The Intercom Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Intercom in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Intercom
The Insider’s Guide
Helpdesk with live chat and the Fin AI agent priced per outcome
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among help desk and live chat tools, read from Intercom’s own pages.
Made by Intercom, Inc. · checked Oct 17, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Intercom’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Intercom’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 6 of the 19 other help desk and live chat tools we grade
Intercom is a customer service helpdesk that combines a chat Messenger for websites and apps, a shared inbox with tickets, and a help center. Its Fin AI Agent answers customers first and is billed per resolved conversation on top of seat prices. The company behind it renamed itself from Intercom to Fin in 2026, while the helpdesk keeps the Intercom name.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Intercom, taken from its own pages and our grades.
The Messenger has to go into your site or app, Fin learns from your content, and the automations come with a builder to learn.
- 1
Best for in-app chat with an AI agent answering first
It suits software and app companies best.
- 2
Paid plans start at $29 a month for each person
As its pricing page puts it: $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
- 3
You can try it first
14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
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.
- 6
Messenger live chat
A chat widget for websites and mobile apps that feeds the same inbox as email and other channels.
- 7
Shared inbox and tickets
Conversations and tickets in one inbox with pre-built reports. Advanced adds multiple team inboxes and round-robin assignment.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 6 of 19
That is against the other help desk and live chat tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Intercom you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Intercom at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Intercom, Inc., since 2011
- Category
- Help Desks & Live Chat
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for in-app chat with an AI agent answering first
Intercom puts a chat Messenger in your website or app, a shared inbox and help center behind it, and its Fin AI agent in front, answering before a person has to. It suits software and app companies best. The bill is the thing to watch: seats from $29, then $0.99 for every conversation Fin resolves, then usage for WhatsApp, SMS and phone.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Essential 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. |
| Free plan and trial | C | A 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. |
| Features | B | The 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. |
| Ease of use | C | No 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. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, 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. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Intercom is for
- Great if you run a software or app company and support people inside the product
- Handy when you want an AI agent answering first and paying only when it resolves
- Good for early-stage startups, which get 93% off the first year
Who it is not for
- 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 and phone are billed by use
- Tight if you want automation workflows, as the builder starts on Advanced at $85 a seat
Good to know
Good for
- 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
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$29
A month to start, for each person
Intercom is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
There is no free plan to drop back to when it ends, though.
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.
Trying it first
14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required
Read from intercom.com on Oct 17, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on intercom.comStartups
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.
Stated on intercom.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Helpdesk with live chat and the Fin AI agent priced per outcome. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: AI features, shared inbox, reports, help desk, live chat, help center, AI support agent.
Product tours and surveys cost extra, but the support job itself is covered.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Shopify
- Stripe
- Statuspage
- Zendesk
Intercom is made by Intercom, Inc., and has been around since 2011.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
6/19
Other help desk and live chat tools it is graded above
Intercom's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 19 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 5.
It stands best on features (B, above 9 of 19) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $29 a month for each person, against a middle price of $24.17 for the category: 11 of the 18 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 3 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 20 help desk and live chat tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Intercom’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 6 of 19
- CFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 19
- BFeaturesAbove 9 of 19
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 19
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 19
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 19 help desk and live chat tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Intercom is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Intercom you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 8 of the 19 other help desk and live chat tools grade higher. It costs $348 a year.
What you could make
- Help desk, help center and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- One mailbox that several people work at once.
- An AI model answering your customers from your own help articles.
- A chat box on your site that reaches you the moment a customer types.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- It plugs into other products, Salesforce, HubSpot and Shopify among them.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Intercom’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Zendesk, Help Scout, Front, Freshdesk and Crisp
The 5 tools Intercom is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Zendesk
Free trial · from $19/mo
Ticketing, messaging, help center and AI agents for support teams.
- Intercom also covers shared inbox.
- 2.2GPA
Help Scout
Free plan · from $25/mo
Shared inbox and help desk with a knowledge base and AI answers.
- Help Scout has a free plan. Intercom does not, though it has a free trial.
- Intercom also covers help desk, live chat, help center and AI support agent.
- Help Scout also covers workflow automation and AI agents.
- 2.4GPA
Front
Free trial · from $25/mo
Shared inbox and customer operations platform with AI and ticketing.
- Only Front lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Intercom also covers reports, help desk, live chat, help center and AI support agent.
- Front also covers workflow automation.
- 2.4GPA
Freshdesk
Free trial · from $19/mo
Email ticketing help desk with a knowledge base and AI agents.
- Intercom also covers live chat.
- 2.6GPA
Crisp
Free plan · from $45/mo
Live chat and shared inbox priced per workspace, not per seat.
- Crisp has a free plan. Intercom does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Crisp lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Intercom also covers reports and help desk.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Intercom free?
No, Intercom is a paid product, but you can try it first. 14-day free trial with all features, Fin and add-ons, no credit card required.
How much does Intercom cost?
Intercom lists 3 plans. Essential: $29 per seat / month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
What platforms does Intercom work on?
Intercom is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Intercom offer any discounts?
Intercom publicly lists the following: Save up to 26% with annual billing; Early Stage: 93% off the first year.
Does Intercom have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Intercom is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Intercom have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 17, 2026. Intercom is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Intercom open source?
Intercom is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 17, 2026.
What does Intercom integrate with?
Intercom's listing names Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, Stripe, Statuspage, Zendesk and WhatsApp.
Who makes Intercom?
Intercom is made by Intercom, Inc. It dates from 2011.
What are the alternatives to Intercom?
The closest alternatives to Intercom in our directory are Zendesk, Help Scout, Front, Freshdesk and Crisp.
How does Intercom compare with other help desk and live chat tools?
Intercom's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 19 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 5.
Is Intercom good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Intercom C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $29 a month for each person, against a middle price of $24.17 for the category: 11 of the 18 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Intercom?
To replace Intercom you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Intercom’s own pages on Oct 17, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 17, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Intercom's own pages on 17 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Intercom, Inc. Prices change, so check intercom.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
1,858
Tools graded, in 46 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
1,858
tools graded
46
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Intercom, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/intercom
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Intercom: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 17, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/intercom
Know someone choosing between help desk and live chat tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/intercom/guide
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See our other guides
The best-graded help desk and live chat tools after Intercom, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Help Desks & Live Chat Insider's GuideEvery one of the 20 help desk and live chat tools we grade, compared
- Zoho Desk Insider's GuideLow-cost ticketing help desk with a free plan for three users3.4 GPA
- Tidio Insider's GuideLive chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations3.2 GPA
- tawk.to Insider's GuideFree live chat, ticketing and help center, with paid add-ons3.0 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Intercom’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Intercom is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Intercom, Inc. Prices and plans change: check intercom.com before you buy.