Intercom vs Richpanel
We give Intercom a 2.4 GPA and Richpanel a 2.2, out of 4.0. Intercom grades higher on value for money and features. Richpanel grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on 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
Richpanel
AI agents, help desk and a self-service portal for online stores
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAIntercomFair | 2.2GPARichpanelFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | DOn record, from its July 2026 pricing guide: $99 a seat a month on a yearly deal, plus about $0.20 per AI conversation with a $200 monthly minimum, so one person pays about $300. That's in the dearest tenth. The AI rate is low next to rivals' $0.85 to $1. |
| 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. | CThere's a free trial, but the listing doesn't say how long it lasts or whether it needs a card. There's 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. | CAI agents you can run on Claude, GPT or Gemini, one inbox for email, chat, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp with order data, a self-service portal and an agent for social comments. The gap it names: no phone system, so calls go through Aircall, Dialpad or JustCall. |
| 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. Training the AI agents, connecting your store and channels and setting up the portal all come first, though Richpanel offers to move tickets and macros over from Gorgias or Zendesk. |
| 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, with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Klaviyo, Recharge, Loop Returns, Aircall and Salesforce, and an API. Every device type is covered. |
| Best for | in-app chat with an AI agent answering first | busy online stores leaning on AI agents |
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 Richpanel. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only Richpanel lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Intercom also covers shared inbox and reports.
At a glance
| Intercom | Richpanel | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required | Free trial offered on the site; its length is not stated |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Intercom, Inc. | Richpanel, Inc. |
| Price read from | intercom.com | Not confirmed |
| 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
Richpanel
- Ecommerce brands handling about 1,000 or more conversations a month
- Shopify and WooCommerce stores that want shoppers to serve themselves
- Teams moving off Gorgias or Zendesk mid-contract
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.
Richpanel
- Richpanel's pages disagree on price: the pricing page shows older per-agent tiers, while its July 2026 pricing guide says tiers were dropped.
- That guide gives $99 per seat a month on an annual commitment ($119 billed monthly) plus about $0.20 per AI conversation, with a $200 monthly AI minimum.
- The guide says the help desk is not sold on its own, and that small teams under a few hundred conversations a month will mostly pay the AI minimum.
- There is no built-in phone system; calls run through Aircall, Dialpad or JustCall. Returns and Exchanges is an add-on from $99 a month.
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.
Richpanel
- AI agents billed by conversation
- AI agents resolve conversations end to end on a credit meter, and you choose the model behind them, including Claude, GPT and Gemini.
- Help desk for the human team
- One inbox for email, live chat, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with order data beside each ticket, assignment rules, macros and reports.
- Self-service portal
- Shoppers track orders, update their details and start returns themselves, which Richpanel says carries no add-on fee beyond AI usage.
- Social Media Agent
- Answers comments and direct messages in the same inbox and hides spam and abusive comments on paid and organic posts.
- Returns and exchanges
- A returns portal with exchange-first flows and label generation, sold as a paid add-on to ecommerce brands only.
- Migration and contract buyout
- Conversations, macros and tags are moved over from Gorgias or Zendesk, and Richpanel offers to buy out the rest of an existing help desk contract.
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.
Richpanel
Pricing could not be confirmed. See richpanel.com.
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.
Richpanel
No public discounts listed.
