What does Intercom do?
Intercom is a customer service platform that combines a helpdesk (shared inbox, ticketing, Messenger live chat and help center) with Fin, an AI agent that answers customers and hands off to your team. Seats start at $29/mo billed annually on Essential, and Fin is billed separately at $0.99 per outcome.
- Fin AI Agent. Answers customers from your knowledge content, can take actions through APIs, and hands off to a teammate; billed per outcome on every plan.
- Shared inbox and ticketing. One inbox for conversations and tickets, with multiple team inboxes and round robin assignment on Advanced.
- Messenger. Live chat widget for websites and apps, with multibrand Messenger on Expert.
- Help center. Public help center on Essential; private and multilingual help centers from Advanced.
- Copilot. AI assistant that drafts replies for human agents; free for 10 conversations per agent a month, then $29 per teammate/mo.
- Workflows. No-code automation builder for routing and handling conversations, from Advanced.
Who is Intercom for?
Intercom is a good fit if you're a customer support lead or a business owner, and you need help answering customer questions.
How much does Intercom cost?
Intercom starts at $29/seat/mo. It has no free plan. Its pricing page lists a free trial. We checked this on Oct 23, 2026 on the official pricing page.
- Starts at
- $29/seat/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 14 days, no credit card
Essential billed annually, plus Fin AI Agent at $0.99 per outcome (charged at most once per conversation, nothing if Fin hands off to a human). Advanced is $85 and Expert $132 per seat/mo billed annually. Monthly-billing prices could not be confirmed. On Oct 23, 2026 the pricing page (US connection) showed Essential at $19/seat/mo for new customers, 35% off the $29 list price.
Intercom plans compared
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | Not listed | $29/seat/mo | Messenger live chat, shared inbox and ticketing, pre-built reports, public help center, basic automation; Fin AI Agent $0.99 per outcome |
| Advanced | Not listed | $85/seat/mo | Everything in Essential plus workflow automation builder, multiple team inboxes, round robin assignment, private and multilingual help center, 20 free Lite seats |
| Expert | Not listed | $132/seat/mo | Everything in Advanced plus SSO and identity management, HIPAA support, SLAs, multibrand Messenger and help center, 50 free Lite seats |
| Fin AI Agent only | Custom | Custom | $0.99 per outcome with an existing helpdesk such as Salesforce, HubSpot or Freshdesk; contact sales |
Prices in USD, read on Oct 22, 2026. Seat prices are per seat per month billed annually (a US connection showed $29, $85 and $132; the page labels Essential "$29 per agent/month billed annually"). We could not confirm monthly-billing prices, so they are left blank. Fin is charged at most once per conversation and not at all if it can't answer or the customer asks for a human. Add-ons: Copilot $29 per teammate/mo, Pro from $100 per workspace/mo, Proactive Support Plus from $99 per workspace/mo. Fin Voice is sold via sales at $1.99 per voice outcome. On Oct 23, 2026 the pricing page (US connection) showed Essential at $19/seat/mo for new customers, 35% off the $29 list price.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 on Intercom's pricing page. Prices change often, so confirm before you buy.
Intercom pros and cons
What stands out
- Fin charges only for outcomes, at most once per conversation
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
- Fin can also work on top of another helpdesk
- Advanced and Expert include free Lite seats (20 and 50)
Watch out for
- No free plan
- Costs combine per-seat fees and per-outcome Fin fees, so the monthly bill depends on volume
- Monthly-billing seat prices aren't clearly shown on the pricing page
- Workflow automation and multiple inboxes need Advanced at $85/seat/mo billed annually
Based on Intercom's own pages, not hands-on testing.
What are the alternatives to Intercom?
We list 6 other AI Chatbots & Customer Support tools: Help Scout, ManyChat, respond.io, SleekFlow, Tidio, Zendesk. Each one below shows its starting price and when you might pick it instead.
respond.io · From $79/moChoose respond.io if you'd like a second option to compare for answering customer questions.
SleekFlow · From $49/moChoose SleekFlow if you'd like a second option to compare for answering customer questions.
Zendesk · From $19/agent/moChoose Zendesk if you want a lower starting price ($19/agent/mo vs $29/seat/mo).
Compared in
Intercom FAQ
How much does Intercom cost?
Billed annually, seats cost $29/mo on Essential, $85/mo on Advanced and $132/mo on Expert. Fin AI Agent is added at $0.99 per outcome.
How does Fin pricing work?
You pay $0.99 per outcome, charged at most once per conversation. If Fin can't answer, fails an action or the customer asks for a human, there is no charge, and a reopened conversation is refunded.
Does Intercom have a free trial?
Yes, a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Can I use Fin without the Intercom helpdesk?
Yes. Intercom offers Fin with an existing helpdesk such as Salesforce, HubSpot or Freshdesk, at $0.99 per outcome, through sales.
Sources and how we checked
- Official pricing page, checked Oct 23, 2026
- Official website
- Intercom homepage (checked Oct 22, 2026), checked Oct 22, 2026