Customerly vs Intercom (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Intercom grades higher than Customerly: 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.
Customerly
Live chat, shared inbox and AI support with per-seat pricing
Intercom
Helpdesk with live chat and the Fin AI agent priced per outcome
Which one is for you
Pick Customerly if
- Fits if you want chat, a help center and AI answers under one roof
- Works for small teams that start on Core and see how it goes
Look elsewhere if
- Tight on Core: 500 interactions, 10 AI conversations and AI-only support
- Pricey if you want workflows and integrations, which start on Growth at €59
- Watch out: all subscription fees are non-refundable, and cancelling deletes the project
- Watch out: extra interactions are billed per use, and prices are shown in euros
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
| 2.2GPACustomerlyFair | 2.4GPAIntercomFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C€16 a seat a month on yearly billing for Core, under the category's $19 mark, but Core has 500 interactions and AI-only support. The useful parts, workflows and integrations, start on Growth at €59. | 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 on all plans; the page does not say if a card is needed. There is 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 | CChat, inbox, chatflows, a help center, surveys and AI. The listing shows gaps: interactions are capped per plan and billed per use beyond that. | 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. You set up chatflows, the help center and AI before it works well. | 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 a mobile SDK and API, and Zapier, WordPress, Messenger and Google Ads connections. | 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 | live chat and a help center with AI support | 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: Customerly and Intercom. How we grade
Price against what you get
Customerly starts at about $17.88 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 $11.12 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 Customerly 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
- Customerly also covers surveys and chatbots.
- Intercom also covers reports and help desk.
At a glance
| Customerly | Intercom | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | €16 per seat / month, billed annually | $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial on all plans | 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Customerly | Intercom, Inc. |
| Price read from | docs.customerly.io | intercom.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Customerly
- Prices are shown in euros; the help center says billing is in USD for companies outside Europe, but gives no USD figures.
- Interactions are capped per plan and extra ones are billed per use; an interaction is a replied conversation, an email sent or a survey response.
- The help center says all subscription fees are non-refundable, and cancelling also deletes the project.
- Core support is AI only, Growth is AI first with a 48-hour human reply, and Ultimate replies within 30 minutes.
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
Customerly
- Live chat and shared inbox
- Live chat, reply via email, attachments and typing previews are on every plan, with several inboxes per project.
- Chatflows and workflows
- Flows automate support conversations; advanced chatflow actions and workflows start on the Growth plan.
- AI conversations
- Each plan includes a monthly allowance of AI conversations that never expire, and more cost €0.45 each. An AI Companion add-on is €19 a month per seat.
- Help center
- A knowledge base for customers; multi-language support and analytics for it are on the Ultimate plan.
- Surveys and NPS
- In-chat surveys and NPS from the Growth plan, with CSAT ratings on Ultimate.
- Mobile SDK and API
- Native iOS and Android SDKs add live chat inside a mobile app, and an API and webhooks cover custom work.
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
Customerly
Core€16
per seat / month, billed annually
500 interactions and 10 AI conversations a month, 30-day history, AI-only support.
Growth€59
per seat / month, billed annually
1,000 interactions and 20 AI conversations a month, unlimited history, surveys, workflows, integrations.
Ultimate€84
per seat / month, billed annually
5,000 interactions and 50 AI conversations a month, CSAT, live translate, team analytics, human support replies in 30 minutes.
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
Customerly
- Annual discount
2 months free on annual billing
The help center says annual billing saves the equivalent of 2 months a year compared with paying 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, Customerly or Intercom?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Customerly is cheaper to start with: about $17.88 a month for each person, against $29 a month for each person for Intercom. Customerly starts at €16 per seat / month, billed annually, and Intercom starts at $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Customerly or Intercom?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Customerly nor Intercom has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Customerly 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.