Intercom vs Siena AI (2026): which should you pick?

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 Siena AI if

• Fits if you run a consumer brand with a help desk already and many repeat tickets
• Works for a team that wants to pay per automated ticket

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you don't already have a help desk, as it works inside one
• Pricey if your volume is small, since $750 a month is due before the first ticket
• Tight if you want to try first: there is no free plan or trial, only a sandbox that comes with the fee
• Watch out: the vendor sends tailored pricing after a form, and some agents are marked coming soon

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.

Siena AI

• Siena is an AI agent, not a help desk: it needs a separate help desk such as Zendesk or Gorgias to work in.
• Cost has two parts: $750 a month plus $0.90 per automated ticket, per the pricing page; the page says the vendor sends tailored pricing after a form.
• No free plan or trial is listed, though the platform fee includes an unlimited sandbox.
• Some agents on the site, such as the Shopping Agent, are marked as coming soon.

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.

Siena AI

Customer Service Agent

Replies to shopper conversations in a brand's own voice and handles order questions, and hands over to people when needed.

Works inside your help desk

Integrations list Zendesk, Gorgias, Intercom, Kustomer, Gladly and Dixa, so Siena sends and receives conversations there.

Ecommerce actions

Connects to Shopify, subscription tools such as Recharge and Skio, returns through Loop, and shipment tracking through AfterShip and others.

Analytics and QA

Ask Siena and a Topics Explorer turn conversations into customer insights, and a quality assurance tool scores conversations automatically.

More agents

The site lists shopping, reviews and social agents alongside support; some are marked as coming soon.

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.

Siena AI

• Platform fee$750

  per month

  Access to the core AI engine and an unlimited sandbox. Automated tickets are billed separately at $0.90 each, with onboarding and a dedicated Slack channel for support.

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.

Siena AI

No public discounts listed.