ChatBot vs Intercom (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Intercom grades higher than ChatBot: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Intercom grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ChatBot
AI customer service agent and chatbot builder from Text
Intercom
Helpdesk with live chat and the Fin AI agent priced per outcome
Which one is for you
Pick ChatBot if
- Fits if you want an AI agent on a site you already chat on
- Works for a small team on Shopify or WordPress
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you rely on the AI, since Essential includes 10 resolutions and Growth 200, and a pack of 50 costs $49.50
- Pricey if you add agents, as it is priced per user plus resolution packs
- Skip it if you want summaries, as they need Growth at $79
- Watch out: SSO, audit logs and a white-label widget need a sales conversation
Pick Intercom if
- Fits if you run a software or app company and support people inside the product
- Works for startups with under $10M raised and fewer than 15 staff, which get 93% off the first year
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you get lots of questions, as every Fin resolution adds $0.99 to the bill
- Skip it if you need a fixed monthly cost, since WhatsApp, SMS, phone and bulk email are billed by use
- Tight if you want automation workflows or several team inboxes, as both start on Advanced at $85 a seat
- Watch out: each agent gets 10 Copilot conversations a month free, and unlimited Copilot is $29 an agent on top
- Watch out: product tours and surveys need Proactive Support Plus, from $99 a month for 500 messages
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAChatBotFair | 2.4GPAIntercomFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$19 a user a month billed yearly, but the AI is capped at 10 resolutions, and Growth at $79 is above the dearer quarter of $45. | CEssential is $29 a seat a month billed yearly ($39 monthly), above this category's middle of $24 but short of the dearer quarter. Fin is $0.99 per resolved conversation on top, and workflows and team inboxes need Advanced at $85. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day trial with no card. No free plan. | CA 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and the add-ons, and no card needed, so you see the whole product. There is no free plan to drop back to when it ends, though. |
| Features | CAn AI agent, skills, a copilot, inbox and ticketing and channels. Resolutions are capped at 10 on Essential and 200 on Growth. | BThe Messenger for websites and apps, a shared inbox with tickets, a help center on every plan, the Fin AI agent, workflows and Copilot in the inbox. Product tours and surveys cost extra, but the support job itself is covered. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. The AI agent needs training and channels need connecting. | CNo store rating on record. The Messenger has to go into your site or app, Fin learns from your content, and the automations come with a builder to learn. Not a quick switch-on. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, Shopify, WordPress and Slack. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, Stripe, Statuspage, Zendesk and WhatsApp. Fin can even run on top of Zendesk or Salesforce. No desktop app, though. |
| Best for | an AI chatbot and customer service agent | in-app chat with an AI agent answering first |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: ChatBot and Intercom. How we grade
Price against what you get
ChatBot starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Intercom starts at $29 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Intercom scores higher, and starts $10 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 8 score higher than ChatBot for less, and 3 score higher than Intercom for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- ChatBot also covers workflow automation, whatsApp messaging and chatbots.
- Intercom also covers shared inbox, reports and help center.
At a glance
| ChatBot | Intercom | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly) | $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free 14-day trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Text, Inc. | Intercom, Inc. |
| Price read from | chatbot.com | intercom.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 |
Worth knowing
ChatBot
- Resolutions are capped (10 on Essential, 200 on Growth); an extra pack of 50 costs $49.50.
- Essential limits workflow rules, proactive campaigns to 3 and tracks 50 live visitors; chat summaries need Growth.
- Prices are per user, so the cost rises with each agent added on top of resolution packs.
- Enterprise features such as SSO, audit logs and a white-label widget need a sales conversation.
Intercom
- Every Fin outcome costs $0.99 on top of seats, and WhatsApp, SMS, phone and bulk email are billed by usage.
- Unlimited Copilot costs $29 per agent / month billed annually ($35 monthly); the Pro add-on with Operator starts at $100 a month per workspace.
- Fin can run on another helpdesk such as Zendesk or Salesforce for $0.99 per outcome with a monthly minimum and no seat fees, sold through sales.
- Outbound features such as product tours and surveys need Proactive Support Plus, from $99 a month for 500 messages.
Key features
ChatBot
- AI Agent
- An agent that answers from your help articles, documents, URLs and PDFs, replies in 48 languages and hands over to a person on request.
- Custom skills
- Rules that tell the agent what to do in a situation, such as offering a discount or escalating, up to 10 skills per agent.
- AI Copilot
- Drafts replies, polishes text and suggests similar tickets for human agents; monthly per-user allowances are capped by plan.
- Inbox and ticketing
- Chats and tickets in one inbox with workflow automation and takeover; Growth adds supervision, canned responses and reports.
- Selling through chat
- A sales skill, live Shopify catalog sync, cart recovery campaigns and sales reports tied to chats.
- Channels
- Website chat, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and SMS through Twilio, with Shopify, WordPress and WooCommerce integrations.
Intercom
- Fin AI Agent
- Answers customers across channels and hands off to the team inbox. It costs $0.99 per outcome, charged at most once per conversation and not when a human takes over.
- Messenger live chat
- A chat widget for websites and mobile apps that feeds the same inbox as email and other channels.
- Shared inbox and tickets
- Conversations and tickets in one inbox with pre-built reports. Advanced adds multiple team inboxes and round-robin assignment.
- Help center
- A public help center on every plan; Advanced adds private and multilingual help centers and Expert adds one per brand.
- Workflows
- Basic automation on Essential and a visual workflow automation builder from Advanced up, with SLAs on Expert.
- Copilot
- An AI assistant in the inbox. Each agent gets 10 Copilot conversations a month free; unlimited use is a paid add-on per agent.
Plans
ChatBot
Essential$19
per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly)
1 AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions, inbox and ticketing, workflow automation, website chat, Messenger, WhatsApp and SMS.
Growth$79
per user / month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)
10 AI Agents with 200 AI resolutions, chat topics insights, team reports, 10 workflow rules and 30 proactive campaigns.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI agents and workflows, SOC 2 Type 2, SSO and audit logs, white-label widget and a dedicated team; sold through sales.
Intercom
Essential$29
per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Messenger live chat, a shared inbox and tickets, pre-built reports, a public help center and basic automation. Fin costs $0.99 per outcome on top.
Advanced$85
per seat / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Adds a workflow automation builder, multiple team inboxes, round-robin assignment, a private and multilingual help center and 20 free Lite seats.
Expert$132
per seat / month, billed annually ($139 billed monthly)
Adds SSO and identity management, HIPAA support, SLAs, a multibrand Messenger and help center, and 50 free Lite seats.
Ways to pay less
ChatBot
- Annual discount
Save up to 24% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows yearly billing at $19 and $79 per user a month against $25 and $99 when billed monthly.
Intercom
- Annual discount
Lower price with annual billing
Intercom's pricing page lists Essential at $29 per seat a month billed annually against $39 billed monthly, Advanced at $85 against $99 and Expert at $132 against $139.
- Other savings
New customers save 35% on annual Essential
Some loads of the pricing page show Essential at $19 per seat a month billed annually instead of $29 for new customers, or 25% off monthly, kept for as long as the subscription lasts.
- Startups
Early Stage: 93% off the first year
Startups with under $10M raised and fewer than 15 employees get 93% off in year one, 50% in year two and 25% in year three, plus a year of Fin with 300 outcomes.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ChatBot or Intercom?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ChatBot is cheaper to start with: $19 a month for each person, against $29 a month for each person for Intercom. ChatBot starts at $19 per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly), and Intercom starts at $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, ChatBot or Intercom?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither ChatBot nor Intercom has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do ChatBot and Intercom run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Intercom lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.