Featurebase vs Intercom (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Featurebase and Intercom share a 2.4 GPA, and only Featurebase has a free plan.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Featurebase grades higher on the free plan. Intercom grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Featurebase
Help desk, chat and feedback boards with a per-resolution AI agent
Intercom
Helpdesk with live chat and the Fin AI agent priced per outcome
Which one is for you
Pick Featurebase if
- Fits if you want support and feedback in one product
- Works for small teams starting on a single free seat
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: one seat, and the email channel starts at Growth
- Watch out: the AI agent costs $0.49 per resolution on top of seats
- Watch out: Slack and workflows need Professional at $59, and SSO needs Enterprise at $99
- Watch out: unlimited Copilot is $19 a seat beyond 10 free conversations
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
| 2.4GPAFeaturebaseFair | 2.4GPAIntercomFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$29 a seat a month billed yearly on Growth, in the category's middle, plus $0.49 per AI resolution. | 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 | BA free plan with 1 seat, live chat, inbox, ticketing, unlimited conversations and a help centre, plus a 10-day trial with no card. | 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 | CInbox, tickets, chat, help centre, feedback boards and workflows. Discord, WhatsApp and Teams are listed as coming soon. | 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. Channels, workflows and an AI agent to set up. | 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, with Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, Linear, Jira and Azure DevOps, plus an API and MCP. | 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 | support and feedback boards in one product | 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: Featurebase and Intercom. How we grade
Price against what you get
Featurebase starts at $29 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 for the same starting price. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 16 score higher than Featurebase 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
- Intercom also covers reports.
At a glance
| Featurebase | Intercom | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per seat / month, billed yearly ($37 billed monthly) | $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 1 seat with live chat, inbox and ticketing, unlimited conversations, a help center and the mobile app. | None |
| Free trial | 10-day free trial of the paid plans, no credit card required | 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Featurebase | Intercom, Inc. |
| Price read from | featurebase.app | intercom.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Featurebase
- The free plan has one seat; the AI agent and the email channel start at Growth.
- Fibi is billed at $0.49 per resolution on top of seat prices, so cost follows ticket volume.
- Slack and workflows need Professional; SSO needs Enterprise. Discord, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams are listed as coming soon.
- Unlimited AI Copilot use costs $19 per seat a month beyond 10 free conversations.
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
Featurebase
- Inbox, tickets and live chat
- One inbox for conversations with assigning, snoozing and internal notes; live chat and ticketing are on every plan including the free one.
- Fibi AI agent
- Answers customers in live chat and email on paid plans. It costs $0.49 per resolution, counted once per conversation, and human handovers are free.
- AI Copilot and macros
- Drafts replies for human agents. Each seat gets 10 free Copilot conversations a month; unlimited use is $19 a seat.
- Help center
- A public help center is on every plan; the Professional plan adds a private, multilingual one with AI translations.
- Feedback boards
- Collects and prioritizes customer feedback, and syncs posts with Linear and Jira so users hear when an issue ships.
- Workflows and SLAs
- Professional adds workflows, SLA timers and round-robin assignment for teams that share a queue.
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
Featurebase
Free$0
1 seat with live chat, inbox and ticketing, unlimited conversations, a help center and the mobile app.
Growth$29
per seat / month, billed yearly ($37 billed monthly)
Adds the Fibi AI agent, email channel, AI Copilot and macros, reports, API, MCP, webhooks and integrations.
Professional$59
per seat / month, billed yearly ($75 billed monthly)
Adds Slack, workflows and SLAs, round-robin assignment, a multilingual help center, CRM links and 20 free Lite seats.
Enterprise$99
per seat / month, billed yearly ($129 billed monthly)
Adds multi-brand workspaces, SAML SSO and SCIM, custom admin roles and 50 free Lite seats.
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
Featurebase
- Annual discount
20% off with yearly billing
The pricing page lists a 20% saving when seats are billed yearly; Growth is $29 yearly against $37 monthly.
- Startups
Startups get 86% off
The pricing page says startups get 86% off; eligibility terms are not shown there.
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, Featurebase or Intercom?
As of Nov 12, 2026, they start at the same price. Featurebase starts at $29 per seat / month, billed yearly ($37 billed monthly), and Intercom starts at $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Featurebase or Intercom?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Featurebase has a free plan. Intercom does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Featurebase and Intercom run on?
As of Nov 12, 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.