How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Zendesk leads on AI-first enterprise service, with AI agents automating up to 80 percent of interactions across 4.8 billion plus resolutions.
- Freshdesk leads on guided AI adoption, with ready-to-use AI, people, and workflows trusted by 50,000 plus businesses.
- Help Scout leads on human-first support, with AI agent Scout resolving 73 percent of requests on average and 12,000 plus customer-first brands.
- tawk.to leads on free live chat, with a forever-free platform, 2-minute setup, and no credit card required.
- Intercom pricing often pushes teams to switch, so compare per-seat costs, AI credits, and contact limits before migrating.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Zendesk | AI-first enterprise service | See website | 14-day trial |
 Freshdesk | Guided AI adoption | See website | No |
 Help Scout | Human-first support | See website | Free trial |
 Crisp | Flat pricing and omnichannel | See website | 14-day trial |
 tawk.to | Free live chat | Free | Free |
 LiveChat | Sales-focused live chat | See website | 14-day trial |
 HubSpot Service Hub | Unified CRM service | $0/mo | Free |
 Helply | AI-native support | $49/mo | 14-day trial |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Starting priceSee website
Free plan14-day trial
Zendesk is an AI-powered customer service platform built to automate up to 80 percent of interactions with AI agents that improve with every resolution, proven across 4.8 billion plus resolutions and 830 million AI interactions. Standalone AI agents deploy in Zendesk or an existing service platform, so teams need not switch stacks to gain AI, and employee service plus contact center modules extend the same system internally and to voice. Zendesk was named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Engagement Center. A 14-day free trial needs no credit card. Zendesk suits enterprises replacing Intercom with AI-first service at scale.
What we like- AI agents automate up to 80 percent of interactions
- Proven across 4.8 billion plus resolutions
- 22,000 plus service teams trust Zendesk AI
- Standalone AI agents work in Zendesk or existing platforms without switching stacks
- Employee service and contact center modules
- Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Engagement Center
- 14-day free trial with no credit card
Watch out for- Homepage shows no pricing
- Enterprise pricing needs a quote
- AI-first depth can overwhelm small teams
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Freshdesk brings ready-to-use AI, people, and workflows together with a guided path to AI adoption, so service improves from day one and becomes increasingly AI-powered over time. MCP connections bring customer data into everyday workflows and automate support at scale, while integrations cover WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Line, MS Teams, Slack, Shopify, Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot, and Stripe. Freshdesk is trusted by 50,000 plus businesses and recognized as a Leader in G2's Spring 2026 Mid-Market Grid, Highest User Adoption in G2's Spring 2026 Enterprise Report, and TrustRadius Buyer's Choice Award 2026. The homepage shows no pricing. Freshdesk suits teams that want AI adoption without a rip-and-replace migration.
What we like- Ready-to-use AI, people, and workflows with a guided path to AI adoption
- Trusted by 50,000 plus businesses worldwide
- MCP connections bring customer data into workflows and automate support at scale
- Integrations with WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Line, MS Teams, Slack, Shopify, Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot, and Stripe
- Leader in G2 Spring 2026 Mid-Market Grid and Highest User Adoption in G2 Spring 2026 Enterprise Report
- TrustRadius Buyer's Choice Award 2026
Watch out for- Homepage shows no pricing
- AI adoption path needs planning
- Some advanced AI features sit on higher tiers
#3Help Scout
Best for: Human-first support4.4/5 on
G2 (431 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit helpscout.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Help Scout is an AI-driven support platform for customer-first brands, where teams work alongside AI to resolve conversations faster and understand the larger story they tell. AI agent Scout, built on frontier models plus insights from 3 billion plus conversations, resolves 73 percent of requests on average, while Inbox brings email, SMS, social, chat, and voice into one clean space with automatic assignments and context carried through every handoff. Copilot generates drafts and triage suggestions, and Signal surfaces emerging issues before they become fires. Help Scout powers 12,000 plus brands and claims 25 percent higher CSAT than industry averages. Help Scout suits teams that want Intercom-style messaging with a stronger human touch.
What we like- AI agent Scout resolves 73 percent of requests on average
- Teams respond to 56 percent more messages in their first year with context carried across escalations
- Inbox unifies email, SMS, social, chat, and voice
- Copilot drafts replies and triages
- Signal surfaces trends early
- 12,000 plus customer-first brands including DigitalOcean, Gusto, GoDaddy, and MIT
- 25 percent higher CSAT than industry averages claimed
- 80 percent of companies stay 4 plus years
- 15 years in business with 3 billion plus conversations
Watch out for- Homepage shows no pricing
- AI depth is lighter than Zendesk for enterprise contact centers
- Migration effort depends on Intercom data volume
#4Crisp
Best for: Flat pricing and omnichannel4.5/5 on
G2 (205 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit crisp.chat
Starting priceSee website
Free plan14-day trial
Crisp is an AI customer support platform for every business, with an all-in-one omnichannel inbox, AI agents, flat pricing, and tools for support, marketing, and sales teams together. AI automates 50 percent of inquiries per its homepage, while the chat widget, shared inbox, knowledge base, support CRM, and analytics centralize every inbound message from chat, email, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Smart replies, auto-summaries, writing tools, and a support copilot trained on your content help teams handle more conversations with less effort. Crisp is trusted by 10,000 companies, and a 14-day free trial includes all features with no card required. Crisp suits small and midsize teams that want Intercom features at flatter pricing.
What we like- All-in-one omnichannel inbox
- AI agents and workflows
- Flat pricing lowering cost per agent
- Automate 50 percent of inquiries with AI claimed
- Chat widget, shared inbox, knowledge base, support CRM, and analytics
- Trusted by 10,000 companies
- 14-day free trial with all features and no card required
- Rating 4.7 out of 5 from 461 ratings
Watch out for- Homepage shows no pricing
- Smaller ecosystem than Zendesk or HubSpot
- AI agent building needs setup time
#5tawk.to
Best for: Free live chat4.5/5 on
G2 (202 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit tawk.to
Starting priceFree
Free planFree
tawk.to is free live chat software for websites, built to end tool juggling by connecting chat, contacts, tasks, socials, forms, email, channels, and voice in one system. One snippet makes a site live in minutes with no developer needed, and AI resolves routine questions instantly across languages while teams review, correct, and feed it knowledge, taking over with full history when a person is needed. Millions of businesses run on tawk.to, with over 3 billion people interacting via the platform every month. The platform is forever free with no credit card required. tawk.to suits startups and small businesses that need live chat now at zero cost.
What we like- Forever free live chat platform
- 2-minute setup with one snippet and no developer needed
- No credit card required
- Millions of businesses run on tawk.to with over 3 billion people reached per month
- AI resolves routine questions instantly across languages, with human review and correction
- Contacts, deals, meetings, tickets, and ideas link to one contact record
- Live in minutes from corner shops to Fortune 500 teams
Watch out for- Homepage counters rendered as zeros in our check, so exact business counts rest on the 3 billion monthly reach claim
- Free model means paid add-ons for advanced features
- Support depth is lighter than enterprise helpdesks
#6LiveChat
Best for: Sales-focused live chat4.5/5 on
G2 (812 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit livechat.com
Starting priceSee website
Free plan14-day trial
LiveChat, now Text by LiveChat, is live chat software that grows sales by showing who is browsing, which pages they view most, and when to start conversations, qualify leads, and track sales from chats. AI Agent answers questions 24/7, checks order status through Shopify, WooCommerce, or other order systems, and hands conversations to the right person with tickets attached. Live cart preview, abandoned cart recovery, and campaign builder turn browsing into orders, with claims of up to 266 percent more sales with AI live chat. The platform is SOC 2 Type 2 audited with GDPR and CCPA compliance and a WCAG 2.2 AA widget. LiveChat suits ecommerce teams replacing Intercom with sales-focused chat.
What we like- Live chat software that grows sales, with visitor tracking, lead qualification, and sales attribution
- AI Agent answers questions 24/7 and checks order status via Shopify, WooCommerce, or other systems
- Live cart preview, abandoned cart recovery, and campaign builder
- Integrations with Shopify, WordPress, WhatsApp, Messenger, and MCP
- SOC 2 Type 2 security with GDPR and CCPA compliance
- WCAG 2.2 AA accessible widget
- Rating 4.6 out of 5 from 1,675 reviews
- Free 14-day trial with no credit card
Watch out for- Homepage shows no pricing
- Sales focus means ticketing is lighter than Zendesk
- Rebranding as Text by LiveChat may confuse buyers
#7HubSpot Service Hub
Best for: Unified CRM service4.4/5 on
G2 (2,922 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit hubspot.com
Starting price$0/mo
Free planFree
HubSpot Service Hub is customer service software powered by AI to scale support and drive retention, connected to marketing and sales data on one unified customer platform. The free tier includes contact management, ticketing, and team email at 0 dollars per month, while Starter adds live chat and ticket automation from 10 dollars per seat per month, Professional adds the help desk workspace, customer success workspace, customer agent, and knowledge base from 100 dollars per seat per month, and Enterprise adds skill-based routing and conditional SLAs from 150 dollars per seat per month. Customer Agent resolves inquiries across email and live chat 24/7, and the Smart CRM gives success teams every interaction, deal stage, and marketing touchpoint. HubSpot suits teams already on HubSpot CRM that want service inside the same platform.
What we like- Free tier at 0 dollars per month with contact management, ticketing, and team email, no credit card required
- Starter from 10 dollars per seat per month with live chat and ticket automation
- Professional from 100 dollars per seat per month with help desk workspace, customer success workspace, customer agent, and knowledge base
- Enterprise from 150 dollars per seat per month with skill-based routing and conditional SLAs
- Customer agent resolves inquiries across email and live chat 24/7
- Fully integrated Smart CRM with every support interaction, deal stage, and marketing touchpoint
- Rating 4.4 out of 5 from 2,915 ratings
- 57 percent increase in ticket close rate after 6 months claimed
Watch out for- Per-seat pricing scales fast for large teams
- Starter discount applies to new customers only for a limited time
- Full AI features need Professional or Enterprise
Starting price$49/mo
Free plan14-day trial
Helply is an AI-native customer support platform, formerly Groove, rebuilt around agents that investigate, resolve, and take action, with unlimited users and pay only for AI work. Agents gather context, investigate, follow processes, and take approved actions such as refunds, handing off to humans when judgment is needed, with every action logged inside set permissions. Plans start at 49 dollars per month with a block of AI credits priced by complexity, and a 14-day free trial includes 1,000 credits with no card. Helply is trusted by 1,400 plus companies and migrates teams from Zendesk, Intercom, Help Scout, Freshdesk, and Groove with knowledge and customer context intact. Helply suits teams that want AI agents doing real support work, not just drafting replies.
What we like- AI-native platform rebuilt around agents that investigate, resolve, and take action
- Unlimited users on every plan
- Plans from 49 dollars per month with AI work credits
- 14-day free trial with 1,000 credits and no card
- Trusted by 1,400 plus companies
- Channels include email, live chat, Slack, Microsoft Teams, SMS, and WhatsApp
- Migration from Zendesk, Intercom, Help Scout, Freshdesk, and Groove with knowledge and customer context
- Formerly Groove, rebuilt after 14 years in support software
Watch out for- Credit pricing by complexity, draft 1 credit, lookup 4, full investigation 12, needs cost modeling
- Newer brand than Zendesk or HubSpot
- AI action permissions need careful setup
How we chose
We opened each homepage and compared AI automation, channel coverage, pricing models, free tiers, and migration paths from Intercom. Zendesk, Freshdesk, Help Scout, Crisp, tawk.to, LiveChat, HubSpot Service Hub, and Helply all loaded and confirmed as the right products. Drift was excluded because drift.com now redirects to Salesloft, so it is no longer a standalone Intercom alternative, and Groove was listed under its current name Helply.
Start with why you are leaving Intercom. For AI automation at scale, Zendesk and Helply lead. For human-first support, Help Scout leads. For free live chat, tawk.to leads. For sales-focused chat, LiveChat leads. For CRM-unified service, HubSpot Service Hub leads. For flat pricing, Crisp leads. For guided AI adoption, Freshdesk leads.
Then audit costs before migrating. Compare per-seat prices, AI credit costs, contact limits, and automation fees, since Intercom-style pricing often hides in those lines. Export conversations, knowledge base articles, macros, and customer data early, and run both tools in parallel for two weeks to catch missed routing rules. Train AI agents on your best-resolved conversations, not your whole inbox, and set clear handoff rules so customers never loop between bots. Test the new widget on mobile and desktop before switching DNS or snippets.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Intercom alternative overall?
Zendesk leads on AI-first enterprise service, Help Scout on human-first support, tawk.to on free live chat, and HubSpot Service Hub on CRM-unified service, so the best choice depends on team size and why you are leaving Intercom.
Is there a free Intercom alternative?
Yes. tawk.to is forever free for live chat, and HubSpot Service Hub offers a free tier with ticketing and team email at 0 dollars per month.
Which Intercom alternative is cheapest?
tawk.to at free and HubSpot Service Hub at 0 dollars per month for the free tier lead on price, followed by Helply from 49 dollars per month with unlimited users.
Can I migrate conversations from Intercom?
Yes, most tools here support migration from Intercom, including Helply, Zendesk, and HubSpot, though conversation history, macros, and knowledge base articles need export planning.
Do these alternatives include AI agents?
Yes. Zendesk, Freshdesk, Help Scout, Crisp, tawk.to, LiveChat, HubSpot Service Hub, and Helply all offer AI agents or AI assistance, with varying depth and pricing.
What happened to Drift and Groove?
Drift now redirects to Salesloft and is no longer a standalone Intercom alternative, while Groove rebranded to Helply, an AI-native support platform.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://www.zendesk.com/
- https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk/
- https://www.helpscout.com/
- https://crisp.chat/
- https://www.tawk.to/
- https://www.livechat.com/
- https://www.hubspot.com/products/service
- https://www.groovehq.com/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.