Help Scout vs Intercom
An honest, mathematical pricing and capability comparison for developers and engineering leaders.
What this comparison covers
One email/chat workspace. No AI, outbound campaigns, SMS, WhatsApp or phone charges. Crisp counts stored profiles; Help Scout counts customers helped each month. Enter these separately.
Evaluating 2 products from 3 published in this category. USD monthly equivalents, before tax. Features and service compatibility need separate evaluation.
- Billable people
- 5 people
- Stored customer profiles
- 1,000 profiles
- Customers helped
- 100 per month
- Shared inboxes
- 1 inboxes
- Help center sites
- 1 sites
Help Scout
Support seats with inbox and Docs-site allowances.
$0 / month
Free
Official pricing · Checked 2026-10-06
Cost breakdown and exclusions
- Monthly subscription: $0
- Taxes, promotions, prorations, negotiated contracts and optional add-ons.
Intercom
Human support seats without AI outcomes.
$145.00 / month
Essential · annual commitment · Annual commitment $1,740.00
Official pricing · Checked 2026-10-06
Cost breakdown and exclusions
- Monthly subscription: $0
- Billable seats: $145.00
- Annual commitment. The comparison shows its monthly equivalent; seats and workload are held constant for the full year.
- Full human support seats only. Inbox and help-center requirements are not evaluated for Intercom.
- Taxes, promotions, prorations, negotiated contracts and optional add-ons.
- Fin service/sales outcomes, outbound campaigns, phone, SMS and WhatsApp.
Detailed Verdict: When to Choose Which
Based on sourced pricing models, included allowances, and the stated workload requirements.
Holding other usage fields fixed, Intercom becomes the lower-cost option near 26 people. This is a modeled price transition, not a migration payback calculation.
Evidence for Help Scout:
- Free: $0/month at this workload.
- Excluded: Taxes, promotions, prorations, negotiated contracts and optional add-ons.
- Pricing observation: 2026-10-06.
Evidence for Intercom:
- Essential · annual commitment: $145.00/month at this workload.
- Annual commitment. The comparison shows its monthly equivalent; seats and workload are held constant for the full year.
- Full human support seats only. Inbox and help-center requirements are not evaluated for Intercom.
- Excluded: Taxes, promotions, prorations, negotiated contracts and optional add-ons.
- Excluded: Fin service/sales outcomes, outbound campaigns, phone, SMS and WhatsApp.
- Pricing observation: 2026-10-06.
Specification & Capability Matrix
Side-by-side comparison of baseline pricing, free allowances, supported developer capabilities, and verification dates.
| Feature / Metric | Help Scout | Intercom | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selected plan | Free | Essential · annual commitment | Tied |
| Monthly cost at stated workload | $0/month | $145.00/month | Help Scout |
| Billing commitment | Monthly pricing model | Annual: $1,740.00 | Tied |
| Pricing observation date | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 | Tied |
Interactive Workload Calculator
Slide to match your projected monthly volume and watch how each pricing model reacts.
Help Scout vs Intercom FAQ
Direct answers to key technical, pricing, and migration questions.
Is Help Scout cheaper than Intercom?
Help Scout costs $145.00 less per month than Intercom at this workload. This compares modeled charges, not overall product quality.
What does this comparison cover?
One email/chat workspace. No AI, outbound campaigns, SMS, WhatsApp or phone charges. Crisp counts stored profiles; Help Scout counts customers helped each month. Enter these separately. Estimates cover modeled fees at the stated usage. Review selected-plan warnings and exclusions; taxes, migration effort and unmodeled requirements are not a savings promise.
How is pricing freshness handled?
The displayed observation dates belong to the selected plans. Stale, future-dated, quote-only or otherwise ineligible estimates do not receive a price ranking. Consult the linked vendor sources before purchasing.