Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support
Intercom vs Retell AI vs Salesforce Agentforce
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
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.
Pick it if: Service businesses and agencies that want an AI receptionist or phone agent without hiring developers.
Pick it if: Mid-size and larger businesses already on Salesforce that want AI agents handling customer questions and routine sales work.
Intercom scores highest overall, but Retell AI gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Intercom | Retell AI | Salesforce Agentforce |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Customer support inbox, help centre and chat, with the Fin AI agent answering first. | AI phone agents that answer calls, book appointments and make outbound calls. | Salesforce's AI agents that answer customers and help sales reps inside Salesforce CRM. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | $0.99 per outcome | About $0.07–$0.31/min | $500 per 100 |
| Free plan | No | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Intercom | Retell AI | Salesforce Agentforce |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2Winner | 4.1 | 3.3 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 2.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Intercom | Retell AI | Salesforce Agentforce |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | – | Yes |
| Desktop app | – | – | – |
| Browser extension | – | – | – |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | – | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | – | – |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | Yes | – | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 10/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Intercom | Retell AI | Salesforce Agentforce |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Fin on its own $0.99 per outcome, monthly minimum Teams happy with their current helpdesk who want the AI agent only. | Pay as you goOur pick About $0.07–$0.31/min Most small businesses and agencies. | Salesforce Foundations Free Existing Salesforce customers who want to try agents. |
Essential $29/seat/mo, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome Small teams starting out with live chat and an AI agent. | Enterprise Custom High call volumes and compliance needs. | Flex CreditsOur pick $500 per 100,000 credits Businesses paying per action an agent takes. | |
AdvancedOur pick $85/seat/mo, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome Growing support teams that need automation and several inboxes. | Conversations $2 per conversation Customer-facing agents where you want a simple per-chat price. | ||
Expert $132/seat/mo, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome Larger teams with security and multi-brand needs. | Agentforce add-ons From $125/user/mo Teams wanting AI help for every rep or agent seat. | ||
Agentforce 1 editions From $550/user/mo Large Salesforce customers buying the full bundle. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Start 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. | Start on pay as you go with the free credits, build one agent for your most common call and test it on your own phone. Talk to sales only once you run thousands of minutes a month. | Start with the free Foundations tier to prove one agent works, then move to Flex Credits so you pay only for what agents actually do. Per-user add-ons and Agentforce 1 editions are for large teams that have already proven the value. |
Key features
| Attribute | Intercom | Retell AI | Salesforce Agentforce |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Intercom | Retell AI | Salesforce Agentforce |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Intercom | Retell AI | Salesforce Agentforce |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Intercom, Retell AI or Salesforce Agentforce?
Intercom scores highest overall in our ratings (Intercom 4.2/5, Retell AI 4.1/5 and Salesforce Agentforce 3.3/5). Intercom is best for answering common customer questions automatically and website and in-app live chat. Retell AI is best for AI receptionist for a small business and booking appointments by phone. Salesforce Agentforce is best for salesforce customers adding AI to support and answering common customer questions 24/7.
Which is cheaper, Intercom, Retell AI or Salesforce Agentforce?
Intercom: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $0.99 per outcome. Retell AI: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at About $0.07–$0.31/min. Salesforce Agentforce: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $500 per 100.
Which is easier to use, Intercom, Retell AI or Salesforce Agentforce?
Intercom rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Online businesses and software companies with a support team that wants an AI agent to take the first pass at every question.
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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