Intercom vs Text by LiveChat
We give Intercom and Text by LiveChat the same GPA: 2.4 out of 4.0. Intercom grades higher on features. Text by LiveChat grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Intercom
Helpdesk with live chat and the Fin AI agent priced per outcome
Text by LiveChat
Website chat, ticketing and an AI agent from the LiveChat team
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAIntercomFair | 2.4GPAText by LiveChatFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CEssential is $19 a user a month billed yearly ($25 monthly), between the cheaper quarter and the middle of help desks. It already has chat, tickets and an AI agent, but only 10 AI resolutions a month, and the next plan, Growth, is $79 a user. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CA 14-day free trial of Essential or Growth with no card needed. There's no free plan, and once it ends every person who answers chats or tickets needs a paid seat. |
| Features | 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. | CWebsite chat that shows who's browsing and what's in their cart, one inbox for chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS and email, tickets, an AI agent and reply help. The gaps: no help center or phone channel on the listing, and Essential keeps 60 days of history. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. You add the chat box to your site, connect each channel and point the AI agent at your knowledge sources before it does much on its own. |
| Platforms and 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. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android apps for agents, with Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Webflow, WhatsApp, Instagram and Klaviyo, and an API. Every device type is covered. |
| Best for | in-app chat with an AI agent answering first | website chat with an AI agent included |
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 and Text by LiveChat. How we grade
Price against what you get
Intercom starts at $29 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Text by LiveChat starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Text by LiveChat starts $10 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Intercom for less, and 1 scores higher than Text by LiveChat 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 starts at $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly). Text by LiveChat starts at $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly).
- Only Text by LiveChat lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Intercom also covers shared inbox, reports and help center.
At a glance
| Intercom | Text by LiveChat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) | $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required | 14-day free trial of Essential or Growth, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Intercom, Inc. | Text, Inc. |
| Price read from | intercom.com | livechat.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Text by LiveChat
- Online stores, especially on Shopify, that sell through chat
- Small teams that want chat and tickets under one per-user price
- Teams that want an AI agent included rather than billed separately
Worth knowing
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.
Text by LiveChat
- New sign-ups now get Text plans; the older LiveChat plans stay only for existing customers, and Text features are not part of them.
- AI resolutions beyond the monthly allowance (10 on Essential, 200 on Growth) cost $49.50 per pack of 50.
- There is no free plan, and every person who answers chats or tickets needs a paid seat.
- Essential keeps chat and file history for 60 days and tracks 50 live visitors; unlimited history and multilingual chat need Growth.
Key features
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.
Text by LiveChat
- Website chat with visitor tracking
- A chat widget for websites and stores that shows who is browsing, which pages they view and, for Shopify stores, what is in their cart.
- One inbox for several channels
- Website chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS through Twilio and email arrive in one inbox, with a ticketing system for follow-ups, on every plan.
- AI Agent
- Answers customers from your knowledge sources and hands over to a person. Essential includes 1 agent and 10 resolutions a month, Growth 10 agents and 200.
- AI Copilot for agents
- Suggests replies and edits text for the team: 5 suggestions per user a month on Essential and 50 on Growth, which also adds chat and ticket summaries.
- Proactive campaigns
- Chat invitations and cart recovery messages shown to visitors, with sales reports tied to chats. Essential allows 3 campaigns and Growth 30.
- Apps for desktop and phone
- Agents can work in a browser or in apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
Plans
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.
Text by LiveChat
Essential$19
per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
Chat, inbox and ticketing, 1 AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions a month, 50 live visitors tracked, 3 proactive campaigns and 60 days of chat history.
Growth$79
per user / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Adds 10 AI Agents and 200 AI resolutions a month, chat supervision, shared canned replies, unlimited history, 400 live visitors and team reports.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI agents built for you, flexible usage limits, a white-label widget, SSO and audit logs, SLAs and a dedicated account team. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
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.
Text by LiveChat
- Annual discount
About 20% to 24% off with annual billing
The pricing page puts the annual saving at about 24% on Essential ($19 against $25 per user a month) and about 20% on Growth ($79 against $99).
