Decoding Intercom: Complete guide to Intercom pricing plans 2024 - Freshworks
May 08, 202412 MINS READ
Overview
Intercom’s pricing structure can be complex and potentially overwhelming for the average user. Despite its comprehensive feature set, the intricate pricing plans may not align with your needs. Variables such as company size and user count can lead to unpredictable billing, making it difficult to select the most suitable plan. Moreover, the starting prices are relatively high.
On the other hand, Freshworks presents a more straightforward and cost-effective solution suitable for businesses of all sizes. It offers a variety of features designed to cater to a wide range of customer service needs. Freshworks’ intuitive interface and user-friendly setup make it stand out for its ease of use and administration.
Furthermore, their dedicated product support ensures timely assistance for users.
One of the main benefits of Freshworks is its competitive pricing plans. With prices starting at just ₹1,499 per agent per month for the Essential Plan, Freshworks provides a cost-effective solution without sacrificing functionality. As your support team expands, you can smoothly upgrade to the Advanced Plan (₹3,999 per agent per month) or the Expert Plan (₹6,399 per agent per month) to access more features and capabilities.
Freshworks encompasses all the essential features needed to deliver outstanding customer service, from messenger for conversational marketing to AI-driven chatbots and proactive support upgrades. With Freshworks, businesses can streamline customer interactions, increase agent productivity, and improve customer satisfaction.
Experience the transformation Freshworks can bring to your customer support services by signing up for a free demo and a 14-day trial with full functionality.
Key features of Intercom
Let’s explore the features of Intercom, a customer service platform that helps businesses engage with their customers effectively. Here are some key features:
Help Desk: Merge your email and tickets, and help center into a unified workspace enhanced by AI, enabling efficient management of customer inquiries.
AI Chatbot (Fin): Utilize Intercom's AI Chatbot, Fin, to handle common queries, reduce support workload, and enable your team to focus on more intricate issues.
Proactive Support: Engage customers through contextual, automated messages to assist preemptively, addressing concerns before they arise.
Intercom Platform: Leveraging the Intercom Platform, users can automate tasks, publish self-help articles, track performance metrics, gather comprehensive customer data, customize messaging, conduct phone and video calls, and integrate with third-party tools via the App Store.
Custom Actions and Objects: Integrate external data seamlessly with Intercom bots to enhance customer interactions.
Switch: Transition phone conversations to Messenger for streamlined support at scale.
Although in-product messaging stands as their primary offering, Intercom presents a variety of additional features:
Help desk software (Team Inbox)
Basic CRM
Email marketing (Outbound Messaging combined with multi-channel Campaigns)
Knowledge base (Help Center Articles)
Product tours
Bots
Banners
Intercom has recently launched its AI chatbot, Fin, which is designed to optimize customer service, sales, and marketing processes, thereby decreasing support volumes.
Fin’s features include engaging in natural language conversations, smoothly transitioning to human assistance, promptly clarifying queries, and prioritising custom responses over those generated by AI. It also offers a dedicated inbox for streamlined communication. Furthermore, Fin is equipped with several advanced enhancements and workflows to speed up support and sales tasks. However, it’s important to note that some of Fin’s features are yet to be released.
Intercom pricing overview
Navigating Intercom's pricing structure can be challenging, characterized by complexity, unpredictability, and what some may perceive as steep costs. While Intercom undeniably offers decent features, particularly beneficial for enterprises with sizable customer support teams, affordability remains a concern.
The main issues with Intercom's pricing include:
Confusing pricing plans that make it difficult to determine which plan aligns best with your requirements.
Unpredictable billing is tied to monthly user count, company size, and specific demands.
High starting prices, which may deter potential users.
Intercom's pricing could be more straightforward. It's not just about the number of seats; they also charge for active contacts and the number of queries resolved by their AI chatbot, Fin. This makes it hard to predict costs accurately, especially as your business grows. Comparing their pricing with competitors like Freshworks shows similar challenges.
How does Intercom pricing work?
Understanding how Intercom calculates its pricing is essential once you integrate it into your workflow. There are three key factors:
Resolutions: You're charged 99 cents per month for each resolution handled by Fin, the chatbot if it's installed.
People reached: This includes a minimum of 1000 unique users who received at least one Outbound message.
Channel support charges:
Per email sent: From $0.003-$0.045
Per SMS sent/received: From $0.035-$0.18
Per WhatsApp conversation: $0.03-$0.10
Per minute phone call: $0.0035
Now, let's delve deeper into the specifics:
Subscription: You choose a subscription plan on a monthly or yearly basis. The Starter plan, suitable for small teams and ideal for Fin usage, starts at $39/month (monthly billing) for 1 seat. However, full access requires providing credit card details and upgrading.
Fin pricing: After a free 14-day trial, Fin costs $0.99 per resolution handled.
Additional seats: Each additional agent seat incurs an extra charge, varying based on your plan. For example, each additional seat costs $19/month (up to 25 seats) on the Starter plan. The pricing changes for other plans.
People reached: Your monthly fee fluctuates based on the number of unique users who engage with Outbound messages or Custom Bots. For the Starter plan, this minimum is 1000.
Add-ons: Additional features like Product Tours, WhatsApp, and Surveys require separate payment. Proactive Support Plus starts at $499/month.
Intercom 'Early Stage' Subscription: An option for early-stage startups that offers a 95% discount on Support and Engage Pro and Product Tours. However, it comes with stringent requirements and lasts only one year before transitioning to regular plans.
Calculating your monthly Intercom invoice can be complex, given these factors
Intercom pricing examples
Intercom's pricing spans a wide range, sometimes exceeding $1000, particularly with their Pro and Premium versions encompassing subscription fees, agent seats, and add-ons. Costs vary depending on individual requirements, commonly falling between $500 to $1000 for access to Intercom's robust features.
Before delving into Intercom's pricing plans, it's crucial to understand how they're structured. Four primary factors shape Intercom's prices to suit each company:
Company size
Number of active employees
Desired features
Scale of business operations
Let’s delve into the pricing details - Intercom offers three main plans, each tailored to different needs:
Essential Plan ($39 per seat/month):
Ideal for individuals, startups, and small businesses.
Key features include:
Help desk: Connect your inbox, tickets, and help center in one central, AI-enhanced workspace.
Shared Inbox: Manage conversations collaboratively.
Basic chatbots and automations: Simple bots for triaging conversations and gathering customer information.
Public help center: A web page for customers to find support content.
Unlimited articles and collections: Publish and organize articles.
Fin AI compose: Enhance replies using AI.
Advanced plan ($99 per seat/month):
Recommended for growing support teams.
Includes all Essential features plus:
Powerful automation tools: Automate tasks and workflows.
Fin AI summarize: Summarize conversations using AI.
Multilingual help center: Provide self-service support in multiple languages.
AI chatbot (Fin): Dramatically reduce support volume with breakthrough AI.
Expert plan ($139 per seat/month):
Designed for large support teams.
Offers collaboration, security, and reporting tools.
Includes all Advanced features plus:
Workload management: Assign critical conversations efficiently.
Fin AI compose (My tone of voice): Rewrite replies in your tone.
Multiple help centers: Separate knowledge bases for different products or brands.
Remember, Intercom also provides add-ons like product tours. Explore their plans and pricing page for a detailed breakdown of features and transparent pricing.
Best Intercom alternatives
Intercom is a powerful platform that streamlines customer conversations, automates help desk operations, and offers AI-driven chatbots. However, its premium pricing often leads users to seek alternatives that provide similar features at a more affordable cost. Identifying such alternatives is crucial for businesses of all sizes.
The market is replete with numerous Intercom alternatives, each boasting a variety of tools, widgets, and customizable add-ons. While some of these platforms offer extensive feature sets, others focus on user-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, or additional benefits. Let’s explore some of these noteworthy alternatives in detail:
1. Freshdesk Omni:
A customer engagement platform emphasizing live chat and messaging capabilities for real-time customer interaction.
Features include bespoke email marketing campaigns, data encryption, and a mobile app for on-the-go communications.
Pricing options range from a free trial to tiered plans starting at $15 per user per month.
2. HelpCrunch:
Provides support across different communication channels, combining all interactions into one dashboard.
Known for its support and reasonable pricing.
Offers a free trial, a basic plan starting at $12 per user per month, and a pro plan at $20 per user per month.
3. Olark:
Tailored for small to mid-sized businesses, specializing in live chat systems and AI-driven chatbots for website communication.
Includes automation, live chat engagement, and chat transcript recall.
Pricing options vary from a free trial to plans starting at $29 per user per month.
4. Crisp:
A communication platform known for its customer support and quick help desk responses.
It provides a free basic plan and paid options starting at $25 per month for four users.
Features a shared inbox for managing multiple chats and automated messages.
5. Customerly:
Offers unlimited contacts and communication channels between teams and customers, with active customer support.
Includes a free trial and a pro plan priced at $82 per month for ten users.
6. Twilio:
Uses customer data to customize communications and responses, improving customer relationships.
Features data-driven responses, interactive audio and video options, and a large database for analyzing customer data.
Provides a free trial with pricing based on feature usage.
7. Hubspot Service Hub:
Provides messaging and inbox management for easier customer communications across various platforms.
Offers plans ranging from a free basic CRM to professional and enterprise tiers starting at $45 and $375 per month, respectively.
8. Drift:
Focuses on conversational marketing and sales, offering real-time messaging, lead generation, and AI-led chatbots.
Offers a free plan and custom pricing for advanced features.
Features real-time messaging, lead generation, and AI-led chatbots.
These alternatives provide diverse options for businesses seeking cost-effective solutions for customer engagement and support. Evaluating factors such as social media integration, growth plans, and customer support can help you select the most suitable Intercom alternative for your business needs.
How SMS pricing works?
Intercom offers an optional SMS add-on for its customers, allowing personalized two-way messaging for various purposes such as product promotion, appointment scheduling, and account change notifications.
Users can use Intercom's SMS tool to send automated, targeted messages triggered by specific events, such as trial sign-ups.
Intercom's SMS tool is noted for boosting engagement, with a 98% open rate compared to the average email open rate of just 16.97%. Here's a breakdown of how the pricing works:
Users are charged based on the number of activated phone numbers they have (from which they send SMS messages) and the total number of messages sent and received each month.
The cost of one activated phone number includes up to 500 SMS messages per month, priced at $15 in the U.S.
For example, if a user in the U.S. wishes to send 1000 messages per month, they would pay for one activated phone number plus an additional $15, totalling $30.
Who is Intercom for?
Intercom suits businesses of varying sizes, ranging from startups to large enterprises. Now, let's explore its offerings tailored to each stage.
Early stage
Startups can benefit from Intercom's Early Stage Program, which grants a substantial 95% discount on the regular price. This equates to $39 per month for a year.
In addition to accessing Intercom's core features, participants in the Early Stage Program gain entry to the Intercom Academy. This learning hub offers courses on automation, Fin, and the Intercom software itself.
To be eligible for the Early Stage Program, businesses must meet specific criteria:
Less than two years old
Received less than $1 million in funding
Reach fewer than 1,000 people per month
Have fewer than 5 employees
Not currently an Intercom customer
Small businesses
For small businesses that don't meet the Early Stage Program requirements, Intercom offers the Starter plan starting at $79 per month when billed annually. This plan is tailored for small teams, helping them manage communications efficiently and gather valuable data for scaling with insights.
Intercom's array of integrations further enhances its appeal for small businesses, allowing seamless connectivity with social media channels, Google Analytics, and Mailchimp to streamline customer communications.
Mid-market and enterprise
Pricing for mid-market and enterprise businesses can range from $300 to over $1,000 based on data from various review websites.
Intercom supports the scaling efforts of mid-market and enterprise businesses by facilitating increased customer interaction and providing robust data analytics capabilities. Its enterprise-level security ensures data protection and privacy, including GDPR, SOC 2, ISO27001, and HIPAA compliance.
Intercom's efficiency is advantageous for large businesses, saving considerable time and resources by automating customer queries, onboarding communications, and marketing interactions throughout the customer journey. However, it's worth noting that Intercom's services come at a significant cost for mid-sized and enterprise-level companies. For a more cost-effective option without compromising on features, consider Freshworks.
Freshworks vs. Intercom
Let’s compare Freshworks and Intercom, two powerful customer service platforms, and see which one is on top.
User-Friendly Experience: Freshworks earns accolades from users for its straightforward setup and user-friendly interface. Your team can quickly adapt and efficiently manage customer support tasks. Responsive Support: Freshworks excels in ongoing product support, ensuring prompt assistance whenever required. Their dedicated support team is always ready to address your queries and concerns. Transparent Updates: Freshworks informs users about new features and enhancements through clear updates and roadmaps. You'll stay ahead with the latest tools and functionalities. Cost-Effective Pricing: Freshworks offers competitive pricing plans:
View pricingWhile Intercom penalizes you for growing, with Freshworks, you get transparent pricing without hidden costs.
Key features that make Freshworks stand out include:
Messaging channels:
Engage your customers on channels they love, including Web, Mobile, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Apple Business Chat, and LINE.
Deliver a seamless experience across self-serve and agent-assisted channels.
Chatbots:
Context-driven bots provide instant and precise answers 24/7.
Scale support efficiently using AI-driven bots.
Web widget:
Give your visitors and users a modern messaging experience.
Embed the web widget to enhance communication.
Journeys:
Send targeted messages and proactively reach out to your customers.
Create personalized interactions.
Multilingual support:
Customize your messenger in 33+ languages to cater to diverse audiences.
FAQ:
Help your customers help themselves with built-in FAQs.
Agent productivity:
Turn your agents into superheroes:
IntelliAssign: Auto-assign conversations based on skill levels and load.
Assignment rules: Create advanced rules for conversational AI distribution.
Roles and permissions: Customize access based on roles.
Canned responses: Speed up replies with predefined answers.
Live translate: Reply to customers in their language using real-time translation.
Bulk actions: Perform actions for multiple conversations and team members.
Visitor intel: Understand visitor behavior for better conversations.
Manage conversations:
Stay on top of conversations:
Real-time dashboard: Visual summary of team performance.
Team member reports: Track response rates, resolution rates, and chat volume.
Performance reports: Measure productivity metrics.
Custom reports:
Integrate Freshworks with your BI tool for business-centric metrics.
Remember that Freshworks is crafted to revolutionize your customer service experience and ensure customer satisfaction. Whether you need chatbots, multilingual support, or agent productivity tools, Freshworks has everything you need!