Intercom vs. Zendesk (2026): Cost, AI Fees and Trade-Offs

Intercom vs. Zendesk Compared: Seat Price, AI Fees, SLAs and Apps

Intercom vs. Zendesk seats: Intercom Essential costs $39 a month ($29 billed yearly), and Zendesk Suite Team costs $69 ($55), before AI fees.

You have an Intercom quote and a Zendesk quote open, and the totals do not line up. Intercom prices seats, Fin outcomes and Copilot as separate lines. Zendesk prices seats, Copilot and automated resolutions past an allowance as separate lines.

Each total moves with the number of conversations the AI agent resolves. With AI resolving half of 2,000 conversations, Fin is $990 of Intercom Essential's $1,380 bill at 10 agents. Prices in the table are list prices on 10 November 2026, and figures in parentheses are billed yearly.

What Do Intercom's Plans and Fin Cost?

Per seat a month, Intercom costs $39 for Essential, $99 for Advanced and $139 for Expert. Billed yearly, seats cost $29, $85 and $132. Intercom's AI agent, Fin, starts at $0.99 per outcome on every plan.

Intercom's pricing page lists a one-seat minimum. Every seat in a workspace is on the same plan, so you cannot mix Essential and Advanced seats.

Yearly billing cuts the seat price 26% on Essential, 14% on Advanced and 5% on Expert. Intercom's FAQ says self-serve monthly plans are Essential and Advanced, though its pricing page lists Expert at $139 monthly.

New customers can pay $29 a month per seat on Essential, against the $39 list price. Billed yearly they can pay $19 against $29, for as long as they stay subscribed. The discount covers Essential only.

Advanced includes 20 lite seats and Expert includes 50. Essential has none. Lite seats can add notes, view mentions and access reports, but cannot reply, take assignments, start outbound conversations or use Copilot.

Copilot, Intercom's optional add-on for teammates, includes 10 free conversations per full-seat teammate each month. Unlimited use costs $35 per enabled teammate a month ($29 billed yearly), and lite seats cannot use it.

On a yearly plan you cannot remove seats mid-term. Teammates you add beyond your committed count bill monthly at list price.

What Do Zendesk's Plans and AI Agents Cost?

Zendesk plans cost $25, $69 or $149 per agent a month ($19, $55 or $115 billed yearly). Those prices cover Support Team, Suite Team and Suite Professional.

Zendesk bills its AI agents per automated resolution past an allowance. Zendesk's pricing page gates Copilot by plan.

Support Team covers email and ticketing. It has no messaging, help center or voice.

Suite Team adds a knowledge base, messaging, live chat and telephony. Suite Professional adds skills-based routing, SLAs, IVR, HIPAA-enabled accounts and up to 5 help centers. Yearly billing cuts the seat price 24% on Support Team, 20% on Suite Team and 23% on Suite Professional.

Suite Enterprise with Copilot shows "Talk to Sales" and no price. Zendesk's help center names Suite Growth and Enterprise Plus, which the pricing page does not list.

Copilot costs $50 per agent a month as an add-on on a yearly term, and Zendesk shows no monthly price. Zendesk sells it for Suite Professional and above.

Without the add-on, Suite Professional gives each agent 5 Copilot writing-tool uses a month. The team shares the uses, with a cap of 500 per instance each month.

Light agents get read access to tickets and can add private comments without a full seat. Support Team has none, Suite Team needs an add-on, and Suite Professional includes up to 100.

How Do Intercom and Zendesk Charge for AI?

Both vendors bill AI by result, but their definitions of a result differ.

Fin bills per outcome

Fin charges $0.99 per outcome on all plans, with at most one outcome per conversation. A conversation counts as resolved when the customer confirms Fin's answer or exits the conversation without asking for more help. Intercom calls the second case an assumed resolution.

The $0.99 rate covers Fin over chat and email with Intercom. Procedure handoffs and disqualifications bill at $0.99 each, and qualifications at $9.99.

Intercom does not bill a conversation when the customer asks for a person, a Procedure fails or escalation rules fire. It skips the fee when the customer abandons the conversation after a clarifying question. After a teammate joins with collect-information on, Intercom bills the conversation as resolved if a customer who asked for a person goes quiet.

Intercom states no time window for an assumed resolution. Fin Voice goes through Intercom's sales team, with a listed price of $1.99 per voice outcome.

Zendesk bills per automated resolution

Zendesk's AI agents come with every Suite and Support plan. Zendesk bills only for requests its AI agent resolves without escalating to a human agent.

Its pricing table lists included resolutions per agent each month: 5 on Support Team and Suite Team, 10 on Suite Professional. Past the allowance, committed automated resolutions cost $1.50 each and pay-as-you-go resolutions cost $2.00.

Zendesk's help center documents a second model, the resolution tiers Zendesk launched on 18 May 2026. Zendesk sorts each AI resolution into one of three tiers.

Assisted escalations and contained resolutions do not count against the allowance. The allowance is a dollar amount: $2 a month per agent seat on Suite Team, $5 on Professional and $10 on Enterprise.

Zendesk publishes dollar rates only for the older model and calls its tier examples placeholders. It does not say which model a new account lands on, so ask your representative before you compare quotes.

Can you run Fin on Zendesk?

Intercom says yes. Fin connects to Zendesk by API for chat and email at $0.99 per outcome, with minimum commitments and no seat costs.

Intercom's help center describes a base plan of $49 a month covering 50 outcomes, and Fin's pricing FAQ lists the same $49 minimum.

Zendesk says its Forethought AI agents work with Zendesk or another provider's help desk, and shows no price. A help desk and an AI agent can come from different vendors.

What Do Intercom and Zendesk Cost for 3, 10 and 25 Agents?

At 10 agents and 2,000 conversations a month, with AI resolving half, Intercom Essential with Fin costs $1,380 a month ($1,280 billed yearly). Zendesk Suite Team costs $2,115 ($1,975).

Every bill below uses list prices on 10 November 2026 and these assumptions:

• AI resolves half of all conversations, and every agent answers customers.
• Conversations run 500 a month for 3 agents, 2,000 for 10 and 4,500 for 25.
• Intercom bills every AI resolution as one Fin outcome at $0.99, and no other outcome types apply.
• Copilot is on for every agent in the Advanced table.
• Intercom figures use list prices and leave out the new-customer Essential discount.
• Zendesk bills every AI resolution at $1.50 committed once the allowance ends. The allowance is 5 per agent a month on Suite Team and 10 on Suite Professional.
• The Zendesk figures use the pricing table's rates, because Zendesk publishes no dollar rates for its resolution tiers.
• No SMS, phone, WhatsApp, QA, Intercom Pro or Proactive Support Plus charges apply.

Intercom Essential vs. Zendesk Suite Team: monthly bill with AI

AI fees outweigh seats on both bills at 10 agents. Zendesk's seats cost $690 ($550 billed yearly), and resolutions past the allowance add $1,425.

Each added agent costs $39 ($29) in seats on Intercom Essential and $69 ($55) on Zendesk Suite Team, before AI fees.

Intercom Advanced vs. Zendesk Suite Professional: bill with Copilot

Zendesk shows no monthly Copilot price, so its column covers yearly billing only. At $2.00 pay-as-you-go, the Zendesk figures rise to $935, $3,450 and $8,125.

Intercom Advanced with Copilot costs less than Zendesk Suite Professional at all three sizes, on either Intercom billing term.

Suite Professional includes SLAs. On Intercom they start on Expert, at $139 ($132) per seat.

At 10 agents and 2,000 conversations, with AI resolving half, Intercom Expert with Copilot and Fin costs $2,730 a month ($2,600 billed yearly). Zendesk Suite Professional costs $3,000 billed yearly.

Each added agent costs $134 a month ($114 billed yearly) on Intercom Advanced with Copilot. On Zendesk Suite Professional with Copilot it costs $165, billed yearly. Both figures exclude AI fees.

What Costs Extra on Intercom and Zendesk Beyond Seats and AI?

Intercom lists Pro from $100 a month, and Zendesk lists QA at $35 a month per agent on a yearly term. The bills above include neither.

Extras on Intercom

• Intercom lists Pro, an add-on, from $100 a month, including analysis of 500 conversations. Intercom's help articles list different rates after that, so ask which one applies.
• Proactive Support Plus starts at $99 a month and includes 500 messages sent. Intercom meters product tours, posts and surveys and sells them only with it.
• SMS includes no segments, and US messages start at $0.06 per segment. In the US, phone numbers cost $1 (local) or $2 (toll-free) a month, plus per-minute rates.
• From 1 December 2026, existing customers pay per message for WhatsApp, and new customers may pay sooner. US marketing messages cost 2.92 cents, US service messages 0.40 cents, and inbound messages stay free.

Extras on Zendesk

• Zendesk lists QA at $35 a month per agent on a yearly term, and its plans panel marks it as an add-on. The Workforce Engagement Bundle, which includes QA and workforce management, lists at $50 a month per agent on a yearly term.
• Contact Center starts at $83 per agent a month on a yearly term, plus a Suite plan.
• Suite Team includes 40,000 Action Builder actions a month, and extra credits cost $200 per 100,000 actions.
• Phone numbers and per-minute voice usage add to the seat price, and Suite Professional needs an add-on for a sandbox.

Where Does Intercom or Zendesk Fit Better?

Intercom fits chat inside a product, and Zendesk fits teams that need SLAs, skills-based routing and IVR phone trees on one plan.

Choose Intercom if

• You want chat and product tours beside support, and you will pay from $99 a month for Proactive Support Plus.
• You want live chat at the lower seat price of the two: Essential at $39 ($29) against Suite Team at $69 ($55).
• You want to add Fin to the help desk you run today at $0.99 per outcome, with Intercom's listed minimum commitments.
• You accept that SLAs start on Expert at $139 ($132) per seat, and workflows and round robin start on Advanced.

Choose Zendesk if

• You need SLAs, skills-based routing, IVR phone trees or up to 5 help centers on one plan, Suite Professional.
• You rely on a large app ecosystem. Zendesk's apps directory lists 1,993 apps (10 November 2026), and Intercom says it connects to 450+.
• Your team answers email only and wants the lower entry price of the two: Support Team at $25 ($19) per agent.
• You accept that Support Team has no messaging or live chat. Copilot costs $50 a month per agent on a yearly term, from Suite Professional.

Intercom's ownership after the Salesforce deal

Salesforce finished buying Fin, the company formerly named Intercom, on 10 September 2026. Intercom's maker renamed itself Fin on 12 May 2026. Intercom remains the name of the help desk.

Salesforce says Fin will continue to serve its customers, and its release names no help-desk plans. Ask Intercom for roadmap commitments in writing before you sign a yearly plan.

What Would the Same Teams Pay on Helply?

At 10 agents and 2,000 conversations a month, Helply Team costs $994 a month. At 25 agents and 4,500 conversations, Pro costs $3,999, and both AI agents come with each plan.

Both vendors charge a seat for every person who replies and meter AI on top. Helply sells seats too, and every plan includes pooled AI credits plus the Assist Agent and the Support Agent.

The Support Agent can look into an issue across the tools you connect, answer the customer, take supported actions and resolve the request. If it cannot resolve one, it hands off with context. The Assist Agent drafts replies grounded in the thread, the customer's context and your Guidelines.

Helply cost for 3, 10 and 25 agents: credits used, plan and price

On the same assumptions, Helply Team costs $499 a month for 3 agents and $994 for 10, and Pro costs $3,999 for 25.

Half of conversations resolve end to end at 10 credits. Assume the other half take a triage at 1 credit and a drafted reply at 2. The average conversation uses an estimated 6.5 credits.

At 25 agents, 29,250 credits exceed Team's 15,000, and Pro's 50,000 credits cover them. Helply's rough sizing guide puts Team at about 1,000 conversations a month and Pro at about 3,000. The bills here assume 6.5 credits per conversation, so run your own volume through the credit estimator.

Starter is $79 per seat each month and caps at 3 seats, and each seat brings 500 credits. Team costs $499 a month. It includes 5 seats and 15,000 credits, and added seats are $99 each.

Pro is $999 a month for 5 seats, then $150 per seat, with 50,000 credits. Helply prices Starter, Team, Pro and Growth by the month. See Helply pricing for Growth and Enterprise.

Each seat belongs to a teammate who replies to customers, and Starter charges a seat to everyone who logs in. Team and above add unlimited view-only seats. People in those seats can follow customers, read threads and add internal notes without answering tickets.

The team shares one credit pool, with usage alerts and limits. Starter and Team pause AI at the limit, and you can add credits in the app or move to a higher plan.

A drafted reply costs 2 credits and a knowledge-base answer costs 3. An investigation across tools costs 6, and one conversation resolved end to end costs 10. No conversation uses more than 15 credits.

Starter for 3 agents costs $237 a month, but its 1,500 credits (500 per seat) cover about 230 conversations at 6.5 credits each. Helply's credit estimator shows which plan covers a given monthly volume.

When does Helply cost more?

On the same assumptions, Intercom Essential with Fin costs less at 3 agents and at 25. At 3 agents it is $364.50 ($334.50 billed yearly) against Helply's $499, and at 25 it is $3,202.50 ($2,952.50) against $3,999. At 10 agents, Helply's $994 sits below Intercom Essential's $1,380 ($1,280 billed yearly).

New customers can pay less for Essential, so Intercom's lead at 3 and 25 agents can be wider on your quote.

Essential's lower price comes without workflows and round robin, which Advanced adds, and without SLAs, which only Expert includes. Helply includes SLAs, escalation rules, teams and round robin from Team. Skills-based routing, team SLAs and capacity planning start on Growth.

At 10 agents, Intercom Expert with Copilot and Fin costs $2,730 a month ($2,600 billed yearly) against Helply's $994. Helply costs less than Zendesk Suite Team, Intercom Advanced with Copilot and Zendesk Suite Professional with Copilot at all three sizes.

Teams with many readers and few repliers pay less with view-only seats. If only 10 of 25 people answer customers at 4,500 conversations a month, Helply Pro costs $1,749, with 15 view-only seats included.

Intercom Advanced covers that case with 10 full seats at $99 ($85 billed yearly) each before AI fees, plus 20 lite seats. Zendesk Suite Professional allows up to 100 light agents.

Where Helply fits

Helply is for any business with a support queue, including software, ecommerce and marketplace businesses. It fits teams that want one monthly price for seats and AI credits. SLAs, escalation rules and unlimited view-only seats start on Team.

Helply vs. Intercom vs. Zendesk: 10-agent bill, AI, seats and SLAs

Plan-by-plan detail is on the Helply vs. Zendesk and Helply vs. Intercom comparison pages.

Proposify, a sales software company with 51 to 200 people, ran Zendesk. Its CS managers and account owners each needed a license to see support conversations. Proposify moved off Zendesk and onto the full Helply platform for both of its products.

A support team member set it up and connected Salesforce and HubSpot in days. Proposify's customer story reports a 34% drop in ticket volume, about 220 fewer tickets a month reaching humans.

On today's Helply plans, view-only seats, unlimited from Team, let readers follow customers without answering tickets.

Questions to Ask Intercom and Zendesk Before You Sign

Get each answer in writing, because each one can change your quote.

• Ask Zendesk which AI-fee model your quote uses, the resolution allowance or the tiers, and the rate for each tier.
• Ask Zendesk what commitment the $1.50 committed rate requires.
• Zendesk shows only a yearly Copilot price and no price for the Suite Team light agent add-on, so ask for both.
• Intercom's help articles list different Pro rates above the first 500 to 1,000 conversations, so ask which one applies to you.
• Ask Intercom whether collect-information is on in your Fin setup. With it on and a teammate joined, Intercom counts a conversation as resolved if the customer asks for a person and stops replying.
• Ask Intercom whether your Essential quote uses the new-customer price or the list price.
• Ask Intercom when Fin counts an assumed resolution, since its help article states no time window.
• Check how seat cuts work for your term. On yearly plans Intercom blocks removing seats mid-term, and Zendesk applies downgrades at the next billing cycle with no prorated refund.
• From 1 December 2026, Intercom bills existing customers per message for WhatsApp, so ask Intercom for the rates in your countries.

Stay on Intercom or Zendesk, or Test Helply on One Queue?

Choose Intercom for chat inside your product and a cheaper live-chat seat than Zendesk Suite Team. Pick Zendesk for SLAs, skills-based routing and IVR phone trees on one plan. Helply fits any business with a support queue that wants seats, AI credits and both AI agents in each plan.

With AI resolving half of 2,000 conversations at list prices, a 10-agent team pays $1,380 a month ($1,280 billed yearly) on Intercom Essential. The same team pays $2,115 ($1,975) on Zendesk Suite Team, before Copilot and add-ons. On Helply Team it pays $994, with both AI agents and unlimited view-only seats included.

Intercom Essential costs less than Helply at 3 and 25 agents, but it has no SLAs. If you need SLAs, compare Helply Team with Intercom Expert and Zendesk Suite Professional, with Copilot on both rivals. At 10 agents, Helply Team costs $994, against $2,730 ($2,600 billed yearly) on Intercom Expert and $3,000 billed yearly on Zendesk Suite Professional.

Run the Support Agent on one queue during the 14-day trial, which needs no credit card, while Intercom or Zendesk keeps the rest. Then bring your history across from Zendesk or Intercom when resolution quality and your workflows fit.

Helply migrates supported data, and Team adds an onboarding call and migration at no cost.