IntercomHelpshiftIntercom vs Helpshift

Intercom vs Helpshift: customer messaging or in-app support

A customer messaging platform against an in-app support for games and apps: one prints a price and one quotes. Where Intercom and Helpshift 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 Helpshift if you ship a mobile game or app and want support inside it with device data attached. For five people it is $425 a month on Intercom, and a quote on Helpshift, before AI; Sellio Mini is $45 for the workspace. Intercom and Helpshift both include website chat and email in the price; only Helpshift has WhatsApp. Neither Intercom nor Helpshift includes Instagram and Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Intercom against Helpshift, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceIntercomIntercomHelpshiftHelpshift
Built aroundThe Messenger · tickets came laterIn-app support for games · SDK first
Entry plan$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and MessengerQuote · priced by interaction volume
Chat in the price$29/seat/mo · Essential, with ticketsQuote · in-app and web
AI agentFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing pageIn the quote · AI agents by volume
Copilot for agents$29/agent/moIn the quote
Free planNone · 14-day trialNone · request pricing

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. Helpshift raises tickets too, from in-app support for games.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    As an issue raised inside the game or app through the SDK, with device and player data attached. Intercom raises tickets too, from the Messenger.

  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; Helpshift prints no figure to set beside it.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    There is no seat price; the quote is built from interaction volume, solutions and regions. No figure for five people here; Intercom prints $425.

  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. Helpshift meters AI (in the quote) above the seats as well.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    AI agents are part of the modular quote, priced by the volume they handle. Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    IntercomIntercom

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

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    In-app, web, email, WhatsApp and Discord; no Instagram or Telegram. 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. Helpshift is an in-app support for games and apps instead.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    Player engagement, trust and safety, community, and outsourced human support. 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. Helpshift is a sales cycle, then an SDK integration by your developers.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    A sales cycle, then an SDK integration by your developers. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

Sources: Intercom pricing · Helpshift 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 Helpshift agent dashboard: an in-app issue with the player's device and session data
HelpshiftHelpshift. The Helpshift agent dashboard: an in-app issue with the player's device and session data

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

Intercom, Helpshift 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.

FeatureIntercomIntercomHelpshiftHelpshiftSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; Fin per outcome; channels metered
Quote by interaction volume
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
In-app and web
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
Included
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Pay-as-you-go
Included
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via integration
Not offered
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not native
Discord instead
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack notifications
Discord as a customer channel
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Fin, trained on your help center
AI agents in the quote
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.99 per outcome, on top of seats
By volume, quoted
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Fin hands to a teammate
Hands to an agent
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

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

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile only
Browser only
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.
  • It prints its price ($425 a month for five) where Helpshift quotes.
  • Time to the first reply is an afternoon for a website-first team here and a sales cycle, then an SDK integration by your developers on Helpshift.

Pick Helpshift if

  • You ship a mobile game or app and want support inside it with device data attached.
  • Discord and WhatsApp are where players write.
  • You need WhatsApp in the price, which Intercom does not include outright.
  • Time to the first reply is a sales cycle, then an SDK integration by your developers here and an afternoon for a website-first team on Intercom.

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, and a quote on Helpshift 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, Helpshift meters AI (in the quote) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Intercom nor Helpshift 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. Helpshift quotes per team, so two, five and ten people are three conversations with sales. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $380 less than Intercom and against a quote on Helpshift 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; Helpshift is an in-app support for games and apps built around in-app support for games. Neither has a free plan: Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card, Helpshift no trial. Intercom and Helpshift both include website chat and email in the price; only Helpshift has WhatsApp. Neither Intercom nor Helpshift includes Instagram and Telegram outright. Intercom (from $0.99 per outcome) and Helpshift (in the quote) both meter AI above the seats. Intercom and Helpshift both raise tickets, and neither Intercom nor Helpshift ships a desktop app. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team; Helpshift is a sales cycle, then an SDK integration by your developers.

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. Helpshift: AI agents are part of the modular quote. Beside Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome and Helpshift's in the quote, 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
    HelpshiftHelpshiftSee 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
    HelpshiftHelpshift · None; request pricing
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Intercom vs Helpshift: the questions people ask

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; Helpshift is an in-app support for games and apps built around in-app support for games. Intercom and Helpshift both raise tickets, and neither Intercom nor Helpshift ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger); Helpshift Quote (priced by interaction volume).
  • Chat in the price: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets); Helpshift Quote (in-app and web).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: Instagram and Telegram, which neither Intercom nor Helpshift has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Intercom and Helpshift 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

No credit card required