Help Scout vs Intercom
We give Help Scout a 2.2 GPA and Intercom a 2.4, out of 4.0. Intercom grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Help Scout
Shared inbox and help desk with a knowledge base and AI answers
Intercom
Helpdesk with live chat and the Fin AI agent priced per outcome
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAHelp ScoutFair | 2.4GPAIntercomFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStandard is $25 a user a month billed annually, $30 monthly, which is where the dearest tenth of this category starts and about three times its $8 middle. Plus is $45 and Pro $75 with a 10-user minimum. Extra Inboxes are $10 each and AI Answers $0.75 a 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 | CFree for up to 5 users, but the caps are ones you'll hit in a week: 1 Inbox, 1 Docs site with 10 articles, 100 contacts a month, 10 saved replies and no AI tools. The 15-day trial of Standard or Plus needs no card. | CA 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and the add-ons, and no card needed, so it is a proper look. There is no free plan to drop back to when it ends, though. |
| Features | BEmail, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger in one workspace with assignment, tags and internal notes, plus a hosted help centre, the Beacon widget, workflows, routing and reports. The support-inbox job is covered, though phone and voice only work through an integration. | 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 | C4.2 from about 320 App Store ratings, which is on the low side for this category. That's the iPhone and iPad app rather than the whole service, and there are inboxes, Docs sites, workflows and routing rules to lay out first. | 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 iPhone and Android apps but no desktop app, and a long connections list: Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Linear, Shopify, Slack, Aircall and Zapier, with a public API. Phone and voice only arrive through one of those integrations. | 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 teams leaving a shared Gmail mailbox | 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: Help Scout and Intercom. How we grade
Where they differ
- Help Scout starts at $25 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly). Intercom starts at $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
- Help Scout has a free plan. Intercom does not, though it has a free trial.
- Help Scout also covers workflow automation and AI agents.
- Intercom also covers help desk, live chat, help center and AI support agent.
At a glance
| Help Scout | Intercom | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $25 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) | $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Up to 5 users, 1 Inbox, 1 Docs site with 10 articles, 100 contacts per month, 10 saved replies and 30 days of report history. No AI tools are included. | None |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial of Standard or Plus, no credit card required | 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Help Scout | Intercom, Inc. |
| Price read from | helpscout.com | intercom.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Help Scout
- Support teams moving off a shared Gmail or Outlook mailbox
- Small teams: the Free plan covers up to 5 users
- Companies that want a help center and live chat alongside email
- Non-profits and early-stage startups that qualify for its discounts
Intercom
- Software and app companies that support customers through in-app chat
- Teams that want an AI agent answering first, paid only when it resolves
- Teams already on Zendesk or Salesforce that want to add Fin alone
Worth knowing
Help Scout
- The Free plan is limited to 5 users, 1 Inbox, 1 Docs site and 100 contacts a month, and includes no AI tools.
- AI Answers is billed separately at $0.75 per resolution once its 3-month free trial ends.
- Pro has a 10-user minimum, and trying Pro means talking to the sales team.
- Extra Inboxes cost $10 a month each on annual billing ($12 monthly) and extra Docs sites $20 ($24 monthly). Phone and voice work only through an integration.
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
Help Scout
- Shared Inbox
- Email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger conversations arrive in one shared workspace, where they can be assigned, tagged, snoozed and discussed in internal notes.
- Docs knowledge base
- Docs sites publish a searchable, branded help center. The Free plan includes 1 site with 10 articles, and paid plans allow unlimited articles.
- Beacon help widget
- An embeddable widget that offers suggested help articles, a contact form and live chat on any website page or inside an app.
- Workflows and routing
- Workflows organize, assign or reply to conversations automatically: 150 basic on Standard, 500 advanced on Plus and unlimited on Pro. Round robin routing starts on Plus.
- AI Answers and AI Drafts
- AI Answers replies to customers from knowledge base content at $0.75 per resolution. AI Drafts suggests replies based on past conversations on Plus and Pro.
- Reports
- Pre-built reports cover volume, responses and customer happiness for each channel, with 30 days of history on Free, 2 years on Standard and all-time history on Plus and Pro.
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
Help Scout
Free$0
Up to 5 users, 1 shared email Inbox, 1 Docs site and 100 contacts per month, with limited saved replies and no AI tools.
Standard$25
per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
Up to 25 users and 2 Inboxes, with live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, 1 basic SLA policy, 150 basic workflows and AI Assist.
Plus$45
per user / month, billed annually ($54 billed monthly)
Up to 50 users and 5 Inboxes, with 500 advanced workflows, unlimited AI Drafts, round robin routing, a customer portal, and Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot.
Pro$75
per user / month, billed annually ($90 billed monthly)
Unlimited users with a 10-user minimum and 10 Inboxes, plus unlimited workflows and SLA policies, SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance and an account manager.
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
Help Scout
- Annual discount
16% off with annual billing
The pricing page shows a 16% discount for annual billing: Standard is $25 per user a month against $30 billed monthly, Plus $45 against $54 and Pro $75 against $90.
- Nonprofit
10% lifetime discount for non-profits and B Corps
Help Scout for Good gives non-profits and B Corporations a 10% lifetime discount on application, and up to 100% off for groups working on human rights, sustainability or representation in tech.
- Startups
6 months free for early-stage startups
New customers that are incorporated tech startups less than two years old with under $1 million in annual recurring revenue can apply for six months of the Plus plan and AI Answers at no charge.
Intercom
- Annual discount
Save up to 26% with annual billing
Intercom's pricing page says paying annually saves up to 26%: Essential is $29 per seat a month billed annually against $39 billed monthly.
- 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.
