Help Scout vs Intercom Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Help Scout | Intercom | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $25/mo | $29/mo |
| Number of plans | 3 | 4 |
| Free plan | — | |
| Free trial | ||
| Pricing model | per-seat | hybrid |
Standard
- Multiple Inboxes
- Live chat and SMS
- WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger
- Multiple knowledge bases
- One basic SLA policy
- Basic workflows
- Unlimited tags and saved replies
- AI Inbox assistant
Plus
Popular- Advanced workflows
- Two advanced SLA policies
- Secure customer portal
- Unlimited AI Drafts
- Round robin routing
- Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot
- Internal teams
- Group conversations by company
Pro
- Unlimited workflows
- Unlimited SLA policies
- Multiple routing types
- SSO/SAML
- HIPAA compliance
- Up to 50 light users
- Dedicated onboarding specialist
- Strategic account manager
- Preferred pricing on Aircall
Essential
- Fin for service, sales & ecommerce
- Messenger
- Shared inbox and ticketing system
- Pre-built reports
- Public help center
Advanced
Popular- Multiple team Inboxes
- Workflows automation builder
- Round robin assignment
- Private and multilingual Help Center
- Includes 20 free Lite seats
Expert
- SSO & identity management
- HIPAA support
- Service level agreements (SLAs)
- Multibrand Messenger / Help Center
- Includes 50 free Lite seats
Fin AI Agent
- Set up in under an hour on your current helpdesk
- Answers email, live chat, phone and more
- Customizable tone & answer length
- Takes action on external systems
- Hands off to agents in preferred Inbox
Help Scout vs Intercom FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Help Scout starts lower at $25/mo, compared to $29/mo for Intercom.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Help Scout has a free plan. Intercom doesn't — though they do offer a free trial.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Help Scout uses per-seat pricing, while Intercom goes with hybrid. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Help Scout: At $25-75/seat, Help Scout sits mid-market — pricier than bare-bones tools like Freshdesk's entry plans but cheaper than Zendesk or Intercom at scale. They're chasing small-to-mid teams who want a polished, human-feeling tool without enterprise complexity or enterprise pricing. Intercom: Intercom sits premium relative to Zendesk or Help Scout on a per-seat basis, and the Fin usage charge on top means your real cost scales past the sticker price fast. They're clearly not chasing budget-conscious teams — the 93% startup discount is the tell, since they're trying to hook high-growth companies early before they graduate into paying full freight.
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