Helply vs. Intercom: AI agents without the per-seat bill

Helply vs. Intercom: the quick verdict

Intercom fits teams that want product tours and in-app messages beside support, or Fin on the help desk they already run. Helply is an Intercom alternative for software, ecommerce, and marketplace teams whose conversation volume is outgrowing their support hiring. Both are full help desks whose AI agents act: Fin through procedures and data connectors, Helply through approved actions in connected tools.

• Intercom: $99 per seat a month on Advanced ($85 billed yearly), plus $0.99 per Fin outcome.
• Intercom Copilot: 10 free conversations per full seat a month; unlimited use is $35 per agent monthly ($29 billed yearly).
• Helply: every plan has unlimited users, and the smallest AI credit block costs $49 monthly ($42 billed yearly).
• On every plan, the Support Agent answers customers, the Assist Agent helps your team, and Background Agents monitor each conversation.
• At 1,000 conversations a month on yearly billing, Helply’s block is $339 (B2B) or $212 (B2C) at any team size. At list prices, five Intercom Advanced seats with unlimited Copilot, plus 500 Fin outcomes, come to $1,065 a month billed yearly.

Helply vs. Intercom compared: pricing, Fin, Slack, and product tours

Intercom prices each replying teammate and each Fin outcome. Helply bills AI work by the credit, and every plan has unlimited users.

Helply and Intercom differ on seats, Fin, and add-ons

One credit bill for every kind of AI work

Intercom charges per Fin outcome, per agent for unlimited Copilot, and per workspace for Operator and AI analysis in its Pro add-on. Helply weights each AI action by complexity: drafting a reply uses 1 credit, a bounded lookup 4, and a multi-system investigation 12. Helply charges nothing for rejected drafts, spam, setup, retries, or failed actions.

Product, engineering, and operations in the inbox at no per-user cost

On Helply, users are unlimited, so anyone outside support who needs to help customers can join the inbox. On Intercom, lite seats on Advanced and Expert can add notes, but replying or using Copilot takes a full seat. The Assist Agent drafts replies, summarizes threads, and takes supported actions when your team directs it.

Churn and upgrade signals on every plan

Helply’s Background Agents monitor each conversation on every plan and work unprompted. They flag upgrade intent, churn risk, knowledge gaps, and feature requests, then send each one to the team that acts on it. Intercom bundles Operator, which finds knowledge gaps and drafts content, with CX Score in its Pro add-on, from $100 per workspace a month.

Intercom pricing vs. Helply pricing

Intercom lists three plans (Essential, Advanced, and Expert) at $39 to $139 per seat a month ($29 to $132 billed yearly). Fin adds $0.99 per outcome, and unlimited Copilot is $35 per agent monthly ($29 billed yearly). On Helply, $49 a month ($42 billed yearly) covers the whole team: unlimited users, all three agent types, and 500 AI credits.

Intercom plans, Fin AI pricing, and add-ons, October 2026:

• Essential: $39 per seat a month ($29 billed yearly); no lite seats
• Essential for new customers: $29 per seat a month ($19 billed yearly), for as long as they stay subscribed
• Advanced: $99 per seat a month ($85 billed yearly), with 20 lite seats
• Expert: $139 per seat a month ($132 billed yearly), with 50 lite seats
• Fin AI Agent, on every plan: $0.99 per outcome on chat and email, never more than one per conversation; $9.99 per qualification
• Assumed resolutions count: if a customer gets Fin’s answer and leaves without asking for more, Intercom bills an outcome
• Fin Voice: through sales, listed at $1.99 per voice outcome
• Fin on another help desk (Salesforce, HubSpot, Freshdesk, Zendesk): no seat fees; a $49 monthly minimum covers 50 outcomes, then $0.99 each
• Copilot: 10 free conversations per full seat a month; unlimited use $35 per agent monthly ($29 billed yearly)
• Pro add-on (Operator plus AI conversation analysis): from $100 per workspace a month; extra Operator credits $0.01 each
• Proactive Support Plus (product tours, surveys, Series): $99 a month with 500 messages
• SMS, phone, and outbound WhatsApp: billed by usage

At list prices and 1,000 monthly conversations, five Advanced seats, unlimited Copilot, and 500 Fin outcomes cost $1,165 a month ($1,065 billed yearly). Helply sizes B2B support at about 7 credits a conversation, so the 7,000-credit block fits: $399 a month ($339 billed yearly). For B2C, at about 4 credits a conversation, the 4,000-credit block costs $249 a month ($212 billed yearly).

Teams that switched

Switching from Intercom

Move one queue first, and let Intercom keep handling the rest. Check Helply’s answers and actions on that queue, then switch the remaining channels when you’re ready. On Enterprise plans, Helply’s team helps migrate your support data and knowledge.

1. Start a trial (14 days, 1,000 credits, no card) and connect your Intercom workspace.
2. Select the supported customer, conversation, and knowledge data to move, then run Helply on one queue.
3. Review your Helply workspace, then move your channels over.

What comes with you:

• Supported customer data
• Supported conversation history
• Supported knowledge content

See how the Intercom migration works

Helply or Intercom: which should you choose?

Choose Intercom if:

• You want product tours, checklists, and surveys in the same tool as support, through Proactive Support Plus at $99 a month.
• You want to keep your help desk and add Fin, which runs on Salesforce, HubSpot, Freshdesk, or Zendesk from $49 a month.
• You qualify for Intercom’s Early Stage program (new customer, up to $10M raised, under 15 employees): Advanced is $65 monthly in year one.
• You want an AI agent that answers phone calls: Fin Voice comes through Intercom sales, listed at $1.99 per voice outcome.

Choose Helply if:

• Your conversation volume is climbing faster than you want to add support hires.
• Engineers, success managers, or operations staff need to help customers, and Intercom lite seats can add notes but can’t reply.
• You’d rather run the Assist Agent on credits than pay Intercom $35 per agent monthly ($29 billed yearly) for unlimited Copilot.
• You want Background Agents watching for upgrade intent, churn risk, knowledge gaps, and feature requests on every plan.

Frequently asked questions

• How is Helply different from Intercom?

  Helply includes unlimited users and three types of AI agent, and prices their work in credits. Intercom adds separate seat, Fin, and Copilot charges.

• Can Helply replace Intercom?

  Yes, for support. Helply covers ticketing, a shared inbox, live chat, reporting, workflows, and a help center, plus three types of AI agent.

• How much does Intercom cost?

  Intercom lists Essential, Advanced, and Expert at $39, $99, and $139 per seat a month ($29, $85, $132 billed yearly). Fin adds $0.99 per outcome.

• How much does Fin AI cost?

  Fin costs $0.99 per outcome, or $9.99 per qualification, once per conversation at most. On another help desk, Fin’s $49 monthly minimum includes 50 outcomes.

• What counts as a Fin outcome?

  A confirmed or assumed resolution, procedure handoff, disqualification, or self-serve routing costs $0.99; a qualification $9.99. Escalations, requests for a person, and spam cost nothing.

• Is Fin AI free to use?

  No. Intercom bills from $0.99 per Fin outcome; its 14-day free trial, with no card, includes Fin.

• What is Intercom called now?

  Intercom’s maker renamed itself Fin on May 12, 2026; Intercom stays the help desk’s name. Salesforce acquired Fin, formerly Intercom, on September 10, 2026.

• Is there an Intercom alternative without per-seat pricing?

  Yes. Helply has no per-user price: every plan has unlimited users, and 500 AI credits come to $49 monthly ($42 billed yearly).

• How much does Helply cost?

  Helply’s entry block, 500 credits with unlimited users, costs $49 monthly ($42 billed yearly). A draft costs 1 credit; a multi-system investigation, 12.

• Is Helply cheaper than Intercom for a five-person team?

  Yes. At 1,000 monthly conversations, billed yearly, Helply is $339 (B2B) or $212 (B2C); Intercom Advanced, unlimited Copilot, and 500 Fin outcomes cost $1,065.

• Is Helply an alternative to Intercom and Fin AI?

  Yes. Like Fin, Helply’s Support Agent answers customers and takes supported actions, and every plan includes unlimited users plus the Assist and Background Agents.

• Can I run Helply alongside Intercom before switching?

  Yes. Put one slice of your Intercom queue on Helply for the 14-day trial, then migrate supported history and switch the rest.