Table of Contents
- Key takeaways: Intercom vs Zendesk at a glance
- Intercom vs Zendesk: side-by-side comparison
- What is Intercom?
- What is Zendesk?
- Zendesk vs Intercom functionality: which wins each criterion?
- Zendesk vs Intercom for customer service teams
- Zendesk chat vs Intercom Messenger
- Fin vs Zendesk AI agents
- Intercom vs Zendesk pricing: what does each cost?
- Seat cost at 5, 10 and 25 agents
- Total cost with the AI agent switched on
- How the Intercom bill moves with the resolution rate
- Is Intercom a replacement for Zendesk?
- Zendesk and Intercom integration: can you use both?
- The stack: which tool does which job
- How to choose between Intercom and Zendesk
- Use-case cheat sheet
- FAQ
- Basics
- What is the difference between Intercom and Zendesk?
- Is Intercom now called Fin?
- Who owns Intercom and Zendesk?
- Comparisons
- Is Intercom or Zendesk better for customer service?
- Is Intercom or Zendesk better for a small business?
- Is Fin or Zendesk AI easier to deploy?
- Can Intercom and Zendesk be used together?
- Pricing
- How much does Intercom cost?
- How much does Zendesk cost?
- Is Zendesk cheaper than Intercom?
- How is AI priced in Intercom vs Zendesk?
- Switching and integrations
- Can you migrate from Zendesk to Intercom?
- Does SiteGPT work with Intercom or Zendesk?
- Sources
Created by
Do not index
Created time
Jun 30, 2026 08:32 AM
Between Intercom and Zendesk, Intercom is the better pick for chat-first teams that want the Fin AI agent, and Zendesk is the better pick for teams that run on tickets, phone and routing rules.
TL;DR
- Intercom fits teams whose customers write in from a website or product chat. Seats cost $29, $85 or $132 per seat a month billed annually, and Fin costs $0.99 per outcome on every plan.
- Zendesk fits teams that work in ticket queues and take phone calls. Support Team costs $19 per agent a month paid yearly. Suite Team costs $55 and adds AI agents, messaging and telephony.
- Per seat, Intercom is cheaper at the matching tier. Essential at $29 is 47% below Suite Team at $55. Advanced at $85 is 26% below Suite Professional at $115.
- Both bill AI by usage. Intercom publishes its price. Zendesk draws verified resolutions from a plan allowance and publishes no price per resolution.
- Salesforce owns Intercom's parent company. Salesforce completed its acquisition of Fin, formerly Intercom, on September 10, 2026. The helpdesk is still sold under the Intercom name.
Key takeaways: Intercom vs Zendesk at a glance
Tool | Best for | Key strength | Entry price (annual billing) | G2 rating |
Chat-first teams that want a strong AI agent | Messenger, shared inbox and Fin on every plan | $29 per seat a month, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome | ||
Zendesk | Ticketing, phone and routing in larger teams | Ticketing, omnichannel routing, telephony in the Suite | $19 per agent a month (Support Team). Suite Team is $55 | |
SiteGPT (stack layer) | Answers trained on your own content, placed in front of Zendesk | Flat monthly plan and handoff to Zendesk agents | $259 a month billed yearly (Scale, the plan with the Zendesk integration) | Not ranked here |
Transparency note: SiteGPT publishes this comparison and sells an AI chatbot. SiteGPT is not ranked against Intercom or Zendesk, because it is not a helpdesk. It appears once, in the stack section, in the role it fills.
Intercom vs Zendesk: side-by-side comparison
Intercom and Zendesk compare as follows on ownership, price, AI billing, channels and ratings. Prices are list prices in US dollars on annual billing.
Dimension | Intercom | Zendesk |
Owner | Fin (formerly Intercom), owned by Salesforce since September 10, 2026 | Zendesk |
Built around | Messenger and a shared inbox | Tickets and routing |
Plans | Essential, Advanced, Expert | Support Team, Suite Team, Suite Professional, Suite Enterprise + Copilot |
Seat price | $29, $85, $132 per seat a month | $19, $55, $115 per agent a month. Enterprise by quote |
AI agent | Fin, included on every plan | Zendesk AI agents, included in every Suite and Support plan |
AI billing | $0.99 per outcome | Per automated resolution, drawn from a plan allowance. No public unit price |
Ticketing | Shared inbox and ticketing system from Essential | Email and ticketing system from Support Team |
Live chat | Free and unlimited on all plans | Messaging and live chat from Suite Team |
Phone | Pay as you go | Telephony listed in Suite Team. IVR phone tree in Suite Professional |
Agent AI assistant | Copilot at $29 per agent a month | Copilot at $50 per agent a month |
Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | 14 days, no credit card |
G2 rating | 4.5 from 3,918 reviews (listed as Fin) | 4.3 from 7,091 reviews |
Best for | Chat-first and product-led teams | Ticket-first teams with phone and routing needs |
Two naming points cause confusion. The company behind Intercom now trades as Fin, and G2 lists the product as Fin. The vendor's pricing page still sells the helpdesk as Intercom.
What is Intercom?
Intercom is a customer service helpdesk built around a Messenger, a shared inbox and an AI agent named Fin. Every plan includes Fin, the Messenger, a ticketing system, pre-built reports and a public help center.
Salesforce completed its acquisition of Fin, formerly Intercom, on September 10, 2026. The press release counts more than 30,000 customer companies and says Fin joins Salesforce's AI Labs group. List prices on the Intercom pricing page are unchanged.
Key features
- Fin AI agent for service, sales and ecommerce
- Messenger with free, unlimited live chat, in-app chats, banners and tooltips
- Shared inbox and ticketing system
- Workflows automation builder and round robin assignment on Advanced
- SSO, SLAs, HIPAA support and multibrand Messenger on Expert
- Copilot, an AI assistant for human agents, as a paid add-on
Pros
- Fin is on every plan, including the $29 Essential seat
- The AI price is public: $0.99 per outcome, charged at most once per conversation
- Live chat, support email and in-app chat carry no usage fee
- 14-day trial with no credit card, and a one-seat minimum
Cons
- The bill has two meters: seats and Fin outcomes
- An "assumed resolution" is billable. It is counted when the customer leaves without asking for more help
- SLAs and SSO need the Expert plan at $132 per seat a month
- Phone, SMS, WhatsApp and email campaigns are billed by usage
- Proactive Support Plus (product tours, surveys, series) costs another $99 a month
Pricing
Plan | Price per seat a month, billed annually | Fin AI agent | Notable features |
Essential | $29 | $0.99 per outcome | Messenger, shared inbox and ticketing, public help center |
Advanced | $85 | $0.99 per outcome | Workflows, multiple team inboxes, round robin, 20 free Lite seats |
Expert | $132 | $0.99 per outcome | SSO, HIPAA support, SLAs, multibrand, 50 free Lite seats |
Fin on another helpdesk | No seats | $0.99 per outcome | Minimum monthly commitment, for example 50 outcomes |
Add-ons: Copilot is $29 per agent a month billed annually, or $35 billed monthly. The Pro add-on starts at $99 a month. Source: Intercom pricing.
User reviews: 4.5 out of 5 from 3,918 reviews on G2, where the product is listed as Fin.
Best for: chat-first and product-led teams that want an AI agent live on day one. The plans and Fin's limits are covered in the Intercom Fin AI review.
What is Zendesk?
Zendesk is a customer service platform built around ticketing. The Support plan covers email and tickets. The Suite plans add AI agents, a knowledge base, messaging, live chat and telephony.
Zendesk also sells separate plan families for employee service and contact centers. This comparison covers the customer service plans only.
Key features
- Email and ticketing system with ticket routing, automations and triggers
- AI agents, knowledge base and Action Builder from Suite Team
- Omnichannel routing, messaging, live chat and telephony from Suite Team
- Skills-based routing, IVR phone tree and Admin Copilot from Suite Professional
- Intelligent Triage, sandbox environment and custom agent roles on Suite Enterprise + Copilot
- Add-ons for Copilot, workforce engagement and contact center
Pros
- The lowest entry price in this comparison: $19 per agent a month paid yearly
- Telephony is a listed plan feature from Suite Team
- Only verified resolutions count against the AI allowance on the resolution tiers Zendesk introduced on May 18, 2026
- The largest G2 review base of the two, at 7,091 reviews
Cons
- Messaging, live chat and telephony start at Suite Team, which costs $55 per agent a month
- No public price per automated resolution
- Copilot costs $50 per agent a month, against $29 on Intercom
- Suite Enterprise + Copilot has no public price
Pricing
Plan | Price per agent a month, paid yearly | Notable features |
Support Team | $19 | Email and ticketing, ticket routing, prebuilt dashboards, automations and triggers |
Suite Team | $55 | AI agents, knowledge base, Action Builder, omnichannel routing, messaging and live chat, telephony |
Suite Professional | $115 | Admin Copilot, App Builder, writing tools, Quick Reports, skills-based routing, IVR phone tree |
Suite Enterprise + Copilot | Talk to sales | Intelligent Triage, Auto Assist, generative AI for voice, approval workflows, sandbox |
Add-ons: Copilot is $50 per agent a month. The Workforce Engagement Bundle is $50 per agent a month. Contact Center is $83 per agent a month. All three are paid yearly. Source: Zendesk pricing.
User reviews: 4.3 out of 5 from 7,091 reviews on G2, listed as Zendesk for Customer Service.
Best for: ticket-first teams that need phone, routing rules and many agents in one suite. Lighter chat tools are compared in the Zendesk chat alternatives guide.
Zendesk vs Intercom functionality: which wins each criterion?
Zendesk and Intercom each win four of the eight criteria below, so the right pick depends on which criteria matter to your team. The verdicts use the plan features each vendor lists on its pricing page.
Criterion | Intercom | Zendesk | Verdict |
Entry price | $29 per seat with chat, tickets and AI | $19 per agent, email and tickets only | Zendesk for email-only teams |
Price with chat and AI included | $29 (Essential) | $55 (Suite Team) | Intercom, 47% lower |
AI price transparency | $0.99 per outcome, published | Allowance model, unit price by quote | Intercom |
What counts as billable AI | Confirmed or assumed resolution, or a completed procedure handoff | Verified resolutions only. Contained resolutions and assisted escalations are free | Zendesk |
Live chat and in-app messaging | Free and unlimited on all plans, with banners and tooltips | Messaging and live chat from Suite Team | Intercom |
Phone | Usage-billed channel | Telephony in Suite Team, IVR in Suite Professional | Zendesk |
Routing | Round robin on Advanced | Ticket routing on Support Team, skills-based routing on Suite Professional | Zendesk |
Agent AI assistant | Copilot at $29 per agent | Copilot at $50 per agent | Intercom, 42% lower |
Zendesk vs Intercom for customer service teams
Zendesk suits a customer service team that measures work in tickets. Routing, automations and triggers come with the $19 plan, and phone joins at Suite Team.
Intercom suits a customer service team that answers in chat. The Messenger, the inbox and Fin share one workspace, and a ticketing system is included from Essential.
Zendesk chat vs Intercom Messenger
Zendesk chat is one channel inside the Suite. "Messaging and live chat" starts at Suite Team for $55 per agent a month. Zendesk bought the live chat company Zopim, according to Wikipedia, and now sells chat as part of the Suite.
Intercom's Messenger is the center of the product. Live chat, in-app chats, banners and tooltips are free and unlimited on all three plans. Product tours, surveys and checklists need the Proactive Support Plus add-on at $99 a month.
Fin vs Zendesk AI agents
Fin and Zendesk AI agents both answer customers without a human, and both bill by result. The difference is what counts as a result.
Question | Fin (Intercom) | Zendesk AI agents |
Unit | Outcome | Automated resolution |
Published price | $0.99 | None. Drawn from a resolution allowance |
Customer leaves without replying | Billable as an assumed resolution | Counted only if a language model verifies the request was resolved. Otherwise it is a free contained resolution |
Escalated to a human | Free, unless Fin completes a procedure that ends in a handoff | Assisted escalation. Not counted against the allowance |
Who checks the result | Customer confirmation or no further request | A large language model reviews the conversation text |
Reopened conversation | The outcome is refunded | Not stated |
Voice | Fin Voice at $1.99 per voice outcome, through sales | Generative AI for voice on Suite Enterprise + Copilot |
Salesforce's press release gives Fin an average resolution rate of 76%. Zendesk publishes no comparable average on its pricing page. Sources: Fin AI Agent outcomes and About automated resolution tiers.
A wider field of AI agents, including Decagon and Sierra, is ranked in the AI customer service agents roundup.
Intercom vs Zendesk pricing: what does each cost?
Intercom costs less per seat than Zendesk once chat and AI are needed, and Zendesk costs less for email-only ticketing. Both add a usage charge for AI on top of seats.
Seat cost at 5, 10 and 25 agents
The table multiplies each list price by the team size. Assumptions: annual billing, full seats only, no add-ons, no AI usage.
Plan | 5 agents | 10 agents | 25 agents |
Zendesk Support Team ($19) | $95 | $190 | $475 |
Intercom Essential ($29) | $145 | $290 | $725 |
Zendesk Suite Team ($55) | $275 | $550 | $1,375 |
Intercom Advanced ($85) | $425 | $850 | $2,125 |
Zendesk Suite Professional ($115) | $575 | $1,150 | $2,875 |
Intercom Expert ($132) | $660 | $1,320 | $3,300 |
The differences, already calculated:
- Essential vs Suite Team: Intercom is $26 per seat cheaper (47%). Ten agents save $260 a month, or $3,120 a year.
- Advanced vs Suite Professional: Intercom is $30 per seat cheaper (26%). Ten agents save $300 a month, or $3,600 a year.
- Support Team vs Essential: Zendesk is $10 per agent cheaper (34%). Support Team has no live chat and no telephony.
- Copilot for 10 agents: $290 a month on Intercom and $500 on Zendesk. Intercom is $210 cheaper (42%).
Total cost with the AI agent switched on
The table adds Fin outcomes to Intercom Essential seats. Assumptions: annual billing, 100 AI outcomes per seat a month, $0.99 per outcome.
Team | Fin outcomes a month | Intercom Essential seats | Fin usage | Intercom total | Zendesk Suite Team seats |
5 agents | 500 | $145 | $495 | $640 | $275 plus resolutions |
10 agents | 1,000 | $290 | $990 | $1,280 | $550 plus resolutions |
25 agents | 2,500 | $725 | $2,475 | $3,200 | $1,375 plus resolutions |
Zendesk does not publish a price per automated resolution, so its column stops at seats. The break-even is easy to work out. In all three rows, Zendesk Suite Team is cheaper than Intercom Essential if the quoted price is below $0.73 per verified resolution.
The formula is $0.99 minus $26 times seats, divided by monthly resolutions. A team with fewer AI resolutions per seat has a lower break-even. At 50 resolutions per seat, the break-even is $0.47.
How the Intercom bill moves with the resolution rate
Fin usage grows with every conversation the AI resolves. The table uses 10 Essential seats and 3,000 conversations a month.
Fin resolution rate | Outcomes | Fin usage | Monthly total | Yearly total |
30% | 900 | $891 | $1,181 | $14,172 |
50% | 1,500 | $1,485 | $1,775 | $21,300 |
70% | 2,100 | $2,079 | $2,369 | $28,428 |
A rise from 30% to 70% doubles the bill: $1,181 becomes $2,369, an increase of 101%. Each outcome still replaces a conversation that a person would have handled. Intercom offers spending limits and usage alerts to cap the total.
Flat-plan chatbots are priced against these usage models in the AI chatbot pricing comparison.
Is Intercom a replacement for Zendesk?
Intercom is a replacement for Zendesk when most conversations arrive by chat or email. Intercom Essential includes a shared inbox, a ticketing system, a public help center and the Fin AI agent.
Intercom is a weaker replacement in three cases:
- Phone is a main channel. Zendesk lists telephony in Suite Team and an IVR phone tree in Suite Professional. Intercom bills phone by usage.
- SLAs are required. Intercom lists SLAs on the Expert plan at $132 per seat a month.
- Routing depends on agent skills. Zendesk lists skills-based routing in Suite Professional. Intercom lists round robin assignment on Advanced.
A full switch is not the only option. Fin is sold for existing helpdesks with no seats, at $0.99 per outcome and a minimum monthly commitment such as 50 outcomes. Fin's pricing page says it works with any helpdesk and names Freshdesk, Salesforce and HubSpot. A Zendesk team should confirm the Zendesk setup with Fin's sales team before planning around it.
Teams that have already decided to leave Intercom can compare eight options in Intercom alternatives and competitors. When the other shortlisted tool is a CRM, the comparison is HubSpot vs Intercom vs Drift. If the chat widget's main job is qualifying leads and booking sales meetings, start with Drift alternatives.
Zendesk and Intercom integration: can you use both?
Zendesk and Intercom can run side by side in two ways. The first is Fin as the AI agent in front of an existing helpdesk, described above. The second is a split by channel, with Intercom Messenger for in-app chat and Zendesk for email and phone tickets.
The split has a cost. Ten agents on both Intercom Essential and Zendesk Suite Team pay $290 plus $550. The total is $840 a month before AI usage. Most teams that run both tools do so during a migration.
A third layout keeps one helpdesk and adds a separate AI answer layer. The next section covers it.
The stack: which tool does which job
A stack splits customer service into layers, and each layer has one tool. Intercom and Zendesk both cover the inbox and the native AI agent. A knowledge-trained chatbot covers one layer only.
Layer | Job | Tool |
System of record | Tickets, customer history, reporting | Zendesk or Intercom |
Human inbox | Agents reply, assign and close | The Zendesk or Intercom agent inbox |
Native AI agent | Resolves requests inside the helpdesk, billed by usage | Zendesk AI agents or Fin |
Knowledge-trained answer layer | Answers first from your own content on a flat plan, then hands off | SiteGPT, on Zendesk only |
Phone | Calls and IVR | Zendesk telephony, or Intercom phone billed by usage |
SiteGPT is an AI chatbot trained on your own content. Its Zendesk AI Agent integration installs SiteGPT as the AI agent on the Zendesk Web Widget. SiteGPT answers first and passes the conversation to Zendesk agents when a person is needed.
The handoff follows three triggers in the Zendesk integration guide. The visitor taps the escalation button, SiteGPT decides the visitor needs a human, or the visitor submits a lead form set to escalate. Zendesk then creates a ticket. Conversations that SiteGPT answers alone do not create a ticket.
The cost is a flat plan. The Zendesk integration needs the Scale plan: $429 a month billed monthly, or $259 a month billed yearly. Scale includes 40k GPT-4.1-mini messages a month, or 4,000 GPT-4.1 messages. Ten Zendesk Suite Professional agents plus SiteGPT Scale cost $1,150 plus $259. The total is $1,409 a month on yearly billing.
The limits are real:
- No Intercom integration. SiteGPT does not connect to Intercom or to Fin. An Intercom team cannot use this layout.
- Scale plan or above. Starter and Growth do not include the Zendesk integration.
- Zendesk Suite Professional or above. The guide also requires Sunshine Conversations access, so Support Team and Suite Team accounts do not qualify.
- Not a helpdesk. SiteGPT has no ticket queue, no phone channel and no SLA tools.
- Not available in a HIPAA workspace. Integrations are off there, and a HIPAA BAA is Enterprise only. Teams with that requirement can start with the HIPAA-compliant AI chatbot guide.
- The 7-day trial requires a credit card. There is no free plan.
The head-to-head with each helpdesk is in SiteGPT vs Zendesk and SiteGPT vs Intercom. Other bots that plug into Zendesk are ranked in the best AI chatbots for Zendesk.
How to choose between Intercom and Zendesk
Choose between Intercom and Zendesk by the main channel first, then by how you want to pay for AI.
If you need | Pick | Why |
Chat inside a product or on a website | Intercom | Free, unlimited live chat and in-app chat on every plan |
An AI agent with a published price | Intercom | Fin is $0.99 per outcome on every plan |
The lowest seat price with chat and AI | Intercom Essential | $29 against $55 for Zendesk Suite Team |
Email ticketing at the lowest price | Zendesk Support Team | $19 per agent a month paid yearly |
Phone support in the same suite | Zendesk Suite Team | Telephony is a listed plan feature |
Skills-based routing and IVR | Zendesk Suite Professional | Both are listed at $115 per agent a month |
To pay only for AI-verified resolutions | Zendesk | Contained resolutions and assisted escalations do not count |
An AI agent on a helpdesk you keep | Fin, sold standalone | No seats, with a minimum monthly commitment |
Flat-price AI answers in front of Zendesk | SiteGPT as a stack layer | Scale plan, with handoff to Zendesk agents |
Use-case cheat sheet
Scenario | Best pick | Why |
SaaS product with 8 agents and in-app questions | Intercom Essential | Messenger and Fin from $29 per seat |
Online store with 3 agents and email only | Zendesk Support Team | $57 a month for 3 agents on yearly billing |
40-agent team with phone queues | Zendesk Suite Professional | IVR and skills-based routing |
Small team that wants AI on day one | Intercom | Fin is included in the 14-day trial |
Team with a fixed AI budget | Intercom with a spending limit, or Zendesk with a quoted allowance | Both let you cap AI usage |
Zendesk team that wants a different AI agent | Fin standalone, or SiteGPT on Suite Professional | Both sit in front of an existing helpdesk |
Salesforce customer choosing a helpdesk | Intercom | Fin has the same owner as the CRM since September 2026 |
Agents who want an AI assistant in the inbox | Intercom Copilot | $29 per agent against $50 |
Docs-heavy product already on Zendesk Suite Professional | SiteGPT plus Zendesk | Answers from your content, tickets stay in Zendesk |
FAQ
Basics
What is the difference between Intercom and Zendesk?
Intercom is built around a Messenger and a shared inbox with the Fin AI agent on every plan. Zendesk is built around tickets, with messaging, AI agents and telephony added in the Suite plans.
Is Intercom now called Fin?
The company is now called Fin, and Salesforce's press release describes it as "Fin, formerly Intercom". The helpdesk product and its pricing page still use the Intercom name.
Who owns Intercom and Zendesk?
Salesforce owns Fin, the company formerly named Intercom. The acquisition closed on September 10, 2026. Zendesk is a separate company.
Comparisons
Is Intercom or Zendesk better for customer service?
Intercom is better for chat-first customer service with an AI agent in front. Zendesk is better for ticket queues, phone and routing rules. Neither is best overall.
Is Intercom or Zendesk better for a small business?
Intercom Essential is the cheaper choice for a small business that wants chat, tickets and AI in one plan at $29 per seat a month. Zendesk Support Team is cheaper for email-only ticketing at $19 per agent a month.
Is Fin or Zendesk AI easier to deploy?
Intercom's pricing page says Fin can be set up in under an hour on an existing helpdesk. Zendesk AI agents are included in every Suite and Support plan, so a Zendesk team has no second vendor to add. Both offer a 14-day trial.
Can Intercom and Zendesk be used together?
Yes. Some teams run Intercom Messenger for in-app chat and Zendesk for email and phone. Ten agents on Intercom Essential and Zendesk Suite Team pay $840 a month in seats on annual billing.
Pricing
How much does Intercom cost?
Intercom costs $29 (Essential), $85 (Advanced) or $132 (Expert) per seat a month billed annually. Fin adds $0.99 per outcome. Copilot adds $29 per agent a month billed annually, or $35 billed monthly.
How much does Zendesk cost?
Zendesk costs $19 (Support Team), $55 (Suite Team) or $115 (Suite Professional) per agent a month paid yearly. Suite Enterprise + Copilot is priced by sales. AI agents are billed per automated resolution.
Is Zendesk cheaper than Intercom?
Zendesk is cheaper only on its email-only Support Team plan, at $19 against $29. With chat and AI included, Intercom Essential at $29 is 47% cheaper per seat than Zendesk Suite Team at $55.
How is AI priced in Intercom vs Zendesk?
Intercom charges $0.99 per Fin outcome, at most once per conversation. Zendesk draws verified resolutions from a plan allowance and does not publish a price per resolution.
Switching and integrations
Can you migrate from Zendesk to Intercom?
Yes, but plan the work. Zendesk is built around tickets and Intercom around conversations, so expect to rebuild routing rules, automations and reports. Run both trials first. Each lasts 14 days and needs no credit card.
Does SiteGPT work with Intercom or Zendesk?
SiteGPT works with Zendesk and does not work with Intercom. The Zendesk AI Agent integration needs the SiteGPT Scale plan and Zendesk Suite Professional or above. AI chatbots that do connect to Intercom are listed in AI chatbots for Intercom.
Sources
Every source below was opened and checked on October 6, 2026.
Written by
