It is hard to find one platform that provides all the functionalities your business needs to deliver the best customer support. You must focus on the details that matter most to your support team.
These can include pricing plans, chat features, knowledge base tools, scalability, and branding options.
Some businesses choose Intercom as their support platform, since it allows companies to communicate and collaborate with their customers across multiple channels and features shared inboxes, customizable chatbots, live chat, and more.
However, other Intercom alternatives may be better for your business’s unique support scenarios. In this blog, we’ll explore the best alternatives to Intercom on the market today.
Why should you consider Intercom alternatives?
Here are some considerations that may affect Intercom’s suitability for your enterprise:
- Pricing tiers limit features: Intercom’s pricing plans determine which features you can access in the platform. For example, the lowest pricing tier does not provide multiple team inboxes, a multilingual help center, nor custom reports and roles.
- Add-on costs: Additional charges exist for certain add-ons and advanced features, such as communication via SMS and WhatsApp, and its Proactive Support Plus add-on that supports product tours, surveys, mobile push alerts, and more. These variable factors can make it hard to predetermine your monthly costs for using the platform.
- Full AI features restricted to middle and highest pricing plans: The most affordable pricing plan only allows the use of its generative AI to write materials. The summarizing and autofill features are limited to the middle and highest price points.
When selecting a solution for any problem, it’s sensible to check out alternatives. When you pay attention to the details, you may find what you’re looking for, or even more, at a lower cost.
Top Intercom alternatives for businesses
Discover the best, most affordable Intercom alternatives for customer service, engagement, collaboration, and satisfaction, suitable for all types of businesses.
BoldDesk
The best alternative to Intercom for businesses looking for a comprehensive, easy-to-use help desk ticketing system.
BoldDesk is a comprehensive customer service software that enhances communication, improves team collaboration, and simplifies customer support workflows.
It has many powerful, user-friendly features that are essential to delivering the best customer support possible, such as:
- Shared inboxes
- Integration capabilities
- Omnichannel support
- Knowledge base tools
- Reporting tools
- A mobile app
- Live chat support (Coming soon)
These features empower businesses to effectively manage client inquiries, provide fast support, and build stronger relationships with customers.
What’s more, businesses of all sizes can benefit from BoldDesk’s scalability and user-friendly interface.
Its transparent pricing plans guarantee that there are no surprises or hidden expenses when it comes to effectively budgeting for customer support needs.
Key features
- The powerful ticketing system lets support teams easily create, track, and manage all customer requests and inquiries in a single, unified platform. It has functionalities such as email-based ticketing, shared inboxes, multi-brand, and task management.
- Multichannel support allows you to communicate and provide help to your customers seamlessly across the channels they prefer, such as live chat, email, or social media.
- The excellent mobile application helps your agents manage customer inquiries and receive support notifications on their preferred devices.
- Multilanguage help desk support helps translate content into the languages your customers use fluently.
- Generative artificial intelligence summarizes, rephrases, and provides SEO suggestions that improve agent productivity and maximize the utility of self-help resources. These AI-powered tools help agents rephrase and shorten responses, fix grammar, review customer replies, generate canned responses, and write support articles for easier customer interactions.
- Service-level agreement (SLA) automation ensures support teams receive alerts, reminders, and notifications about tickets so that none violate customer SLAs. It also ensures customers get regular updates on the progress of their support ticket issues, which keeps them at ease.
- Integration support allows you to connect BoldDesk with your preferred tools and apps, such as Zappier, Slack, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams, to streamline your workflow and increase productivity.
- Reporting and analysis features help you to gather real-time data and make informed decisions on how to improve customer service.
- Knowledge base software lets you create, store, organize, and share information to help our customers find answers to their questions quickly.
- Top-notch security and compliance ensure that customer data is protected and communication is always secure.
Advantages of BoldDesk
BoldDesk stands out as the best Intercom alternative because of the following key benefits:
- Offers flexible, affordable pricing options.
- Ensures immediate support responses and quick resolutions to customer queries or problems via automation.
- Offers integration options for agents to connect with their preferred tools, streamlining workflows, organizing data, and boosting productivity.
Pricing
- Starter: $10/month for first 3 users, each additional user is $10/user/month
- Growth: $20/user/month
- Enterprise: $40/user/month
- Standard: $499 per month
- Pro: $999 per month
- Business: $1,999 per month
Free trial duration: 15 days
Schedule a live demo to discover why you should choose BoldDesk as your Intercom alternative. Start a free 15-day trial to experience its many functionalities.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the BoldDesk support team.
HelpCrunch
An Intercom competitor for multiple channels of communication.
HelpCrunch is an Intercom alternative that provides a multichannel chat interface at a lower starting cost than Intercom.
Key features
- Multichannel support
- Live chat
- Shared inbox
- Knowledge base
- Integrations
Pricing
- Basic: $12/user/month
- Pro: $20/user/month
- Unlimited: $495/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Top differences between HelpCrunch and Intercom
- HelpCrunch’s multichannel messaging also supports Telegram and Viber.
- HelpCrunch’s pricing starts at a lower price point than Intercom and does not charge extra for in-product chat messages.
Drift
An Intercom competitor for conversational customer service.
Drift is a conversation-based customer relationship management platform that uses AI-enhanced chatbots to address the concerns of customers and leads.
Key features
- Conversational AI chatbots
- Mobile app
- Analytics and reporting
- Integrations
Pricing
- Premium: $2,500/month
- Advanced: Contact Drift
- Enterprise: Contact Drift
Top difference between Drift and Intercom
Drift focuses on turning conversations into conversions, while Intercom focuses on customer communication.
Tidio
An Intercom competitor for AI-enhanced customer support with simple setup.
Tidio, another alternative to Intercom, provides a flexible customer support solution that is AI-driven to ensure better interactions with website visitors and increased conversions.
It offers a simple setup process and integration with tools such as Shopify, WordPress, and Instagram.
Key features
- Conversational AI
- Integrations with popular platforms
- Mobile app
- Visitor tracking
- Live chat
Pricing
- Starter: $24.17/month
- Growth: $49.17/month
- Tidio+: $499/month
Free trial duration: 7 days
Top differences between Tidio and Intercom
- Tidio offers budget-friendlier pricing plans that make it more accessible for small- to medium-sized businesses. However, its pricing is based on conversations, not agents. This poses a unique challenge in budgeting for support.
- Tidio provides a more user-friendly interface and efficient setup process according to reviewers.
Help Scout
An Intercom competitor that delivers a unified communication platform.
Help Scout is a popular customer service platform that helps businesses manage their customer communications efficiently.
Key features
- Shared inbox
- Collaboration features
- 90+ integrations
- Knowledge base tools
Pricing
- Standard: $20/agent/month
- Plus: $40/agent/month
- Pro: $65/agent/month
Free trial duration: 15 days
Top difference between Help Scout and Intercom
Help Scout focuses on streamlining customer support operations. Intercom, on the other hand, focuses on customer engagement and conversions.
Zendesk
An Intercom competitor for large businesses.
Zendesk offers a suite of customer service tools, including a ticketing system, analytics, and automation. Users can tailor their Zendesk setup according to their needs and requirements.
Key features
- Multilingual support
- Knowledge base
- Integrations
- Multichannel support
Pricing
- Suite team: $55/agent/month
- Suite growth: $89/agent/month
- Suite professional: $115/agent/month
- Suite Enterprise: Contact Zendesk
Free trial duration: 14 days
Top differences between Zendesk and Intercom
- Zendesk focuses on ticketing and customer support, while Intercom is a customer messaging platform that emphasizes real-time communication and engagement.
- Zendesk has a larger ecosystem of integrations with third-party apps compared to Intercom.
Olark
An Intercom competitor ideal for businesses seeking a live chat service.
Olark is a live chat system that empowers companies to interact in real-time with website users, offer customer support, and facilitate sales.
This user-friendly chat app also offers archiving for easy retrieval of past interactions.
Key features
- AI-powered chatbots
- Extensive customization
- Automation
- Reporting
Pricing: Starts at $29/seat/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Top differences between Olark and Intercom
- Olark has a simple and intuitive interface because it is primarily a chat app, while Intercom offers more advanced features.
- Intercom’s pricing structure is more complex due to its advanced offerings.
HubSpot
A customer support platform as one of the alternatives to Intercom.
HubSpot Service Hub is a customer service platform known for its communication features, shared inboxes, omnichannel messaging, and knowledge base tools that help companies attract and delight customers.
Key features
- Customer relationship management tools
- Shared inbox
- Automation
- Customer surveys
- Knowledge base
Pricing
- Starter: $15/month/agent
- Professional: $90/month/agent
- Enterprise: $130/month/agent
The top difference between HubSpot Service Hub and Intercom
HubSpot Service Hub is one part of the larger HubSpot ecosystem, which includes platforms for marketing, sales, operations, and more. HubSpot aims to be a full-business solution.
Zoho Desk
An affordable Intercom competitor for smooth customer service operations.
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based customer service platform that helps companies streamline and manage their customer support operations.
It supports various third-party apps, including native mobile apps, to ensure an excellent client experience.
Key features
- Ticket management
- Collaboration tools
- Customization tools
- Automation
- Self-service
Pricing
- Standard: $14/user/month
- Professional: $23/user/month
- Enterprise: $40/user/month
Free trial duration: 15 days
The top difference between Zoho Desk and Intercom
Zoho Desk focuses on ticket management and support automation, while Intercom emphasizes customer engagement and messaging automation.
Freshdesk
One of the Intercom competitors for businesses whose support focuses on ticketing and call center assistance.
Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer support solution that empowers companies to better serve their customers through a robust ticketing system, automation tools, a huge selection of integrations, and live chat.
Key features
- Ticketing system
- Mobile app
- Collaboration tools
- SLA management
Pricing
- Growth: $15/user/month
- Pro: $49/user/month
- Enterprise: $79/user/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Top differences between Freshdesk and Intercom
- Freshdesk focuses on organized support management, while Intercom emphasizes dynamic and personalized interactions.
- Freshdesk offers a free version with limited features for up to 10 users. Intercom does not offer a free version.
LiveAgent
One of the affordable Intercom competitors.
LiveAgent is customer service software that businesses use to engage with their website visitors in real-time.
The platform is designed to streamline question answering through any communication channel customers use which makes it one of the Intercom alternatives.
Key features
- Live chat
- Omnichannel messaging
- Ticketing system
- Chat routing
Pricing
- Small business: $9/user/month
- Medium business: $29/user/month
- Large business: $49/user/month
Free trial duration: 30 days
Top difference between LiveAgent and Intercom
- LiveAgent’s pricing plans start much lower than Intercom’s.
- LiveAgent does not support any AI-enhanced features at this time.
Intercom alternatives comparison table
The following table summarizes the features and prices of Intercom alternatives:
| Intercom alternatives | Key features | Pricing | Free trial duration |
| BoldDesk |
| Starts at $10/month for 3 users | 15 days |
| HelpCrunch |
| Starts at $12/user/month | 14 days |
| Drift |
| Starts at $2,500/month | N/A |
| Tidio |
| Starts at $24.17/month | 7 days |
| Help Scout |
| Starts at $20/agent/month | 15 days |
| Zendesk |
| Starts at $55/agent/month | 14 days |
| Olark |
| Starts at $29/seat/month | 14 days |
| HubSpot |
| Pricing starts at $15/agent/month | N/A |
| Zoho Desk |
| Starts at $14/user/month | 15 days |
| Freshdesk |
| Starts at $15/user/month | 14 days |
Things to consider for selecting the best Intercom alternative
While many Intercom competitors are available, only a few will suit your company’s requirements.
The following considerations should guide your decision when choosing the ideal tool for your customer service team.
Proactive customer support
When selecting one of the Intercom alternatives, prioritize features that enable your team to deliver proactive customer service, like live chat and customized messaging.
Selecting a proactive customer service solution will help you address customer needs before they reach out for support, building trust, customer loyalty, and a competitive advantage.
A smooth setup process
When choosing an Intercom alternative, streamlined implementation is essential so that you can begin delivering support as swiftly as possible.
An easy setup process eliminates the need for technical expertise and extensive training, facilitating a seamless transition to efficient support provision without complications.
Live chat support
When selecting an alternative to Intercom, consider live chat functionality as an important feature for real-time customer engagement and support.
This will ensure fast responses and enhanced user experiences on your platform.
The live chat feature should also be easy to embed on different platforms such as websites, mobile apps, and social media sites.
Pricing
Businesses with limited resources should look for an Intercom alternative that fits their goals and budget.
Nearly every solution offers different features at different pricing tiers, so what may be out of reach in one solution may be affordable in another.
Choose an Intercom competitor optimal for your team
When selecting an Intercom alternative that best fits your team’s needs, it’s important to carefully assess flexibility, pricing, and features.
While Intercom is regarded as a top customer service tool, other options may offer better features, greater customization, and more cost-effective pricing structures.
You must ensure that the customer service solution you select can meet your company’s needs. That is why you should consider BoldDesk to perfect the support your team can deliver.
We hope that this article has provided you with some great options for the best Intercom alternative for your company!
Please feel free to add any thoughts or comments in the space given below for comments.
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