Sales Loves Marketing
- Best for
- Support teams at SaaS, ecommerce and fintech companies that want an AI agent to handle a large share of customer questions
- Starting price
- $29 per seat/month, billed yearly
- Free plan
- ✗ No
- Free trial
- ✓ Yes
Intercom is a customer service platform. It pairs Fin, an AI agent that answers customer questions on chat, email, phone and other channels, with a full helpdesk where human agents handle everything Fin cannot.
Intercom started out best known for its chat messenger. Today it presents itself as "a complete system for human and AI customer service", and live chat is now one of many included channels.
Who is Intercom for?
Intercom suits support teams at SaaS, ecommerce, fintech and gaming companies that handle a lot of customer questions and want an AI agent to resolve a large share of them. It fits teams that want one system for chat, email, tickets and the help center.
Small teams on a tight budget should do the maths first. You pay per seat and per resolved conversation, so costs rise with volume. A simpler live chat tool may be cheaper if you get only a few chats a week.
What are Intercom's main features?
Fin AI Agent
Fin answers questions using your help center and other knowledge, follows procedures you define, can take actions in external systems and hands the conversation to a human agent when needed. It works on Intercom's own helpdesk or on top of another helpdesk, such as Salesforce.
Omnichannel inbox and ticketing
Conversations from live chat, email, phone, WhatsApp, SMS and other channels arrive in one inbox. Tickets cover customer issues, back-office work and widespread problems. Higher plans add multiple team inboxes, round-robin assignment and a workflow builder.
Copilot
Copilot is an AI assistant for human agents in the inbox. Each agent gets 10 free Copilot conversations a month; unlimited use costs $29 per agent per month billed yearly, or $35 billed monthly.
Help center and proactive support
You can publish a public help center, or a private and multilingual one on Advanced and Expert. Every plan includes in-app messages, banners and tooltips. Product tours, checklists, surveys and campaign series come with the Proactive Support Plus add-on, which is where the older customer engagement use cases now live.
How much does Intercom cost?
Prices checked on 31 October 2026 on Intercom's pricing page, in US dollars:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Main additions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $29/seat/month | $39/seat/month | Fin, Messenger, shared inbox, public help center |
| Advanced | $85/seat/month | $99/seat/month | Workflows, multiple inboxes, 20 free Lite seats |
| Expert | $132/seat/month | $139/seat/month | SSO, HIPAA, SLAs, multibrand, 50 free Lite seats |
Fin costs $0.99 per outcome on every plan. Live chat, support email, in-app chats, banners and tooltips are free and unlimited, while email campaigns, SMS, WhatsApp and phone are pay as you go. New customers were offered a discount on Essential when checked. The minimum is one full seat, and there is a 14-day free trial without a credit card.
What do users say about Intercom?
G2 now lists Intercom's reviews under Fin, rated 4.5 out of 5 from 3,950 reviews at the time of checking. G2's summary says users value how Fin resolves queries quickly, how easy it is to use and the automation that takes pressure off support teams.
The most common complaints on G2 are missing features such as better visibility into procedures and conversation simulation, AI answers that are sometimes unhelpful, a learning curve during setup, and pricing that grows with add-ons and leads to unexpected bills.
When should you choose an alternative?
- You want live chat and support at a lower, more predictable price. Compare HelpCrunch.
- You want a traditional help desk suite. Look at Zendesk or Freshdesk.
- You mainly want behavior-based marketing messages, not support. Try Customer.io.
Browse more customer support tools.
Key features
- Fin AI Agent. Answers customer questions using your knowledge, follows your procedures, takes actions in other systems and hands off to a human when needed.
- Omnichannel inbox and ticketing. One inbox for live chat, email, phone, WhatsApp, SMS and other channels, with tickets for customer issues and back-office work.
- Copilot. An AI assistant for human agents in the inbox that connects to the tools they already use and takes care of admin.
- Help center. A public or private, multilingual knowledge base that also trains Fin.
- Proactive support. In-app messages, banners and tooltips on every plan, plus product tours, checklists, surveys and campaigns as a paid add-on.
- Reporting and integrations. Pre-built and custom reports, AI insights on Fin's performance and an app store of integrations.
Intercom pricing
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $29 per seat/month billed yearly, or $39 billed monthly, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome | Fin AI Agent, Messenger, shared inbox and ticketing, pre-built reports and a public help center. New customers were offered $19 (yearly) or $29 (monthly) when checked. |
| Advanced | $85 per seat/month billed yearly, or $99 billed monthly, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome | Adds multiple team inboxes, a workflow automation builder, round-robin assignment, a private multilingual help center and 20 free Lite seats. |
| Expert | $132 per seat/month billed yearly, or $139 billed monthly, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome | Adds SSO and identity management, HIPAA support, SLAs, multibrand Messenger and help center, and 50 free Lite seats. |
| Fin AI Agent only | $0.99 per Fin outcome, no seats required | Use Fin on top of another helpdesk, such as Salesforce. Through sales. |
| Add-ons | Copilot $29 per agent/month billed yearly ($35 monthly); Pro from $100/month; Proactive Support Plus $99/month | Copilot is an AI assistant in the inbox, Pro adds AI performance analysis and Operator, and Proactive Support Plus adds product tours, checklists, surveys and campaigns. |
Intercom FAQ
How much does Intercom cost?
On 31 October 2026 Intercom's plans cost $29, $85 and $132 per seat per month billed yearly, or $39, $99 and $139 billed monthly. On top of seats, Fin AI Agent costs $0.99 per outcome, and channels such as WhatsApp, SMS, phone and email campaigns are pay as you go.
What is a Fin outcome?
Intercom counts an outcome when a customer confirms their issue is resolved, does not ask for more help after Fin answers, or when Fin completes a workflow including a handoff. You pay once per conversation.
Does Intercom have a free trial?
Yes. Intercom offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. It includes all features, Fin and the add-ons. Startups can apply for up to 93% off.
Is Intercom still a live chat tool?
Live chat is still included, free and unlimited on every plan, but Intercom now positions itself as a customer service platform built around its AI agent, Fin, with a full helpdesk for human agents.