13 Budget-Friendly Best Intercom Alternatives in 2023

Do you think you are a customer success superhero? 

However, your business be; small, medium or large scale. Whatever your role may be; customer success agent, business owner, or marketing and sales executive, providing customer success is a brainer.

Considering the customer support software tools, Intercom is considered the “big name” specially curated for enterprise businesses. It is considered one of the strongest tools that are meant to manage customer queries for online businesses, and it is not just equipped with simple features but it is a lot more than that.

Finding out about the various customer support platforms, you might have gone through Intercom’s website and we are sure you had double thoughts about opting for Intercom.

You backed off, we know! Because it might be burning your pocket.

Then you might have looked for Intercom Alternatives.

Before going in-depth for competitors of Intercom, we have shortlisted the overall pricing plan for some of the best 13 Intercom Alternatives options to have a quick comparison.

Top Intercom Alternatives in 2023 🚀

Alternatives Name	Free Trial	Highest Pricing Plan
Desku	7-days	$89/month
Helpcrunch	14-days	$495/month
Olark	14-days	$29/month
Hubspot	14-days	$450/month
Zendesk	14-days	$115/month
Freshdesk	21-days	$108.52/month
Livechat	14-days	$59/month
Crisp Chat	14-days	$95/month
Help Scout	14-days	$65/month
Click Desk	14-days	$39.99/month
Tidio	7-days	$29/month
Twilio	No trial	$495/month
Customerly	14-days	$249/month

Again, you might be confused and you surely do not have any idea about which customer support platform suits perfect for your business. 

Why worry? We made efforts for you so that you do not have to make a comparison for both, Intercom free alternative and paid. This blog tells about the top alternatives which are far better than Intercom.

Before that, 

Let’s take a brief tour of an overview of the Intercom 👇🏻

Intercom is considered to be one of the finest customer support platforms but you will still step aback when you know this;

• It is highly expensive
• Hidden charges and unpredictable billing
• Sometimes it ignores your queries and your queries are just roaming in between multiple agents. 
• Email automation tools show tantrums
• Long due to fix bugs 

Look at yourself what Intercom Customers say about it:

These are the reasons you might not opt for Intercom and look for Intercom Alternatives at the same time. It can get overwhelming by looking at the prices, features, and what will be the best for your business! 

Don’t worry we have sorted all the information for you related to Intercom Alternatives. 

Let’s understand considering Intercom Features and Pricing better!

Features of Intercom

Before jumping into Intercom Alternatives, first, let’s understand why it will become so important for you to immediately look for alternatives.

Intercom is surely considered to be the #1 Helpdesk Customer Support Platform, but it seems that it is purely designed for the high class extremely large enterprises also with the same features and almost half the price.

There are so many Intercom Features that becomes overwhelming for users and sometimes it has some weird names that need guidance first. 

There was no question about Intercom’s ability to stay current with the latest trends. They have recently introduced their AI-powered chatbot called Fin, which is designed to address approximately 50% of all visitor inquiries.

These capabilities serve as a robust complement to Intercom’s core features:

• Live chat
• Intercom Shared inbox
• Knowledge base
• Email marketing
• Chatbot
• Product tours
• Banners
• and much more…

Now to understand the pricing, which does not cover almost all features in the basic plans but has every needed feature in the higher pricing plan. 

We signed up, we looked for you in detail and sorted it for you, have a look!

If you are interested in understanding the individual feature comparison, you will love to read these:

• The 12 Best Help Desk Ticketing Systems for 2023
• 11 Best AI Chatbot for your business in 2023
• 7 Best Free Knowledge Base Software in 2023

Pricing Plan of Intercom

• The most affordable package includes live chat, a knowledge base, and a basic conversation routing chatbot, starting at $74 per month. This package includes two seats.
• For each additional seat beyond the initial two, there is an extra cost of $19 per month per seat.
• However, the basic subscription has a monthly limitation, allowing you to engage with up to 1,000 people. If you exceed this limit, an additional fee of $50 per month will be charged for every additional 1,000 people reached.

Certainly, let’s break down the information into key points:

• If you require more extensive features, you’ll need to consider Intercom’s higher-tier subscriptions. These subscriptions encompass live chat, a team inbox, email marketing, banners, and advanced bots.
• Prices for these advanced packages typically start at around $499 per month and can scale up to several thousand dollars for larger businesses.
• Additionally, if you wish to use product tours, they are available as add-ons, incurring an extra cost of $199 per month on top of the subscription price.
• The most significant distinction between Intercom and its closest competitors lies in the charges related to the contacts you engage with through your campaigns. Unlike most tools where you pay a fixed price solely based on the number of support agents you need, Intercom’s pricing can fluctuate significantly.
• One month, your bill may be as low as $74, while the next month, it could amount to a thousand dollars or more.

The main reason is the “pricing” of Intercom where people look for the Intercom Alternative. 

13 Best Intercom Alternatives for Your Business

If you are open to taking up the awareness and knowledge for other Intercom Competitors with some powerful live chat and chatbot functionalities, then let’s get into the blog further and gain some knowledge about the best customer support platform. 

But who are Intercom Competitors?

1. Desku

Desku is an all-in-one AI-Powered customer service platform that is the perfect Intercom alternative of all others.

It is perfectly curated for small and medium-scale business owners to manage their customer support and the finest thing about it is that it automates your customer queries to take some load off your support teams.

It has some finest features and social integration including live chat, which is known as a real-time customer engagement platform. 

Engage with your customers in real-time, understand them, and get to know more about them to include them in your business. There are various customer service tools, that Desku provides and we should jump directly to that. 

Shared Inbox: Streamline Emails

A shared inbox is a centralized platform where customer support agents can access, respond to, and manage customer inquiries from various channels, including email, live chat, Facebook Messenger, and more. 

Benefits of a Shared Inbox in Desku?

A shared inbox software is an invaluable asset for any customer support team looking to enhance their support workflows and boost customer satisfaction.

Whether you’re using Intercom or considering alternatives like Desku a shared inbox can elevate your customer support to new heights. Get organised inbox for business for better customer experience.

Live Chat: Real-Time Conversation

Live Chat Software is the best software any business can have. It helps in having conversations with customers in real time. 

If you’re looking for a live chat tool that can elevate your customer service experience, Desku is the one to look forward to seamless Live Chat Support for your customers. 

Why Choose Live Chat for Business?

It is high time that we understand the importance of Live Chat on the business website. 

Yes, the customer wants instant replies and delays are a big turn-off for them.

Live chat is one of the important features to look forward to as customers have an instant source of contacting you. Chat features of the Live Chat in Desku include surpassing chats to relevant live chat agents, and creating a customer ticket.

The ultimate goal of customer service software is to help your customers throughout and help them to the fullest. Desku stands for the Best Alternative to Intercom.

Are you still confused and want to gain more information about Live Chat? We have prepared a full guide on Live Chat for you to have a look at 👉🏻What is live chat? A brief guide on Live Chat support

Knowledge Base: Self-Service Experience 

Knowledge Base in Desku works wonders, it is one of the self-service options for customers to follow some of the basic information related to business/product. You can upload innumerable articles with many different options for category differentiation.

The Best Intercom Alternative makes the best use of the knowledge base features where customers can help themselves before choosing a chat service. 

Chatbot: Automate Customer Support

Deskubots, the Desku Chatbot will help to lower your manual and repetitive tasks. In the context of Desku, chatbots offer several benefits that can enhance the overall customer experience and improve the efficiency of support teams. Here are some of the key benefits of using DeskuBots:

Chatbot Integration with Other Communication Channels

Chatbots can be integrated with other customer support channels, such as email, social media, and live chat, to provide a seamless and unified support experience.

This integration ensures that customers can receive assistance through their preferred channel of communication.

Overall, chatbots offer numerous benefits that can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of helpdesk customer support. By providing instant, consistent, and personalized support, chatbots can improve the customer experience and contribute to the success of a business.

Social Inbox Integrations: Connect your social media accounts

If you are looking for a great alternative to Intercom, find the one with the best social integrations.

Desku has various social integrations that help in connecting with the third-party app tool that you use every day.

Easily connect Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Business, Slack, and other business communication channels. Desku helps you not let you go out of the tool and manage customer activities, everything can be done from one single tool. 

AI-Supported Customer Platform: Features and Functions

Talking about AI, it has revoked the whole world by making some unbelievable innovations, and what best than the virtual assistant in customer support?

Based on the number of customers, it does not affect the way you respond to your customers because there is an AI to help you at every point. 

Pricing of Desku

• 7 days Free trial
• Startup: $29/month 
• Pro: $59/month 
• Business: $89/month  

2. Helpcrunch

As businesses seek to enhance their customer support in 2023, many are exploring alternatives to Intercom that offer similar or even better features at a more affordable price.

One such alternative that has gained popularity is HelpCrunch, which stands out as one of the best Intercom alternatives available.

HelpCrunch boasts a comprehensive suite of features that cater to the diverse needs of businesses.

Its help desk ticketing system ensures efficient management of customer inquiries, while its CRM integration allows for effective customer relationship management. It’s feature is considered to be the best Intercom Alternative CRM.

One of the key advantages of HelpCrunch is its seamless onboarding process, which includes free migration from Intercom. This makes the transition to HelpCrunch smooth and hassle-free for businesses looking to switch platforms.

Key Features of HelpCrunch

• Live Chat 
• Popups
• Integrations
• Shared Inbox 
• Chatbot 
• Email Marketing 
• Knowledge Base
• Mobile Apps & SDK

Price of HelpCrunch

• 14 days free trial 
• Basic: $12/month 
• Pro: $20/month 
• Unlimited: $495/month 

Read More:11 Helpcrunch Alternatives Software in 2023

3. Olark 

For teams seeking a powerful live chat solution to connect with website visitors, Olark emerges as an ideal alternative to Intercom.

By utilizing Olark’s live chat software, your team gains access to sophisticated insights, well-organized customer information, and the convenience of offline messaging ensuring that your support team remains responsive even during off-hours.

Further, Olark’s integration of AI-powered bots enables the automation of certain messaging tasks.

Olark’s feature set is designed to enhance your team’s efficiency and customer engagement just like Intercom.

With the ability to seamlessly integrate customer data and chat transcripts into your CRM, access comprehensive reporting, automate interactions, and maintain accessibility for your live chat, Olark stands out as a valuable choice for your team’s communication needs.

Key Features of Olark

• Customization
• Automation
• Reporting
• Searchable Transcripts
• Custom Forms
• Real-Time Engagement
• Power-Ups
• Team Management
• Accessible Live Chat

Pricing of Olark

• 2-week free trial 
• Basic: $29/month 

4. Hubspot

HubSpot is a renowned marketing technology platform that offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to meet the diverse needs of SaaS companies and other online businesses.

Among its wide array of features, HubSpot provides solutions for creating landing pages, generating leads, automating email marketing campaigns, delivering customer support, prospecting sales, streamlining operations, and much more.

Given its extensive capabilities and all-in-one approach, HubSpot serves as a compelling alternative to Intercom, particularly for larger brands that may already be acquainted with or utilizing other components of the HubSpot platform.

Key Features of HubSpot

• Automated Customer Service
• Ticketing System
• SLA Management
• Knowledge Base Software
• Live Chat
• Email Integration

Pricing of HubSpot

• Free Trial
• Starter: $18/month 
• Professional: $450/month 

5. Zendesk

Zendesk is a prominent player in the industry, recognized for its comprehensive suite of business solutions, particularly in the areas of customer service and sales.

With its extensive array of options, Zendesk serves as an excellent Intercom alternative, especially for large and enterprise-level organizations seeking scalable solutions for their sales and service needs.

Zendesk’s offerings include a shared workspace that facilitates collaboration, a unified inbox capable of tracking SMS, calls, and emails, knowledge base management for organizing and sharing information, automation features for streamlining workflows, robust reporting for data-driven insights, and much more. Let’s know Intercom versus Zendesk with Zendesk’s key features.

Key Features of Zendesk

• Email Integration 
• Messaging and Live Chat 
• Social Channels 
• Knowledge Base 
• Chatbots
• User Profile and Aliases
• Automation 
• Workforce Management 
• Reporting and Analytics 
• Customization 

Pricing of Zendesk

• Free Trial 
• Suite Team: $55/month 
• Suite Growth: $89/month 
• Suite Professional: $115/month 

Read More:12 Best Zendesk Alternatives for Your Business in 2023

6. Freshdesk

Freshdesk stands out as a distinctive alternative to Intercom, offering specialized functionality to accommodate businesses that rely on call centres for customer support.

If your organization is seeking to establish, scale, or manage an in-house call centre, Freshdesk provides a comprehensive solution. With Freshdesk, you can effortlessly acquire new phone numbers, oversee your call centre team, and access a range of features designed to enhance customer support.

Key Features of Freshdesk

• Ticketing
• Collaboration
• Omnichannel Support
• Automation
• Self-service
• Analytics
• Customization
• Security

Pricing of Freshdesk

• 21 days free trial 
• Growth: $12.18/month
• Pro: $43.89/month 
• Enterprise: $69.49/month 

7. Live Chat 

If you’re in search of an Intercom alternative that offers comparable features at a more budget-friendly price, LiveChat may be the ideal solution for you. It is considered to be best Intercom Live Chat Alternative

Catering to businesses seeking assistance in support, sales, and marketing, LiveChat provides a range of functionalities similar to those of Intercom, but at a significantly reduced cost.

Moreover, LiveChat’s support tool boasts enhanced capabilities, including comprehensive reporting, ticketing solutions for managing customer inquiries, routing rules for directing chats to the appropriate agents, and more.

The live chat tool itself is feature-rich, offering automation for efficient interactions, canned responses for quick replies, chat transfers for seamless handoffs between agents, and personalization options to tailor the chat experience to individual customers. If you are looking for Intercom Live Chat Alternatives, this can be the one.

Key Features of Live Chat

• Messaging Channels 
• Chat Widget Customization 
• Reports & Analytics
• Sales & eCommerce
• Customer Engagement 
• Team Management 
• Security 
• LiveChat APIs
• Chat Tools

Pricing of Live Chat

• 14 days free trial 
• Starter: $20/month
• Team: $41/month
• Business: $59/month 

Read More:9 Best Livechat Alternatives For Customer Support Team in 2023

8. Crisp Chat

Crisp Chat is a powerful Intercom alternative customer messaging platform that can help businesses improve customer service, sales, and marketing.

Crisp Chat’s CRM integrates with other CRM systems, allowing businesses to track customer interactions and manage customer data. This can help businesses to improve customer relationships and close more deals.

It can help you to improve productivity by providing a better way to collaborate with team members and manage customer interactions.

Key Features of Crisp Chat

• Widget 
• CRM
• Ticketing System
• Knowledge Base
• Chatbot
• Shared Inbox 
• Campaigns 
• Status Page

Pricing of Crisp Chat

• Basic: Free Forever
• Pro: $25/month 
• Unlimited: $95/month 

Read More :11 Crisp Alternatives for Transparent Customer Support Tools

9. Help Scout

Help Scout is a customer support software platform that helps businesses provide better customer service. Help Scout can help you improve customer satisfaction by providing a more convenient and efficient way for customers to get help.

It is the best Intercom alternative tool for your business. 

With Help Scout, businesses can easily manage customer inquiries, collaborate with their team, and track their performance.

The software is designed to be user-friendly and customizable to fit each business’s unique needs.

Key Features of Help Scout

• Mailbox
• Workflows
• Knowledge Base
• Reporting
• Live Chat
• Customer Management
• Beacon
• Integrations
• Messages

Pricing of Help Scout

• 15 days free trial
• Standard: $20/month 
• Plus: $40/month 
• Pro: $65/month

Read More :11 Best Help Scout Alternatives To Try in 2023

10. ClickDesk

Another Intercom alternative is ClickDesk which is a versatile communication platform that facilitates seamless customer interactions and support.

With its intuitive interface and robust features, ClickDesk empowers businesses to enhance their online presence and engage with their customers effectively.

From live chat and voice calling to video conferencing and helpdesk ticketing, ClickDesk, an Intercom alternative offers a comprehensive suite of communication tools, all conveniently accessible from a single dashboard. If you are focused with “chat” it is considered to be best Intercom Chat Alternatives.

This integrated approach streamlines customer interactions, improves response times, and ultimately fosters stronger relationships between businesses and their clients.

Key Features of ClickDesk

• Live Chat 
• Video Chat Software
• Help Desk Software
• Social Media Integration 
• Mobile App for Online Support
• Reporting & Analytics

Pricing of ClickDesk

• Free Plan 
• Lite: $14.99/month 
• Pro: $24.99/month 
• Enterprise: $39.99/month 

11. Tidio

Tidio is a versatile and intuitive Intercom alternative communication platform designed to enhance online interactions and customer engagement.

With its user-friendly interface and seamless integration capabilities, Tidio enables businesses to effortlessly connect with their website visitors and provide real-time support. It is considered one of the best free alternative to Intercom

Tidio’s streamlined design and easy customization options make it a convenient choice for businesses looking to establish a strong online presence and deliver personalized customer experiences.

With Tidio, businesses can optimize their customer communication and build lasting relationships with their audience. Let’s look at some of the key features of Free Intercom Alternative-Tidio

Key Features of Tidio

• Live Chat
• Order Management
• Chatbots
• Tidio AI Response Bots
• Ticketing
• Departments
• Analytics
• Messaging Channels
• Customization
• Support
• Apps
• Seamless integrations

Pricing of Tidio

• 7 days Free Trial  
• Starter: $29/month
• Communicator: $25/seat/month 
• Chatbots: Starting from $29/month 

12. Twilio

Twilio is a cloud communications Intercom alternative that enables businesses to programmatically make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and perform other communication functions using its web service APIs.

Twilio’s platform is highly scalable and reliable, and it can be integrated with a wide range of other applications and services.

This makes it a powerful tool for businesses that need to build and manage their own communications infrastructure.

Key Features of Twilio

• 2-Way Messaging
• Alerts/Notifications
• Live Chat
• Reporting/Analytics
• Workflow Management
• Third-Party Integrations
• Multi-Channel Communication
• API

Pricing of Twilio

• Free Plan 
• Affordable pricing plans for all the business teams 

13. Customerly

Customerly is a customer relationship management (CRM) software that helps businesses track and manage customer interactions across multiple channels, including live chat, email, phone, and social media.

Customerly’s intuitive design and seamless integration options make it a convenient Intercom alternative for businesses of all sizes, helping them improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

By facilitating efficient communication and engagement, Customerly helps businesses nurture their customer relationships and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Key Features of Customerly

• Customer Service
• Marketing Automation 
• Email Marketing 
• In-chat Surveys 
• Live Chat Tools
• Customer Engagement 
• Live Chat Customization 
• Marketing Funnel 

Pricing of Customerly

• Free Trial 
• Essential: $7/month 
• Startup: $39/month 
• Pro: $82/month 
• Enterprise: $249/month

Conclusion: Choose the Best Intercom Alternative

Considering a departure from Intercom? Well, you must because Intercom might burn your pocket and you won’t know until the final billing comes at the end of the month. In this blog, as you might have gone through we have stated competitor for Intercom from which one can be the best pick, like Desku!

Considering Desku makes it all easier to choose as it is just one click away from all the Intercom alternatives. From features to functionalities, it has everything that need for your business of any size.

Out of all the above-listed Intercom alternatives, with Desku, you can make an informed decision, start by clarifying your objectives, and identify the features that are most critical to your business. It is the perfect Intercom competitor that you are looking for as it is too budget-friendly to go with and imagine having 24/7 support system that is at your guidance no matter what time.