10 Best Intercom Alternatives for 2024

The internet has changed expectations around customer service response times. Today, customers expect answers quickly and at all hours of the day. It can be a tall order for small business owners to cater to their needs, especially during busy seasons.

Customer communication platforms can take some of the pressure off business leaders in this regard. These solutions help companies interact with their clients in ways that weren’t possible even a few years ago. Intercom is one option of many. In this guide, we outline the best Intercom alternatives for 2024, so you can make the best decision for your situation.

What is Intercom?

Intercom helps businesses with customer acquisition, engagement, and support. Users can take advantage of its features like chatbots, live chat, and email automation to reach people how and when they prefer. Intercom’s platform helps companies create happier customers through personalized, real-time communication.

Why do people use Intercom?

Intercom has wide appeal because it can help users:

• Enhance Customer Support: Use live chat and automated bots to interact with customers and win their business when every second counts.
• Increase Engagement: Make use of targeted messaging and personalized communication to connect with customers on their terms.
• Automate Tasks: Deploy Intercom’s automation features, such as chatbots and email sequences, to get more of your time back.
• Gain Insights: Make more informed decisions based on reports that capture customer behavior and trends.

Podium or Intercom

When choosing between Podium or Intercom, be sure you have the full picture of what each one offers. You want to make sure you’re making a fair comparison. Podium helps companies get more from customer interactions through reviews, messaging, and payment processing. Intercom is known for helping enhance customer support and engagement through its messaging functionality.

Intercom vs Podium: Main Features

Intercom can help businesses court prospects across the sales funnel with the following features:

• Live Chat: Instant communication with customers.
• Chatbots: Automated responses to FAQs.
• Email Marketing: Automated email sequences and personalized messaging.
• Help Center: Self-service support through a content library.
• Product Tours: Interactive guides to help customers get to know your product or solution.
• Analytics & Reporting: Data to help guide business decisions.

Pricing: Starts at $74/month, with custom pricing for larger organizations

What is Podium?

Podium is a solution that helps close communication gaps while gathering reviews and facilitating messaging and payments.

Podium can help your business grow and scale. Its features include:

• Review Management: Collect and manage customer reviews across multiple contexts.
• Messaging: Engage with customers through text messaging and customized web chat.
• Payments: Make payment processing a breeze through messages.
• Feedback: Gather customer sentiments to improve.
• Website Chat: Offer real-time communication via web chat.

Pricing: Starts at $289/month, with a range of packages to suit different business needs

10 Best Intercom Alternatives in 2024

Intercom isn’t the only player in the customer communication platform space. Competitors have come on the scene and many offer most or all of the same features. Here’s a look at ten alternatives to Intercom and what you need to know about each one.

1. Podium

Podium makes it easier to connect with customers and manage the backend of daily operations. Grow and scale your business with a platform that works as hard as you do. Watch a demo and see how you can get more leads with less effort.

Pricing: Starts at $399/month

2. Zendesk

Zendesk makes it possible to track customer interactions with a detailed ticketing system and related support tools. You can benefit from integrations and customizable interfaces. Businesses of all sizes can find value in Zendesk. This platform offers:

• Live chat and messaging
• Knowledge base and community forums
• Multi-channel support (email, phone, chat, social media)
• Advanced analytics and reporting features

Pricing: Starts at $19/month per agent

3. Freshdesk

Freshdesk has a low learning curve and is relatively affordable. It offers customer support tools, including ticketing, automation, and reporting, plus:

• Multi-channel ticketing system
• Automation solutions for repetitive tasks
• Knowledge base and self-service portal
• Collaboration tools for team support
• Customizable reports and dashboards

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $15/month per agent

4. HelpCrunch

HelpCrunch has integrated live chat, email automation, and a knowledge base into one platform. You might consider it to deliver better customer support and improve engagement. HelpCrunch helps users create happier customers through:

• Live chat with automated messaging
• Email marketing and automation
• Knowledge base for self-service support
• In-app messaging for mobile and web apps
• Comprehensive analytics and reporting

Pricing: Starts at $15/month per user

5. TIDIO

TIDIO is another live chat solution on the market. With chatbot capabilities and email integration, it might be what you need if you’re looking to improve customer support and engagement across multiple contexts. It can add value to your team with features like:

• Live chat with chatbot integration
• Email marketing automation
• Multi-channel communication (chat, email, messenger)
• Customizable chat widgets
• Visitor tracking and analytics

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $18/month

6. Help Scout

Help Scout makes delivering exceptional customer service more straightforward. For example, you can do more in less time with features like:

• Shared inbox for team collaboration
• Knowledge base and documentation
• Live chat with automated responses
• Customer management and profiles
• Reporting and analytics

Pricing: Starts at $20/month per user

7. HubSpot

HubSpot is a popular customer relationship management (CRM) platform. It integrates with other HubSpot products, which can be an advantage for companies already invested in the HubSpot family of brands. HubSpot offers many of the same features as other platforms. Its bells and whistles include:

• Live chat and chatbots
• Email marketing and automation
• Help desk and ticketing system
• Knowledge base and self-service portal
• CRM integration and customer profiles

Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $45/month

8. Olark

Olark helps customers connect with your company in record time. It offers a slew of customization options and integrations to support your operations. You can expect:

• Real-time live chat
• Automated messaging and chatbots
• Customizable chat widgets
• Integrations with CRM and help desk software
• Reporting and analytics

Pricing: Starts at $29/month per agent

9. LiveChat

LiveChat is a customer service platform that facilitates online sales. LiveChat helps businesses engage with customers faster with features like:

• Live chat with automated responses
• Ticketing system for support management
• Chatbot integration
• Customizable chat widgets
• Analytics and reporting

Pricing: Starts at $16/month per agent

10. Drift

Drift is an all-in-one platform that supports live chat, chatbots, and email automation to help businesses close more deals. It can help you gain an edge with support like:

• Live chat with chatbot capabilities
• Email marketing and automation
• Conversational landing pages
• Integrations with CRM and marketing tools
• Advanced analytics and reporting

Pricing: Starts at $40/month

Conclusion

Choosing the right customer communication platform matters on a strategic level. It can help your company close more deals and reach new heights. Each of the Intercom alternatives has a proven track record. Your decision, however, might be grounded in budget or perceived value. Take the time to explore these alternatives and find the best one for you. Your needs may change over time, but investing in a solution today will set you up for success tomorrow.

Try Podium Website Chat

Podium’s Website Chat can help you turn visitors into sales. Capture more quality leads with a real-time communication platform that customers love. Explore Podium’s Website Chat and see for yourself how businesses like yours are reporting impressive results. You could be our next success story!