Intercom3CXIntercom vs 3CX

Intercom vs 3CX: $425 apart for five people

A customer messaging platform against a business phone system with live chat: 3CX is $425 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 Intercom if your support lives in the website messenger and in-app, and you want product tours and outbound messages in the same tool. Pick 3CX if phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents. For five people, 3CX is $425 a month cheaper than Intercom ($425 a month on Intercom against $0 on 3CX), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only 3CX's figure comes under. Intercom and 3CX both include website chat in the price; only Intercom has email; only 3CX has WhatsApp. Neither Intercom nor 3CX includes Instagram and Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Intercom and 3CX sell here at one price.

At a glanceIntercomIntercom3CX3CX
Built aroundThe Messenger · tickets came laterPhone calls · a PBX with a chat widget
Entry plan$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and Messenger$0 · SMB Free: up to 10 users
Chat in the price$29/seat/mo · Essential, with tickets$0 · live chat on the free tier
AI agentFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing pageNone for chat · call transcription launching
Copilot for agents$29/agent/moNone
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    IntercomIntercom

    As a message in the Messenger, with ticketing available from Essential. 3CX has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    3CX3CX

    As a call, or as a chat that rings the same agent queue; there is no ticket behind it. Intercom raises a ticket where 3CX keeps a conversation.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    IntercomIntercom

    $29 buys the inbox, Messenger and ticketing. Advanced at $85 adds workflows and round-robin routing. $425 for five people, against $0 on 3CX.

    3CX3CX

    The licence is per system per year, sized by simultaneous calls, not per agent; the free tier covers ten users. $0 for five people, against $425 on Intercom.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    IntercomIntercom

    Fin is $0.99 or more per outcome on every plan, printed on the pricing page, on top of seats. 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat) instead.

    3CX3CX

    No AI agent for chat. Call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    IntercomIntercom

    Messenger and email on every plan; WhatsApp, SMS and phone are pay-as-you-go lines. email is here and not on 3CX.

    3CX3CX

    Voice, live chat, WhatsApp, Messenger and SMS through the phone system; no email queue. WhatsApp is here and not on Intercom.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    IntercomIntercom

    Product tours, banners, surveys and outbound campaigns; Proactive Support Plus is $99 a month. 3CX is a business phone system with live chat instead.

    3CX3CX

    The phone system itself: extensions, call queues, IVR, recordings and video meetings. Intercom is a customer messaging platform instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    IntercomIntercom

    An afternoon for a website-first team: install the Messenger, invite the team, answer. 3CX is a day for the phone system.

    3CX3CX

    A day for the phone system; minutes for the chat widget once the PBX is up. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

Sources: Intercom pricing · 3CX 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 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
The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel
3CX3CX. The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel

Pricing references: Intercom pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); 3CX pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Intercom, 3CX 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.

FeatureIntercomIntercom3CX3CXSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; Fin per outcome; channels metered
Per system per year, by simultaneous calls
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None; 14-day trial
Up to 10 users, hosted by 3CX
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
The Messenger, all plans
Widget rings the agent queue
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
No email queue
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Pay-as-you-go
Through the phone system
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via integration
Messenger only
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not native
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack notifications
Internal 3CX chat only
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Fin, trained on your help center
None for chat
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.99 per outcome, on top of seats
No AI agent to bill
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Fin hands to a teammate
No AI to hand off from
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Included from Essential
Calls and chats, no ticket queue
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Visual builder, Advanced and up
Call flows, not support automations
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports; custom on higher plans
Call reports
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

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 email in the price, which 3CX does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which 3CX does not have.

Pick 3CX if

  • Phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents.
  • You want a free tier for a small team that already needs a PBX.
  • Five people cost $425 a month less than on Intercom ($0 against $425), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp in the price, which Intercom does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Intercom or 3CX who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $425 a month on Intercom against $0 on 3CX for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats, 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat); Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram, which neither Intercom nor 3CX includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Intercom on Advanced: $170, $425 and $850 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. 3CX: $0 a month for five (five users on the free tier); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $380 less than Intercom and more than 3CX's $0 for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $755 under Intercom.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Only 3CX has a free plan (up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted); Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card. Intercom and 3CX both include website chat in the price; only Intercom has email; only 3CX has WhatsApp. Neither Intercom nor 3CX includes Instagram and Telegram outright. Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats; 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat). Intercom has tickets and 3CX does not, and only 3CX ships desktop apps. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team; 3CX is a day for the phone system.

What each price leaves out

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. 3CX: No AI agent for chat; call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Beside Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome and 3CX's none for chat, 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
    IntercomIntercom$0.99$475
    3CX3CXSee vendorNot quoted
    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.

    IntercomIntercom · 14-day trial, no card
    3CX3CX · Free tier, no trial clock
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Intercom vs 3CX: the questions people ask

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Intercom has tickets and 3CX does not, and only 3CX ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger); 3CX $0 (SMB Free: up to 10 users).
  • Chat in the price: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets); 3CX $0 (live chat on the free tier).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: Instagram and Telegram, which neither Intercom nor 3CX has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Intercom and 3CX 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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