Free Intercom alternatives
Top Customer Support & Live Chat like Intercom
The most popular alternative to Intercom is Crisp, which has a free version. Other great alternatives to Intercom are Freshdesk, Help Scout, Tidio, and Chatwoot.
Most alternatives to Intercom are in the Customer Support & Live Chat category, compared here by price, platform and features.
All Intercom alternatives
Crisp is a French customer messaging platform that gathers website chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and other channels into one shared inbox. It includes a chatbot builder, AI answers based on your own content, a knowledge base, email campaigns and a status page. A free plan covers basic live chat, and paid plans add automation, AI features and more channels.
8 Crisp alternativesPros
- Shared inbox for chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger
- Bundles a knowledge base, email campaigns and a status page
- French company with a GDPR-minded approach to customer data
Cons
- Free plan is limited to basic chat, while AI and automation need paid plans
- Reporting is lighter than in help desks built for large enterprises
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesFreshdesk is a help desk tool from Freshworks that turns emails, web forms, chats, calls and social messages into tickets for support teams. It includes a knowledge base, SLA management, automations, collision detection and reporting, plus Freddy AI for suggested replies and self-service bots. A free plan covers small teams, and it connects with Freshworks' CRM and other business apps.
12 Freshdesk alternativesPros
- Free plan for small teams with core ticketing
- Turns email, forms, chat, calls and social messages into tickets
- SLA rules, collision detection and automations for busy teams
Cons
- AI features and advanced automation cost extra or need top tiers
- Admin settings get complex as workflows grow
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesHelp Scout is a customer support platform built around a shared inbox that feels like personal email to customers, without ticket numbers or portals. It adds a knowledge base (Docs), the embeddable Beacon widget for live chat and self-service, customer profiles, reporting and AI tools for drafting and summarizing replies. It suits small and mid-sized companies that value a personal tone.
8 Help Scout alternativesPros
- Replies feel like personal email, with no ticket numbers for customers
- Beacon widget combines live chat and help articles on any site
- Clean interface that new agents learn quickly
Cons
- Fewer advanced workflow and reporting options than enterprise help desks
- Free plan is limited, so key features require a paid plan
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesTidio is a customer service tool that combines a website live chat widget, a multichannel inbox and ticketing with Lyro, an AI agent that answers common questions from your help content. Visual chatbot flows can greet visitors, recover abandoned carts or collect leads. It integrates with Shopify, WordPress, Wix and other platforms, and mainly targets small businesses and online stores.
8 Tidio alternativesPros
- Easy to install on Shopify, WordPress and Wix stores
- Lyro AI agent answers common questions from your help content
- Visual chatbot flows for lead capture and abandoned carts
Cons
- AI and chatbot usage limits can push costs up quickly
- Free plan becomes tight for a growing store
- Reporting is basic for larger support teams
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesChatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform positioned as an alternative to Intercom and Zendesk. It unifies website live chat, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and SMS in one shared inbox, with a help center, canned responses, automation rules and an AI assistant called Captain. Teams can self-host it for free or use the paid cloud version.
11 Chatwoot alternativesPros
- Open source and free to self-host, keeping conversations on your servers
- One inbox for chat, email, WhatsApp, social channels and SMS
- Includes a help center, canned responses and automation rules
Cons
- Self-hosting requires maintaining the server, updates and integrations
- Reporting and workflows are less deep than in Zendesk or Intercom
Cost / LicenseFreemiumOpen sourceCategoriesPlatformsZoho Desk is a help desk application from Zoho that manages customer requests from email, phone, chat, social media and web forms as tickets. It offers a self-service knowledge base, SLA rules, workflow automation, analytics and Zia, an AI assistant that suggests answers and detects customer sentiment. It integrates tightly with Zoho CRM and has a free plan for small teams.
10 Zoho Desk alternativesPros
- Tight integration with Zoho CRM shows customer context on tickets
- Zia suggests answers and detects customer sentiment
- Free plan for small teams, with paid tiers for SLAs and automation
Cons
- Interface feels busy, with many settings to learn
- Works best when you already use other Zoho apps
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriestawk.to is a free live chat platform that lets businesses add a chat widget to their website and answer visitors from the web, desktop or mobile apps, with no limit on agents. It also includes ticketing, a knowledge base and real-time visitor monitoring. The company earns money through optional paid add-ons, such as removing its branding, AI assistance or hiring agents to staff the chat.
8 tawk.to alternativesPros
- Free live chat with no limit on the number of agents
- Includes ticketing, a knowledge base and visitor monitoring
- Web, desktop and mobile apps to answer from anywhere
Cons
- Removing tawk.to branding requires a paid add-on
- Interface and reporting feel basic next to premium tools
- AI assistance is sold as a paid extra
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietaryCategoriesHubSpot is a customer platform built around a free CRM, with paid hubs for marketing automation, sales engagement, customer service, content management and operations. Contacts, deals, emails and support tickets share one record, and the Breeze AI tools help with writing, research and agents. It suits small and mid-sized companies that want marketing, sales and support in a single system.
12 HubSpot alternativesPros
- Free CRM that covers contacts, deals and basic email tracking
- Marketing, sales and service share one customer record
- Large integration marketplace and extensive free training via HubSpot Academy
Cons
- Costs rise steeply once you need Professional-tier features
- Marketing pricing grows with the number of marketing contacts
- Upper tiers can involve onboarding fees and annual contracts
Cost / LicenseFreemiumProprietary
Intercom vs its alternatives at a glance
Pricing, platforms and the key features of Intercom, compared with its most popular alternatives.
| App | Pricing | Platforms | AI agents | AI chatbot | Knowledge base | Live chat widget | Shared inbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Intercom | Free trial | Web, iPhone, Android | |||||
 Crisp | Freemium | Web, Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android | |||||
 Freshdesk | Freemium | Web, iPhone, Android | |||||
 Help Scout | Freemium | Web, iPhone, Android | |||||
 Tidio | Freemium | Web, iPhone, Android | |||||
 Chatwoot | FreemiumOpen source | Web, iPhone, Android, Self-hosted |
Intercom alternatives: frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Intercom?
The most popular alternative to Intercom is Crisp: Multichannel customer messaging and live chat from France. Other great alternatives are Freshdesk, Help Scout, Tidio, and Chatwoot.
Is there a free alternative to Intercom?
Yes, 8 alternatives are free or have a free plan, including Crisp, Freshdesk, Help Scout, and Tidio.
Is there an open source alternative to Intercom?
Yes, one open source alternative is listed: Chatwoot.
Is Intercom free?
Intercom is a paid app that offers a free trial.
Compare Intercom with its alternatives
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