9 best Intercom alternatives in 2024 (free & paid)

If you're looking for an Intercom alternative, there are several options available that can provide similar functionality for your customer communications and engagement needs.

In this article, we will explore some of the top Intercom alternatives for 2023, highlighting their key features, pros and cons, and pricing information.

Before diving into alternatives, let's briefly explore Intercom itself first.

What type of tool is Intercom?

Source: intercom.com

Intercom is a customer communications platform that mainly focuses on customer support. Although it has evolved since its beginning as a live chat widget, providing customer support occurs to be of secondary importance.

While live chat and chatbot automation are useful tools for delivering website-based customer service, complete support teams require a more extensive range of services such as ticketing, reporting, knowledge base management, and other essential features.

Key features

Recently, Intercom released an AI-powered chatbot called Fin, designed to handle half of all website visitors' queries, improving customer satisfaction.

Fin is a powerful addition to the main Intercom features:

• channels: emails and live chat,

• communication: pop-up chat, in-app messaging, notifications, emails,

• team inbox (shared inbox),

• knowledge base,

• help desk,

• product tours,

• chatbots,

• ticketing system,

• customizable platform,

• series (a mixture of all outbound notifications, including chatbot campaigns, email campaigns, product tours, etc.)

Drawbacks

• high prices,

• unpredictable billing.

Pricing

9 Intercom alternatives for 2023

Here are the eight best customer service software alternatives to Intercom:

1. Chatfuel

2. Zendesk

3. Tidio

4. Freshdesk

5. ClickDesk

6. Olark

7. HubSpot Services Hub

8. LiveChat

9. HelpCrunch

Let's have a more detailed look into intercom alternatives on our list.

1. Chatfuel

Source: chatfuel.com

Chatfuel is an advanced messaging platform for automating business communication. It's user friendly interface lets you build a smart AI-powered chatbot for automated messaging via your website widget or social media like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and other.

Chatfuel helps businesses seamlessly improve customer service, lead generation and qualification, enhance engagement, and drive growth and sales.

In addition, you can create and track your customer profiles for personalized product recommendations, follow-up messages, and more.

7M+ customers, from small business brands to market giants like Adidas, Netflix, and VISA, have been using Chatfuel for automating marketing tasks and communication since 2015.

Chatfuel customers use the platform to automate:

• replies to FAQs in comments and direct messages in real time,

• proactive messaging abandoned cart reminders; re-engage notifications, product updates, etc.;

• ads: algorithmic optimization, personalized reply buttons, tracking tools, etc.,

• sales: tracking customer preferences, personalized offers and deals, purchases in a chat, etc.

Key features

• channels: live chat, social media,

• communication: in-app messaging, notifications,

• chatbots,

• knowledge base,

• ChatGPT and other integrations,

• tracking tools,

• analytics,

• A/B testing,

• team inbox,

• in-chat purchases,

• ticketing system,

• customizable platform.

Drawbacks

• billing depends on the number of conversations.

Pricing

Chatfuel offers a free trial to let users can explore the AI-boosted automation before paying a cent.

2. Zendesk

Source: zendesk.com

Zendesk is a customer service platform that offers various features to enhance customer engagement.

You can use auto messages in live chat and outbound notifications on WhatsApp and SMS to interact with customers more effectively.

Additionally, Zendesk provides advanced reporting, collects user feedback through customer satisfaction surveys, and shows trends and areas where you can improve your services.

Key features

• channels: emails and live chat,

• communication: pop-up chat, in-app messaging, notifications, emails,

• knowledge base,

• help desk,

• chatbots,

• ticketing system,

• customizable platform.

Drawbacks

• lack of customer support,

• difficult to optimize the platform for specific business needs.

Pricing

Zendeck for service or sales costs from $19 per month for basic plans, and from $55 per month for suite plans.

3. Tidio

Source: tidio.com

Tidio is a customer service platform that allows you to communicate with your customers in real-time via live chat software.

With Tidio, your customer support agents can address customer inquiries promptly, offer tailored support, and enhance customer satisfaction.

The platform automates responses to ensure efficient customer interactions, qualify leads, and guide visitors to relevant information. Additionally, Tidio integrates with CRMs and email marketing automation for full-scale customer relationship management.

You can also use advanced reporting and automation workflows to optimize your customer experience.

Key features

• channels: emails, live chat, social media,

• communication: pop-up chat, in-app messaging, notifications, emails,

• knowledge base,

• help desk,

• chatbots,

• team inbox,

• ticketing system,

• route to human,

• customizable platform.

Drawbacks

• high prices,

• lack of native knowledge base features,

• difficult to build a chatbot and email campaigns.

Pricing

4. Freshdesk

Source: freshworks.com

Freshdesk is a customer service platform that allows businesses to manage visitor inquiries and improve customer communication through different channels like email, phone, chat, and social media, all in a single, unified dashboard.

It is known for its efficient handling of customer inquiries and ensuring effective communication between businesses and customers.

Key features

• channels: emails, phone, live chat, social media,

• communication: pop-up chat, in-app messaging, notifications, emails,

• chatbots,

• knowledge base,

• help desk,

• ticketing system,

• customizable platform.

Drawbacks

• high prices,

• tool complexity,

• need to train a team to use it,

• difficult to optimize the platform for specific business needs.

Pricing

5. ClickDesk

Source: clickdesk.com

ClickDesk stands out from other support platforms by offering voice and video support and live chat. This feature enables support agents to assist customers with complex issues and resolve them through live chat.

Also, ClickDesk allows you to integrate social media tools with live chat to increase your website's followers and engagement.

Key features

• channels: emails, live chat with voice and video support, social media,

• communication: pop-up chat, in-app messaging, notifications, emails,

• mobile app,

• team inbox,

• knowledge base,

• help desk,

• chatbots,

• ticketing system,

• customizable platform.

Drawbacks

• lack of features,

• tool complexity,

• lack of customer support,

• slow platform development.

Pricing

6. Olark

Source: olark.com

Olark is a live chat and user engagement platform to enhance business communication with customers and improve customer service.

Businesses can offer immediate support and personalized assistance by interacting with website visitors in real-time. Live chat ensures efficient customer interaction, ticketing, and routing, ensuring that suitable customer support agents promptly address user inquiries.

You can also review reporting dashboards to check its effectiveness and get more insights.

Key features

• channels: live chat,

• communication: pop-up chat, notifications,

• team inbox,

• chatbots,

• customizable platform.

Drawbacks

• lack of features.

Pricing

Olark offers a free trial, a fully-featured live chat for $29/mo, and Olark Pro for custom pricing.

7. HubSpot Service Hub

Source: hubspot.com

HubSpot is a widely used marketing tool that offers a range of features to SaaS (software as a service) and other online businesses. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools for creating landing pages, generating leads, automating email marketing, supporting customers, sales prospecting, operations, and more.

This makes HubSpot a logical alternative to Intercom for larger brands who already have experience with or are using other aspects of this tool.

Key features

• channels: emails, live chat,

• communication: pop-up chat, in-app messaging, notifications, emails,

• chatbots,

• knowledge base,

• help desk,

• team inbox,

• ticketing system,

• customizable platform.

Drawbacks

• high prices,

• tool complexity,

• need to train a team to use it,

• lack of native knowledge base features.

Pricing

8. LiveChat

Source: livechat.com

LiveChat offers a scope of features that assist businesses with support, sales, and marketing, making it a tool similar to Intercom but with a lower cost.

Also, LiveChat's support tool is comprehensive and equipped with reporting, ticketing solutions, routing rules, and other features. Their impressive live chat tool features automation and canned responses, chat transfers, and personalization.

Key features

• channels: live chat,

• communication: pop-up chat, in-app messaging, notifications,

• chatbots,

• knowledge base,

• team inbox,

• ticketing system,

• customizable platform.

Drawbacks

• tool complexity,

• need to train a team to use it.

Pricing

Starts at $20 per agent per month.

9. HelpCrunch

Source: helpcrunch.com

HelpCrunch is a platform for business communication that focuses on customer service. Also, it offers customer profiles that collect user data such as purchase history and personal details. This allows support agents to personalize and improve customer communication. Additionally, a chatbot can handle user queries or transfer them to a live agent when necessary.

Key features

• channels: live chat, emails, and social media,

• communication: in-app messaging, notifications,

• chatbots,

• knowledge base,

• team inbox,

• ticketing system,

• catching customer profile data.

Drawbacks

• no AI built-in,

• reactive chatbot.

Pricing

Starts at $15 per agent per month.

Comparison table of tools similar to Intercom

We have created a comparison table of Intercom alternatives to help you find the best one for your business needs.

To make your choice easier, we made a similar table for Intercom:

FAQs

Can you use Intercom for free?

Yes. Intercom offers a free 14 days trial.

Here's how you can sign up and claim it:

1. Go to Intercom.com.

2. Click 'Get started' and enter your business email address.

Then, your 14-day trial begins. You can start setting up and using Intercom.

If you want to keep using Intercom after a free trial, purchase a paid plan or contact sales team.

Is Intercom like Zendesk?

If you have a complex support process and need a help desk functionality, then Zendesk is a great alternative to Intercom. However, it may be expensive for smaller businesses as it mainly targets larger enterprises. On the other hand, if you're a sales-oriented corporation and require automation options, then Intercom is a suitable choice. Keep in mind that Intercom may also be expensive for smaller businesses.

Both platforms offer a free 14 day trial. The monthly prices start from $19 at Zendesk and $74 at Intercom.

Below is the comparison table of Intercom and Zendesk features.

Which Intercom alternative is the best for your business?

When looking for alternatives to Intercom, it's important to consider your specific needs and requirements. The alternatives mentioned in this article offer a range of features and pricing options, allowing you to find the best fit for your business.

Whether you're looking for a customer service platform, automated messaging capabilities, desk software, or improved customer satisfaction, these Intercom alternatives have got you covered.

Remember to do your own research and explore each alternative in more detail to make an informed decision.