Intercom vs Pylon (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Intercom grades higher than Pylon: 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 the free plan. They get the same grade on features, 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
Pylon
B2B support platform that works across Slack, Teams and email
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 Pylon if
- Fits if your customers reach you in Slack or Teams and you sell to other businesses
- Works for support and customer success teams that want one queue
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're small: $89 per seat on an annual contract, before AI credits
- Skip it if you want to sign up alone, as trials go through sales
- Watch out: Account Intelligence is $10 per account a month and Phone is $35 per seat a month on top
- Watch out: SAML SSO is an add-on on Advanced and included only on Enterprise
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAIntercomFair | 2.0GPAPylonFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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$89 per seat on an annual contract is where the category's dearest tenth begins. Account Intelligence ($10 per account a month), Phone ($35 per seat) and AI credits are on top. |
| 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. | DFree trials are set up with a sales representative, so there is no way to sign up alone. |
| 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. | BTicketing, analytics, automations, an API and AI agents across Slack, Teams, email, WhatsApp and chat. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work, but AI and phone cost extra. |
| 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 the sales team estimates how many AI credits you need. |
| 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 and an API. No phone or desktop app on record. |
| Best for | in-app chat with an AI agent answering first | B2B support in Slack and Teams |
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 Pylon. 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. Pylon starts at $7.42 a month when paid by the year for each person and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Pylon starts $21.58 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 Pylon 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.
- Pylon also covers whatsApp messaging.
At a glance
| Intercom | Pylon | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) | $89 per seat, on an annual contract |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required | Free trials for prospects, set up with a sales representative |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Intercom, Inc. | Pylon Labs, Inc. |
| Price read from | intercom.com | usepylon.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.
Pylon
- Pricing is by seat plus AI credits; the page says credits are bought for a year or as you go and the sales team estimates how many you need.
- Account Intelligence is $10 per customer account a month and Phone is $35 per seat a month, both on top of seat prices.
- Seat prices are quoted on an annual contract, and the page does not show a monthly-billed price.
- SAML SSO is an add-on on Advanced and included only on Enterprise.
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.
Pylon
- Support Agent and Assist Agent
- Pylon's agents answer customers and help human agents draft and investigate. They are not separate add-ons but use credits.
- Slack, Teams and email in one queue
- Support email, a chat widget, SMS, Slack Connect, WhatsApp, Discord and Telegram are on every tier, with Microsoft Teams and Google Chat on Advanced and above.
- Automations and skills
- Triggers, macros, written skills, MCP connectors and custom API actions are on every tier, so teams can shape what the agents do.
- Account Intelligence
- A paid add-on for customer success with account notebooks, health scores, scorecards and an account activity timeline.
- Knowledge base and surveys
- Every plan includes a knowledge base plus NPS and CSAT surveys, with analytics out of the box.
- Phone add-on
- Calls and texts from inside Pylon, with recordings, transcripts, summaries, call transfers and IVR, are sold as an add-on.
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.
Pylon
Professional$89
per seat, on an annual contract; billing interval not shown
Core ticketing, analytics, automations, skills, broadcasts, MCP, API and integrations. AI features run on purchased credits. Sold through a demo.
Advanced$139
per seat, on an annual contract; billing interval not shown
Everything in Professional plus RBAC, a customer portal, custom reporting, a data warehouse, Microsoft Teams support and SAML SSO as an add-on. Sold through a demo.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Advanced plus an MSA, SAML SSO, a sandbox environment and priority support SLAs. Custom quote.
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.
Pylon
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Intercom or Pylon?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pylon is cheaper to start with: $7.42 a month when paid by the year for each person, against $29 a month for each person for Intercom. Intercom starts at $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly), and Pylon starts at $89 per seat, on an annual contract.
Which has a free plan, Intercom or Pylon?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Intercom nor Pylon has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Intercom and Pylon 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.