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Software · head to head

Freshsales vs Intercom

F

Freshsales

Software

Smart CRM for growing businesses

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Intercom logo

Intercom

Software

The only AI customer service solution you need

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Intercom has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Freshsales contact scoring, sales sequences and territory management require the Pro plan at $39 per user per month, more than four times the Growth price; Intercom pricing is high and unpredictable with confusing per-seat, per-feature, and usage-based structure that makes cost estimation difficult
  • They diverge on capability: Freshsales covers Contact management, Intercom covers AI-powered inbox.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Freshsales and Intercom actually diverge.

Attributes where Freshsales and Intercom differ
AttributeFreshsalesIntercom
Starting price$19/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
Founded20102011

Identical on both: platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Freshsales

  • Contact management
  • Lead scoring
  • Sales pipeline
  • Activity tracking
  • Email sync
  • AI insights
  • Workflow automation
  • Gmail

Only in Intercom

  • AI-powered inbox
  • Live chat
  • Chatbots
  • Help center
  • Product tours
  • Customer data platform
  • Automation
  • Mobile SDKs

Both cover

  • Slack
  • Shopify
  • SOC2
  • GDPR

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Freshsales

  • Sales CRM with built in email, phone and chatnot Intercom
  • Managing deals, pipelines and sales sequencesnot Intercom

Intercom

  • Customer supportnot Freshsales
  • Lead generationnot Freshsales
  • User onboardingnot Freshsales
  • Product adoptionnot Freshsales
  • Customer engagementnot Freshsales

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Freshsales

  • Contact scoring, sales sequences and territory management require the Pro plan at $39 per user per month, more than four times the Growth price
  • Forecasting insights, custom modules, sandbox and audit logs are Enterprise only at $59 per user per month
  • Every published price requires annual billing
  • The Freddy AI agent is billed separately at $49 per 100 sessions
  • Branded documents are a further $19 per user add on
  • No contact limits are stated for any tier on the pricing page

Intercom

  • Pricing is high and unpredictable with confusing per-seat, per-feature, and usage-based structure that makes cost estimation difficult
  • API rate limited to 1,000 calls per minute, which may constrain integrations for high-volume data users
  • Does not support multiple language versions of knowledge base articles, requiring creation of duplicate articles for each language

Pricing, plan by plan

Freshsales

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • Contact & account management
    • Pipeline management
  • Growth$39/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Sales automation
    • Territory management
  • Pro$65/month
    • Everything in Growth
    • Forecasting
    • Advanced customization

Intercom

Free
  • Essential$29/month
    • Fin AI Agent
    • Messenger
    • Shared inbox
  • Advanced$85/month
    • Multiple team inboxes
    • Workflow automation
    • Round robin assignment
  • Expert$132/month
    • SSO
    • HIPAA support
    • SLAs

Which should you pick?

Choose Freshsales if

  • You need contact management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want lead scoring.
Freshsales review

Choose Intercom if

  • You need ai-powered inbox.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want live chat.
Intercom review

Questions people ask

Is Freshsales or Intercom better?
Neither clearly leads. Freshsales starts at $19/month and Intercom at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Freshsales or Intercom?
Intercom has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $19/month for Freshsales and Free for Intercom.
Does Freshsales or Intercom run on more platforms?
Freshsales runs on Web, Ios, Android. Intercom runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Intercom for free?
Yes. Intercom has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Freshsales starts at $19/month.
What is Freshsales best used for?
Freshsales is most often used for sales crm with built in email, phone and chat, managing deals, pipelines and sales sequences. Of those, sales crm with built in email, phone and chat and managing deals, pipelines and sales sequences are not what Intercom is typically brought in for.
What can Freshsales do that Intercom cannot?
Freshsales covers Contact management, Lead scoring, Sales pipeline, Activity tracking. Intercom covers AI-powered inbox, Live chat, Chatbots, Help center. Both handle Slack, Shopify, SOC2, GDPR.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Intercom: Is there a free tier and what are the limitations?

Intercom offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required and access to all features and add-ons. After trial, Essential plan starts at $29/seat/month. Free Lite seats are available on paid plans: 20 with Advanced, 50 with Expert.

Source
Intercom: Does Intercom support single sign-on (SSO)?

Yes, Intercom supports SAML SSO with identity provider integration, but it is only available on the Expert plan ($132+/seat/month). SSO also works with Intercom's mobile apps on iOS and Android.

Source
Intercom: Can I export my data from Intercom?

Yes. You can export conversations in CSV format via the Data Export feature in Reports, apply filters to refine exports, and use the REST API to programmatically access conversation and customer data.

Source
Intercom: What would a team of 10 cost on Intercom?

Minimum cost would be $290/month for 10 Essential seats at $29/seat/month. Advanced plan costs $850/month for 10 seats. Prices increase with additional add-ons like Fin AI ($0.99 per resolution), SMS, WhatsApp, or email campaigns.

Source
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