Individuals and organizations use live chat software tools to connect with website visitors. These two solutions are also equipped with marketing and engagement features like website pop-ups and email campaigns.

There are many live chat tools available today, which can make it hard to decide which one will work best for you and your organization. Throughout this guide, we’ll distinguish the key differences between HelpCrunch and Intercom to help simplify your choice.

HelpCrunch & Intercom Comparison Summary

HelpCrunch and Intercom are two advanced live chat solutions. Though Intercom is a more mature business, they’re both worth considering for organizations looking to support and engage with customers. Both tools are also among the highest-rated in our live chat category. The main differences between the two are the included features and the ease of use.

HelpCrunch is described as a customer communication platform that combines live chat, email marketing, and other tools to enhance the customer support and marketing experience. HelpCrunch is significantly easier to install and use than Intercom and gives notably helpful reports.

Intercom is comparably more complex and has some features that HelpCrunch doesn’t, like Product Tours and a chatbot. If you’re a technology-focused startup, we highly recommend applying for the Early-Stage plan, which will cost only $49 per month for 10 seats, chatbots, and Product Tours. Otherwise, we recommend Intercom for large companies with a large budget.

Here’s a quick breakdown to determine which solution is best for you:

Table of Contents

• HelpCrunch & Intercom Comparison Summary
• Who Should Purchase HelpCrunch?
• Who Should Purchase Intercom?
• HelpCrunch & Intercom Price Comparison
  • HelpCrunch Pricing
  • Intercom Pricing
• HelpCrunch & Intercom Feature Comparison
  • HelpCrunch’s Top Features
  • Intercom's Top Features
• Bottom Line

Who Should Purchase HelpCrunch?

HelpCrunch is beneficial for businesses of all sizes. Small companies will benefit from how easy it is to use, while larger companies will likely find value in the website pop-ups and knowledge base. Though HelpCrunch is certainly expensive, we recommend it for small to mid-sized companies who can afford the cost.

During our research, we found HelpCrunch to have only minor flaws. Customers are pleased with the product overall, particularly because an improved mobile application was recently released. Though we found that the widget would load on web pages more slowly than other tools’ widgets, it was an insignificant detail. Organizations interested in combining live chat and email marketing would greatly benefit from this tool’s robust offerings and ease of use.

Who Should Purchase Intercom?

Intercom is one of the most powerful live chat solutions on the market. Because of this, it also runs at a high price. Large companies will benefit from Intercom’s unique engagement features. Smaller companies that want the advanced tools will greatly benefit if they apply for Intercom’s startup plan, which costs only $49 per month for 10 seats.

Many customers note that while Intercom functions well, it’s a significant investment because of the high price. Intercom was also one of the most complex tools that we tested, so it’s not for those who lack technical expertise. We also found their customer support team to be less responsive than support teams with other live chat companies.

HelpCrunch & Intercom Price Comparison

HelpCrunch and Intercom are fairly similar when it comes to pricing. However, Intercom is much more expensive at the enterprise level. Some customers also note that Intercom has a tendency to add extra charges and that there can be hidden fees.

HelpCrunch charges customers on a per-agent basis. The chat-only plan starts at $15 per agent per month, while the chat and email plan starts at $29 per agent per month. On the other hand, Intercom charges for monthly plans that include a certain number of agents and particular features. Intercom’s pricing starts at $39 per month for one agent and goes as high as $999 per month.

When comparing plans directly, Intercom offers slightly more for a lower cost. Their Grow plan costs $99 a month for five seats, live chat, and email marketing, whereas HelpCrunch would cost $145 a month for five seats on the Standard chat and email plan. The prices for Intercom’s Accelerate plan and HelpCrunch’s Premium plan (both for 10 agents) are about the same, but Intercom’s plan includes custom chatbots, ticketing workflows, and Salesforce and Zendesk integrations, which HelpCrunch’s plan does not.

However, Intercom does have a monthly limit to how many people can be reached, which may be detrimental to high-volume sites. Only 2,000 unique visitors can be reached a month, and 1,000 additional visitors reached will cost $50. If you have the Advanced Customer Engagement add-on, which is nearly $500 per month, these limits are removed.

HelpCrunch Pricing Details

HelpCrunch offers chat-only or chat + email plans. The chat-only Standard plan costs $15 per agent per month and the chat + email Standard plan costs $29 per agent per month. Additional pricing options are shown below. If you choose to be billed annually, there will be a discount on the monthly prices.

Intercom Pricing Details

Intercom pricing starts at $39 per month with one seat. There are four plans to choose from, as well as a program that startups can apply to for a discounted yearlong plan. There are also add-ons that come at a high monthly price. Here’s an overview of Intercom’s plans and add-ons:

HelpCrunch & Intercom Feature Comparison

HelpCrunch and Intercom offer different suites of products, and Intercom has a wider range of features like Product Tours, chatbots, and buildable campaign workflows. The advanced features come at the cost of simplicity, however, and Intercom is fairly difficult to use.

As displayed in the table below, each platform also includes unique features. For a full analysis of each solution’s features, read our HelpCrunch review and Intercom review.

HelpCrunch's Top Features

HelpCrunch offers live chat, a hosted knowledge base, website pop-ups, and automated & manual messages. We’ll briefly describe each feature to help you determine if HelpCrunch will benefit your business.

Live Chat

We found HelpCrunch’s live chat interface and inbox to be particularly intuitive because it’s set up clearly, yet with a lot of detail. It has a cleaner appearance than Intercom’s inbox and looks less cluttered, which makes it easier to wade through messages. HelpCrunch also allows you to see what visitors are typing before a message is sent.

Knowledge Base

Both solutions offer a hosted knowledge base and they’re fairly comparable, both in terms of setup and appearance. The HelpCrunch knowledge base allows companies to write how-to articles, post answers to commonly asked questions, and more.

Website Pop-Ups

HelpCrunch includes pop-ups that will show up on your company’s website. The pop-up builder is easy to locate and set up, making it ideal for those who want to have this as a frequent feature on their site. Intercom offers something similar, and while it’s more advanced and has a workflow-type setup, it’s found in the broader “Series” section.

Automated & Manual Messages

With HelpCrunch, you can create marketing campaigns through chat and email. With the message builder, you can easily set rules, craft the content of the message, and see message performance, all within the same tab.

Intercom's Top Features

Some of Intercom’s key features include live chat, Product Tours, and chatbots. If you’re searching for a broader set of support features, Intercom will be better for you.

Live Chat

As mentioned above, Intercom’s inbox looks slightly more cluttered than HelpCrunch’s, though it does perform essentially the same functions. You can only use conversation routing in the two most expensive plans. However, the tool works well overall.

Product Tours

Intercom offers Product Tours, which are interactive tours that point visitors to highlighted features on your site. This tool is helpful for teams that want to encourage engagement with one particular part of the site. HelpCrunch doesn’t offer this feature, though they do offer pop-ups, which are also a key engagement feature.

Chatbots

If you’re between Intercom and HelpCrunch and need a chatbot, Intercom is the better choice. Intercom includes three different types of chatbots to support various tasks like onboarding new visitors, routing visitors to the right support team, and responding to frequently asked questions. HelpCrunch does not currently offer chatbots. Images of two of Intercom’s bot capabilities are shown below.

Custom and Resolution Bots

Task Bot

Bottom Line

HelpCrunch and Intercom are two advanced and expensive communication and marketing tools. The main difference between the two lies in the features you’ll want and the ease of use. If you’re interested in a broader set of features, Intercom would be the better option. If you want something that’s similarly powerful yet less complex, HelpCrunch is the better choice.

If you’re interested, visit HelpCrunch or Intercom today to get started.