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

Both are full help desks priced per seat, with AI agents billed by results: Intercom per Fin outcome, Zendesk per automated resolution beyond the ones included. Neither has a free plan; both offer a 14-day trial.

Every price and feature here comes from Intercom's and Zendesk'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

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)

Live chat and help desks

Zendesk

Zendesk is a customer service suite with ticketing, messaging and live chat, a help center and voice, with AI agents built in, priced per agent seat.

Starts at
$19per agent / mo, billed yearly. Live chat from $55
Billing
Per agent seat, plus per automated resolution
Free option
No (14-day trial)

Intercom vs Zendesk, side by side

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

Intercom, Zendesk and ChatBento compared on price and features
FeatureIntercomZendeskChatBentoOur product
Free planNo (14-day trial)No (14-day trial)Yes, 50 AI messages/mo
Lowest paid plan$19/seat/mo billed yearly, plus Fin$19/agent/mo billed yearly; live chat from $55$8/mo (2,000 AI messages)
How the AI is billedPer seat, plus $0.99 per Fin outcomePer agent seat, plus per automated resolutionFlat 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 ZendeskYes, by email
Live chat inbox for your teamYesYesNo
WhatsApp, Messenger and other channelsYesYesNot yet
Native integrations (CRM, Slack and others)Hundreds, incl. Slack, Jira, Salesforce1,800+ appsNot yet
Help desk ticketingYesYesNo

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

Where each one is stronger

Intercom's strengths

From Intercom's own site. Check Zendesk'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

Zendesk's strengths

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

  • A complete help desk

    Ticketing, messaging and live chat, a help center and telephony in one suite, with prebuilt analytics dashboards. ChatBento is only the website chatbot.

    zendesk.com/pricing

  • Every channel in one place

    Zendesk connects Facebook, Instagram and X, and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Slack, WeChat and LINE. ChatBento runs on your website only.

    zendesk.com/pricing

  • AI agents beyond chat

    Zendesk AI agents work across messaging, email and voice, support 80+ languages, and can learn from your help center plus sources like Google Drive and PDFs.

    zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents

  • A large app marketplace

    Zendesk lists 1,800+ apps and integrations, 90+ telephony providers, and agent mobile apps for iOS and Android.

    zendesk.com/pricing

Intercom and Zendesk pricing

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

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

Zendesk pricing

  • Support Teamper agent / mo, billed yearly ($25 monthly). Email and ticketing, no live chat$19
  • Suite Teamper agent / mo, billed yearly ($69 monthly). Adds messaging and live chat$55
  • Suite Professionalper agent / mo, billed yearly ($149 monthly)$115
  • Suite Enterprisetalk to salesCustom

No free plan; a 14-day free trial of Suite Professional. Checked October 23, 2026 on zendesk.com/pricing.

  • Zendesk AI agents are billed by automated resolution. Plans include 5 per agent a month (10 on Suite Professional); more cost US$2.00 each pay-as-you-go, or a lower committed rate (shown only in pounds on its US page, checked October 30, 2026). Source

Zendesk pricing, worked out

Which to choose

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

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 Zendesk if

  • Your team works tickets across email, chat, phone and social, and needs one help desk for all of it.
  • Several agents answer chats live, so a shared inbox and per-seat pricing make sense for you.
  • You want AI agents on email and voice too, not only on your website.
  • You rely on integrations from a large marketplace, or on telephony.

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 $8, $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 $8 a month.

ChatBento vs IntercomChatBento vs Zendesk

Intercom vs Zendesk. Questions, answered.

Which is cheaper, Intercom or Zendesk?

It depends on how you'd use them, because they bill differently. 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. Zendesk starts at $19 (per agent / mo, billed yearly. Live chat from $55), billed as: per agent seat, plus per automated resolution. Price your own monthly volume on both before you decide.

Do Intercom and Zendesk have free plans?

Intercom: No free plan; a 14-day free trial, no card required. Zendesk: No free plan; a 14-day free trial of Suite Professional.

What is the main difference between Intercom and Zendesk?

Both are full help desks priced per seat, with AI agents billed by results: Intercom per Fin outcome, Zendesk per automated resolution beyond the ones included. Neither has a free plan; both offer a 14-day trial.

Which should I choose, Intercom or Zendesk?

Choose Intercom if you run a support team that needs a shared inbox, ticketing and a help center in one place. Choose Zendesk if your team works tickets across email, chat, phone and social, and needs one help desk for all of it.

Do I need a live chat inbox at all?

Only if someone on your team will answer chats in real time. Intercom and Zendesk 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 Intercom and Zendesk?

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 $8, $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

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

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, zendesk.com/pricing, zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents

Put AI answers on your site. Free to start, then $8 a month.

Start freeSee pricing

Free plan forever. No card required.