Zendesk vs Intercom in 2023: Detailed Analysis of Features, Pricing, and More

Intercom feels more wholesome and is more client-success-oriented, but it can be too costly for smaller companies. In this paragraph, let’s explain some common issues that users usually ask about when choosing between Zendesk and Intercom platforms. What can be really inconvenient about Zendesk is how their tools integrate with each other when you need to use them simultaneously. Besides, the prices differ depending on the company’s size and specific needs. We conducted a little study of our own and found that all Intercom users share different amounts of money they pay for the plans, which can reach over $1000/mo. The price levels can even be much higher if we’re talking of a larger company.

The customer support platform starts at just $5 per agent per month, which is a very basic customer support tool. If you want dashboard reporting and integrations, you’ll need to pay $19 per agent per month. Multilingual content and other advanced features come with a $49 price per agent per month.

Conversation management

Apart from this feature, the customer support options at Zendesk are quite limited. Further, if companies plan to create multi-channel campaigns, Intercom makes a great fit. The Zendesk chat tool has most of the necessary features like shortcuts (saved responses), automated triggers, and live chat analytics.

With live chat, in-app messaging, and targeted messaging, among other features, the tool lets businesses talk to customers right away. People who work in fields like e-commerce or SaaS, where quick responses and personalised exchanges are very important, may benefit the most from this. Both companies provide a set of services that are intended to simplify communication, support, and the overall customer experience. Pre-selected assignment rules customize each ticket’s destination, assigning routing paths to agents or departments based on customer priority status, query type, or issue details. The design of the interface is fresh and clean and the user dashboard offers a lot of information. Once you login you’ll notice that the interface is pretty intuitive and easy to use.

This focus on making things easier for users is meant to make users happier generally and get more people to use the Intercom platform. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. Whether you’re starting fresh with Intercom or migrating from Zendesk, set up is quick and easy. So, by now, you can see that according to this article, Zendesk inches past Intercom as the better customer support platform. Zendesk’s mobile app is also good for ticketing, helping you create new support tickets with macros and updates.

It guarantees continuous omnichannel support that meets customer expectations. Using this, agents can chat across teams within a ticket via email, Slack, or Zendesk’s ticketing system. This packs all resolution information into a single ticket, so there’s no extra searching or backtracking needed to bring a ticket through to resolution, even if it involves multiple agents. If a customer starts an interaction by talking to a chatbot and can’t find a solution, our chatbot can open a ticket and intelligently route it to the most qualified agent. On the other hand, it is absolutely necessary to investigate the nature of these integrations in order to ascertain whether or not they are relevant to the criteria that you have in mind. It is essential to evaluate the compatibility of the connectors offered by each platform with the tools and workflows that you already have in place.

It caters to a wide range of industries, particularly excelling in e-commerce, SaaS, technology, and telecommunications. It is favored by customer support, helpdesk, IT service management, and contact center teams. Messagely’s pricing starts at just $29 per month, which includes live chat, targeted messages, shared inbox, mobile apps, and over 750 powerful integrations.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive solution with lots of features and integrations, then Zendesk would be a good choice. On the other hand, if you need something that is more tailored to your customer base and is less expensive, then Intercom might be a better fit. In a nutshell, none of the customer support software companies provide decent assistance for users.

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As well as Intercom, it allows sharing of private notes with other support agents. Intercom distinguishes itself by excelling in real-time customer engagement. It offers a comprehensive suite of features that empowers businesses to foster immediate connections with their customers. Zendesk supports teams that can then field these issues from a nice unified dashboard.

SSL encryption is a standard form of security that creates a safe and encrypted connection between a user’s computer and the Intercom servers. This keeps any data sent private and stops people from getting to it without permission. Both Intercom and Zendesk are widely recognised as leaders in their respective industries. Well, I must admit, the tool is gradually transforming from a platform for communicating with users to a tool that helps you automate every aspect of your routine. They’ve been marketing themselves as a messaging platform right from the beginning.

Which platform is “better” depends on the precise requirements and objectives that you have. However, this is somewhat subjective, and depending on your business needs and favorite tools, you may argue we got it all mixed up, and Intercom is truly superior. Some startups and small businesses may prefer one app, while large companies and enterprise operations will have their own requirements. Integrations are the best way to enhance the toolkit of your apps by connecting them for interoperable actions and features.

Also, their in-app messenger is worth a separate mention as it’s one of their distinctive tools (especially since Zendesk doesn’t really have one). As Zendesk initially began as a help desk ticketing system, it’s no surprise that the platform makes tracking and managing customer inquiries seamless. Intercom has positioned itself as a messaging platform rather than a comprehensive CRM solution. This differentiates it from Zendesk, which offers a more traditional CRM experience. Intercom’s primary focus is engaging and communicating with customers through live chat, in-app messaging, and email. But they also add features like automatic meeting booking (in the Convert package), and their custom inbox rules and workflows just feel a little more, well, custom.

Triggers should prove especially useful for agents, allowing them to do things like automate notifications for actions like ticket assignments, ticket closing/reopening, or new ticket creation. Their template triggers are fairly limited with only seven options, but they do enable users to create new custom triggers, which https://chat.openai.com/ can be a game-changer for agents with more complex workflows. I tested both options (using Zendesk’s Suite Professional trial and Intercom’s Support trial) and found clearly defined differences between the two. Here’s what you need to know about Zendesk vs. Intercom as customer support and relationship management tools.

If you’d want to test Intercom vs Zendesk before deciding on a tool for good, they both provide free trials for 14 days. But sooner or later, you’ll have to decide on the subscription plan, and here’s what you’ll have to pay. So yeah, all the features talk actually brings us to the most sacred question — the question of pricing. You’d probably want to know how much it costs to get each of the platforms for your business, so let’s talk money now.

The more expensive Intercom plans offer AI-powered content cues, triage, and conversation insights. Intercom, of course, allows its customer support team to collaborate and communicate too, but overall, Zendesk wins this group. Zendesk has many amazing team collaboration and communication features, like whisper mode, which lets multiple agents chime in to help each other without the customer knowing. There is also something called warm transfers, which let one rep add contextual notes to a ticket before transferring it to another rep. You also get a side conversation tool. These plans make Hiver a versatile tool, catering to a range of business sizes and needs, from startups to large enterprises looking for a comprehensive customer support solution within Gmail. Intercom stands out for its modern and user-friendly messenger functionality, which includes advanced features with a focus on automation and real-time insights.

By the end of the article, you’ll not only know all of the main differences between Zendesk and Intercom, but you’ll know which is the right tool for you. To sum things up, one can get really confused trying to make sense of the Zendesk suite pricing, let alone calculate costs. G2 ranks Intercom higher than Zendesk for ease of setup, and support quality—so you can expect a smooth transition, effortless onboarding, and continuous success.

Intercom Pricing and Plans

Intercom isn’t quite as strong as Zendesk in comparison to some of Zendesk’s customer support strengths, but it has more features for sales and lead nurturing. Intercom, on the other hand, was built for business messaging, so communication is one of their strong suits. Combine that with their prowess in automation and sales solutions, and you’ve got a really strong product that can handle myriad customer relationship needs. Intercom, while differing from Zendesk, offers specialized features aimed at enhancing customer relationships. Founded as a business messenger, it now extends to enabling support, engagement, and conversion. While the company is smaller than Zendesk, Intercom has earned a reputation for building high-quality customer service software.

Intercom’s UI excels in modern design and intuitive functionality, particularly noted for its real-time messaging and advanced features. It is tailored for automation and quick access to insights, offering a user-friendly experience. Nevertheless, the platform’s support consistency can be a concern, and the unpredictable pricing structure might lead to increased costs for larger organizations. Today, both companies offer a broad range of customer support features, making them both strong contenders in the market.

Platform

Like so many others, Monese determined that Zendesk was the best solution to provide seamless, omnichannel support because of its scalability and reliability. Businesses should always consider a tool’s TCO before committing to a purchase. Many software vendors aren’t upfront about the cost of using their products, maintenance costs, or integration fees. There are also several different Shopify integrations to choose from, as well as CRM integrations like HubSpot and Salesforce. Users can also access a resource library to stay updated on the latest trends, product announcements, and best practices.

In short, Zendesk is perfect for large companies looking to streamline their customer support process; Intercom is great for smaller companies looking for advanced customer service features. However, you’ll likely end up paying more for Zendesk, and in-app messenger and other advanced customer communication tools will not be included. Zendesk chat allows you to talk with your visitors in real time through a small chat bar at the bottom of your site.

Like Zendesk, Intercom allows you to chat with online visitors and assist with their issues. For basic chat and messaging, Intercom charges a flat fee of $39 per month for its basic plan with one user and $99 per month for its team plan with up to 5 users. If you want automated options, Intercom starts at either $499 or $999 per month for up to ten users, depending on the level of Chat PG automation you’re looking for. Its sales CRM software starts at $19 per month per user, but you’ll have to pay $49 to get Zapier integrations and $99 for Hubspot integrations. Finally, you can pay $199 per month per user for unlimited sales pipelines and advanced reporting along with other features. The cheapest plan for small businesses – Essential – costs $39 monthly per seat.

• With this extra layer of security, users must show two forms of ID before they can access their accounts.
• Both Intercom and Zendesk are widely recognised as leaders in their respective industries.
• For example, Intercom’s Salesforce integration doesn’t create a view of cases in Salesforce.
• The former is one of the oldest and most reliable solutions on the market, while the latter sets the bar high in terms of innovative and out-of-the-box features.

Zendesk’s analytics features are also often praised; they help businesses learn a lot about how customers connect with them, how well agents do their jobs, and overall support trends. Zendesk, on the other hand, is another top customer service platform that uses strong security steps to keep customer data safe. With this extra layer of security, users must show two forms of ID before they can access their accounts. This makes it even harder for people who aren’t supposed to be there to get in. That’s why it would be better to review where both the options would be ideal to use.

During this phase, you will determine the essential features, functionalities, and tools that are essential to the operations of your firm. The offers that appear on the website are from software companies from which CRM.org receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). intercom vs. zendesk This site does not include all software companies or all available software companies offers. Zendesk can also save key customer information in their platform, which helps reps get a faster idea of who they are dealing with as well as any historical data that might assist in the support. Zendesk Sunshine is a separate feature set that focuses on unified customer views.

And while many other chatbots take forever to set up, you can set up your first chatbot in under five minutes. Chat agents also get a comprehensive look at their entire customer’s journey, so they will have a better idea of what your customers need, without needing to ask many questions. Since Intercom doesn’t offer a CRM, its pricing is divided into basic messaging and messaging with automations. Both Zendesk and Intercom have their own “app stores” where users can find all of the integrations for each platform. Since Intercom is so intuitive, the time you’ll need to spend training new users on how to interact with the platform is greatly reduced. With a very streamlined design, Intercom’s interface is far better than many alternatives, including Zendesk.

It is great to have CRM functionality inside your customer service platform because it helps maintain great customer experiences by storing all past customer engagements and conversation histories. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. This method helps offer more personalized support as well as get faster response and resolution times. It lets customers reach out via messaging, a live chat tool, voice, and social media. The company’s products include a ticketing system, live chat software, knowledge base software, and a customer satisfaction survey tool. Intercom is better for smaller companies that are looking for a simple and capable customer service platform. Instead, using it and setting it up is very easy, and very advanced chatbots and predictive tools are included to boost your customer service.

Intercom and Zendesk are two of the most popular customer service platforms, each with its own set of distinct advantages and drawbacks. Its $99 bracket includes advanced options, such as customer satisfaction prediction and multi-brand support, and in the $199 bracket, you also get advanced security and other very advanced features. Depending on your needs, you can set up Intercom on your website or mobile app and add your automations. Setting up Intercom help centers is also very easy and intuitive, with no previous knowledge required. After this, you’ll have to set up your workflows, personalizing your tickets and storing them by topic.

Intercom also offers a 14-day free trial, after which customers can upgrade to a paid plan or use the basic free plan. Unlike Zendesk, the prices for Intercom are based on the number of seats and contacts, with each plan tailored to each customer, meaning that the pricing can be quite flexible. This is especially helpful for smaller businesses that may not need a lot of features. Zendesk offers a free 30-day trial, after which customers will need to upgrade to one of their paid plans. Zendesk has a help center that is open to all to find out answers to common questions.

The design philosophy is based on keeping things as simple as possible so that even people who have never used the site before can quickly figure out how it works. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. There is no harm in testing the waters before committing to one or the other, as both Zendesk and Intercom offer free trials.

Personalized messaging, in-app messaging, product tours, and chatbot capabilities set Intercom apart from Zendesk. Overall, Zendesk empowers businesses to deliver exceptional customer support experiences across channels, making it a popular choice for enhancing support operations. While Intercom offers unique feature options that weave together well into campaigns and series, it lacks voice calling–a critical feature–and spreads its more advanced features out too much among plans. Collaboration tools enable agents to work together in resolving customer tickets and making sales. Operator, Intercom’s automation engine, empowers Intercom chatbots to gather key information from each website visitor to qualify leads and route customers to the right destination.

But that’s not it, if you want to resolve customer common questions with the help of the vendor’s new tool – Fin bot, you will have to pay $0.99 per resolution per month. Intercom live chat is modern, smooth, and has many advanced features that other chat tools don’t. It’s highly customizable, too, so you can adjust it according to your website or product’s style. You need a complete customer service platform that’s seamlessly integrated and AI-enhanced.

Easily track your service team’s performance and unlock coaching opportunities with AI-powered insights. Before you make your choice, check out Messagely’s features and compare them to discover which platform is best for you. You don’t have to pay per contact on your database, and you there are many free features you can use. Zendesk’s list of compliances and security memberships is very long, and they have won a number of security seals and awards.