Intercom vs Plain (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Intercom grades higher than Plain: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Intercom grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use 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
Plain
Support platform for B2B teams, built around Slack and AI agents
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 Plain if
- Fits if your customers are software companies that talk to you in Slack
- Works for a team of 5 or fewer on Foundation
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you grow: Foundation caps at 5 seats and Horizon needs 3 to 10 at $99 each
- Skip it if you need SLAs or Microsoft Teams without Horizon
- Tight if you lean on AI: 1,000 credits a month on Foundation, with extra at $10 per 1,000
- Watch out: SSO, SCIM and HIPAA need the sales-only Frontier plan
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAIntercomFair | 2.0GPAPlainFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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$45 per user a month billed annually is above the dearer quarter ($39), Foundation stops at 5 seats, and SLAs and escalation paths need Horizon at $99, past the dearest tenth ($89). |
| 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. | CA 7-day trial with no credit card. There is no free plan. |
| 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. | CSlack, email and in-app channels, customer cards, workflows, a help center and AI agents. The listing's gap: SLAs, Teams and CRM links are Horizon only. |
| 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, and workflows, channels and AI agents need setting up. |
| 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 8 listed integrations including Linear, Jira and Slack. No phone or desktop app on record. |
| Best for | in-app chat with an AI agent answering first | B2B support that lives in Slack |
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 Plain. 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. Plain starts at $45 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Intercom scores higher and starts $16 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Intercom for less, and 19 score higher than Plain 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.
- Plain also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Intercom | Plain | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) | $45 per user / month, billed annually ($55 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required | 7-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Intercom, Inc. | Not Just Tickets Ltd |
| Price read from | intercom.com | plain.com |
| 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.
Plain
- Foundation is capped at 5 member seats and Horizon needs at least 3, up to 10; larger teams go to the sales-only Frontier plan.
- AI credits are limited per month (1,000 on Foundation, 2,500 on Horizon); extra credits are $10 per 1,000 up to $100 per 10,000.
- SLAs, escalation paths and Microsoft Teams need Horizon at $99 per user / month; SSO, SCIM and HIPAA need Frontier.
- Plain lists a startup program with a $6,000 flat fee for Horizon, 10 seats and 12 months, for early-stage teams of ten or fewer.
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.
Plain
- Customer Agent
- An AI agent that answers customers directly. It uses 100 credits per resolution on every plan.
- Sidekick Agent
- An AI agent for the support team that uses 15 to 300 or more credits a task depending on effort.
- Slack and email channels
- Support threads come in from Slack channels, email addresses, in-app forms and live chat, with Microsoft Teams and Discord on higher plans.
- Customer cards
- Unlimited customer cards show account data next to a thread, with a stated data freshness of 15 seconds.
- Workflows
- Unlimited workflows, auto-labelling, urgency detection and thread summaries are on every plan.
- Developer platform
- The comparison table lists an API, webhooks, events, MCP and custom channels.
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.
Plain
Foundation$45
per user / month, billed annually ($55 billed monthly)
Up to 5 member seats, unlimited viewers, 1,000 AI credits a month, Slack, email and in-app channels, Linear, Jira and a help center. 7 days of reporting.
Horizon$99
per user / month, billed annually
3 to 10 member seats, 2,500 AI credits a month, Microsoft Teams, SLAs, business hours, escalation paths, CRM integrations and all-time reporting history.
FrontierCustom
Custom credits and seats, multiple workspaces, SSO and SCIM, HIPAA, custom contracting and a dedicated customer success manager. Billed annually.
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.
Plain
- Startups
50% off Horizon for early-stage startups
A $6,000 flat fee covers 12 months and 10 seats of Horizon. Eligibility is VC-backed up to $5 million in funding, 10 or fewer on the support team, and not already a customer.
- Annual discount
20% off Foundation with annual billing
The pricing page shows Foundation at $45 per user a month billed annually against $55 billed monthly, labelled a 20% saving.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Intercom or Plain?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Intercom is cheaper to start with: $29 a month for each person, against $45 a month for each person for Plain. Intercom starts at $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly), and Plain starts at $45 per user / month, billed annually ($55 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Intercom or Plain?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Intercom nor Plain has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Intercom and Plain 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.