IntercomProProfsIntercom vs ProProfs

Intercom vs ProProfs: $325 apart for five people

A customer messaging platform against a live chat software: ProProfs is $325 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 ProProfs if one person answers chat and you want every feature free. For five people, ProProfs is $325 a month cheaper than Intercom ($425 a month on Intercom against $100 on ProProfs), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $55 under ProProfs. Intercom and ProProfs both include website chat in the price; only Intercom has email. Neither Intercom nor ProProfs includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Intercom and ProProfs sell here at one price.

At a glanceIntercomIntercomProProfsProProfs
Built aroundThe Messenger · tickets came laterThe chat widget · free for one operator
Entry plan$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and Messenger$0 · one operator, all features
Chat in the price$29/seat/mo · Essential, with ticketsAbout $20/operator/mo · Team plan
AI agentFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing page$450/year · 2,500 AI interactions a month
Copilot for agents$29/agent/moIn the AI add-on
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · a single operator

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. ProProfs has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    ProProfsProProfs

    As a chat in the widget, greeted by a rule or the AI add-on, with the visitor's page shown. Intercom raises a ticket where ProProfs 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 $100 on ProProfs.

    ProProfsProProfs

    One operator is free with every feature; a team pays per operator, about $20 a month each. $100 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. ProProfs folds AI ($450/year) into the plan instead.

    ProProfsProProfs

    AI chat automation is $450 a year for 2,500 interactions a month, a flat add-on. 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 ProProfs.

    ProProfsProProfs

    Website chat, with WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger on the team plan; no Telegram. Intercom adds email, which ProProfs lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    IntercomIntercom

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

    ProProfsProProfs

    A help desk, a knowledge base and surveys as sibling products; a suite from $499 a month. 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. ProProfs is minutes.

    ProProfsProProfs

    Minutes: paste the widget. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

Sources: Intercom pricing · ProProfs 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 ProProfs Chat operator view: the chat with the visitor's page and history
ProProfsProProfs. The ProProfs Chat operator view: the chat with the visitor's page and history

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

Intercom, ProProfs 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.

FeatureIntercomIntercomProProfsProProfsSellio

Pricing

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

Channels

Website live chat
The Messenger, all plans
All plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
Separate help desk product
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Pay-as-you-go
Team plan
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via integration
Team plan
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
AI add-on
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.99 per outcome, on top of seats
$450 a year flat
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Fin hands to a teammate
Hands to an operator
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Included from Essential
Separate help desk product
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Visual builder, Advanced and up
Greetings and routing
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports; custom on higher plans
Chat 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 ProProfs does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which ProProfs does not have.

Pick ProProfs if

  • One person answers chat and you want every feature free.
  • A flat yearly AI add-on beats a per-conversation meter for you.
  • Five people cost $325 a month less than on Intercom ($100 against $425), before AI.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Intercom or ProProfs who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $425 a month on Intercom against $100 on ProProfs for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats, ProProfs folds AI ($450/year) into the plan; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and WhatsApp in the base price, which neither Intercom nor ProProfs 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. ProProfs: $100 a month for five (5 operators × about $20); 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 $55 less than ProProfs 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; ProProfs is a live chat software built around the chat widget. Only ProProfs has a free plan (a single operator); Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card. Intercom and ProProfs both include website chat in the price; only Intercom has email. Neither Intercom nor ProProfs includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats; ProProfs folds AI ($450/year) into the plan. Intercom has tickets and ProProfs does not, and only ProProfs ships desktop apps. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team; ProProfs is minutes.

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. ProProfs: AI Chat Automation $450 a year for 2,500 interactions a month. Beside Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome and ProProfs's $450/year, 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 these figures were read

ProProfs does not print the figures above in a form a fetch can read (Free for one operator; the team plan is priced per operator and shown after sign-up, so its figure is from published summaries.), so they are marked unverified here beside Intercom's, and ProProfs's pricing page should be checked before you decide.

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
    ProProfsProProfsSee 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
    ProProfsProProfs · 15-day trial of the team plan
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Intercom vs ProProfs: the questions people ask

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

  • Entry plan: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger); ProProfs $0 (one operator, all features).
  • Chat in the price: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets); ProProfs About $20/operator/mo (Team plan).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, which neither Intercom nor ProProfs has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Intercom and ProProfs 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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