IntercomGenesys Cloud CXIntercom vs Genesys Cloud CX

Intercom vs Genesys Cloud CX: $425 or $575 for five people

A customer messaging platform against a contact center platform: Intercom is $150 a month cheaper for five people. Where Intercom and Genesys Cloud CX split, 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

No credit card. Live in minutes.

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 Genesys Cloud CX if you run a contact center where voice, routing and workforce management come first. For five people, Intercom is $150 a month cheaper than Genesys Cloud CX ($425 a month on Intercom against $575 on Genesys Cloud CX), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $380 below Intercom. Intercom and Genesys Cloud CX both include website chat and email in the price; only Genesys Cloud CX has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Intercom nor Genesys Cloud CX includes Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Intercom against Genesys Cloud CX, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceIntercomIntercomGenesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX
Built aroundThe Messenger · tickets came laterThe contact center · voice first, digital added
Entry plan$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and Messenger$75/user/mo · CX 1: voice only
Chat in the price$29/seat/mo · Essential, with tickets$115/user/mo · CX 2: adds digital channels
AI agentFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing pageAI tokens · 250 a month included per org
Copilot for agents$29/agent/moIn tokens
Free planNone · 14-day trialNone · no printed trial

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. Genesys Cloud CX has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX

    As an interaction routed by skills and queues, whether it is a call, a web message or an email. Intercom raises a ticket where Genesys Cloud CX 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 $575 on Genesys Cloud CX.

    Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX

    $75 buys voice on CX 1; web messaging, email and social start on CX 2 at $115 per user. $575 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. Genesys Cloud CX folds AI (AI tokens) into the plan instead.

    Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX

    AI Experience tokens: a monthly allowance per org, then bought by usage, covering bots and agent assist. 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. Genesys Cloud CX adds WhatsApp and Instagram, which Intercom lacks.

    Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX

    Voice, web messaging, email, SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram on the digital plans; no Telegram. WhatsApp and Instagram are 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. Genesys Cloud CX is a contact center platform instead.

    Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX

    Workforce management, quality, speech analytics and outbound dialing for a contact center. 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. Genesys Cloud CX is weeks.

    Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX

    Weeks: a contact center rollout with routing, IVR and workforce setup. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

Sources: Intercom pricing · Genesys Cloud CX 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 Genesys Cloud agent workspace: the interaction queue with a web message and the customer record
Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX. The Genesys Cloud agent workspace: the interaction queue with a web message and the customer record

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 Fin outcomes on Intercom, AI conversations on Genesys Cloud CX

3000+
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.

Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX

$575/mo

Voice, web messaging, email, social.

5 × $115 seats
$575
300 AI conversations × $0
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. Genesys bills AI in Experience tokens with a monthly allowance per org, so no per-conversation rate is printed. Rates recorded on 2026-09-13.

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: Intercom pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Genesys Cloud CX pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). 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

Intercom, Genesys Cloud CX 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.

FeatureIntercomIntercomGenesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CXSellio

Pricing

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

Channels

Website live chat
The Messenger, all plans
Web messaging on CX 2 and up
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
CX 2 and up
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Pay-as-you-go
CX 2 and up, plus fees
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via integration
CX 2 and up
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
Teams and Slack integrations
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

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

Support operations

Tickets
Included from Essential
Cases via work automation
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Visual builder, Advanced and up
Architect flows
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports; custom on higher plans
Deep contact center reporting
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile only
Desktop app
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.
  • Five people cost $150 a month less than on Genesys Cloud CX ($425 against $575), before AI.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Genesys Cloud CX does not have.

Pick Genesys Cloud CX if

  • You run a contact center where voice, routing and workforce management come first.
  • Named, concurrent or hourly licensing matters for shift work.
  • You need WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which Intercom does not include outright.
  • You want native desktop apps, which Intercom does not ship.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $425 a month on Intercom against $575 on Genesys Cloud CX for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats, Genesys Cloud CX folds AI (AI tokens) into the plan, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and a free plan with no trial clock, which neither Intercom nor Genesys Cloud CX 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. Genesys Cloud CX on CX 2: $230, $575 and $1,150 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $380 less than Intercom and $530 less than Genesys Cloud CX for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $755 under Intercom and $1,055 under Genesys Cloud CX.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; Genesys Cloud CX is a contact center platform built around the contact center. Neither has a free plan: Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card, Genesys Cloud CX no trial. Intercom and Genesys Cloud CX both include website chat and email in the price; only Genesys Cloud CX has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Intercom nor Genesys Cloud CX includes Telegram outright. Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats; Genesys Cloud CX folds AI (AI tokens) into the plan. Intercom has tickets and Genesys Cloud CX does not, and only Genesys Cloud CX ships desktop apps. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team; Genesys Cloud CX is weeks.

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. Genesys Cloud CX: AI Experience tokens: 250 named or 350 concurrent a month per org included, then bought by usage. Beside Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome and Genesys Cloud CX's AI tokens, 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
    Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CXAssumed $0$0
    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
    Genesys Cloud CXGenesys Cloud CX · None printed; contact sales
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Intercom vs Genesys Cloud CX: the questions people ask

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; Genesys Cloud CX is a contact center platform built around the contact center. Intercom has tickets and Genesys Cloud CX does not, and only Genesys Cloud CX ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger); Genesys Cloud CX $75/user/mo (CX 1: voice only).
  • Chat in the price: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets); Genesys Cloud CX $115/user/mo (CX 2: adds digital channels).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: Telegram, which neither Intercom nor Genesys Cloud CX has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Intercom and Genesys Cloud CX 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

No credit card required