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Freshchat vs Intercom. Pricing, AI and which to pick.

Both charge per agent and bill AI by use: Freshchat's Freddy AI Agent by sessions, Intercom's Fin by outcomes. Freshchat is free for a small team; Intercom has a 14-day trial.

Every price and feature here comes from Freshchat's and Intercom's own websites, with links. ChatBento, our product, appears as a third column so you can see where a simpler website chatbot fits.

Live chat and help desks

Freshchat

Freshchat, from Freshworks, is a messaging and live chat platform: a shared team inbox for web chat, social apps, SMS, WhatsApp and email, with Freddy AI as a paid option.

Starts at
$0free for up to 10 agents; paid from $19/agent/mo billed yearly
Billing
Per agent, plus $49 per 100 AI sessions
Free option
Yes, up to 10 agents

Live chat and help desks

Intercom

Intercom is an AI-first customer service help desk with a shared inbox, ticketing, a help center and Messenger live chat, priced per seat, with its Fin AI Agent charged per outcome.

Starts at
$19per seat / mo billed yearly, new-customer price; plus $0.99 per Fin outcome
Billing
Per seat, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome
Free option
No (14-day trial)

Freshchat vs Intercom, side by side

"Not confirmed" means we couldn't verify it on that company's site, not that it's missing.

Freshchat, Intercom and ChatBento compared on price and features
FeatureFreshchatIntercomChatBentoOur product
Free planYes, up to 10 agentsNo (14-day trial)Yes, 50 AI messages/mo
Lowest paid plan$19/agent/mo billed yearly$19/seat/mo billed yearly, plus Fin$14/mo (2,000 AI messages)
How the AI is billedPer agent, plus $49 per 100 AI sessionsPer seat, plus $0.99 per Fin outcomeFlat monthly price, no seats
AI answers trained on your websiteYesYesYes
Install with one script tagYesYesYes
Hand-off to a humanYes, to agents in the inboxYes, to agents in the inboxYes, by email
Live chat inbox for your teamYesYesNo
WhatsApp, Messenger and other channelsYesYesNot yet
Native integrations (CRM, Slack and others)Not confirmedHundreds, incl. Slack, Jira, SalesforceNot yet
Help desk ticketingNot confirmedYesNo

Freshchat details checked October 23, 2026; Intercom details checked October 23, 2026. Prices change, so check each company's pricing page before you decide.

Where each one is stronger

Freshchat's strengths

From Freshchat's own site. Check Intercom's column in the table above for the same rows.

Intercom's strengths

From Intercom's own site. Check Freshchat's column in the table above for the same rows.

  • A full help desk

    Shared inbox, ticketing system, public help center, reports and automation, with workflow builders and SLAs on higher plans.

    intercom.com/pricing

  • Fin works everywhere

    Fin answers across channels including email, live chat, phone, WhatsApp and SMS, transfers to agents in the inbox, and can run on top of Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot or Freshdesk.

    fin.ai

  • Hundreds of integrations

    Intercom says Fin connects to hundreds of integrations out of the box, including Slack, Jira, Linear, Salesforce and HubSpot, with Shopify and Stripe data in the inbox.

    intercom.com/pricing

  • Mobile apps for your team

    Intercom Conversations for iOS and Android lets teammates reply, add notes, and tag and assign conversations.

    intercom.com/help/en/articles/447-respond-to-users-and-visitors-on-the-go-with-the-intercom-conversations-app

Freshchat and Intercom pricing

Each plan as the company lists it, with the fees that come on top.

Freshchat pricing

  • Freeup to 10 agents, web chat widget and shared inbox$0
  • Growthper agent / mo, billed yearly$19
  • Proper agent / mo, billed yearly$49
  • Enterpriseper agent / mo, billed yearly$79

Free plan for up to 10 agents, and a 14-day trial of Enterprise. Checked October 23, 2026 on freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing.

  • Freddy AI Agent costs $49 per 100 sessions on top of the plan, with the first 500 sessions included once per account. A session covers a visitor's chats within 24 hours. Source
  • Freddy AI Copilot, the assistant for your agents, is $29 per agent a month billed yearly on Pro and Enterprise. Source

Freshchat pricing, worked out

Intercom pricing

  • Essentialper seat / mo billed yearly, new-customer price (list $29)$19
  • Advancedper seat / mo billed yearly$85
  • Expertper seat / mo billed yearly$132
  • Fin AI Agentper outcome, on any plan$0.99

No free plan; a 14-day free trial, no card required. Checked October 23, 2026 on intercom.com/pricing.

  • Intercom counts a Fin outcome when a customer confirms their issue is resolved or doesn't ask for more help after Fin responds. Fin can also run on another help desk at $0.99 per outcome with a minimum monthly commitment. Source

Intercom pricing, worked out

Which to choose

It comes down to who answers your chats and how you'd rather be billed.

Choose Freshchat if

  • Several people answer chats live and want a shared inbox, free for up to 10 agents.
  • Customers reach you on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or SMS, and you want all of it in one inbox.
  • You need routing rules and SLAs for a support team.
  • Per-agent pricing plus AI sessions fits your volume better than a flat plan.

Choose Intercom if

  • You run a support team that needs a shared inbox, ticketing and a help center in one place.
  • You want one AI agent across chat, email, phone and WhatsApp.
  • Paying per seat plus $0.99 per resolved outcome fits your volume.
  • You need SSO, HIPAA support or SLAs (Expert plan).

Choose ChatBento if

Our product

  • You want an AI chatbot on your website that answers from your own pages, Q&As and text, not a full support suite.
  • You'd rather pay a flat $14, $30 or $100 a month than per seat or per resolution, or start on the free plan with 50 AI messages a month.
  • An email hand-off is enough when a visitor needs a person.

Only need AI answers on your website?

ChatBento reads your site in about a minute and answers visitors from it. Free plan forever, paid plans from $14 a month.

ChatBento vs FreshchatChatBento vs Intercom

Freshchat vs Intercom. Questions, answered.

Which is cheaper, Freshchat or Intercom?

It depends on how you'd use them, because they bill differently. Freshchat is free to start (free for up to 10 agents; paid from $19/agent/mo billed yearly), billed as: per agent, plus $49 per 100 AI sessions. Intercom starts at $19 (per seat / mo billed yearly, new-customer price; plus $0.99 per Fin outcome), billed as: per seat, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome. Price your own monthly volume on both before you decide.

Do Freshchat and Intercom have free plans?

Freshchat: Free plan for up to 10 agents, and a 14-day trial of Enterprise. Intercom: No free plan; a 14-day free trial, no card required.

What is the main difference between Freshchat and Intercom?

Both charge per agent and bill AI by use: Freshchat's Freddy AI Agent by sessions, Intercom's Fin by outcomes. Freshchat is free for a small team; Intercom has a 14-day trial.

Which should I choose, Freshchat or Intercom?

Choose Freshchat if several people answer chats live and want a shared inbox, free for up to 10 agents. Choose Intercom if you run a support team that needs a shared inbox, ticketing and a help center in one place.

Do I need a live chat inbox at all?

Only if someone on your team will answer chats in real time. Freshchat and Intercom both include one. If you mostly want visitors' questions answered from your website, an AI chatbot with an email hand-off does that without a seat for each person.

Is there a simpler, flat-priced alternative to Freshchat and Intercom?

ChatBento is an AI chatbot for your website that learns from your pages and Q&As, captures leads and hands off to you by email. It has a free plan with 50 AI messages a month, then $14, $30 or $100 a month, with AI answers included and no seats. It has no live chat inbox, ticketing or messaging channels, so it fits when the website chatbot is the job.

Keep comparing

All comparisonsAI chatbot pricing guide

Freshchat and Intercom are trademarks of their owners; ChatBento is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.

Sources: freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing, crmsupport.freshworks.com/support/solutions/articles/50000010092-configure-knowledge-sources, intercom.com/pricing, fin.ai, intercom.com/help/en/articles/447-respond-to-users-and-visitors-on-the-go-with-the-intercom-conversations-app

Put AI answers on your site. Free to start, then $14 a month.

Start freeSee pricing

Free plan forever. No card required.