Helpin vs Intercom at a glance
A customer asks a question. Sometimes the answer is in a guide. Sometimes the product needs fixing. Helpin’s AI agents can handle both kinds of work, with your team in control of what gets approved.
Intercom brings Fin, a shared inbox and multiple support channels together. Helpin brings support, development, sales, meetings and docs into one fast workspace, so your agents and team can work from the same customer history.
You pay per workspace, with unlimited teammates and an included AI allowance. There is no separate fee each time AI resolves a conversation.
- The answer can lead straight to a fix. Echo can investigate the question, coding agents can work on the bug, and Quill can update the guide. Your team reviews the work in one workspace.
- Intercom combines Fin with a multichannel inbox. It also connects to external data and runs support procedures. Engineering and sales pipelines generally connect through other products.
Compare what your team can do in each product. Plan requirements and connected tools are shown where they matter.
| Capability |  HelpinOpen source · Cloud or self-hosted | IntercomAI customer support |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Price model | Per workspace | Per seat: $29, $85 or $132 a month billed annually |
| Teammates | Unlimited teammates on every plan | Each full seat is paid; Lite seats on higher plans |
| AI agent | AI usage allowance included in every Cloud plan | Fin at $0.99 per outcome |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 14 days, no card |
| Open source and self-hosting | Free Community edition (AGPL-3.0) | |
| Support | ||
| Channels | Web chat and email | Chat, email, phone, WhatsApp, SMS, social, Slack and more |
| AI answers with human handoff | ||
| Help center | AI answers, own domain, API reference, agent-maintained docs | Public help center; multilingual on Advanced |
| Widget SDKs | Web: JavaScript, React, Next.js, Vue | Web, iOS, Android, React Native |
| Support reporting | Knowledge-gap and project reports | Pre-built reports; custom reports on Advanced |
| Company single sign-on (SAML) | Expert plan | |
| Support response-time policies (SLAs) | Expert plan | |
| Beyond support | ||
| Project management | Roadmaps, sprints, objectives, epics | Through integrations such as Jira |
| CRM with deals | Contacts, companies, deals and AI follow-ups | Contacts and companies; deals through integrations |
| Meeting notes | Meet, Zoom, Teams and Webex | |
| Code delivery from a task | Built-in planning, coding and review; GitHub PRs and GitLab MRs | |
| MCP server | Read context, update work and start agents | Hosted |
Comparison data verified October 2026.
Why choose Helpin over Intercom?
Give agents the context and tools to carry out work, keep your team in control, and bring everyone into the same fast workspace.
Helpin- Workspace price
- Unlimited teammates
- AI allowance
No per-seat or per-resolution fees.
Helpin charges per workspace with unlimited teammates and an included AI allowance. Invite support, engineering and sales without buying another seat. Extra AI usage is metered only if you enable it on a paid plan. There is no separate charge for each resolved conversation.
Helpin- Report
- Agent work
- Review
- Follow-up
Give agents the work behind the reply.
A bug report can become a task with the customer’s conversation attached. Scribe plans, Forge writes and tests the code, and Lens reviews it. After the release is confirmed, configured automation can follow up with affected customers under your approval rules.
Helpin- Release
- UI capture
- Article update
Keep the guides current as you ship.
Quill can update your help center and internal docs from released changes and unanswered questions. It can capture fresh screenshots and browser recordings too. Your team reviews and publishes the changes, so customers and agents have current instructions.
Helpin- Your instructions
- Context and tools
- Action
Build agents around the way you work.
Describe a job in plain language to build a custom agent or flow. Choose its tools, instructions, skills and approval rules. Agents can use connected services for account details, code and logs, so they can investigate before taking the next step.
Core feature comparison
Feature names can sound alike across tools. What matters is how each product handles the work, and what your team does next.
Inbox and channels
HelpinHelpin gives your team a fast shared inbox for chat and email. Echo, the support agent, can answer from your docs and check connected tools for account details, code and logs. It can follow up after a reply or bring in a teammate. Customer history, internal notes and linked tasks stay with the conversation.
Intercom’s shared inbox covers Messenger chat and email on every plan, with phone, WhatsApp, SMS, social channels, Slack, Discord and Microsoft Teams available, several of them billed by usage. Workflows, multiple team inboxes and round-robin assignment arrive on the Advanced plan.
The difference: Helpin keeps chat and email support close to the work needed to solve the problem. Intercom adds phone and social channels.
AI agents that carry out work
HelpinAsk Helpin AI to investigate an issue and get the work moving. Scribe plans the task, Forge writes and tests the code, Lens reviews it, and Quill updates the docs. Build custom agents and flows in plain language, with your choice of tools, skills and approval rules. Start work in chat or through configured automations.
Fin answers questions using content and connected data, and can run multistep procedures such as account lookups and other support actions. Intercom charges $0.99 per Fin outcome on top of seats. Its Copilot assists human teammates with replies.
The difference: Helpin carries AI work across support, code, review and docs, with your team deciding what needs approval.
Help center and internal docs
HelpinKeep your help center and internal docs spaces current as your product changes. Quill can turn unanswered questions and released changes into article updates, with fresh screenshots and browser recordings. Your team reviews and publishes them. Customers can search your help center or ask AI for an answer with article citations.
Intercom includes a public help center on every plan, with multilingual and private help centers on Advanced and multibrand help centers on Expert. Fin uses your articles and other content to answer.
The difference: With Helpin, keeping answers accurate includes updating the guide and capturing the current UI after the product changes.
From question to fix
HelpinA customer’s bug report can become a task with the conversation attached. AI agents can investigate, plan, write code and open a GitHub pull request or GitLab merge request for review. After a confirmed release, configured automation can update affected customers under your approval rules. Objectives, roadmaps, epics and sprints keep the work in view.
Intercom can send customer issues to project tools such as Jira. Integrations connect the conversation to engineering work, while planning and code delivery happen in those connected tools.
The difference: Helpin gives the support team, developers and AI agents one place to take a customer issue through to delivery.
Customer records, CRM and meetings
HelpinKeep deals, contacts and companies beside their conversations, meetings and open work. Beacon, the sales agent, can identify buying intent, suggest the next step and carry out approved follow-ups. Record meetings on Google Meet, Zoom, Teams or Webex, then turn decisions into assigned tasks. Your team can see what was promised and what still needs doing.
Intercom keeps contacts, companies and leads, and connects to CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot for deals. It doesn’t record meetings.
The difference: Helpin turns account history into sales follow-ups and assigned work, with deals and meeting notes built in.
Developers and integrations
HelpinConnect Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Hermes and other compatible AI tools through Helpin’s MCP server. They can find context, update tasks and docs, and start Helpin agent runs with the access you allow. Helpin agents can also use external MCP tools. GitHub, GitLab and the web SDKs connect your code and product to the same workflow.
Intercom offers APIs, webhooks, native mobile SDKs and an app marketplace. Its hosted MCP server gives AI tools access to workspace data, and Fin can connect to external MCP tools.
The difference: Helpin connects your agents to the context and actions across your business. Check Intercom’s native SDKs if mobile chat is essential.
Pricing and value
HelpinHelpin charges per workspace, with unlimited teammates. Starter is $79 and Growth $239 a month billed annually, or $99 and $299 billed monthly. Every Cloud plan includes an AI usage allowance. Extra usage is metered only when you enable it on a paid plan. Self-hosting has no Helpin license fee; you pay for your infrastructure and AI provider.
Intercom charges per seat: $29, $85 or $132 a month billed annually for Essential, Advanced and Expert. Fin adds $0.99 per outcome, and channels such as phone, SMS and WhatsApp, and add-ons such as Copilot and Proactive Support, are billed separately.
Estimate what your team would pay
Compare the plans for your team size and AI usage. Check the notes for costs outside the estimate, including any extra tools you need. See Helpin pricing.
Estimated at list prices · 8 teammates · 1,000 Fin AI outcomes a month · billed annually
HelpinGrowth$239 a month
$2,868 a year
- Growth plan, one workspace
- $239
- 8 teammates
- Included
- AI usage allowance
- $239 included
Every Cloud plan includes an AI allowance. Extra usage is metered only if you enable it.
$1,670 a month
$20,040 a year
- 8 × Advanced at $85
- $680
- 1,000 Fin AI outcomes × $0.99
- $990
Helpin is an estimated $17,172 less a year on these inputs.
Helpin costs less at every team size up to 100 teammates.
- Intercom’s channel usage (phone, SMS, WhatsApp) and add-ons such as Copilot and Proactive Support are not included.
- Helpin measures AI usage in tokens, not resolutions. Paid plans can turn on metered overage beyond the allowance.
Cloud or open source
Helpin is the same product either way. Let us run it on Helpin Cloud, or self-host the open-source Community edition on your own servers.
HelpinRun Helpin Cloud or self-host the open-source Community edition with Docker Compose. Support, projects, CRM, docs and AI agents are included under AGPL-3.0. When you self-host, you choose the infrastructure, AI providers and external services your workspace uses.
Intercom is a hosted service, and there’s no way to run it on your own infrastructure.
Helpin Cloud
Hosted by Helpin- One price per workspace, unlimited teammates
- AI usage allowance included in every plan
- Your own AI keys on Enterprise
- Managed by Helpin, with support
Community edition
Open source · AGPL-3.0- Free, with no plan limits or seat counts
- Every product, coding agents included
- Runs on your own AI provider and keys
- Docker Compose on your own servers
Switching and onboarding
HelpinTry Helpin Growth for 14 days with no card and $140 of AI usage. Start with one support address or a real project, invite your team, and give the agents a job. We can help you plan the move around the data and tools you already use.
Intercom offers a 14-day trial with no card. It has no one-click importer: moving historical data into Intercom is a scripted, API-based migration, and conversations can be exported as CSV, through the API or to cloud storage.
Moving from Intercom.
Start with part of your support, then move the rest when you’re ready.
Take from Intercom
- Conversations, as CSV or through the API
- Contacts and companies
- Help center articles
- Saved replies and tags you want to keep
Set up in Helpin
- Chat widget on your site or app
- Support address, forwarded to Helpin
- Help center on your own domain
- Team inboxes, tags and saved replies
- AI agent guidance and approval rules
- 01
Run Helpin alongside Intercom
Available nowInstall the widget on a few pages and connect a support address. Move queues over when your team is ready, ideally before your next renewal.
- 02
Rebuild your help center
Available nowRecreate your articles in Helpin Knowledge and publish them on your own domain.
- 03
Import conversations and contacts
Coming soonAn Intercom importer is coming soon. Until then, Intercom exports conversations as CSV or through its API.
Check the features your team depends on.
These specific requirements are worth checking as you plan your move from Intercom.
Phone and social support.
Intercom provides phone, WhatsApp and social channels. Helpin’s shared inbox supports web chat and email.
Chat inside native mobile apps.
Intercom has iOS, Android and React Native SDKs. Helpin currently provides web SDKs.
Company sign-in and response policies.
Intercom Expert includes SSO and SLA policies. Helpin’s agent permissions and approvals serve a different purpose.
In-app campaigns and tours.
Check Intercom’s add-ons if product tours, surveys and targeted outbound messages are central to your workflow.
Choose the workflow you want after the first reply.
Helpin brings the conversation, the fix and the customer follow-up together. Check any channel or mobile requirements before you move.
Choose Helpin if…
- You want agents to investigate, code, review and update docs from the same customer context.
- You want fast chat and email support with automatic follow-ups and human handoff.
- You want your whole team involved without per-seat or per-resolution fees.
- You want built-in CRM and meetings, with the choice to self-host.
Check Intercom if…
- Your support operation depends on phone, WhatsApp or social channels.
- You require Intercom’s native mobile SDKs, product tours or SAML sign-in.
FAQs about Helpin vs Intercom
Is Helpin a good Intercom alternative?
Yes. Helpin combines fast chat and email support with agents that can investigate issues, work on code, update docs and follow up. Projects, CRM and meeting notes share the customer context. Cloud pricing is per workspace, with no per-resolution fee.
Is Helpin cheaper than Intercom?
Helpin avoids Intercom’s per-seat and per-outcome charges. The total depends on your team size, plan and AI usage. Use the calculator above with your own numbers, and consider the projects, CRM and meeting tools included in Helpin.
Can Helpin import my Intercom data?
An Intercom importer is coming soon. You can export conversations from Intercom today and start Helpin alongside it while you move over.
Can we run Helpin alongside Intercom?
Yes. Add the Helpin widget to a few pages or forward one support address, and keep Intercom for everything else while your team tries the workflow. Move the rest when you’re ready.
How is AI billed in Helpin?
Every Cloud plan includes a monthly AI usage allowance, measured in tokens at published rates. On an active paid plan you can turn on metered overage if you need more. Self-hosted installs use your own AI provider and pay it directly.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. The 14-day trial runs on the Growth plan, needs no card, and includes $140 of AI usage.
Can we self-host Helpin?
Yes. The Community edition is free and open source under AGPL-3.0, and runs with Docker Compose. It includes support, projects, CRM, docs and AI agents, including coding and review.
Will you help us switch?
Yes. Book a call and we’ll plan the move with you: what to set up first, how to run both tools side by side, and when to cut over.