You want a clearer view of total cost
Separate full seats, Fin outcomes, Copilot, outbound messaging, and channel usage. A cheaper seat price only helps if the replacement includes the features your team actually uses.
Buyer’s guide 2026
8 Intercom alternatives to consider for your next move
Looking for an Intercom alternative? Compare eight options for live chat, shared inboxes, AI, and ecommerce. Start with the job you need to replace: support in your app, conversations that lead to sales, or a simpler way to manage customer requests.
Written by Sylwia Kocur Updated 8 tools reviewed
Why look for an Intercom alternative?
Intercom combines Messenger, a helpdesk, and Fin for service, sales, and ecommerce. Replacing it makes sense when another product fits your workload better. First decide whether you need to replace the inbox, the AI agent, or the whole customer messaging setup.
Your conversations happen in a store
Product questions, order context, and sales attribution deserve their own evaluation. Intercom also offers Fin for Ecommerce with native Shopify integration and support for other platforms through a catalog connector. Test each product against the same buying journey.
You need a different setup
If you mainly answer chats or email, a narrower tool may cover your daily work. If hosting control matters, consider Chatwoot Community Edition and the responsibility for infrastructure, backups, and upgrades.
8 alternatives at a glance
Entry prices don’t line up one to one. Vendors bill per seat, per workspace, or per ticket, and AI usage is often charged separately.
| Platform | Entry price | Live chat | Ticketing | AI and automation | Integrations | Trial or free option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text by LiveChat Ecommerce teams that sell through chat Start free trial | $19 /user/mo, billed annually | Included; advanced routing on Growth. | Included; rules and workflows have plan limits. | 10 or 200 monthly resolutions included; extra packages cost $49.50 for 50. | Shopify, WooCommerce, and custom sales tracking. | 14 days, no card. |
| Zendesk Teams with established support processes | $55 /agent/mo, Suite Team, billed annually | Messaging and live chat in Suite Team. | Ticketing and omnichannel routing in Suite. | AI agents included in Suite; check automated-resolution allowances and add-ons. | Check the apps and store connections you need. | Free trial available. |
| Crisp Small teams that want workspace pricing | $45 /workspace/mo, 4 seats | Website chat. | Ticketing portal on Plus. | AI allowances vary by tier. | Omnichannel inbox and workflows from Essentials. | Free plan available. |
| Help Scout Inbox-centered service teams | Free plan available | Live chat and social messaging from Standard; not in Free. | Shared inbox conversation management. | AI Answers: $0.75/resolution after its trial; requires a paid plan. | Check required apps and included allowances. | Free plan available. |
| Freshdesk Structured ticketing and self-service | $19 /agent/mo, billed annually | Check Freshdesk Omni packaging. | Core shared inbox and ticket workflows. | Freddy AI usage charges; Copilot is a paid add-on on Pro and Enterprise. | Confirm app and channel requirements. | 14-day trial. |
| Tidio Small stores using website chat and automation | $24.17 /mo, Starter, billed annually | Live chat and ticketing in Starter. | Email ticketing with plan-specific automation. | Lyro packages by conversation; initial 50 are one-off. | Shopify and WooCommerce product recommendations. | Free plan and 7-day trial. |
| Chatwoot Teams that need an open-source option | $0 Hacker cloud plan, up to 2 agents | Included in Hacker. | Email and other channels require a paid cloud plan. | Captain AI allowances depend on the paid plan. | API channel on paid cloud plans. | Free cloud and self-hosted options. |
| tawk.to Free live chat with your own agents | $0 for core live chat | Free core live chat. | Ticketing included. | AI Assist has its own plans and usage limits. | Website widget and integrations. | Free core service. |
Intercom alternatives reviewed
For each tool: what it does well, what to watch out for, and when Intercom is still the better pick.
Text by LiveChat
Best for ecommerce teams that sell through chat
Text by LiveChat is an Intercom alternative for ecommerce teams that want product conversations to lead to measurable sales. AI answers buying questions from your knowledge, teammates handle the conversations that need a person, and sales reports show which chats contributed to orders.
- Entry price
- $19 /user/mo, billed annually
- Essential costs $25/user/month with monthly billing; Growth costs $79/user/month billed annually, or $99/user/month billed monthly. Enterprise is quoted. Essential includes 10 monthly AI resolutions and Growth includes 200. Additional 50-resolution packages cost $49.50 and can be purchased as needed. Unused additional resolutions expire at the end of the billing cycle.
- Trial
- 14 days, no card.
- AI costs
- 10 or 200 monthly resolutions included; extra packages cost $49.50 for 50.
- AI Agent and Copilot included; usage and tool allowances vary.
Full review: features, pros, and trial tips
Key features
- AI answers grounded in your approved knowledge
- Human replies and email follow-up in the Inbox
- Sales tracking for connected stores and custom integrations
Strengths
- Sales reports help you evaluate which chats led to orders.
- A teammate can turn a chat into a ticket when follow-up takes longer.
- Live chat, ticketing, and AI are part of the core product.
Keep in mind
- Essential includes 60 days of conversation and file history; Growth offers unlimited history.
- Extra AI resolutions add to the user subscription.
Consider Intercom instead if
Your team depends on Intercom Product Tours, Series, or in-app workflows that you have not validated in Text.
How to test Text in a trial
Pick a product question, a question the AI cannot answer, and a sale that follows a conversation. Check the answer, human handoff, and order attribution. Separately test any Intercom workflow you cannot afford to lose.
Zendesk
Best for teams with established support processes
Zendesk is worth considering when your Intercom replacement needs to cover structured support across several channels. Compare Suite plans for messaging and live chat; the cheaper Support Team plan is a different starting point.
- Entry price
- $55 /agent/mo, Suite Team, billed annually
- Support Team starts at $19/agent/month annually. Suite Team starts at $55 and adds messaging, live chat, telephony, and a knowledge base. Suite Professional costs $115/agent/month billed annually.
- Trial
- Free trial available.
- AI costs
- AI agents included in Suite; check automated-resolution allowances and add-ons.
Full review: features, pros, and trial tips
Strengths
- Suite covers messaging, live chat, and telephony.
- Suite Professional adds skills-based routing and an IVR phone tree.
Keep in mind
- The $19 Support Team price is not the Suite live-chat package.
- Include AI usage, add-ons, and the required routing tier in the quote.
Consider Intercom instead if
Messenger, product tours, and your existing Fin setup are more important than a change to ticket-focused operations.
Read the full Text vs. Zendesk comparisonHow to test Zendesk in a trial
Recreate one request that crosses chat, email, and another team. Check ownership, routing, history, and the exact plan needed for each step.
Crisp
Best for small teams that want workspace pricing
Crisp is worth comparing when your Intercom bill grows with the number of teammates. Its workspace plans include several seats, with email on Mini and a broader channel and automation setup on Essentials.
- Entry price
- $45 /workspace/mo, 4 seats
- Mini costs $45/workspace/month with 4 seats; Essentials is $95 with 10, and Plus is $295 with 20. Additional Plus seats cost $10/month each. Free supports 2 agents.
- Trial
- Free plan available.
- AI costs
- AI allowances vary by tier.
Full review: features, pros, and trial tips
Strengths
- Several seats included in workspace price
- Chat, inbox and automation on one platform
Keep in mind
- Mini does not include the Essentials knowledge base and omnichannel feature set.
- Ticketing portal and white labelling are listed on Plus ($295/workspace/month).
Consider Intercom instead if
You need Intercom’s in-app engagement tools or Fin configuration more than you need a different seat-pricing model.
Read the full Text vs. Crisp comparisonHow to test Crisp in a trial
Add every teammate who needs access, connect your busiest channel, and rebuild one routing rule. Compare the required Crisp tier, AI credits, and customer-profile allowance with your full Intercom bill.
Help Scout
Best for inbox-centered service teams
Help Scout is an option for teams that spend most of their time collaborating on customer requests. Compare it with Intercom when clear ownership, saved replies, and help content matter more than product tours or outbound campaigns.
- Entry price
- Free plan available
- Free supports up to 5 users and 100 contacts per month. Paid plans use per-user pricing; check the current billing selector for your quote.
- Trial
- Free plan available.
- AI costs
- AI Answers: $0.75/resolution after its trial; requires a paid plan.
Full review: features, pros, and trial tips
Strengths
- Free plan for small teams
- Inbox-focused collaboration with saved replies and tags
Keep in mind
- Standard supports up to 25 users; Plus up to 50.
- Additional inboxes and Docs sites cost extra beyond included allowances.
Consider Intercom instead if
You rely on Product Tours, Series, or Fin Procedures and need to preserve those workflows.
Read the full LiveChat vs. Help Scout comparisonHow to test Help Scout in a trial
Move one representative request through two teammates and a follow-up email. If live chat is essential, evaluate Standard or above rather than the Free plan.
Freshdesk
Best for structured ticketing and self-service
Freshdesk is worth evaluating when you use Intercom primarily to manage support requests. Its email-focused plans provide ticket ownership, a customer portal, and a knowledge base. Compare Freshdesk Omni separately for a live-chat replacement.
- Entry price
- $19 /agent/mo, billed annually
- Growth starts at $19 per agent. Pro is $55 and Enterprise is $89 with annual billing.
- Trial
- 14-day trial.
- AI costs
- Freddy AI usage charges; Copilot is a paid add-on on Pro and Enterprise.
Full review: features, pros, and trial tips
Strengths
- Portal and knowledge base in Growth
- On Pro or Enterprise, paid Copilot licenses can be assigned to selected agents.
Keep in mind
- Custom dashboards and multiple SLA policies require Pro.
- Sandbox, audit logs and skill-based routing require Enterprise.
Consider Intercom instead if
Your main requirement is Messenger-based support and proactive engagement inside your product.
How to test Freshdesk in a trial
Run an email request through assignment, an internal note, escalation, and reopening. Then test your required live-chat journey in Freshdesk Omni and price that package separately.
Tidio
Best for small stores using website chat and automation
Tidio is an Intercom alternative to evaluate when your main touchpoint is a storefront. It combines live chat and ticketing with Lyro AI and Flows. Compare its conversation and visitor allowances with your workload, not only Intercom’s seat price.
- Entry price
- $24.17 /mo, Starter, billed annually
- Starter includes 100 billable conversations; Growth starts at $49.17/month annually with 250. The first 50 Lyro conversations are one-off; recurring AI and additional Flows capacity are priced separately.
- Trial
- Free plan and 7-day trial.
- AI costs
- Lyro packages by conversation; initial 50 are one-off.
Full review: features, pros, and trial tips
Strengths
- Lyro can recommend products through Shopify and WooCommerce integrations.
- Shopify Lyro Products Analytics reports assisted sales and the conversion funnel.
Keep in mind
- Human conversations, Lyro conversations, and Flows visitors are different allowances.
- Product recommendations require the Shopify or WooCommerce app, active Lyro, and a Lyro AI Agent package or its 7-day trial.
Consider Intercom instead if
You need Intercom’s in-app journeys, product tours, or your configured Fin Procedures.
Read the full Text vs. Tidio comparisonHow to test Tidio in a trial
Test a product question, an email follow-up, and a Flows journey. Check which allowance each interaction consumes and whether the resulting sale appears in reporting.
Chatwoot
Best for teams that need an open-source option
Chatwoot gives teams an open-source Intercom alternative with hosted and self-hosted options. Choose the deployment model first: the free cloud plan and self-hosted Community Edition have different feature scopes.
- Entry price
- $0 Hacker cloud plan, up to 2 agents
- Hacker includes website chat, 500 conversations per month, and 30-day retention. Self-hosted Community Edition has separate scope; hosting and maintenance are your responsibility.
- Trial
- Free cloud and self-hosted options.
- AI costs
- Captain AI allowances depend on the paid plan.
Full review: features, pros, and trial tips
Strengths
- Choice of hosted or self-hosted deployment.
- A free cloud plan lets a small team try website chat.
Keep in mind
- Free cloud is limited to website chat and 2 agents.
- Self-hosting needs backups, updates, monitoring, and technical ownership.
- Captain AI is not included in the free self-hosted Community Edition.
Consider Intercom instead if
You want a managed product with your existing Fin, Product Tours, and outbound setup, without taking on hosting work.
How to test Chatwoot in a trial
Test authenticated customer identity, chat handoff, and email follow-up in the edition you plan to use. For self-hosting, include the work of backups, upgrades, and incident response.
tawk.to
Best for free live chat with your own agents
tawk.to is a free Intercom alternative for teams that mainly need people to answer website chats. The core service has no published limits on agents, chat volume, or websites; AI Assist is a separate consideration.
- Entry price
- $0 for core live chat
- Core software is free. AI Assist, branding removal, and staffed services have separate terms.
- Trial
- Free core service.
- AI costs
- AI Assist has its own plans and usage limits.
Full review: features, pros, and trial tips
Strengths
- No per-agent bill for the core chat service.
- Core chat, ticketing, and a knowledge base are free.
Keep in mind
- Free chat does not mean unlimited free AI.
- Price any optional branding removal or staffed service separately.
Consider Intercom instead if
You need Fin, product tours, or a broader in-app engagement system rather than core website chat.
How to test tawk.to in a trial
Test a live conversation, a teammate handoff, and an offline request. Check whether that covers the Intercom workflows you actually use before adding paid AI or staffed services.
Text or Intercom: which fits your team?
Choose Text if
- Your chats help shoppers decide what to buy
- You want live chat, AI, and tickets in one inbox
- You want to see which sales came through chat
Stay with Intercom if
- Your Messenger and in-app journeys are central to the product
- Fin already meets your service, sales, or ecommerce goals
- The full cost fits your budget and a pilot shows no clear reason to move
Text by LiveChat vs. Intercom
Compare seat costs, AI outcomes, and optional tools separately. Text AI resolutions and Fin outcomes have different definitions, so an equal number of conversations does not imply an equal AI bill. All base prices below use annual billing.
Start free trial| Text by LiveChat From $19/user/mo, billed annually | Intercom Essential: $29/seat/mo, billed annually | |
|---|---|---|
| Key differences | ||
| What should you evaluate first? | A conversation that leads to a sale Test product advice, human handoff, and chat-attributed orders in your store. | The roles you use Fin for Fin supports service, sales, and ecommerce. Check the roles and in-app journeys you need to preserve. |
| What triggers an AI charge? | A resolved question or completed request Text charges once per conversation when AI solves a question, completes a Custom Skill that fulfills the request, or creates a ticket explicitly requested by the customer. A fallback ticket because no human is available does not count. | A completed Fin outcome Outcomes include resolutions and configured Procedure handoffs. Ordinary escalations to a person are not the same as billable Procedure handoffs. |
| What sits beyond the base plan? | Usage and plan limits AI Agent and Copilot are included, with allowances and capabilities that vary by plan. | Fin, Copilot, and engagement costs Budget for Fin usage, paid Copilot beyond its free allowance, optional Proactive Support Plus, and any channel charges. |
| Pricing | ||
| Entry plan | Essential: $19/user/month. | Essential: $29/seat/month. |
| Workflow and routing tier | Growth: $79/user/month; chat routing rules included. | Advanced: $85/seat/month; workflows and multiple team inboxes. |
| Higher-tier plans | Enterprise: custom quote. | Expert: $132/seat/month, including SSO and SLAs. |
| AI usage | 10 monthly resolutions on Essential; 200 on Growth. Extra packages: $49.50 for 50; unused extras expire at the end of the billing cycle. | Fin resolutions and configured Procedure handoffs: $0.99/outcome. Fin for Sales qualifications: $9.99; self-serve routing and disqualifications: $0.99. These rates apply to chat and email with Intercom; Fin Voice, high-volume pricing, and specialized needs require a separate quote. |
| Agent assistant | Copilot included; allowances vary by plan. | 10 Copilot conversations per full-seat agent/month included. Unlimited use: $29/agent/month annually or $35 monthly. |
| Proactive engagement | Check campaign and workflow allowances on the required plan. | Proactive Support Plus: $99/month including 500 messages; additional usage costs extra. |
| Free access | 14-day trial, no credit card required. | 14-day trial, no credit card required; no permanent free plan listed. |
Build a complete cost comparison
Use the same team size and workload for each vendor.
Count full seats
List everyone who needs to reply to customers. Keep limited-access collaborators separate from paid full seats when comparing plans.
Model AI by outcome type
Estimate resolved questions, configured handoffs, and sales qualifications separately. Intercom prices Fin for Sales qualifications differently from service resolutions.
Include the tools you use
Add Copilot, product tours, outbound messages, and paid channels where required. Check whether the replacement offers the same job in its base plan or needs a higher tier.
Include migration work
Budget for rebuilding workflows, mapping customer attributes, checking exports, and overlapping subscriptions. Keep those one-time costs separate from the ongoing bill.
What about a 10-person team?
For 10 full users or seats, Text Essential is $190/month and Intercom Essential is $290/month with annual billing, before additional usage. If your team needs the higher routing and workflow tiers, Text Growth is $790 and Intercom Advanced is $850. These are base-subscription examples, not equivalent feature bundles or final quotes. Add AI and other required charges separately.
About this comparison
Sylwia Kocur, Content Marketing Specialist at Text. Sylwia writes about Text’s products and updates. Before becoming a Content Marketing Specialist, she worked as a Product Expert.
Who publishes this guide
The company behind Text and LiveChat publishes this guide and has a commercial interest in Text, which appears first. Text is a separate product from legacy LiveChat. The other tools are grouped by use case, not ranked by score.
What we compared
Vendors’ published pricing, product documentation, and help-center articles, covering live chat, ticketing, AI, knowledge, integrations, reporting, and plan requirements. Seat, usage, and add-on charges are listed separately.
What the evidence supports
This is a documentation review, not a hands-on benchmark. Where we couldn’t verify a feature, we say so instead of marking it as missing.
Prices and updates
Product information and prices were checked on the date shown at the top of this guide. Plans change, so confirm the current package before you buy and test your own workflow in a trial.
Spotted an outdated price or product detail? Let us know
Common questions
What is the best Intercom alternative?
Choose by the part of Intercom you need to replace. Consider Text for ecommerce conversations and sales attribution, Zendesk for established support operations, Crisp for workspace pricing, or Help Scout for shared-inbox work. Chatwoot offers a self-hosted option; tawk.to covers free human chat. There is no single winner for every Messenger, Fin, and outbound workflow.
Choose by what you’re replacingIs there a free alternative to Intercom?
tawk.to offers free core live chat. Crisp has a free two-agent plan, and Chatwoot Hacker includes two agents, 500 website-chat conversations per month, and 30-day retention. Help Scout Free supports five users and 100 monthly contacts, but live chat and social channels require Standard. None of these free plans should be assumed to replace every Intercom feature.
Compare pricing and capabilitiesWhat is an open-source or self-hosted Intercom alternative?
Chatwoot offers a self-hosted Community Edition as well as hosted plans. Compare the edition you will actually run: Captain AI is not included in free Community Edition. Hosting, backups, updates, and monitoring still need an owner.
Read the Chatwoot reviewWhich Intercom alternative is cheaper?
Compare the complete configuration. Ten Essential seats cost $290/month at Intercom with annual billing; ten Text Essential users cost $190 before additional usage. That is a base-price comparison, not a promise of the same feature set or a lower final bill. AI usage, outbound tools, channels, and higher-tier requirements can change the result.
Compare 10-seat costsDoes Fin charge when a conversation goes to a human?
A configured Procedure that successfully ends in a handoff can be a paid Fin outcome. An ordinary escalation, such as a customer asking for a person, is treated differently. Check the outcome definition and your configured Procedures rather than assuming every handoff is free or every handoff is charged.
See what triggers a Fin chargeWhich Intercom Fin alternatives should you compare?
Compare Text AI Agent for ecommerce conversations and sales attribution, Tidio Lyro for store chat and product recommendations, and Help Scout AI Answers for answering questions from help content. Compare more than the headline AI price: check supported channels, knowledge sources, actions, human handoff, and the definition of a billable resolution. These tools are not established here as direct replacements for every Fin Procedure, sales qualification workflow, or voice use case. If Fin already works for you, consider keeping it with a supported external helpdesk.
Compare AI options and allowancesCan I keep Fin and use another helpdesk?
Fin can work with supported external helpdesks, so changing the inbox does not always mean replacing the AI agent. Check platform support, minimum commitments, and feature scope. Fin for Sales and Fin for Ecommerce require an Intercom helpdesk plan; do not assume those roles transfer to an external helpdesk.
Compare Fin and helpdesk costsWhich alternative should I consider for ecommerce?
Compare Text and Tidio against your actual store journeys: product advice, order questions, human handoff, and attribution. Intercom also offers Fin for Ecommerce with native Shopify integration and support for other ecommerce platforms through a catalog connector. Use test orders and your own catalog to check the differences instead of assuming only one vendor supports selling.
See Text’s ecommerce featuresCan these tools replace Intercom Product Tours?
A live-chat or helpdesk replacement does not automatically replace product onboarding. Intercom offers Product Tours, Surveys, and Series through its optional Proactive Support Plus package. This guide does not establish equivalent functionality in Text or every alternative listed. If tours are essential, evaluate a dedicated onboarding tool alongside your support platform and test targeting, user identity, completion tracking, and mobile requirements before switching.
Can I move Intercom conversations to Text automatically?
Text documents API-based ticket import. This review does not establish a one-click Intercom migration or automatic transfer of Procedures, tours, and campaigns. Test your export against the destination’s field, attachment, and history requirements before planning the cutover.
Is Text by LiveChat the same product as LiveChat?
Text is a separate product from the company behind LiveChat, HelpDesk, and ChatBot. This comparison evaluates Text. Legacy LiveChat plan prices and feature lists should not be used as evidence for Text.
See how this guide evaluates TextWhen should I stay with Intercom?
Stay when Messenger, Fin, and your in-app journeys meet your needs at a cost you accept. A switch needs a practical reason: a better fit for your store, required workflows, hosting preference, or total budget, demonstrated in a pilot.
Compare reasons to stay or switchAre the features on this page included in my LiveChat plan?
No, your LiveChat plan stays the same. The features and capabilities on this page are part of Text and are available under Text pricing plans. They are not included in LiveChat plans, including legacy LiveChat subscriptions. Availability, limits, and pricing depend on your Text plan. If you’re on a LiveChat plan and want these features, you can move to Text.
