IntercomLiveChatIntercom vs LiveChat

Intercom vs LiveChat: entry plans at $29 and $19

A customer messaging platform against a live chat software: LiveChat is $180 a month cheaper for five people. Where Intercom and LiveChat 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 LiveChat if website chat is the channel and you want the most refined console and widget available. For five people, LiveChat is $180 a month cheaper than Intercom ($425 a month on Intercom against $245 on LiveChat), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $200 below LiveChat. Intercom and LiveChat both include website chat in the price; only Intercom has email. Neither Intercom nor LiveChat includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Intercom against LiveChat, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceIntercomIntercomLiveChatLiveChat
Built aroundThe Messenger · tickets came laterThe chat console · help desk and chatbot sold separately
Entry plan$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and Messenger$19/agent/mo · Starter: 60-day history
Chat in the price$29/seat/mo · Essential, with tickets$49/agent/mo · Team
AI agentFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing pageChatBot from $52/mo · a separate product
Copilot for agents$29/agent/moIncluded · Text Intelligence
Free planNone · 14-day trialNone · 14-day 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. LiveChat has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    LiveChatLiveChat

    As a chat in the agent console, with the visitor's page and typing shown live; tickets go to the separate HelpDesk product. Intercom raises a ticket where LiveChat 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 $245 on LiveChat.

    LiveChatLiveChat

    $19 buys the console with 60 days of history. Team at $49 keeps the history and adds reports. $245 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. LiveChat meters AI (ChatBot from $52/mo) above the seats as well.

    LiveChatLiveChat

    Text Intelligence assists are included; an AI answering customers means the separate ChatBot product from $52 a month. 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. email is here and not on LiveChat.

    LiveChatLiveChat

    Website chat, Messenger, Apple Messages, WhatsApp and email in the console; SMS via integration. Intercom adds email, which LiveChat lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    IntercomIntercom

    Product tours, banners, surveys and outbound campaigns; Proactive Support Plus is $99 a month. LiveChat is a live chat software instead.

    LiveChatLiveChat

    A large marketplace, and sibling products for chatbot, help desk and knowledge base at their own prices. 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. LiveChat is an hour.

    LiveChatLiveChat

    An hour: paste the snippet, invite agents, answer. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

Sources: Intercom pricing · LiveChat 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 LiveChat agent console: the chat list, the conversation and the visitor details
LiveChatLiveChat. The LiveChat agent console: the chat list, the conversation and the visitor details

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 LiveChat

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.

LiveChatLiveChat

$245/mo

Full history, reports, agent groups.

5 × $49 seats
$245
300 AI conversations × $0
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. LiveChat sells its chatbot as a separate ChatBot subscription from $52 a month, not per conversation; add that flat fee. 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: Intercom pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); LiveChat 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

Intercom, LiveChat 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.

FeatureIntercomIntercomLiveChatLiveChatSellio

Pricing

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

Channels

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

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Fin, trained on your help center
ChatBot, a separate subscription.
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.99 per outcome, on top of seats
From $52/mo for ChatBot; copilot included.
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Fin hands to a teammate
ChatBot transfers to agents.
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Included from Essential
HelpDesk is a separate product.
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Visual builder, Advanced and up
Routing rules; flows live in ChatBot.
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports; custom on higher plans
Reports and ratings.
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile only
Mac and Windows 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 LiveChat does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which LiveChat does not have.

Pick LiveChat if

  • Website chat is the channel and you want the most refined console and widget available.
  • You need Apple Messages for Business.
  • Five people cost $180 a month less than on Intercom ($245 against $425), before AI.
  • 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 $245 on LiveChat 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, LiveChat meters AI (ChatBot from $52/mo) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and a free plan with no trial clock, which neither Intercom nor LiveChat 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. LiveChat on Team: $98, $245 and $490 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 $200 less than LiveChat for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $755 under Intercom and $395 under LiveChat.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; LiveChat is a live chat software built around the chat console. Neither has a free plan: Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card, LiveChat 14 days, no card. Intercom and LiveChat both include website chat in the price; only Intercom has email. Neither Intercom nor LiveChat includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. Intercom (from $0.99 per outcome) and LiveChat (ChatBot from $52/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Intercom has tickets and LiveChat does not, and only LiveChat ships desktop apps. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team; LiveChat is an hour.

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. LiveChat: Text Intelligence (copilot, suggestions, summaries) included. The ChatBot product is separate, from $52 a month yearly. Beside Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome and LiveChat's ChatBot from $52/mo, 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
    LiveChatLiveChatAssumed $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
    LiveChatLiveChat · 14 days, no card
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Intercom vs LiveChat: the questions people ask

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; LiveChat is a live chat software built around the chat console. Intercom has tickets and LiveChat does not, and only LiveChat ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger); LiveChat $19/agent/mo (Starter: 60-day history).
  • Chat in the price: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets); LiveChat $49/agent/mo (Team).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, which neither Intercom nor LiveChat has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Intercom and LiveChat 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