Intercom vs Lorikeet (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Intercom grades higher than Lorikeet: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Intercom grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
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
Lorikeet
AI agent that resolves complex support tickets end to end
Which one is for you
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
Pick Lorikeet if
- Fits if you handle thousands of tickets a month and want an agent to take the repeat ones
- Works for teams that keep written procedures an AI can follow
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you handle a few hundred tickets a month, since the entry plan is $2,100
- Pricey if you use voice, as voice resolutions cost $1.50 each on Start and $1.20 on Scale
- Watch out: each resolution is billed on top of the plan, though escalations and unresolved tickets are not
- Watch out: full pricing is set after a consultation
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAIntercomFair | 1.8GPALorikeetWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | D$2,100 a month on annual billing for under 5,000 tickets, far above the $89 where the dearest tenth of support tools starts, plus $0.99 to $1.50 per resolution. It is a different kind of product, an AI resolver, but the entry cost is steep. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | C30-day free trial on every plan. No free plan, and the listing does not say a card is needed. |
| 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. | CIt resolves tickets through your systems, follows written procedures, covers channels, triage and automated QA. It works on top of a help desk you already have. |
| 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. | DNo store rating on record. Time to first live ticket averages under 29 days. |
| 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. | BWeb only, with 4 integrations on record. |
| Best for | in-app chat with an AI agent answering first | a high-volume support team wanting an AI resolver |
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 Lorikeet. 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. Lorikeet starts at $2,100 a month and scores 2.0.
Intercom scores higher and starts $2,071 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Intercom for less, and 51 score higher than Lorikeet 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 shared inbox, reports, help desk, live chat and help center.
- Lorikeet also covers workflow automation and AI agents.
At a glance
| Intercom | Lorikeet | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) | $2,100 per month, paid annually, plus per-resolution rates |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required | 30-day free trial on every plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Intercom, Inc. | Lorikeet |
| Price read from | intercom.com | lorikeetcx.ai |
| Checked | Nov 2, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
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.
Lorikeet
- The entry plan is $2,100 a month paid annually, so it suits teams with real ticket volume.
- Voice resolutions cost $1.50 each on Start and $1.20 on Scale, with full pricing set after a consultation.
- Escalations to a person and unresolved tickets are not charged, but each resolution is billed on top of the plan.
- Time to first live ticket averages under 29 days, according to the pricing page.
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.
Lorikeet
- Resolves tickets through your systems
- The agent works inside tools like Zendesk, Intercom, Salesforce and HubSpot and completes requests through the company's own APIs.
- Follows written procedures
- Company procedures, from a short form to a long refund flow, are executed step by step rather than answered from help articles.
- Channels
- Pricing covers chat, email and SMS resolutions, inbound or outbound, and voice calls at a higher per-call rate.
- Triage and automated QA
- Separate per-ticket rates cover routing or analytics tagging of tickets and automated quality checks of conversations.
- Goal-driven outreach
- Dreamweaver takes a goal such as retention or lifetime value and decides what each customer needs next, including outbound messages.
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.
Lorikeet
Start$2,100
per month, paid annually, for under 5,000 tickets a month
Platform included; chat, email and SMS resolutions $0.99 each, triage $0.30, automated QA $0.30.
Scale$5,100
per month, paid annually, for 5,000 to 20,000 tickets a month
Platform included; chat, email and SMS resolutions $0.90 each, triage $0.27, automated QA $0.27.
SignatureCustom
For 20,000 or more tickets a month; custom rates, and a $75K platform fee on the custom enterprise tier.
Ways to pay less
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.
Lorikeet
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Intercom or Lorikeet?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Intercom starts at $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly), and Lorikeet starts at $2,100 per month, paid annually, plus per-resolution rates. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Intercom or Lorikeet?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Intercom nor Lorikeet has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Intercom and Lorikeet 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.