The 7 best Intercom alternativesfor teams that want to convert leads
Seven Intercom alternatives for teams whose chat is about leads, not tickets. What decides it: your CRM, your budget and how many leads you qualify each month.
Intercom was set up for support. Then marketing asked whether the same chat could qualify leads, and now your inbox has trial users asking about invoices next to buyers asking about pricing.
Fin handles the first group well. For the second, every qualified lead costs $9.99 on top of your seats.
If your website chat is mostly about winning new customers, this guide shows what Intercom really costs for sales and seven alternatives, with prices.
Quick TL;DR
How much does Intercom Fin cost? Fin is $0.99 per outcome, such as a resolution or a handoff. With Fin for Sales, each lead Fin qualifies and routes is $9.99. Seats come on top, from $19 a seat a month for new customers on Essential, billed annually.
Best Intercom alternative for sales-first teamsFlowxperia. A live video agent on your website answers, qualifies and books the meeting, then follows up on WhatsApp, Instagram and SMS. Flat plans from $797 a month, live in about 48 hours.
Best on Salesforce with an enterprise budgetQualified (Piper), now part of Salesforce. Quote only.
Best if support still matters mostZendesk or Freshchat, both support platforms with AI agents and sales-friendly add-ons.
Why teams look for an Intercom alternative
Nobody leaves Intercom because it's bad at support. It's one of the best help desks around. Teams start looking when the chat on their website turns into a sales channel and the tool keeps treating it like a support queue.
These are the reasons that come up most:
Sales is an add-on. Fin for Sales sits on top of a support product. You still need an Intercom helpdesk seat to use it.
Qualified leads are billed one by one. Each lead Fin qualifies and routes costs $9.99, so a good month for marketing is an expensive month on the invoice.
Two meters at once. You pay per seat and per outcome, which makes the monthly bill hard to predict.
Booking relies on another tool. Fin books meetings through Calendly or Chili Piper, so you need a paid plan with one of them too.
It's text first. There's no face or voice on the website, and Fin Voice is sold on a custom plan.
If most of your chats are support questions from existing customers, Intercom is probably still the right tool. If most are from people deciding whether to buy, keep reading.
Intercom Fin pricing, explained
Intercom charges in two layers: seats for your team, and outcomes for what Fin, its AI agent, does on its own.
What you pay for
Price
How it works
Essential seat
$19 a seat a month
Billed annually. The new customer price, 35% off the usual $29
Advanced seat
$85 a seat a month
Billed annually
Expert seat
$132 a seat a month
Billed annually
Fin outcome
$0.99 each
A resolution, a procedure handoff, a disqualification or a self-serve routing
Fin for Sales qualification
$9.99 each
Fin matches a prospect to your qualification criteria and routes them, for example by booking a meeting
Free trial
14 days
No credit card
Intercom charges one outcome per conversation, even if Fin does several things in it. If a conversation is simply passed to your team without an outcome, there's no charge. Fin for Sales needs an Intercom helpdesk seat, and meetings are booked through Calendly or Chili Piper.
What that looks like in a real month
Take a team with five Advanced seats whose website chat qualifies 300 leads a month and resolves 500 support questions. These are illustrative numbers, so swap in your own:
Line
Monthly cost
5 Advanced seats at $85
$425
300 qualifications at $9.99
$2,997
500 resolutions at $0.99
$495
Total
$3,917
Most of that bill is the qualification fee, and it grows with every lead your marketing brings in. That's the main reason sales-led teams compare flat-priced alternatives.
Intercom alternatives at a glance
Tool
Starting price
Free trial
Live video agent
Channels
Best for
Flowxperia
$797 a month, flat
Yes, on every plan
Web (video, voice, text), WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS
Teams that want every lead answered and booked
Qualified (Piper)
Quote only
Yes, video, voice or chat
Web, email, Slack
Salesforce enterprises
Docket
$4K a month, billed annually
Voice, text, slides and video
Web, email as an add-on
B2B teams with an enterprise budget
HubSpot Customer Agent
$0.50 per resolution, on Professional
14 days
Chat, email, voice, WhatsApp, Messenger
Teams already on HubSpot
Zendesk
$55 an agent a month (Suite Team, annual)
14 days
Chat, email, WhatsApp, social, phone
Support-led teams
Freshchat (Freddy AI)
Free, then $19 an agent a month
14 days
Web, WhatsApp, SMS, Instagram, Facebook
Budget-conscious support teams
Tidio (Lyro)
Free, then $29 a month
7 days
Web, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, email
Small businesses
Crisp
Free, then $45 a month per workspace
14 days
Web, WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS
Small teams that answer chat themselves
Only three of these put a video agent on your website, Flowxperia, Qualified and Docket, and two of them are enterprise purchases. The others are support tools first, like Intercom, with cheaper seats.
Live video agent
Flowxperia video agentSwap the chat bubble for a face that sells
Flowxperia's video agent talks to your visitors by voice or text, answers from your content, asks your qualifying questions and books the meeting, even at 2am.
Try it here: Flora, the agent on this page, runs on it.
Best for: teams whose website chat is mostly about winning new customers
Starting price
$797 a month
Setup
About 48 hours
Free trial
20 min on your site, 7 days on WhatsApp and Instagram
Video agent
On every plan
Flowxperia is built for leads, not tickets.
A live video agent, a lifelike AI presenter visitors can talk to or type to, answers from your own content, helps people compare options, asks your qualifying questions and books the meeting on Google or Outlook calendars.
No separate scheduling tool is needed.
The same agent answers new leads within seconds on WhatsApp, Instagram and SMS and follows up until they book (Growth and Scale plans). Plans are flat: Basic from $797 a month, Growth from $1.5K and Scale from $2.5K, with no fee per qualified lead.
It syncs with HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive, Dynamics 365 and Zendesk, so you can keep Zendesk or Intercom for support and let Flowxperia handle sales chat.
What we like
A live video agent on every plan
Flat pricing, no per-qualification fee
Books meetings on your own calendar
WhatsApp, Instagram and SMS follow-up
Watch out for
Not a help desk or ticketing tool
No account-based intent data
Bottom line: Choose Flowxperia if most of your chats are buyers, and you want them answered, qualified and booked without paying per lead.
2
Qualified (Piper)
Best for: Salesforce-centric enterprises with a big pipeline goal
Starting price
Quote only
Plans
Premier, Enterprise, Ultimate
Free trial
Not offered
Video agent
Yes
Piper is Qualified's AI SDR. It greets website visitors, captures leads and books meetings by video, voice or live chat, and follows up by email.
Salesforce completed its acquisition of Qualified on April 1, 2026, and every plan integrates with Salesforce CRM and 20 or more other go-to-market tools.
Bottom line: Qualified fits Salesforce shops that want an enterprise AI SDR and have the budget for a custom contract.
3
Docket
Best for: B2B teams that want a website agent with slides and video
Starting price
$4K a month, billed annually
Plans
Core, Pro $6K, Enterprise $10K
Free trial
No
Video agent
Voice, text, slides and video
Docket's AI marketing agent holds conversations with website visitors and turns them into qualified leads.
It syncs with Salesforce or HubSpot, books meetings on your calendar and can answer by voice, text, slides or video. An email agent is sold as an add-on. Read Flowxperia vs Docket.
What we like
Published prices
Voice, slides and video in the conversation
Salesforce or HubSpot sync
Watch out for
$48K a year minimum
Email agent costs extra
No free trial
Bottom line: Docket suits B2B teams that want a richer website conversation than Intercom's chat and can commit to an annual contract.
4
HubSpot Customer Agent
Best for: teams that already run HubSpot Professional
Starting price
$0.50 per resolution
Needs
HubSpot Professional or Enterprise
Free trial
14 days with a Pro seat
Video agent
No
HubSpot's Customer Agent answers on chat, email, voice, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and a qualified lead counts as a resolution at $0.50.
It needs a Professional or Enterprise edition, which on Service Hub means $90 to $100 a seat a month depending on billing, plus a $1,500 onboarding fee.
What we like
Native CRM context
Low per-resolution price
Many channels
Watch out for
Professional seats required
Onboarding fee
Only makes sense on HubSpot
Bottom line: If you're already paying for HubSpot Professional, its own agent is the cheapest way to move chat out of Intercom.
5
Zendesk
Best for: support-led teams that want a full help desk with AI agents
Starting price
$55 an agent a month
AI agents
$1.50 per automated resolution, committed
Free trial
14 days
Video agent
No
Zendesk is Intercom's closest like-for-like rival. Suite Team is $55 an agent a month billed annually ($69 monthly) and Suite Professional is $115 ($149 monthly).
AI agents are billed per automated resolution, $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay as you go, with a few included per agent. WhatsApp and social messaging come with every Suite plan.
What we like
Mature help desk
Clear per-agent pricing
Omnichannel from Suite Team
Watch out for
Support first, like Intercom
Resolutions are billed on top
Sales qualification takes setup
Bottom line: Zendesk is the pick if you're leaving Intercom over price or fit but support is still the main job.
6
Freshchat (Freddy AI)
Best for: cost-conscious teams that want messaging and AI in one place
Starting price
Free, then $19 an agent a month
AI agent
500 sessions included, then $49 per 100
Free trial
14 days
Video agent
No
Freshchat is Freshworks' messaging tool. The free plan covers up to 10 agents, and paid plans run $19, $49 and $79 an agent a month, billed annually.
Freddy AI Agent includes the first 500 sessions, then costs $49 per 100. WhatsApp, SMS, Instagram and Facebook start on the Growth plan.
What we like
Free plan for small teams
Low seat prices
Messaging channels from Growth
Watch out for
Support first
AI sessions are metered
Lighter on sales qualification
Bottom line: Freshchat is the budget swap for teams that want Intercom-style messaging at a lower seat price.
7
Tidio (Lyro)
Best for: small businesses that mainly need a chat widget with AI
Starting price
Free, then $29 a month
AI agent
Lyro from $39 a month
Free trial
7 days
Video agent
No
Tidio combines live chat with Lyro, an AI agent that answers from your content.
The free plan covers 50 conversations, Starter is $29 a month billed monthly, and Lyro starts at $39 a month for 50 conversations, with your first 50 Lyro conversations free. Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and email are on every plan.
What we like
Free plan
Quick setup
Messaging channels on every plan
Watch out for
Conversation caps on each plan
Lyro is billed separately
Built for support and ecommerce
Bottom line: Tidio is fine if Intercom was only ever a chat widget for you and the budget is small.
8
Crisp
Best for: small teams that want flat pricing and will answer chat themselves
Starting price
Free, then $45 a month
Billing
Per workspace, not per seat
Free trial
14 days
Video agent
No
Crisp is a shared inbox for website chat and messaging apps, with an AI agent called Hugo that runs on AI credits included in each plan.
Mini is $45 a month for 4 seats, Essentials $95 for 10 and Plus $295 for 20 or more. WhatsApp, Instagram DMs and SMS come with Essentials and up.
What we like
Flat workspace pricing
Omnichannel inbox
Free plan
Watch out for
Not built for sales qualification
AI usage limited by credits
Light on booking
Bottom line: Crisp suits small teams that want to stop paying per seat and are happy to staff chat themselves.
How to choose an Intercom alternative for your team
Start with one question: are most of your chats from customers who need help, or from people deciding whether to buy? Then find your group below.
If this is youMost chats are new leads, and you want them booked
Free plans and cheap paid tiers. Expect to answer most sales chats yourself.
Plenty of teams keep Intercom for support and add a sales-first agent on the pages where buyers decide, such as pricing, demo and product pages. That split is often cheaper than paying $9.99 for every qualified lead.
How to move sales chat off Intercom
1
Separate sales from support
Tag a month of conversations as sales or support. Only the sales half needs to move.
2
Write down your qualification rules
Copy the criteria you gave Fin for Sales, plus the questions your best rep asks. That list becomes your new agent's brief.
3
Connect your CRM and calendars
Hook up HubSpot or Salesforce and your reps' Google or Outlook calendars. With Flowxperia that takes about 48 hours.
4
Start on your buying pages
Put the new agent on pricing, demo and product pages first, and leave Intercom on your help center.
5
Compare a month of results
Look at meetings booked and cost per qualified lead side by side, then decide what stays.
Qualify every lead without a fee per lead
Flowxperia goes live in about 48 hours on flat monthly plans, and you can try it free first: 20 minutes with the video agent on your site and 7 days on WhatsApp and Instagram.
The best Intercom alternative depends on what your chat is for. For sales-first teams, Flowxperia answers, qualifies and books leads on flat plans from $797 a month. For support-first teams, Zendesk and Freshchat are the closest like-for-like help desks.
Intercom Fin costs $0.99 per outcome, such as a resolution or a procedure handoff, and $9.99 per qualification with Fin for Sales. Intercom charges one outcome per conversation, and nothing when a conversation is passed to your team without an outcome.
A Fin outcome is a resolution, a procedure handoff, a disqualification or a self-serve routing. A qualification, where Fin matches a lead to your criteria and routes them, is a separate outcome at $9.99.
Yes, Fin for Sales needs an Intercom helpdesk seat. Essential seats start at $19 a month for new customers, billed annually, Advanced is $85 and Expert is $132.
Yes, Intercom has a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Yes. Freshchat, Tidio and Crisp all have free plans, with paid plans from $19 an agent, $29 a month and $45 a month per workspace. For an AI agent that qualifies and books leads with nobody staffing chat, Flowxperia starts at $797 a month with no per-lead fee.
Flowxperia, Zendesk, Freshchat, Tidio, Crisp and HubSpot's Customer Agent all connect to WhatsApp. Flowxperia also follows up with leads on Instagram and SMS until they book.
Yes, you can keep Intercom for support and run a sales agent on your buying pages. Flowxperia syncs leads and meetings to your CRM, so support and sales stay in separate tools without losing context.
Turn your website chat into booked meetings
A live video agent that answers, qualifies and books every lead, on flat monthly plans.
FloraComparing Intercom alternatives? Ask me how pricing works, or I can book you a time with the team.
Before you renew Intercom
See a sales-first agent on your own site
Book 15 minutes. We'll run the video agent on your own content, show it qualifying a lead and booking the meeting, then set up your free trial: 20 minutes on your website plus 7 days on WhatsApp and Instagram.
Flat monthly plans from $797, no fee per qualified lead
Works with HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive and more
Harsh Shah
