Freshdesk vs Intercom, and the all-in-one option
Freshdesk sells chat in Freshdesk Omni, from $29 per agent a month billed annually, and Intercom includes Messenger live chat on every plan, from $29 per seat ($19 on Essential for new customers), with Fin billed at $0.99 per outcome. Neither lists a sales pipeline; Laureo puts the CRM, campaigns and invoices on every plan, with live chat and the help desk on Business and Ultra.
Which is better, Intercom or Freshdesk?
Intercom suits a team that wants live chat and Fin on one per-seat plan, from $29 a seat ($19 for new customers) with Fin at $0.99 per outcome, and Freshdesk suits an email-first team, from $19 per agent, with chat sold as Freshdesk Omni from $29. For a small team that also sells to those customers, Laureo is the better fit: the pipeline, campaigns and invoices come on every plan, and live chat and tickets on Business and Ultra.
One customer, from the first chat to a paid invoice:
| Step | Freshdesk | Intercom | Laureo |
|---|---|---|---|
| A visitor opens a chat | Freshdesk Omni, from $29 an agent | Messenger, on every plan | Live Chat opens a ticket in the service inbox (Business and Ultra) |
| AI answers first | Freddy AI Agent, $49 per 100 sessions after 500 | Fin, $0.99 per outcome | Resolution agent (Ultra) |
| The chat becomes a deal | Freshsales, a separate product | No sales pipeline on its pricing page | Convert the ticket into a new deal (Business and Ultra) |
| A follow-up email to the list | Not on its pricing page | Charged per bulk email | Campaigns (every plan) |
| The invoice | Not on its pricing page | Not on its pricing page | Quotes & Invoices (every plan) |
Is Freshdesk cheaper than Intercom?
It depends on the plan: Intercom Essential is $29 a seat a month billed annually, or $19 for new customers, against $29 per agent on Freshdesk Omni Growth, while the higher plans cost $85 and $132 on Intercom against $79 and $119 on Freshdesk Omni. The AI bills differ too: Fin is $0.99 per outcome, and Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 after the first 500.
Laureo Business from $166.66/mo billed annually includes live chat, tickets and 2 full seats, with monthly AI credits on every plan.
| Plan rung | Freshdesk Omni, per agent | Intercom, per seat |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | $29 (Growth) | $29 (Essential), $19 for new customers |
| Middle | $79 (Pro) | $85 (Advanced) |
| Top | $119 (Enterprise) | $132 (Expert) |
Do Freshdesk and Intercom charge for AI?
Yes, both by usage: Intercom charges $0.99 for each Fin AI Agent outcome and sells Copilot at $29 per agent a month billed annually after 10 included conversations, and Freshdesk includes 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions once, then charges $49 per 100, with Freddy AI Copilot at $29 per agent on Pro and Enterprise. Laureo includes monthly AI credits on every plan, and its resolution agent on Ultra is included with fair-use limits.
The meters count different things: an Intercom outcome is a resolved conversation, charged at most once and refunded if the conversation reopens, and a Freshdesk email session is a 72-hour window from the customer's first email, counted once however many AI replies it holds.
Freshdesk vs Intercom, criterion by criterion
Each row puts Freshdesk, Intercom and Laureo on the same question. The Freshdesk and Intercom cells come from their own pages, and the date at the top of this page says when we last checked them.
| Criterion | Freshdesk | Intercom | Laureo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat price with live chat | Freshdesk Omni, $29, $79 or $119 an agent billed annually | $29, $85 or $132 a seat billed annually ($19 on Essential for new customers) | Business from $166.66/mo billed annually, with 2 full seats |
| AI that answers customers | 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions once per account, then $49 per 100 | Fin, $0.99 per outcome, at most once per conversation | Resolution agent on Ultra, included with fair-use limits; the AI Customer Support Agent is a paid Ultra add-on |
| AI help for agents | Freddy AI Copilot, $29 an agent a month on Pro and Enterprise | Copilot, $29 an agent billed annually after 10 included conversations a month | AI email drafting on every plan; support reply drafts on Ultra |
| SLA targets | Multiple SLA policies from Freshdesk Pro, $55 an agent | Only on Expert, $132 a seat billed annually | SLA targets per priority on Business and Ultra |
| Workflow automation | Workflow automations on every Freshdesk Omni plan; connector app tasks for external apps, $80 per 5,000 | The workflow automation builder from Advanced, $85 a seat | Automation rules on every plan, with no per-run fee: 5 rules and 2,000 runs a month on Pro, 10 and 5,000 on Business, unlimited on Ultra |
| Sales pipeline | Freshsales, a separate product from $9 to $59 a user | No sales pipeline, deals or quotes on its pricing page | CRM & Pipeline on every plan, with unlimited contacts |
| Email campaigns | Not on the Freshdesk pricing page | Charged per bulk email sent, on top of seats | Campaigns on every plan |
| Quotes and invoices | Not on its pricing page | Not on its pricing page | Quotes & Invoices on every plan |
| Your data and the AI | Some Freddy AI features fine-tune on your own service data | Its customer agreement allows AI model training on Customer Data | The AI never trains on your data |
Every tool in Laureo
The table covers the criteria that matter between Freshdesk and Intercom. Here is the whole Laureo toolset, by name. The pricing page shows which plans include each one.
Marketing & Communication
Deals & Revenue
- Quotes & Invoices
- Booking Pages
- Deal Rooms
Customer Support
- Tickets & Help Desk
- Knowledge Base
- Public Help Center
- Feedback
- Live Chat
- AI Customer Support Agent (add-on)
Automation
Freshdesk, Intercom, or the all-in-one option
Laureo is the pick over Freshdesk and Intercom for a team whose chats turn into sales: on Business and Ultra each chat opens a ticket in the CRM, and once a teammate links the contact, the ticket shows the count and value of their company's open deals; campaigns, quotes and invoices need no second product; and on Ultra the resolution agent is included with fair-use limits, where Freshdesk sells Freddy AI session packs and Intercom bills each Fin outcome.
- One plan and one bill cover your CRM, inbox, email campaigns, booking pages, and quotes and invoices, so you stop paying for separate tools.
- Every plan includes monthly AI credits for the assistant, the agents and email drafting.
- Email campaigns are built in on every plan, with unlimited contacts on all plans.
- Business and Ultra include a second full seat in the plan price, and no plan has a seat minimum.
- Automation rules and non-AI workflow steps never spend AI credits, and workflow runs carry no per-run fee; only AI steps use credits.
- The AI never trains on your data, and every AI request goes only to providers that keep none of it.
Related Resources
- ComparisonLaureo vs FreshdeskAn email-first help desk charged per agent, with chat on its Omni edition and the CRM sold as Freshsales.
- ComparisonLaureo vs IntercomA customer service platform priced per seat plus usage, with live chat and Fin on every plan and no sales pipeline, quotes or invoices.
- ComparisonZendesk vs Intercom, and the all-in-one optionZendesk vs Intercom: $19 an agent or $29 a seat ($19 for new customers), AI billed per resolution or per Fin outcome, SLAs on the top plans, next to Laureo.
- ComparisonInstantly vs Smartlead, and the all-in-one optionInstantly vs Smartlead: send and contact caps, a separate CRM plan against CRM access from Pro, next to Laureo Ultra with cold outreach inside the CRM.
- ComparisonZendesk vs Help Scout, and the all-in-one optionZendesk vs Help Scout: paid plans from $19 an agent or $25 a user, SLAs by plan, AI billed per resolution and no built-in CRM. Laureo includes the CRM.
- ComparisonFreshdesk pricingHow much does Freshdesk cost? Growth, Pro and Enterprise per agent, Freshdesk Omni for chat, Freddy AI sessions and Copilot, dated, then one team on Laureo.
- AlternativeFreshdesk alternativeA Freshdesk alternative with the CRM, campaigns and invoices on every plan, and tickets, live chat and a help center on Business and Ultra.
- ComparisonIntercom pricingHow much does Intercom cost? Essential, Advanced and Expert per seat, Fin at $0.99 an outcome, Copilot and the usage charges, dated, then one team on Laureo.
- ComparisonBrowse every CRM comparisonSee how Laureo stacks up against the other CRMs you are weighing.
- PricingEvery plan, what is included, and the monthly AI credits.
Freshdesk vs Intercom FAQs
Common questions about choosing between Freshdesk, Intercom and Laureo
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