Intercom Fin vs Sierra (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Intercom Fin grades higher than Sierra: 2.2 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Intercom Fin grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Intercom Fin
AI customer service agent billed per resolved conversation
Which one is for you
Pick Intercom Fin if
- Fits if you already run Intercom or another helpdesk and want AI in front of it
- Makes sense if you would rather pay per resolved ticket than per seat
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if volume is high, as every outcome is $0.99 and there is a monthly minimum
- Tight if you want voice, which is custom pricing for select customers
- Watch out: Advanced is $85 and Expert $132 a seat, shown without a stated billing period
- Watch out: qualifications cost $9.99 each and Copilot is a $29 per agent add-on
Pick Sierra if
- Fits if you are a large brand with heavy customer service volume
- Makes sense if you want to pay by outcome rather than seat
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a price, as none is published
- Not for you if you want to try it, since there is no self-serve sign-up or free plan
- Skip it if you are small, because the site is aimed at large brands
- Watch out: no integrations are listed, so ask what it connects to
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAIntercom FinFair | 1.6GPASierraWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEssential is $19 a seat a month billed yearly, near the cheaper end of this category, but Fin adds $0.99 per outcome on top. The page's own example is about $150 a month for 152 outcomes. | CNo price is published; the site says pricing is outcome-based and points to a sales call. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day trial with no card. There is no free plan. | FNo free plan and no sign-up. The route is a sales conversation. |
| Features | CHandles many channels and also works on other helpdesks. The listing names gaps: voice is custom pricing, and the Copilot add-on for other helpdesks is only for Salesforce. | CAn agent builder, channels, insights and observability are listed, but nothing in the listing says how far each goes. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you connect a helpdesk and teach it procedures and data connectors first. | CNo store rating on record, and a large brand has to onboard it with the vendor. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with listed helpdesk connections to Salesforce, HubSpot, Freshworks, Zendesk-style tools and Gorgias. | CWeb only, and the site lists no integrations. |
| Best for | support teams that pay only when the AI resolves a ticket | big consumer brands buying a service agent from the vendor |
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: Intercom Fin and Sierra. How we grade
Where they differ
- Intercom Fin also covers help desk and live chat.
At a glance
| Intercom Fin | Sierra | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $19 per seat / month, billed annually, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Intercom | Sierra |
| Price read from | intercom.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Intercom Fin
- Fin costs $0.99 per outcome, and qualifications cost $9.99 each. A monthly minimum applies, for example 50 outcomes.
- Voice for Fin is on custom pricing and offered to select customers through sales.
- Copilot for other helpdesks is currently available for Salesforce.
- Advanced and Expert prices are shown on the page without a stated billing period.
Sierra
- No prices are published; Sierra says pricing is outcome-based and points visitors to a sales conversation.
- No self-serve sign-up or free plan is shown on the site.
- The site gives no list of integrations.
Key features
Intercom Fin
- Outcome-based pricing
- A resolution, a handoff from a configured Procedure, a disqualification or a self-serve routing costs $0.99 each. Fin charges one outcome per conversation.
- Works on other helpdesks
- Fin can run on Salesforce, HubSpot, Freshworks, Dixa, Front, Zoho, Sprinklr and Gorgias, with no seats required.
- Procedures and data connectors
- Procedures let a team set multi-step workflows, and Fin can update external systems through connected data sources.
- Testing and analysis
- Simulations, regression tests and previews check Fin before deployment, and CX Score and AI Topics analyze it afterward.
- Many channels
- Fin is deployed on voice, email, Messenger, Slack, WhatsApp, SMS, Instagram and Facebook Messenger, or through an API.
- Early Stage Program
- Startups can apply for a year of Fin free and a large discount on Intercom.
Sierra
- Ghostwriter agent builder
- Builds an agent from uploaded SOPs, transcripts and recordings or a plain-English description, with guardrails and multilingual support.
- Channels
- A single agent can be deployed on chat, SMS, WhatsApp, email, voice and ChatGPT.
- Insights
- Explorer analyzes conversations, Monitors flags the ones that need attention, and Experiments runs multivariate tests.
- Observability
- Shows each agent action, including tool calls and knowledge lookups, along with latency.
- Horizon
- Plans multi-step outcomes over days or months, using memory of the customer across conversations and systems.
Plans
Intercom Fin
Essential$19
per seat / month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
Intercom helpdesk with shared inbox, ticketing, Messenger and Fin. Fin outcomes are billed on top.
Advanced$85
per seat / month, as shown with annual billing selected
Adds multiple inboxes, a workflows builder and round-robin assignment. Includes 20 free Lite seats.
Expert$132
per seat / month, as shown with annual billing selected
Adds SSO, HIPAA support, SLAs and multibrand support. Includes 50 free Lite seats.
Pro add-on$100
per month, add-on
Analysis of 500 conversations a month and 6,000 credits, with Operator, CX Score and AI Topics.
Copilot add-on$29
per agent / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
An assistant inside the inbox for human agents.
Sierra
Pricing could not be confirmed. See sierra.ai.
Ways to pay less
Intercom Fin
- Startups
Early Stage Program: free year of Fin
Startups can get a year of Fin free and 93% off Intercom through the Early Stage Program.
- Annual discount
Annual billing lowers the Essential price
Essential is $19 per seat a month billed annually, against $29 billed monthly.
Sierra
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Intercom Fin or Sierra?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Intercom Fin starts at $19 per seat / month, billed annually, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome, and Sierra has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Intercom Fin or Sierra?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Intercom Fin nor Sierra has a free plan. Intercom Fin has a free trial.
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.