IntercomFacebook ChatIntercom vs Facebook Chat

Intercom vs Facebook Chat: $425 or $0 for five people

A customer messaging platform against a Meta Business Suite inbox: Facebook Chat is $425 a month cheaper for five people. What decides between Intercom and Facebook Chat, and a third option for small teams.

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 Facebook Chat if customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget. For five people, Facebook Chat is $425 a month cheaper than Intercom ($425 a month on Intercom against $0 on Facebook Chat), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only Facebook Chat's figure comes under. Intercom and Facebook Chat share no channel in the base price; only Intercom has website chat and email; only Facebook Chat has Instagram. Neither Intercom nor Facebook Chat includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. A team of two to ten choosing between Intercom and Facebook Chat for chat and tickets at one price has a third option below.

At a glanceIntercomIntercomFacebook ChatFacebook Chat
Built aroundThe Messenger · tickets came laterMessenger and Instagram DMs · free with a Page
Entry plan$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and Messenger$0 · with a Facebook Page
Chat in the price$29/seat/mo · Essential, with ticketsNone · the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024
AI agentFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing pageNone to buy · instant replies and FAQs
Copilot for agents$29/agent/moMeta AI drafts · for some businesses
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · the whole inbox is free

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. Facebook Chat has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    As a Messenger or Instagram message in the Business Suite inbox, with the customer's profile beside it. Intercom raises a ticket where Facebook Chat 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 Facebook Chat.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    There are no seats and no price; anyone with a Page role can answer. $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. Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy) instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    No AI agent to buy. Instant replies, away messages and FAQs are rules; Meta AI drafts replies for some businesses. 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. website chat and email are here and not on Facebook Chat.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Messenger, Instagram DMs and comments; WhatsApp lives in its own app, and the website plugin is gone. Instagram 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. Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Posting, scheduling and ads for the Page; nothing beyond Meta's own channels. 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. Facebook Chat is none.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    None: it is already there when you have a Page. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

Sources: Intercom pricing · Facebook Chat 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 Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list
Facebook ChatFacebook Chat. The Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list

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

Intercom, Facebook Chat 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.

FeatureIntercomIntercomFacebook ChatFacebook ChatSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; Fin per outcome; channels metered
Free
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None; 14-day trial
The whole product
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
The Messenger, all plans
Website Chat Plugin retired in 2024
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
Not offered
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Pay-as-you-go
Separate WhatsApp Business app
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via integration
DMs and comments
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
Not offered
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Fin, trained on your help center
Rules, not an AI agent
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 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
Labels and done state only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Visual builder, Advanced and up
Instant replies, away messages, FAQs
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports; custom on higher plans
Page insights
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile only
Browser and mobile
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 website chat and email in the price, which Facebook Chat does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Facebook Chat does not have.

Pick Facebook Chat if

  • Customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget.
  • One or two people answer and you do not need assignment or tickets.
  • Five people cost $425 a month less than on Intercom ($0 against $425), before AI.
  • You need Instagram in the price, which Intercom does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • Two to ten of you answer chat, messaging and email. Compare Sellio's workspace plans with $425 a month on Intercom against $0 on Facebook Chat for five people, including each product's limits.
  • The AI invoice should be known in advance: Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats and Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy), where Sellio's credit is included and capped by you.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Intercom nor Facebook Chat 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. Facebook Chat: $0 a month for five (free for anyone with a Page role); 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 Facebook Chat'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; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. Only Facebook Chat has a free plan (the whole inbox is free); Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card. Intercom and Facebook Chat share no channel in the base price; only Intercom has website chat and email; only Facebook Chat has Instagram. Neither Intercom nor Facebook Chat includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats; Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy). Intercom has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and neither Intercom nor Facebook Chat ships a desktop app. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team; Facebook Chat is none.

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. Facebook Chat: No AI agent; instant replies and FAQs are rule-based. Beside Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome and Facebook Chat's none to buy, 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
    Facebook ChatFacebook ChatSee 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
    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat · Not applicable; free
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Intercom vs Facebook Chat: the questions people ask

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. Intercom has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and neither Intercom nor Facebook Chat ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger); Facebook Chat $0 (with a Facebook Page).
  • Chat in the price: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets); Facebook Chat None (the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024).
  • Sellio: WhatsApp and Telegram, which neither Intercom nor Facebook Chat has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Intercom and Facebook Chat rows is on the shared inbox page.

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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