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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Intercom 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.

Best overall

Intercom

4.2

From $0.99 per outcome

Salesforce Agentforce

3.3

From $500 per 100

Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.

At a glance

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

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: Mid-size and larger businesses already on Salesforce that want AI agents handling customer questions and routine sales work.

Overview

AttributeIntercomSalesforce Agentforce
In one lineCustomer support inbox, help centre and chat, with the Fin AI agent answering first.Salesforce's AI agents that answer customers and help sales reps inside Salesforce CRM.
Pricing modelPaidPaid
Starting price$0.99 per outcome$500 per 100
Free plan No Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

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

AttributeIntercomSalesforce Agentforce
Overall rating4.2Winner3.3
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
2.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
5.0
4.5
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
2.5
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.

AttributeIntercomSalesforce Agentforce
Access & platform
Free plan No Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes
Desktop app––
Browser extension––
API access Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes 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 Yes
Works in many languages Yes Yes
Capabilities score10/ 1710/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeIntercomSalesforce Agentforce
Plans

Fin on its own

$0.99 per outcome, monthly minimum

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

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.

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 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.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

AttributeIntercomSalesforce Agentforce
Standout features
  • Fin AI agent
  • Shared inbox and tickets
  • Messenger chat widget
  • Help centre
  • Workflows
  • Copilot for agents
  • Ready-made agents
  • Agent builder
  • Works on your CRM data
  • Many channels
  • Hand-off to people
  • Testing and monitoring

Pros and cons

AttributeIntercomSalesforce Agentforce
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
  • Works directly on your Salesforce records and permissions
  • Ready-made agents for common service and sales jobs
  • Runs across chat, email, Slack and Salesforce screens
  • Enterprise security and admin controls built in
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
  • Confusing pricing that is hard to forecast and can climb quickly with usage
  • Setup usually needs a Salesforce admin or paid partner
  • Agents are only as good as your data and knowledge articles
  • Little reason to use it if you are not already on Salesforce

Who each one is for

AttributeIntercomSalesforce Agentforce
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
  • Salesforce customers adding AI to support
  • Answering common customer questions 24/7
  • Following up and qualifying inbound leads
  • Giving reps AI help inside Salesforce
You'll find it used by
  • Support teams
  • Software companies
  • Online stores
  • Customer success teams
  • Customer service teams
  • Sales teams
  • Salesforce admins
  • Enterprises

Questions people ask

Which is better, Intercom or Salesforce Agentforce?

Intercom scores highest overall in our ratings (Intercom 4.2/5 and Salesforce Agentforce 3.3/5). Intercom is best for answering common customer questions automatically and website and in-app live chat. Salesforce Agentforce is best for salesforce customers adding AI to support and answering common customer questions 24/7.

Which is cheaper, Intercom or Salesforce Agentforce?

Intercom: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $0.99 per outcome. Salesforce Agentforce: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $500 per 100.

Which is easier to use, Intercom 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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