison table
This Intercom competitors comparison table lines up Intercom and all eight tools on the ranking criteria.
Tool | Replaces the Intercom inbox | Pricing model | Entry paid price | AI agent billing | Free plan | G2 rating |
Intercom | Baseline | Per seat plus usage | $29 per seat a month billed annually | $0.99 per Fin outcome | No. 14-day trial | 4.5 (3,918) |
Zendesk | Yes | Per agent plus usage | $19 per agent a month paid yearly | Per automated resolution | No | 4.3 (7,091) |
Crisp | Yes | Flat per workspace | $45 a month | Credits included in the plan | Yes, 2 seats | 4.5 (205) |
No. Answer layer only | Flat with a message quota | $59 a month, or $39 billed yearly | Included in the plan quota | No. 7-day trial | 4.9 (12) | |
Tidio | Yes | Flat, metered by billable conversations | $24.17 a month billed annually | Lyro from $32.50 a month billed annually | Yes, 50 conversations | 4.6 (1,962) |
Help Scout | Yes | Per user plus usage | $25 per user a month billed annually | $0.75 per resolution | Yes, 5 users | 4.4 (431) |
HubSpot Service Hub | Yes | Per seat plus credits | From $7 per seat a month paid annually | HubSpot Credits | Yes, 2 users | 4.4 (3,018) |
Chatwoot | Yes | Per agent, or self-hosted | $19 per agent a month | Credits included, $20 per 1,000 extra | Yes, 2 agents | 4.5 (16) |
Tawk | Yes | Free with add-ons | $0 | AI Assist from $29 a month | Yes | 4.5 (203) |
What a 10-agent team pays on Intercom and its competitors
A 10-agent team pays between $0 and $900 a month on published prices before AI usage. Intercom Essential sits in the middle at $290 a month billed annually.
Tool | Plan priced | Monthly price for 10 agents | Difference against Intercom | 12-month cost |
Tawk | Free platform | $0 | $290 less | $0 |
Tidio | Growth, billed annually, 10 seats | From $49.17 | $240.83 less (83%) | From $590.04 |
Crisp | Essentials, 10 seats included | $95 | $195 less (67%) | $1,140 |
Chatwoot | Startups, 10 x $19 | $190 | $100 less (34%) | $2,280 |
Help Scout | Standard, 10 x $25, billed annually | $250 | $40 less (14%) | $3,000 |
Intercom | Essential, 10 x $29, billed annually | $290 | Baseline | $3,480 |
Zendesk | Suite Team, 10 x $55, paid yearly | $550 | $260 more (1.9 times) | $6,600 |
HubSpot Service Hub | Professional, 10 x $90, paid annually | $900 | $610 more (3.1 times) | $10,800 plus $1,500 onboarding |
The table leaves out AI usage, and AI usage changes the totals. The published per-unit AI prices are below.
Tool | AI price | Cost of 1,000 AI-resolved conversations a month |
Intercom Fin | $0.99 per outcome | $990 |
Help Scout AI Answers | $0.75 per resolution | $750, which is $240 less than Fin (24%) |
Tidio Lyro | $32.50 a month for 50 conversations, billed annually | $0.65 per conversation at the entry tier. Larger tiers are priced in the plan builder |
Zendesk AI agents | Per automated resolution | No rate on the pricing page |
Crisp | $5 to $75 of credits included | Not priced per conversation |
SiteGPT is not in the 10-agent table because it does not sell a shared inbox. Its plans are priced by message quota: 4k GPT-4.1-mini messages on Starter, 10k on Growth, and 40k on Scale. Costs for AI chatbots alone are in the AI chatbot pricing comparison.
The stack: which tool does which job
The stack for a team leaving Intercom has four layers, and one tool does not have to cover all of them. SiteGPT is not a helpdesk. It takes the knowledge-trained answer layer and leaves the inbox to a helpdesk.
Layer | Job | Tool |
Human inbox and ticketing | Agents reply to chat, email, and social messages, assign conversations, and report on them | Zendesk, Crisp, Tidio, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub, Chatwoot, or Tawk |
Knowledge-trained answer layer | Answers first from your website, files, and cloud drives, on its own widget or inside Crisp or Zendesk | |
Handoff | Moves the conversation to a person | In Crisp and Zendesk, the conversation passes to your agents in that inbox |
Knowledge source | Holds the content the answer layer trains on | Your website, documents, YouTube videos, and cloud drives |
A team that pairs a helpdesk with SiteGPT pays two bills. Two worked examples on published prices:
Stack | Helpdesk price | SiteGPT price | Total a month |
Crisp Essentials plus SiteGPT Growth | $95 | $129 billed monthly, or $79 billed yearly | $224, or $174 |
Zendesk Suite Professional for 10 agents plus SiteGPT Scale | $1,150 paid yearly | $429 billed monthly, or $259 billed yearly | $1,579, or $1,409 |
The stack has limits. SiteGPT does not connect to Intercom, so a team that stays on the Intercom inbox uses Fin or one of the tools in the best AI chatbots for Intercom guide. The Zendesk integration needs SiteGPT Scale and Zendesk Suite Professional or above. Integrations are not available in a SiteGPT HIPAA workspace, and a BAA is on the Enterprise plan only. Program details are on the SiteGPT HIPAA page.
How to choose an Intercom alternative
Choose an Intercom alternative by answering four questions: what you want to replace, how you want to pay, how big the team is, and where the data should live.
If you need... | Pick... | Why |
Ticketing, routing, and phone for many agents | Zendesk | Suite plans include messaging, telephony, and AI agents |
A similar inbox on a flat, lower bill | Crisp | Essentials is $95 a month with 10 seats |
AI answers from your own content on a flat plan | Message quota in the plan, with no per-outcome fee | |
Live chat and ticketing for a small store | Tidio | Free plan, and Starter is $24.17 a month billed annually |
An email-first shared inbox | Help Scout | Free for 5 users, and Standard is $25 per user |
Service on the same records as sales | HubSpot Service Hub | The helpdesk is part of the HubSpot CRM |
Data on your own servers | Chatwoot | Open source with self-hosted plans |
A free inbox today | Tawk | The platform costs $0 |
Teams that used Intercom mainly for sales chat can read the Drift alternatives guide.
Intercom alternatives use-case cheat sheet
This cheat sheet maps ten common situations to one pick each.
Scenario | Best pick | Why |
Service desk with 50 agents and phone lines | Zendesk | Suite plans include telephony and routing |
Startup with 8 agents and a fixed budget | Crisp | 10 seats for $95 a month flat |
SaaS team that wants AI answers from its docs on a flat bill | Starter is $59 a month, or $39 billed yearly | |
Team on Crisp or Zendesk that wants a content-trained first responder | Crisp integration from Growth, Zendesk from Scale | |
Online store with 2 agents and no budget | Tidio | Free plan with 50 billable conversations |
Five-person team that answers by email | Help Scout | Free plan covers 5 users and 1 inbox |
B2B company that runs sales in HubSpot | HubSpot Service Hub | Tickets and deals share one record |
Company that must host customer data itself | Chatwoot | Self-hosted plans |
Solo founder who needs a chat widget today | Tawk | Free platform with no credit card |
Team that wants one vendor for the inbox and a native AI agent | Intercom | Fin is built into the Intercom inbox |
Intercom alternatives FAQ
Basics
What is the best alternative to Intercom?
Zendesk is the best alternative to Intercom for larger teams that need ticketing, routing, and phone. Crisp is the best alternative for small teams that want a similar inbox at a lower price. No single tool is best for every team.
Who are Intercom's main competitors?
Intercom's main competitors are Zendesk, HubSpot Service Hub, Help Scout, Crisp, Tidio, Chatwoot, and Tawk. All seven sell a shared inbox for customer service. SiteGPT competes with the Fin AI agent only.
Is Intercom now called Fin?
The company now trades as Fin, and G2 lists the product as Fin. The vendor still sells the helpdesk under the Intercom name. Salesforce completed its acquisition of Fin on 10 September 2026.
Pricing
How much does Intercom cost?
Intercom costs $29, $85, or $132 per seat a month billed annually, depending on the plan. The Fin AI agent adds $0.99 per outcome. Ten Essential seats and 1,000 Fin outcomes cost $1,280 a month.
What is a cheaper alternative to Intercom?
Crisp is a cheaper alternative to Intercom. Essentials costs $95 a month for 10 seats, against $290 for ten Intercom Essential seats. Tidio Growth starts at $49.17 a month billed annually, and Chatwoot costs $19 per agent a month.
Is there a free alternative to Intercom?
Yes. Tawk is free for the whole platform. Crisp, Tidio, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub, and Chatwoot each have a free plan with limits of 2 to 5 users or 50 to 500 conversations a month.
Comparisons
Is there an open source alternative to Intercom?
Yes. Chatwoot is an open source customer service platform that teams can host on their own servers. Chatwoot Cloud starts free for 2 agents, and paid plans start at $19 per agent a month.
Which Intercom alternative includes a CRM?
HubSpot Service Hub is the Intercom alternative built on a CRM. Tickets and chats attach to the same contact records that sales and marketing use. The Free plan covers up to 2 users.
Zendesk vs Intercom: which is better?
Zendesk is stronger for ticketing and phone, and Intercom is stronger for a messenger-first inbox with a native AI agent. Ten agents cost $550 a month on Zendesk Suite Team and $290 a month on Intercom Essential, both on annual terms.
AI and integrations
Does SiteGPT integrate with Intercom?
No. SiteGPT has no Intercom integration. It runs on its own website widget, or inside Crisp, Zendesk, Slack, Messenger, Google Chat, Freshdesk Messaging, and Zoho SalesIQ on the plans that include integrations. A team that runs chat on Freshdesk Messaging can see how that handoff works in the Freshdesk chatbot guide.
Can SiteGPT replace Intercom?
No. SiteGPT has no shared inbox for email, social channels, or tickets. It replaces the AI answers, and human agents keep replying in a helpdesk or from SiteGPT's own escalation flow.
Which Intercom alternatives have their own AI agent?
Zendesk, Crisp, Tidio, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub, Chatwoot, and Tawk each have an AI agent. Help Scout prices it at $0.75 per resolution, and Tidio sells Lyro from $32.50 a month billed annually.
Compliance
Which Intercom alternatives list HIPAA support?
Help Scout lists HIPAA compliance on its Pro plan, and Intercom lists HIPAA support on Expert. SiteGPT offers a HIPAA BAA on its Enterprise plan only, and integrations are not available in a covered workspace. More vendors are compared in the HIPAA compliant AI chatbot guide.
Which Intercom alternative suits EU buyers?
Crisp is a European vendor, and Chatwoot can be hosted on your own servers in any region. EU buyers comparing vendors can use the GDPR compliant chatbot platforms guide.
Sources
All pages below were opened on 6 October 2026.
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