The verdict
For a small B2B or SaaS team, I'd pick Help Scout. You can set it up in a day, there is a free plan, and the bill is easier to predict. Pick Intercom if support volume is growing faster than headcount, your questions are mostly routine, and your help content is good. Fin could then pay for itself.
Intercom has two cost lines, seats and resolved outcomes, and the step up on higher tiers can be large. Help Scout bills its AI agent per resolution too, so work out expected volume in either. Whichever you choose, the AI is only as good as your help content.
Side by side
| 13 points compared | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $25/mo | $29/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes |
| AI chatbot / agent | Yes | Yes |
| AI search & answers | Yes | Yes |
| Custom domain & branding | Yes | Yes |
| Help centre / knowledge base | Yes | Yes |
| Internal wiki | Yes | No |
| Live chat widget | Yes | Yes |
| Native ecommerce (Shopify) integration | Yes | Yes |
| Public help centre | Yes | Yes |
| Shared inbox & ticketing | Yes | Yes |
| Links |
Plans and pricing
Help Scout
- FreeFree
- Standard$25/mo/seat
- Plus$45/mo/seat
- Pro$75/mo/seat
Intercom
- Essential$29/mo/seat
- Advanced$85/mo/seat
- Expert$132/mo/seat
Who each is for
Choose Help Scout if…
Pick Intercom when you want AI resolution built into support from the start and you are comfortable budgeting for seats plus outcomes. Fin learns from your help content and hands over with a summary. Humans and AI share one inbox and one customer record.
It suits teams that will invest in writing and maintaining the Knowledge Hub. Start with a trial and one channel, and measure resolved conversations and customer replies before you widen it. Check your data region before you plan around the hosted MCP server.
Choose Intercom if…
Pick Help Scout when you are a B2B or SaaS support team of about five to fifty people and want a shared inbox plus a proper help centre from one vendor. The inbox feels like email, so adoption is easy.
It costs per user and starts with a free plan. Advanced workflows and some integrations arrive on higher plans, and single sign-on sits on the top tier. It is not the tool for a very large support organisation with complex routing.
Other options worth a look
Manage customer support tickets across email, chat and social channels with knowledge base tools.
Customer service platform that combines helpdesk ticketing, omnichannel support and AI-powered knowledge base capabilities.
Centralises customer support across email, chat, social and SMS for ecommerce stores with order-data integration.
Powers knowledge bases and help centres with AI search, chatbots and an AI writing agent.
Meta's messaging app and API that lets businesses chat with customers on WhatsApp, from small shops to enterprises.