FreshchatIntercomFreshchat vs Intercom

Freshchat vs Intercom: messaging or customer messaging

A messaging platform against a customer messaging platform: Freshchat is $330 a month cheaper for five people. The six differences, what five people pay on each, and a third option.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick Freshchat if you want a free chat inbox for up to ten agents and can add channels later. Pick Intercom if your support lives in the website messenger and in-app, and you want product tours and outbound messages in the same tool. For five people, Freshchat is $330 a month cheaper than Intercom ($95 a month on Freshchat against $425 on Intercom), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $50 under Freshchat. Freshchat and Intercom both include website chat and email in the price; only Freshchat has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Freshchat nor Intercom includes Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Freshchat and Intercom sell here at one price.

At a glanceFreshchatFreshchatIntercomIntercom
Built aroundChat and messaging · tickets live in FreshdeskThe Messenger · tickets came later
Entry plan$19/agent/mo · Growth, yearly$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and Messenger
Chat in the price$0 · Free: up to 10 agents, widget and email$29/seat/mo · Essential, with tickets
AI agent$49 per 100 sessions · after 500 includedFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing page
Copilot for agents$29/agent/mo · Pro and up$29/agent/mo
Free planYes · up to 10 agentsNone · 14-day trial

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    FreshchatFreshchat

    As a conversation in the team inbox, from the widget or a messaging app; a ticket means Freshdesk. Intercom raises a ticket where Freshchat keeps a conversation.

    IntercomIntercom

    As a message in the Messenger, with ticketing available from Essential. Freshchat has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    FreshchatFreshchat

    The free plan covers ten agents on the widget and email; $19 on Growth adds WhatsApp, Instagram and SMS. $95 for five people, against $425 on Intercom.

    IntercomIntercom

    $29 buys the inbox, Messenger and ticketing. Advanced at $85 adds workflows and round-robin routing. $425 for five people, against $95 on Freshchat.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    FreshchatFreshchat

    Freddy AI Agent sessions: 500 included on paid plans, then $49 per 100. Copilot is $29 per agent on Pro. Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats as well.

    IntercomIntercom

    Fin is $0.99 or more per outcome on every plan, printed on the pricing page, on top of seats. Freshchat meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    FreshchatFreshchat

    Web and mobile widget and email on Free; WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS and Line from Growth. WhatsApp and Instagram are here and not on Intercom.

    IntercomIntercom

    Messenger and email on every plan; WhatsApp, SMS and phone are pay-as-you-go lines. Freshchat adds WhatsApp and Instagram, which Intercom lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    FreshchatFreshchat

    Campaigns and bots for the widget; the rest of Freshworks for tickets, IT and sales. Intercom is a customer messaging platform instead.

    IntercomIntercom

    Product tours, banners, surveys and outbound campaigns; Proactive Support Plus is $99 a month. Freshchat is a messaging platform instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    FreshchatFreshchat

    An hour for the widget; a day to connect the messaging channels. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

    IntercomIntercom

    An afternoon for a website-first team: install the Messenger, invite the team, answer. Freshchat is an hour for the widget.

Sources: Freshchat pricing · Intercom pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The Freshchat team inbox: the conversation list, the chat and the customer context
FreshchatFreshchat. The Freshchat team inbox: the conversation list, the chat and the customer context
The Intercom Inbox: a conversation list with the Messenger thread and the customer profile
IntercomIntercom. The Intercom Inbox: a conversation list with the Messenger thread and the customer profile

What your team would pay

Move the sliders. Yearly-billing rates from each vendor’s pricing page, next to Sellio’s plan for the same number of seats.

5 people who answer customers

50

300 bot sessions on Freshchat, Fin outcomes on Intercom

3000+
FreshchatFreshchat

$95/mo

Messaging channels, 500 AI sessions.

5 × $19 seats
$95
0 bot sessions × $0.49
$0
Copilot, 5 × $29
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. $49 per 100 Freddy AI Agent sessions after the first 500, as printed. Rates recorded on 2026-09-13.

IntercomIntercom

$722/mo

Adds workflows, multiple inboxes and round robin.

5 × $85 seats
$425
300 Fin outcomes × $0.99
$297
Copilot, 5 × $29
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. From $0.99 per Fin outcome on every plan, as printed on the pricing page. Rates recorded on 2026-09-06.

Sellio · Mini

$55/mo

One price for the workspace: 3 channels, 2 AI agents, $5 AI credit a month.

Workspace, 5 of 5 seats
$45
AI past 100 included conversations
$10
Copilot for agents
Included

About $0.05 per AI conversation past the credit, with a daily and monthly cap you set. Yearly billing takes 20% off. See every plan.

Pricing references: Freshchat pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13); Intercom pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06). Calculator uses yearly-billing rates. Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

5 people, website chat plus 2 more channels, 2 AI agents: $45 a month. Start free, no card.

Start freeSee every plan

Freshchat, Intercom and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureFreshchatFreshchatIntercomIntercomSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI sessions in packs
Per seat; Fin per outcome; channels metered
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
Up to 10 agents
None; 14-day trial
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
All plans
The Messenger, all plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
In the inbox
All plans
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Growth and up
Pay-as-you-go
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Growth and up
Via integration
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Line, not Telegram
Not native
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack and Teams integrations
Slack notifications
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Freddy AI Agent
Fin, trained on your help center
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
500 sessions, then $49 per 100
From $0.99 per outcome, on top of seats
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Bot hands to an agent
Fin hands to a teammate
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Through Freshdesk
Included from Essential
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Bots and routing
Visual builder, Advanced and up
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and CSAT
Reports; custom on higher plans
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile
Browser and mobile only
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Freshchat if

  • You want a free chat inbox for up to ten agents and can add channels later.
  • You already use Freshdesk and want chat from the same vendor.
  • Five people cost $330 a month less than on Intercom ($95 against $425), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which Intercom does not include outright.

Pick Intercom if

  • Your support lives in the website messenger and in-app, and you want product tours and outbound messages in the same tool.
  • Fin's AI quality matters more to you than its per-outcome price.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Freshchat does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is an afternoon for a website-first team here and an hour for the widget on Freshchat.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Freshchat or Intercom who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $95 a month on Freshchat against $425 on Intercom for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Freshchat meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats, Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Freshchat nor Intercom includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Freshchat on Growth: $38, $95 and $190 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Intercom on Advanced: $170, $425 and $850 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $50 less than Freshchat and $380 less than Intercom for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $95 under Freshchat and $755 under Intercom.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Freshchat is a messaging platform built around chat and messaging; Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger. Only Freshchat has a free plan (up to 10 agents); Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card. Freshchat and Intercom both include website chat and email in the price; only Freshchat has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Freshchat nor Intercom includes Telegram outright. Freshchat ($49 per 100 sessions) and Intercom (from $0.99 per outcome) both meter AI above the seats. Intercom has tickets and Freshchat does not, and neither Freshchat nor Intercom ships a desktop app. Freshchat is an hour for the widget; Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

What each price leaves out

Freshchat: Freddy AI Agent: 500 sessions included on paid plans, then $49 per 100; Freddy Copilot $29 per agent on Pro and up. Intercom: Fin AI agent from $0.99 per outcome on every plan; Copilot $29 per agent per month yearly ($35 monthly). WhatsApp, SMS and phone are pay-as-you-go. Beside Freshchat's $49 per 100 sessions and Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    FreshchatFreshchat$0.49$0
    IntercomIntercom$0.99$475
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    FreshchatFreshchat · 14-day trial of Enterprise
    IntercomIntercom · 14-day trial, no card
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

Freshchat vs Intercom: the questions people ask

Freshchat is a messaging platform built around chat and messaging; Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger. Intercom has tickets and Freshchat does not, and neither Freshchat nor Intercom ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Freshchat $19/agent/mo (Growth, yearly); Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger).
  • Chat in the price: Freshchat $0 (Free: up to 10 agents, widget and email); Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets).
  • Sellio's inbox: Telegram, which neither Freshchat nor Intercom has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Freshchat and Intercom on the same rows.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

Get startedRead the docs

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