Intercom alternatives

The best Intercom alternatives

Intercom is built around live chat, with Fin answering inside it. If you'd rather your answers lived in a help centre that customers and the AI both read, or you need different channels, here are six alternatives and who each one suits.

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At a glance

Intercom first, for reference, then the alternatives.

  • Intercom

    Teams built around live chat, who want an AI agent that can also carry out workflows.

    Help centre
    A public help center on every plan; private and multilingual from Advanced.
    How the AI answers
    Fin answers customers and can complete workflows (Procedures), handing over to a person when asked.
    Inbox and channels
    Messenger live chat, shared inbox and ticketing on every plan; WhatsApp and SMS charged per use.
    Starting price
    From $29 per seat a month, billed annually, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome.

  • AskBase

    Teams who want a help centre customers can read, an AI that answers from it, and a shared inbox for the rest.

    Help centre
    Published on every plan, on your own domain from $29. Each article is for everyone, the AI only, or your team.
    How the AI answers
    Only from your published articles, linking the ones it used. When they don't cover a question, it says so and offers your team. A person approves every AI draft.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox for support email from $29. No live chat, phone or messaging apps.
    Starting price
    Free; paid plans from $29 a month for the whole team.

  • Help Scout

    Small and mid-sized teams who want one shared inbox across email, chat and messaging apps.

    Help centre
    Docs sites: 1 on Free, up to 5 by plan, more at $20 a month each.
    How the AI answers
    AI Answers (an add-on) answers from your website or other sources you add, with your team a click away.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox on every plan; live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger from Standard.
    Starting price
    Free for up to 5 users; paid from $25 per user a month, billed annually.

  • Zendesk

    Large support teams that need ticket routing, phone and messaging in one place.

    Help centre
    An AI knowledge base on Suite plans.
    How the AI answers
    AI agents resolve requests or escalate them to a person, with an AI action builder, on Suite plans.
    Inbox and channels
    Email ticketing with routing and automations from Support Team; messaging, live chat and phone on Suite plans.
    Starting price
    From $19 per agent a month, billed annually; AI agents from $55.

  • Freshdesk

    Teams that want a full ticketing help desk with a customer portal and knowledge base.

    Help centre
    Customer portal and knowledge base on every plan.
    How the AI answers
    Freddy AI Agent answers customers; Freddy AI Copilot (an add-on) helps agents reply.
    Inbox and channels
    Ticketing and shared inbox on every plan; multilingual help desk and intelligent routing from Pro.
    Starting price
    From $19 per agent a month, billed annually.

  • Crisp

    Small businesses whose support happens in live chat and messaging apps.

    Help centre
    From Essentials: your own domain, multiple languages, sitemap and SEO settings.
    How the AI answers
    An AI chatbot built with a no-code workflow builder; an AI agent trained on your data on Plus.
    Inbox and channels
    Live chat and shared inbox on Free; WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Line and Viber from Essentials.
    Starting price
    Free; paid from $45 a month per workspace.

  • Chatbase

    Teams that want a configurable AI agent that takes actions, on several channels.

    Help centre
    Not listed on its pricing page.
    How the AI answers
    An AI agent trained on the sources you add, with AI Actions; Pro suggests sources to add.
    Inbox and channels
    Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram from Hobby; a helpdesk inbox, voice and telephony from Standard.
    Starting price
    From $40 a month, or $32 a month billed yearly.

From each tool's own pricing page, checked 15 October 2026; each entry below links to its source. Per seat, per user and per agent mean for each person on your team.

Why teams look for an Intercom alternative

Answers people can read without asking

When answers live in chat conversations, customers can't browse them and search engines can't find them. Some teams want a published help centre at the centre of support.

Knowing where an answer came from

Teams want an AI that answers from their own articles, links the source, and says when it doesn't know, so they can check and correct it by editing an article.

Keeping the docs current

The questions the AI couldn't answer are the articles to write next. Some teams want those drafted for them, with a person approving each one.

Live chat needs cover

Live chat works when someone's there to answer. Teams without that cover often prefer self-service, with email for the rest.

Per-outcome AI pricing

Fin is $0.99 per outcome, on top of seats, so the cost moves with volume. Some teams prefer AI that's included in a plan.

The alternatives

We make AskBase, so it's first. The rest are in no particular order. Each says who it suits, what it's good at and what to weigh.

  1. 1

    AskBase

    Teams who want a help centre customers can read, an AI that answers from it, and a shared inbox for the rest.

    Good at

    • A real, published help centre that customers, search engines and the AI all read
    • Answers only from your articles, links its sources, and says “I couldn’t find that” rather than guessing
    • Drafts what's missing from your website, your current help centre or your documents (PDF, Word, Markdown); a person approves every draft
    • Content gaps: the questions it couldn't answer, grouped by meaning and ranked by how often they're asked
    • Import any public help centre by pasting its address; on your domain, every article keeps its address
    • A shared inbox for the questions the AI hands over, with team members and AI answers included in each plan

    Worth weighing

    • No live chat: the chat on your site is the AI, with “Email a person” beside it
    • Email is the only inbox channel: no phone, SMS or messaging apps
    • No SLAs, priorities or automation rules yet
    • The AI answers questions; it doesn't take actions in other systems
    • The Free plan is for one person, without your own domain
    Help centre
    Published on every plan, on your own domain from $29. Each article is for everyone, the AI only, or your team.
    How the AI answers
    Only from your published articles, linking the ones it used. When they don't cover a question, it says so and offers your team. A person approves every AI draft.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox for support email from $29. No live chat, phone or messaging apps.
    Price
    Free, then $29, $79 or $199 a month, with 1, 3, 10 or 25 team members included.
    How the AI is charged
    Included in the plan: 50, 750, 3,000 or 10,000 AI answers a month. No fee per answer or per resolution.

    From the AskBase pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  2. 2

    Help Scout

    Small and mid-sized teams who want one shared inbox across email, chat and messaging apps.

    Good at

    • One inbox for email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger
    • Docs sites alongside the inbox, with several knowledge bases from Standard
    • Basic workflows and an SLA policy from Standard; advanced workflows on Plus
    • Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot integrations and unlimited AI Drafts on Plus

    Worth weighing

    • The AI is an add-on, charged per resolution on top of a per-user plan
    • The free plan allows 100 contacts a month
    Help centre
    Docs sites: 1 on Free, up to 5 by plan, more at $20 a month each.
    How the AI answers
    AI Answers (an add-on) answers from your website or other sources you add, with your team a click away.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox on every plan; live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger from Standard.
    Price
    Free for up to 5 users. Standard $25, Plus $45, Pro $75 per user a month, billed annually (monthly billing costs more).
    How the AI is charged
    AI Answers add-on: $0.75 per resolution, billed monthly, with a 3-month free trial and a monthly spending cap.

    From the Help Scout pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  3. 3

    Zendesk

    Large support teams that need ticket routing, phone and messaging in one place.

    Good at

    • Email ticketing with routing, triggers and automations
    • Messaging, live chat, telephony and AI agents together on Suite plans
    • An AI knowledge base and an AI action builder on Suite plans
    • Skills-based routing and an IVR call tree on Suite Professional

    Worth weighing

    • AI agents and the AI knowledge base need a Suite plan
    • Priced per agent, with AI resolutions beyond the allowance billed
    Help centre
    An AI knowledge base on Suite plans.
    How the AI answers
    AI agents resolve requests or escalate them to a person, with an AI action builder, on Suite plans.
    Inbox and channels
    Email ticketing with routing and automations from Support Team; messaging, live chat and phone on Suite plans.
    Price
    Support Team $19, Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115 per agent a month, billed annually. Suite Enterprise through sales.
    How the AI is charged
    Billed in automated resolutions: 5 or 10 per agent a month included, depending on plan, then $1.50 each committed or $2.00 pay as you go.

    From the Zendesk pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  4. 4

    Freshdesk

    Teams that want a full ticketing help desk with a customer portal and knowledge base.

    Good at

    • Ticketing, shared inbox, customer portal and knowledge base from the first plan
    • Multilingual help desk, intelligent routing and multiple SLA policies on Pro
    • Skill-based routing, sandbox and audit logs on Enterprise

    Worth weighing

    • Priced per agent; AI Agent sessions beyond the first 500 are billed per 100
    • Copilot for agents is a separate add-on
    Help centre
    Customer portal and knowledge base on every plan.
    How the AI answers
    Freddy AI Agent answers customers; Freddy AI Copilot (an add-on) helps agents reply.
    Inbox and channels
    Ticketing and shared inbox on every plan; multilingual help desk and intelligent routing from Pro.
    Price
    Growth $19, Pro $55, Enterprise $89 per agent a month, billed annually (20% less than monthly).
    How the AI is charged
    Freddy AI Agent: first 500 sessions included, then $49 per 100 sessions. Freddy AI Copilot is $29 per agent a month.

    From the Freshdesk pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  5. 5

    Crisp

    Small businesses whose support happens in live chat and messaging apps.

    Good at

    • Website live chat and a shared inbox, even on the free plan
    • WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Line and Viber in one inbox from Essentials
    • A no-code workflow builder for chat flows
    • A flat price per workspace, with 4 to 20+ seats included on paid plans

    Worth weighing

    • The help center starts at Essentials
    • AI is measured in credits, estimated in automated conversations
    Help centre
    From Essentials: your own domain, multiple languages, sitemap and SEO settings.
    How the AI answers
    An AI chatbot built with a no-code workflow builder; an AI agent trained on your data on Plus.
    Inbox and channels
    Live chat and shared inbox on Free; WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Line and Viber from Essentials.
    Price
    Free with 2 seats, then Mini $45, Essentials $95, Plus $295 a month per workspace. Extra agents $10 a month.
    How the AI is charged
    AI credits included: $5 on Mini (around 90 automated conversations), $25 on Essentials (around 450), $75 on Plus (around 1,350). None on Free.

    From the Crisp pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  6. 6

    Chatbase

    Teams that want a configurable AI agent that takes actions, on several channels.

    Good at

    • AI Actions on every plan (5, 8 or 12 per agent)
    • The agent on Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Shopify from Hobby
    • A choice of models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and others
    • Voice and telephony from Standard

    Worth weighing

    • One AI agent per plan; more are $300 per agent a year
    • 2, 3 or 5 team seats; removing “Powered By Chatbase” is $1,188 a year
    Help centre
    Not listed on its pricing page.
    How the AI answers
    An AI agent trained on the sources you add, with AI Actions; Pro suggests sources to add.
    Inbox and channels
    Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram from Hobby; a helpdesk inbox, voice and telephony from Standard.
    Price
    Hobby $40, Standard $150, Pro $500 a month, or $32, $120 and $400 a month billed yearly. 7-day trial.
    How the AI is charged
    700, 4,000 or 15,000 message credits a month; more at $40 per 1,000 on auto recharge.

    From the Chatbase pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

Which one to choose

  • A help centre people can read, an AI that answers only from it, and a shared inbox for the rest: AskBase
  • One shared inbox across email, chat, SMS and messaging apps: Help Scout
  • A large ticketing team with phone support and routing: Zendesk or Freshdesk
  • Live chat and messaging apps for a small business: Crisp
  • An AI agent that takes actions on channels like WhatsApp and Slack: Chatbase
  • Live chat plus an AI that carries out workflows: stay with Intercom

Questions people ask

What's the best alternative to Intercom?
It depends on what you use Intercom for. If you want answers in a help centre people can read, with an AI that answers only from it and a shared inbox for the rest, AskBase is built for that. If you need live chat across many channels, Help Scout or Crisp are closer to Intercom.
Is there an Intercom alternative built around a help centre?
AskBase is. Your articles are a published help centre that customers and search engines read; the AI answers from the same pages, links them, and says when they don't cover a question. What it couldn't answer becomes a list of articles to write, drafted for a person to approve.
How is Intercom Fin priced?
Intercom's pricing page lists Fin at $0.99 per outcome, charged at most once per conversation, on top of seats from $29 a month billed annually. We checked it on 15 October 2026.
Can I move my Intercom help center to AskBase?
If it's public, yes. Paste its address and AskBase imports the articles. Point your domain at AskBase and each article keeps its address, so links and search rankings carry over.
Does AskBase have live chat?
No. The chat on your site is the AI, answering from your help centre, with “Email a person” beside it. Those messages arrive in your shared inbox and your team replies by email.
How were these facts checked?
Each comes from the tool's own pricing page, read on 15 October 2026, and each entry links to it. Where a page doesn't say something, we leave it out rather than guess.

More comparisons

Try AskBase on your own help centre

Paste its address and see the AI answering from your articles before you change anything.