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10 Best Intercom Alternatives To Escape Unpredictable Pricing

Intercom’s pricing model can make it unaffordable for many growing businesses. If you’re looking to switch from Intercom to a new tool, consider this list of the best Intercom alternatives and competitors.
10 Best Intercom Alternatives To Escape Unpredictable Pricing
Alex Kinsella
June 1, 2023
10 Best Intercom Alternatives To Escape Unpredictable Pricing
Table of Contents

Tired of paying Intercom's high fees? I can relate.

Intercom's pricing model can be a real headache, leading to those dreaded, jaw-dropping bills that make you question your life choices (just kidding).

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Is there a way out of this never-ending cycle of unpredictable charges?" Well, my friend, you're in luck. I've been down that road, testing out various Intercom alternatives and experiencing the pros and cons of each Intercom competitor firsthand.

Whether you're tired of playing a guessing game with your monthly charges on Intercom or simply on the hunt for a more wallet-friendly solution, you've come to the right place. In this blog post, I'll be your trusty guide as we explore the best Intercom alternatives out there. We'll delve into their features, pricing, and overall value, so you can make an informed decision that fits your needs and budget.

Need a quick summary? Here are our top 3 Intercom alternatives:

Option Best for Pricing
Front Best Intercom alternative for non-support teams that just need a way to collaborate as a team on customer/client emails. Pricing starts at $19/user/month
LiveChat Chat-heavy teams and messaging. Pricing starts at $20/month
HubSpot Lower-cost solution for teams already using HubSpot Marketing or Sales Hub. Free plan with paid options starting at $45/month

Why you can trust TestBox’s guides: Unlike other publications, we have no incentive to encourage you to buy a specific tool. Our goal at TestBox is to help software buyers find the absolute best tools for their companies. Our free software lets you test and compare popular tools side-by-side, and our guides are designed solely to give you the information you need to decide which tools you want to test!

9 best Intercom alternatives and competitors

To compile this list and help you in your software purchasing decision, we looked at a multitude of criteria for tools, with a focus on:

  1. Feature parity: All tools aren’t created equally, but all of the alternatives we’re featuring offer the same core functionality as Intercom.
  2. Customer reviews: The best way to choose an alternative is by asking those who use them daily. We pulled the best reviews from verified users on G2. 
  3. Customer ratings: Using G2, we only include alternatives with a rating of 4+ out of 5 stars.

1. Front

Best Intercom alternative for team email collaboration

Front is an outstanding Intercom alternative for non-support teams seeking a collaborative solution for managing customer and client emails. Its Gmail-inspired design ensures a familiar interface, while its shared inbox feature centralizes customer messages, allowing team members to access all communication channels in one place.

Key features of Front include a shared inbox that streamlines team collaboration on customer emails. Users can utilize tags and filters to manage messages efficiently, with options to snooze and close tickets. Front's internal collaboration tools enable seamless teamwork on client communications, ensuring a well-coordinated approach.

Front also offers no-code automation, empowering users to create "if-then" workflows that trigger actions across various channels. This feature helps non-support teams maintain efficient and effective communication processes with clients and customers.

With numerous integrations, including Zoho, Zapier, Salesforce, and Murios, Front expands its capabilities and connectivity, making it an ideal choice for non-support teams that need a comprehensive solution for managing customer emails.

Pricing

Front's pricing plans start at $19/user per month (annual only) for the Starter plan. The Growth plan ($49/user per month) and Scale plan ($99/user per month) cater to most teams' needs, while the Premier plan ($229/user per month) offers advanced features and enterprise-level service for those requiring more extensive support.

Test drive Front for free using TestBox and compare it side-by-side with other popular customer support tools.

Related Reading: Best Front Alternatives

2. HubSpot Service Hub

Best lower-cost Intercom alternative for teams already using HubSpot

Hubspot Service Hub is a fantastic lower-cost Intercom alternative, particularly for teams already using HubSpot Marketing or Sales Hub. It combines all your communication channels into one CRM, streamlining sales, customer support, and more with automation and self-service tools.

Key features include a customer portal, knowledge base, omni-channel messaging, inbound calling, and live chat, making it a comprehensive solution for customer communication and support.

The platform offers an extensive range of integrations through the HubSpot App Marketplace, covering various popular services such as WooCommerce, Freshdesk, Mailchimp, Netsuite, Constant Contact, and Airtable. This ensures seamless connectivity with your existing tools and services.

Pricing

HubSpot offers a free plan for Service Hub with paid plans ranging from $45 per month for two users to $1,200 per month for their enterprise plan with support for ten users. 

Test drive HubSpot Service Hub for free using TestBox and compare it side-by-side with other popular customer support tools.

Related Reading: Best Hubspot Alternatives

3. LiveChat

Best Intercom alternative for chat-centric teams

HelpDesk: Manage chats and emails in one application | LiveChat Help Center

LiveChat stands out as a remarkable Intercom alternative, particularly for teams focusing on chat and messaging. This comprehensive customer service platform converts website visits into sales and is trusted by leading brands like McDonald’s, Mercedes Benz, and Unilever.

Notable LiveChat features include real-time chat tools, personalized customer engagement, custom chat widgets via LiveChat API, efficient ticketing, and enhanced eCommerce support. These tools enable agents to respond quickly, tailor messaging based on customer behavior, create custom chat experiences, connect multiple support channels, and share custom product cards across channels.

With over 200 integrations in their Marketplace, LiveChat ensures compatibility with popular services like WhatsApp, MailChimp, HubSpot, Zendesk, Salesforce, Shopify, and Campaign Monitor.

Pricing

LiveChat has a 14-day free trial. Their monthly pricing ranges from $16–$50 per agent.

4. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is another great alternative to Intercom focused on streamlining customer and employee engagement. This cloud-based platform consolidates various communication channels into tickets, equipping reps with the necessary context to provide top-notch support.

Notable Freshdesk features include efficient ticketing, seamless collaboration, time-saving automation, a versatile Help Widget, and comprehensive analytics. These tools enable quick ticket assignment, simultaneous agent work on tickets, automated task handling, and customer assistance through the Help Widget. Additionally, the platform offers rich analytics for optimizing support workflows.

With over 1,000 integrations in their Marketplace, Freshdesk ensures compatibility with popular services like Salesforce, Shopify, Slack, MailChimp, Stripe, and HubSpot.

Pricing

FreshDesk’s free plan includes support for up to 10 agents with email and social ticketing, a knowledge base, and ticket management. Their paid plans range from $15–$79 per agent per month.

Test drive Freshdesk for free using TestBox and compare it side-by-side with other popular customer support tools.

Related Reading: Best Freshdesk Competitors

5. HelpCrunch

HelpCrunch helpdesk software

Since 2016, HelpCrunch’s platform has helped connect support, marketing, and sales teams with customers over email, chat, and social. HelpCrunch uses customer data to let agents and reps know what channel is best to boost engagement, provide excellent customer service, or convert conversations into leads.

Key features

  • Live chat: HelpCrunch uses proactive messaging to engage customers before they even know they want to ask a question. You can also speed up your agents’ response times using pre-chat forms.
  • Email marketing: HelpCrunch’s email marketing tools help automate email marketing campaigns, create newsletters, and can be used to respond to chats after the user has left your website.
  • Pop-ups: Capture users’ attention as they leave your website with branded popups. You can also create targeted popups for authenticated users with HelpCrunch.
  • Mobile Software Development Kits (SDK): Mobile is where users spend most of their time—HelpCrunch’s mobile SDKs for iOS and Android let you build branded chat features directly into your mobile apps.

Key Integrations

  • Zapier
  • Slack
  • Messenger
  • Instagram
  • WordPress
  • Shopify

Pricing

HelpCrunch pricing ranges from $12–$20 per month per user.

Related Reading: Best Help Crunch Alternatives

6. LiveAgent

Live agent helpdesk

LiveAgent is an all-in-one help desk software for customer support teams and is used by industry-leaders including BMW, Yamaha, and Huawei. The platform brings real-time chat, universal inbox, and over 175+ help desk features together along with a built-in CRM to keep track of critical customer data.

Key features

  • Ticketing: LiveAgent’s universal inbox combines email, chat, and social channels into one channel that multiple agents can manage. The system converts requests into tickets and connects to its knowledge base tool to get answers to your customers at the click of a mouse.
  • Live chat: LiveAgent’s chat feature includes proactive messaging, chat history, and analytics to help streamline your support process.
  • Call center: With LiveChat’s call center, your agents can support customers with call-back requests, intelligent routing, transfers, and unlimited call recording so your business can see how agents perform and improve your support scripts.

Key Integrations

  • WordPress
  • Prestashop
  • Magento
  • Shopify
  • Mailchimp
  • Pipedrive
  • Slack

Pricing

LiveAgent pricing ranges from $15–$49 per agent per month.

Related Reading: Best LiveAgent Alternatives

7. Tidio

Tidio offers live chat and chat bot products used on over 300,000 websites worldwide. Their chat widget is easy to implement using integrations with Shopify, WordPress, Wix, and other platforms—or use their JavaScript code to get started.

Key features

  • Visitor list: Tidio uses real-time visitor monitoring to identify what customers and prospects are looking at so you can start a conversation at the right time. 
  • Email inbox: Tidio offers the table-stakes feature of a single inbox that combines all your customer channels into one easy-to-manage dashboard.
  • Shared inbox: As your business grows, so does your team. Tidio’s shared inbox lets multiple agents engage with a customer to provide answers and connect the customer or prospect with the right person.
  • Instagram and Messenger chat bots: Tidio chat bots can send product suggestions to customers during the chat. The bots can even offer discounts based on behavior and targeting.

Key Integrations

  • Shopify
  • WordPress
  • Squarespace
  • WIX
  • PrestaShop

Pricing

Tidio offers a free plan to get started with monthly plans from $19–$49.

Related Reading: Best Tidio Alternatives

8. Help Scout

Over 12,000 businesses, from Trello to Honey, use Help Scout to provide exceptional customer experiences. The proof is in the rankings—Help Scout was ranked Best ROI by customers on G2. One noticeable gap is Help Scout's lack of automation features.

Key features

  • Live chat: All our alternatives have a live chat feature, and Help Scout is no different. Their Beacon product gives your customers options for how they want to contact you and can even take requests when you’re unavailable.
  • Shared inbox: Help Scout uses a familiar email-like interface to make responding to customers easy—no matter how they contacted your support team.
  • Knowledge base: Fewer conversations and happier customers. That’s what Help Scout says their knowledge base feature provides with an easy-to-use CMS and secure customer portal.
  • Messaging: Help Scout’s messaging tool, Beacon, can be embedded on your website, enabling your customers to start a message or find answers from your knowledge base without searching for your contact info.
  • CRM: You’ve built up a library of customer data with every interaction. Help Scout put that data alongside each customer support request so your agents have the complete picture.

Key Integrations

  • HubSpot
  • Jira
  • Salesforce
  • Slack
  • Google Apps
  • Shopify
  • Zapier

Pricing

Help Scout has monthly plans ranging from $20 to $60 per user.

Test drive Help Scout for free using TestBox and compare it side-by-side with other popular customer support tools.

Related Reading: Intercom vs. Help Scout

9. Zendesk

Zendesk is often the first name that comes to mind when thinking about support platforms. More than 170,000 customers use them globally to provide support, sales, and engagement tools that build better customer relationships. 

Key features

  • Ticketing: Tickets are the core of every great customer support system. Zendesk’s ticketing is the central hub in the agent dashboard for all customer interactions, connecting all your channels to help your agents provide fantastic customer service.
  • Conversation experiences: Zendesk offers widgets and an API to provide built-in chat across your website and mobile app. Their no-code and low-code tools let anyone build chat experiences that will amaze your customers.
  • Knowledge base: Give a person an answer; you’ve helped for a day. Give a person access to a comprehensive knowledge base, and you’ve helped for a lifetime. Zendesk’s knowledge base makes it easy for customers to find answers on their terms.
  • Voice: We may have gotten rid of our landlines, but when it comes to support channels, voice can often be the fastest way to get an answer. Zendesk offers built-in voice calls directly from their agent dashboard.
  • Community forum: Customers today are comfortable—and sometimes prefer—to get answers from fellow users who have been there and done that. Zendesk allows your customers to collaborate in a branded community forum.

Key Integrations

Zendesk offers apps and themes to customize your Zendesk experience. Some of the more popular integrations include:

  • Trello
  • Zoom
  • Slack
  • Shopify
  • HubSpot

Pricing

Zendesk has a basic support plan for $19 per month, with advanced plans from $49–$99 per month. All of their plans have a free trial option.

Test drive Zendesk for free using TestBox and compare it side-by-side with other popular customer support tools.

Related Reading: The Best Zendesk Alternatives

10. Drift

In today’s world, companies don’t control sales—customers do. That’s the drive behind Drift’s mission to provide powerful conversational communication tools focused on sales. Drift is used by over 50,000 customers, including Adobe, Okta, Mindbody, and more.

Drift's key features include customizable live chat with multiple inboxes for organized conversations, enabling sales teams to connect with leads and improve conversions directly on a business's website. With custom chatbots, Drift ensures personalized responses and prompts tailored to each conversation. Their conversation AI allows businesses to create intelligent 24/7 chatbots for continuous customer and sales support.

Drift Video enhances engagement by enabling personalized videos and GIFs. Additionally, Drift provides robust reporting tools with website engagement metrics, insights, and analytics, empowering businesses to enhance their sales and support processes.

Drift integrates with key platforms like Salesforce, Marketo, Drip, Hubspot, Slack, and Zapier, streamlining business processes and enhancing user experience.

Pricing

Drift’s pricing starts at $600 per month for 10 seats. They offer a limited free plan to try out the platform that supports up to 100 contacts.

Which is the best Intercom alternative?

Well, it really depends on your team's needs and budget. Let's explore some top Intercom alternatives that cater to different requirements.

Option A: Front

If your team is more focused on email collaboration without the need for extensive support features, Front is a fantastic choice. It streamlines communication and ensures efficient responses, making teamwork a breeze.

Option B: LiveChat

For those chat-centric teams looking to boost customer engagement and drive sales, LiveChat is your go-to option. With its powerful platform, you'll be able to connect with customers in real-time and turn website visits into sales opportunities.

Option C: Hubspot Service Hub

Lastly, if you're after a cost-effective solution and already using Hubspot Marketing or Sales Hub, HubSpot Service Hub is worth considering. It offers a comprehensive suite of customer engagement tools, making it an excellent all-rounder for your support needs.

We also know that seeing is believing. With TestBox, you can test and compare different customer support software in just a few clicks. We’re also free to use. Compare and test help desk software side-by-side for free.

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