IntercomUserlikeIntercom vs Userlike

Intercom vs Userlike: two customer messaging options, compared

Two customer messaging platforms: Intercom is $50 a month cheaper for five people. Where Intercom and Userlike 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

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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 Userlike if you are in Europe and want a German-hosted messenger with WhatsApp campaigns. For five people, Intercom is $50 a month cheaper than Userlike ($425 a month on Intercom against $475 on Userlike), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $380 below Intercom. Intercom and Userlike both include website chat in the price; only Intercom has email; only Userlike has WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram. Between them Intercom and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. For a team of two to ten weighing Intercom against Userlike, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceIntercomIntercomUserlikeUserlike
Built aroundThe Messenger · tickets came laterThe website messenger · now Lime Connect
Entry plan$29/seat/mo · Essential: inbox and Messenger$0 · Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations
Chat in the price$29/seat/mo · Essential, with ticketsAbout $95/seat/mo · Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly
AI agentFrom $0.99 per outcome · Fin, printed on the pricing pageFrom about $108/mo · AI Agent, 100 conversations
Copilot for agents$29/agent/moAbout $21/seat/mo · AI Copilot
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · 1 seat, website only

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. Userlike has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    UserlikeUserlike

    As a message in the website messenger, or from WhatsApp, in one message center. Intercom raises a ticket where Userlike 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 $475 on Userlike.

    UserlikeUserlike

    The free plan is one seat on the website; Pro is priced per seat in euros (about $95) with a three-seat minimum. $475 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. Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats as well.

    UserlikeUserlike

    The AI Agent starts around $108 a month for 100 conversations; the AI Copilot is about $21 per seat. 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 Userlike.

    UserlikeUserlike

    Website messenger, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, SMS and email on Pro. WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram 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. Userlike is the same kind of product, a customer messaging platform.

    UserlikeUserlike

    Live translation, video calls and WhatsApp campaigns; a German company under Lime Technologies. Intercom is the same kind of product, a customer messaging platform.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    IntercomIntercom

    An afternoon for a website-first team: install the Messenger, invite the team, answer. Userlike is an hour.

    UserlikeUserlike

    An hour: paste the messenger, connect WhatsApp through their onboarding. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team.

Sources: Intercom pricing · Userlike 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 Userlike message center: the conversation list with channel badges and the chat
UserlikeUserlike. The Userlike message center: the conversation list with channel badges and the chat

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

Intercom, Userlike 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.

FeatureIntercomIntercomUserlikeUserlikeSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; Fin per outcome; channels metered
Per seat in euros; three-seat minimum
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None; 14-day trial
1 seat, 200 conversations
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
Pro
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Pay-as-you-go
Pro
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via integration
Pro
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not native
Pro
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 Agent 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
From about $108 a month
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
Conversations only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Visual builder, Advanced and up
Workflows add-on
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports; custom on higher plans
Analytics on Pro
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 $50 a month less than on Userlike ($425 against $475), before AI.
  • You need email in the price, which Userlike does not include outright.

Pick Userlike if

  • You are in Europe and want a German-hosted messenger with WhatsApp campaigns.
  • Telegram and Instagram must be in the same inbox.
  • You need WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram in the price, which Intercom does not include outright.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card.

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 $475 on Userlike 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, Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Intercom nor Userlike 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. Userlike: $475 a month for five (5 seats × about $95, billed yearly); 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 $430 less than Userlike 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

Both Intercom and Userlike are customer messaging platforms, so the category is settled and the question is what each seat buys: Intercom is built around the Messenger, Userlike around the website messenger. Only Userlike has a free plan (1 seat, website only); Intercom offers a 14-day trial, no card. Intercom and Userlike both include website chat in the price; only Intercom has email; only Userlike has WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram. Between them Intercom and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. Intercom (from $0.99 per outcome) and Userlike (from about $108/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Intercom has tickets and Userlike does not, and neither Intercom nor Userlike ships a desktop app. Intercom is an afternoon for a website-first team; Userlike 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. Userlike: AI Agent from about $108 a month for 100 conversations; AI Copilot about $21 per seat. Beside Intercom's from $0.99 per outcome and Userlike's from about $108/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
    UserlikeUserlikeSee 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
    UserlikeUserlike · 14-day trial of Pro
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Intercom vs Userlike: the questions people ask

Both Intercom and Userlike are customer messaging platforms, so the category is settled and the question is what each seat buys: Intercom is built around the Messenger, Userlike around the website messenger.

  • Entry plan: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential: inbox and Messenger); Userlike $0 (Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations).
  • Chat in the price: Intercom $29/seat/mo (Essential, with tickets); Userlike About $95/seat/mo (Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly).
  • Sellio's inbox: all five channels on every paid plan, where Intercom and Userlike each include only some.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Intercom and Userlike 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

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