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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Intercom vs Reply.io

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Best overall

Intercom

4.2

From $0.99 per outcome

Reply.io

3.7

From From $49/user/mo

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Best overall

Pick it if: Online businesses and software companies with a support team that wants an AI agent to take the first pass at every question.

Best value

Pick it if: Small sales teams, founders and agencies running cold email and LinkedIn outreach.

Intercom scores highest overall, but Reply.io gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

AttributeIntercomReply.io
In one lineCustomer support inbox, help centre and chat, with the Fin AI agent answering first.Cold email and LinkedIn outreach sequences, plus an AI SDR that writes and replies.
Pricing modelPaidPaid
Starting price$0.99 per outcomeFrom $49/user/mo
Free plan No No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeIntercomReply.io
Overall rating4.2Winner3.7
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
5.0
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.5
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.0
3.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.5
3.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeIntercomReply.io
Access & platform
Free plan No No
Mobile app Yes–
Desktop app––
Browser extension– Yes
API access Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes–
Connects to other apps Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes–
Understands images Yes–
Makes images No No
Makes video No No
Writes code No–
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style Yes–
Works in many languages Yes Yes
Capabilities score10/ 176/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeIntercomReply.io
Plans

Fin on its own

$0.99 per outcome, monthly minimum

Teams happy with their current helpdesk who want the AI agent only.

Email Volume

From $49/user/mo billed yearly, or $59 monthly

Email-only cold outreach.

Essential

$29/seat/mo, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome

Small teams starting out with live chat and an AI agent.

MultichannelOur pick

$89/user/mo billed yearly, or $99 monthly

Teams running email and LinkedIn together.

AdvancedOur pick

$85/seat/mo, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome

Growing support teams that need automation and several inboxes.

Jason AI SDR

From $500/mo billed yearly

Teams wanting AI to run outbound end to end.

Expert

$132/seat/mo, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome

Larger teams with security and multi-brand needs.

Which plan to pickStart the 14-day trial and see how many conversations Fin handles, because that number drives the bill more than seats do. Most teams with more than a couple of agents end up on Advanced for the workflows. If you already run Zendesk or Salesforce and like it, try Fin on its own first.Multichannel is the best value if you use LinkedIn at all, since the add-ons on Email Volume quickly cost more. Only look at Jason AI SDR once your manual sequences are already booking meetings.

Key features

AttributeIntercomReply.io
Standout features
  • Fin AI agent
  • Shared inbox and tickets
  • Messenger chat widget
  • Help centre
  • Workflows
  • Copilot for agents
  • Multichannel sequences
  • Deliverability tools
  • Jason AI SDR
  • AI email writer
  • Contact data
  • Agency features

Pros and cons

AttributeIntercomReply.io
Pros
  • Fin gives some of the most accurate answers of any AI support agent
  • Inbox, chat, help centre and AI all built to work together
  • Fin can run on top of another helpdesk, so you can trial it without moving
  • Clean, modern inbox that support staff pick up quickly
  • Public API and an official MCP server
  • Email, LinkedIn, calls and SMS in one sequence
  • Warm-up and deliverability tools included
  • Fair price for small teams and agencies
  • AI SDR option when you want less hands-on work
Cons
  • Per-seat plus per-conversation pricing makes the monthly bill hard to predict
  • You pay for a Fin outcome even when a customer leaves after a weak answer, by some users' accounts
  • Many useful features sit on higher plans or paid add-ons
  • Slow or patchy responses from Intercom's own support in user reviews
  • Ownership change (renamed Fin, being bought by Salesforce) adds uncertainty
  • Frequent complaints about auto-renewals, minimum terms and refunds
  • LinkedIn and calls are paid add-ons on the cheaper plan
  • AI SDR is a big price jump and still needs supervising
  • Some users report bugs and emails sent in error

Who each one is for

AttributeIntercomReply.io
Best for
  • Answering common customer questions automatically
  • Website and in-app live chat
  • A shared support inbox with ticketing
  • Building a help centre the AI learns from
  • Support across chat, email and phone in one place
  • Cold email campaigns
  • Email plus LinkedIn sequences
  • Agencies running outreach for clients
  • Handing outbound to an AI SDR
You'll find it used by
  • Support teams
  • Software companies
  • Online stores
  • Customer success teams
  • Founders
  • Sales development reps
  • Lead generation agencies
  • Recruiters

Questions people ask

Which is better, Intercom or Reply.io?

Intercom scores highest overall in our ratings (Intercom 4.2/5 and Reply.io 3.7/5). Intercom is best for answering common customer questions automatically and website and in-app live chat. Reply.io is best for cold email campaigns and email plus LinkedIn sequences.

Which is cheaper, Intercom or Reply.io?

Intercom: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $0.99 per outcome. Reply.io: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $49/user/mo.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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