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Best Intercom alternatives in 2026

Looking for something other than Intercom? Below are 10 tools that do the same job, compared with Intercom's $29/month starting price. 10 of them start cheaper, 4 have a free plan. Ordered by our rating, never by commission.

Intercom what you have now

AI-first customer service platform with messenger and help desk.

No free plan

$29/mo

All Intercom alternatives

  1. Help ScoutOur top pick

    $25/mo

    Shared inbox and help desk that feels like email.

    โœ“ Free plan ยท Trial: 15 days

  2. 2
    ZendeskMost popular

    $19/mo

    Customer service software with ticketing, chat and help center.

    From $19/month ยท Trial: 14 days

  3. 3

    $19/mo

    Help desk and ticketing from Freshworks, with a free plan.

    From $19/month ยท Trial: 14 days

  4. 4

    $25/mo

    Shared inbox for teams that handle customer email together.

    From $25/month ยท Trial: 14 days

  5. 5

    $10/mo

    Help desk built for ecommerce and Shopify stores.

    From $10/month ยท Trial: 7 days

  6. 6

    $7/mo

    Customer service software on HubSpot's CRM.

    โœ“ Free plan

  7. 7

    IT and service desk from Atlassian.

    โœ“ Free plan ยท Trial: 14 days (extendable to 30)

  8. 8

    Affordable, context-aware help desk from Zoho.

    โœ“ Free plan ยท Trial: 15 days

  9. 9

    $25/mo

    Help desk that works inside Gmail.

    From $25/month ยท Trial: 7 days

  10. 10

    $11/mo

    Help desk with live chat, email and call center.

    From $11/month ยท Trial: 30 days

How do you pick the right Intercom alternative?

It depends on why you're leaving. On a tight budget? HubSpot Service Hub has the lowest starting price in this list. Want to start free? Jira Service Management has a free plan. Want the best all-rounder? Start with Help Scout.

Before you switch

  • Export your data from Intercom first (contacts, projects, invoices or tickets).
  • Check when your Intercom contract renews; yearly plans usually don't refund unused months.
  • Start a free trial of your top pick and import a small test set before you move everything.

See how we check prices, or compare every help desk software side by side on the Help desk software page.

More about Intercom