IntercomSalesforce Service CloudIntercom vs Salesforce Service Cloud

Intercom vs Salesforce Service Cloud: $425 against $975 a month

A customer messaging platform against an enterprise service CRM: Intercom is $550 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 Salesforce Service Cloud if the rest of the company runs on Salesforce and support must share the record. For five people, Intercom is $550 a month cheaper than Salesforce Service Cloud ($425 a month on Intercom against $975 on Salesforce Service Cloud), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $380 under Intercom. Intercom and Salesforce Service Cloud both include email in the price; only Intercom has website chat. Neither Intercom nor Salesforce Service Cloud includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Intercom and Salesforce Service Cloud sell here at one price.

At a glanceIntercomIntercomSalesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud
Built aroundThe Messenger · tickets came laterCases on the CRM · channels bought separately
Entry plan$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and Messenger$25/user/mo · Starter Suite
Chat in the price$29/seat/mo · Essential, with tickets$195/user/mo · Core, plus messaging add-ons
AI agentFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing pageFlex Credits · Agentforce; Max includes 2.75M a year
Copilot for agents$29/agent/moIn Agentforce
Free planNone · 14-day trialNone · trials on Starter to Advanced

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. Salesforce Service Cloud raises tickets too, from cases on the CRM.

    Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud

    As a case on the Salesforce record, routed by Omni-Channel to a queue or an agent. 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, against $975 on Salesforce Service Cloud.

    Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud

    $25 buys the Starter Suite; the service editions run $195 on Core to $550 on Max, with channels as add-ons. $975 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. Salesforce Service Cloud meters AI (Flex Credits) above the seats as well.

    Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud

    Agentforce is sold in Flex Credits by usage; only Max includes an allowance. 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. website chat is here and not on Salesforce Service Cloud.

    Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud

    Email and web on the editions; chat, messaging, WhatsApp and voice are bought as add-ons. Intercom adds website chat, which Salesforce Service Cloud lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    IntercomIntercom

    Product tours, banners, surveys and outbound campaigns; Proactive Support Plus is $99 a month. Salesforce Service Cloud is an enterprise service CRM instead.

    Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud

    The whole CRM: sales, marketing, commerce, analytics and thousands of AppExchange apps. 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. Salesforce Service Cloud is weeks to months.

    Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud

    Weeks to months: an implementation, often with a partner. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

Sources: Intercom pricing · Salesforce Service Cloud 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 Service Cloud console: the case with the contact, the knowledge panel and Omni-Channel
Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud. The Service Cloud console: the case with the contact, the knowledge panel and Omni-Channel

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, Agentforce conversations on Salesforce Service Cloud

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.

Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud

$1,575/mo

The service console; channels as add-ons.

5 × $195 seats
$975
300 Agentforce conversations × $2
$600

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. Agentforce was listed at $2 per conversation before moving to Flex Credits; the rate is a stated assumption. 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); Salesforce Service Cloud 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, Salesforce Service Cloud 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.

FeatureIntercomIntercomSalesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service CloudSellio

Pricing

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

Channels

Website live chat
The Messenger, all plans
Messaging add-on
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
Email-to-case
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Pay-as-you-go
Messaging add-on
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via integration
Messenger via add-on
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
Slack is a Salesforce product
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Fin, trained on your help center
Agentforce
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.99 per outcome, on top of seats
Flex Credits by 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
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Visual builder, Advanced and up
Flow
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports; custom on higher plans
Reports and Tableau
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.
  • Five people cost $550 a month less than on Salesforce Service Cloud ($425 against $975), before AI.
  • You need website chat in the price, which Salesforce Service Cloud does not include outright.

Pick Salesforce Service Cloud if

  • The rest of the company runs on Salesforce and support must share the record.
  • You have an implementation partner and a budget for add-ons.
  • Time to the first reply is weeks to months here and an afternoon for a website-first team on Intercom.
  • Its pricing model suits you better than Intercom's: per user per month, billed yearly. Channels and Agentforce are bought on top of the edition.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Intercom or Salesforce Service Cloud who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $425 a month on Intercom against $975 on Salesforce Service Cloud for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Intercom meters AI (from $0.99 per outcome) above the seats, Salesforce Service Cloud meters AI (Flex Credits) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Intercom nor Salesforce Service Cloud 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. Salesforce Service Cloud on Core: $390, $975 and $1,950 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 $930 less than Salesforce Service Cloud for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $755 under Intercom and $1,855 under Salesforce Service Cloud.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; Salesforce Service Cloud is an enterprise service CRM built around cases on the CRM. Neither has a free plan: Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card, Salesforce Service Cloud a free trial. Intercom and Salesforce Service Cloud both include email in the price; only Intercom has website chat. Neither Intercom nor Salesforce Service Cloud includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. Intercom (from $0.99 per outcome) and Salesforce Service Cloud (Flex Credits) both meter AI above the seats. Intercom and Salesforce Service Cloud both raise tickets, and neither Intercom nor Salesforce Service Cloud ships a desktop app. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team; Salesforce Service Cloud is weeks to months.

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. Salesforce Service Cloud: Agentforce by Flex Credits; Max includes 2.75M a year, others buy by usage. Beside Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome and Salesforce Service Cloud's Flex Credits, 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
    Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service CloudAssumed $2$960
    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
    Salesforce Service CloudSalesforce Service Cloud · Free trials on Starter, Pro, Core and Advanced
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Intercom vs Salesforce Service Cloud: the questions people ask

Intercom is a customer messaging platform built around the Messenger; Salesforce Service Cloud is an enterprise service CRM built around cases on the CRM. Intercom and Salesforce Service Cloud both raise tickets, and neither Intercom nor Salesforce Service Cloud ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger); Salesforce Service Cloud $25/user/mo (Starter Suite).
  • Chat in the price: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets); Salesforce Service Cloud $195/user/mo (Core, plus messaging add-ons).
  • Sellio: WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, which neither Intercom nor Salesforce Service Cloud has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Intercom and Salesforce Service Cloud 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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