Zendesk vs Intercom Comparison 2024: Which One Is Better?

While Zendesk features are plenty, someone using it for the first time can find it overwhelming. Before you make your choice, check out Messagely’s features and compare them to discover which platform is best for you. And while many other chatbots take forever to set up, you can set up your first chatbot in under five minutes. You can also follow up with customers after they have left the chat and qualify them based on your answers.

Users also point out that it can take a couple of hours to get used to the flow of tickets, which doesn’t happen in CRM, and they aren’t pleased with the product’s downtime. Intercom works with any website or web-based product and aims to be your one-way stop for all of your customer communication needs. Boost your lead gen and sales funnels with Flows – no-code automation paths that trigger at crucial moments in the customer journey.

Zendesk is quite famous for designing its platform to be intuitive and its tools to be quite simple to learn. This is aided by the fact that the look and feel of Zendesk’s user interface are neat and minimal, with few cluttering features. Personalized messaging, in-app messaging, product tours, and chatbot capabilities set Intercom apart from Zendesk.

Zendesk excels with its powerful ticketing and customer support capabilities, making it ideal for streamlining service operations. Both Zendesk and Intercom offer customer service software with AI capabilities—however, they are not created equal. With Zendesk, you get next-level AI-powered support software that’s intuitively designed, scalable, and cost-effective. Compare Zendesk vs. Intercom and future-proof your business with reliable, easy-to-use software.

Comments and tickets from these users will be mapped to the default user selected. If your data migration needs are very large, specific, complex, or don’t match the capabilities above, then there are other options available which may be more appropriate. The self-service portal is included in all the four plans of HappyFox. Customer experience tools use analytics to turn data into a goldmine of insights that help you get ahead. If there’s a security framework of need, Sprinklr complies with it.

Zendesk has more pricing options, and its most affordable plan is likely cheaper than Intercom’s, although without exact Intercom numbers, it is not easy to truly know the cost. For those of you who have been waiting for the big showdown between these two customer support heavyweights, we are glad to present the ultimate Zendesk vs Intercom comparison article. Lastly, Intercom offers an academy that offers concise courses to help users make the most out of their Intercom experience.

The Zendesk chat tool has most of the necessary features, like shortcuts (saved responses), automated triggers, and live chat analytics. It’s nothing fancy; it covers just basic customer communication needs. As a result, customers can implement the help desk software quickly—without the need for developers—and see a faster return on investment. Plus, our transparent pricing doesn’t have hidden fees or endless add-ons, so customers know exactly what they’re paying for and can calculate the total cost of ownership ahead of time. In comparison, Intercom’s confusing pricing structure that features multiple add-ons may be unsuitable for small businesses. As part of its service, Intercom also provides a self-service customer portal through its Help Center.

Plan Flexibility: Which One Has More Flexible Pricing Options?

We give the edge to Zendesk here, as it’s typically aimed for more complex environments. It’s also more exclusively focused on providing help support, whereas Intercom sometimes moonlights as being part-time sales. The result is that Zendesk generally wins on ratings when it comes to support capacity.

Not to mention its advanced reporting capabilities, customizable dashboards, and seamless mobile app experience for an always-on approach to service. You could technically consider Intercom a CRM, but it’s really more of a customer-focused communication product. It isn’t as adept at purer sales tasks like lead management, list engagement, advanced reporting, forecasting, and workflow management as you’d expect a more complete CRM to be. Founded in 2007, Zendesk started as a ticketing tool for customer success teams. Later, they started adding all kinds of other features, like live chat for customer conversations. Why don’t you try something equally powerful yet more affordable, like HelpCrunch?

Customers today don’t just appreciate quick service; they expect it. They want answers right when they need them, and that’s where a good customer portal is useful. A CX tool is equipped with conversational zendesk intercom AI that can resolve a good chunk of your queries on its own. The AI acts like a smart filter, triaging through incoming issues to find and bring urgent ones, such as service disruptions, to the forefront.

Great live chat

From handling multiple questions to avoiding dreaded customer-stuck loops, Aura AI is the Swiss Army Knife of customer service chatbots. While not included with its customer service suite, it offers a full-fledged standalone CRM called Zendesk Sell. While it’s a separate product with separate costs, it does integrate seamlessly with Zendesk’s customer service platform.

Zendesk lets you chat with customers through email, chat, social media, or phone. Now that we’ve covered a bit of background on both Zendesk and Intercom, let’s dive into the features each platform offers. The offers that appear on the website are from software companies from which CRM.org receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).

Intercom also has a community forum where users can help one another with questions and solutions. For Intercom’s pricing plan, on the other hand, there is much less information on their website. There is a Starter plan for small businesses at $74 per month billed annually, and there are add-ons like a WhatsApp add-on at $9 per user per month or surveys at $49 per month. Easily reply to customer conversations and manage workload in a smart & automated way. Zendesk pricing is divided between a customer support product called “Zendesk for support”, and a fully-fledged CRM called “Zendesk for sales”.

This site does not include all software companies or all available software companies offers. However, this is somewhat subjective, and depending on your business needs and favorite tools, you may argue we got it all mixed up, and Intercom is truly superior. Some startups and small businesses may prefer one app, while large companies and enterprise operations will have their own requirements.

It is favored by customer support, helpdesk, IT service management, and contact center teams. To select the ideal fit for your business, it is crucial to compare these industry giants and assess which aligns best with your specific requirements. Zendesk is a great option for large companies or companies that are looking for a very strong sales and customer service platform. It offers more support features and includes more advanced analytics and reports.

If you own a business, you’re in a fierce battle to deliver personalized customer experiences that stand out. Handle conversations, manage tickets, and resolve issues quickly to improve your CSAT. You’ll still be able to get your eyes on basic support metrics, like response times and bot performance, that will help you improve your service quality. However, Intercom’s real strength lies in generating insights into areas like customer journey mapping, product performance, and retention. Traditional ticketing systems are one of the major customer service bottlenecks companies want to solve with automation. Intelligent automated ticketing helps streamline customer service management and handling inquiries while reducing manual work.

User experience and interface

You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. Today, there are plenty of customer portal software options available. Before choosing one, it’s important to think about the specific problems you’re trying to solve for your customers. Not only is optimizing customer experiences for the weak of the heart, but also is keeping track of each experience, at each touchpoint. Customer interactions are often spilled all over the place and making sense of them all can be tricky. Here are the benefits of using a customer experience tool for your business.

And for businesses, it’s a win because happy, informed customers stay loyal . Intercom also has a mobile app available for both Android and iOS, which makes it easy to stay connected with customers even when away from the computer. The app includes features like automated messages and conversation routing — so businesses can manage customer https://chat.openai.com/ conversations more efficiently. Intercom’s app store has popular integrations for things like WhatsApp, Stripe, Instagram, and Slack. There is a really useful one for Shopify to provide customer support for e-commerce operations. HubSpot and Salesforce are also available when support needs to work with marketing and sales teams.

However, for more advanced CRM needs like lead management and sales forecasting, Intercom may not make the cut, unfortunately. What’s even cooler is its ability to use AI to forecast customer behavior. Agents can use this to anticipate and proactively address issues before the escalate, or even arise in the first place. Their reports are attractive, dynamic, and integrated right out of the box.

• Multilingual content and other advanced features come with a $49 price per agent per month.
• I tested both options (using Zendesk’s Suite Professional trial and Intercom’s Support trial) and found clearly defined differences between the two.
• It tends to perform well on the marketing and sales side of things, which is key for a growing company.
• While both Zendesk and Intercom are great and robust platforms, none of them are able to provide you with the same value Messagely gives you at such an  affordable price.
• This single window allows your team members to combine several channels for better efficiency and improved customer experience.
• Their template triggers are fairly limited with only seven options, but they do enable users to create new custom triggers, which can be a game-changer for agents with more complex workflows.

The Zendesk Support app gives you access to live Intercom customer data in Zendesk, and lets you create new tickets in Zendesk directly from Intercom conversations. This gives your team the context they need to provide fast and excellent support. So yeah, two essential things that Zendesk lacks in comparison to Intercom are in-app messages and email marketing tools. Intercom on the other hand lacks many ticketing functionality that can be essential for big companies with a huge customer support load. In summary, choosing Zendesk and Intercom hinges on your business’s unique requirements and priorities. If you seek a comprehensive customer support solution with a strong emphasis on traditional ticketing, Zendesk is a solid choice, particularly for smaller to mid-sized businesses.

Some of the links that appear on the website are from software companies from which CRM.org receives compensation. Intercom’s dashboards may not be as aesthetically pleasing as Zendesk’s, but they still allow users to navigate their tools with few distractions. As for Intercom’s general pricing structure, there are three plans, but you’ll have to contact them to get exact prices.

If you’re looking for a user-friendly customer portal that comes with great features, consider trying Hiver. You can start with a 7-day free trial to see if it’s the right fit for you. You can even set up automated welcome messages to greet users right when they need help. Customers can easily access help center articles through the company’s website, mobile app, and product interface, making self-service straightforward.

However, Intercom has fewer integration options than Zendesk, which may limit its capabilities for businesses seeking extensive integrations. One of Zendesk’s standout features that we need to shine a spotlight on is its extensive marketplace of third-party integrations and extensions. Imagine having the power to connect your helpdesk solution with a wide range of tools and applications that your team already uses. Whether it’s syncing data with your CRM, enhancing communication via messaging platforms, or automating tasks with productivity apps, Zendesk makes it possible. Zendesk has an app available for both Android and iOS, which makes it easy to stay connected with customers while on the go.

• For those of you who have been waiting for the big showdown between these two customer support heavyweights, we are glad to present the ultimate Zendesk vs Intercom comparison article.
• Intercom has a different approach, one that’s all about sales, marketing, and personalized messaging.
• As a result, customers can implement the help desk software quickly—without the need for developers—and see a faster return on investment.

If you’re smaller more sales oriented startup with enough money, go Intercom. Gain valuable insights with Intercom’s analytics and reporting capabilities. Track key metrics, measure campaign success, and optimize customer engagement strategies. Seamlessly integrate Intercom with popular third-party tools and platforms, centralizing customer data and improving workflow efficiency. Intercom has a full suite of email marketing tools, although they are part of a pricier package. With Intercom, you get email features like targeted and personalized outbound emailing, dynamic content fields, and an email-to-inbox forwarding feature.

Zendesk offers a free 30-day trial, after which customers will need to upgrade to one of their paid plans. The primary function of Intercom’s mobile app is the business messenger suite, including personalized messaging, real-time support tools, push notifications, in-app messaging and emailing. Intercom also does mobile carousels to help please the eye with fresh designs. Intercom’s large series of bots obviously run on automations as well. As mentioned before, the bot builder is a visual drag-and-drop system that requires no coding knowledge; this is also how other basic workflows are designed.

To sum up, one can get really confused trying to understand the Zendesk pricing, let alone calculate costs. Zendesk is a ticketing system before anything else, and its ticketing functionality is overwhelming in the best possible way. When you start an import, Intercom will import your data as it is at that exact time. If any changes are made in Zendesk after that time, they won’t be reflected in Intercom. Alongside tickets, you can also import notes, attachments and inline images. You’ll also need to choose a default team and teammate for when mappings aren’t possible.

Freshdesk vs. Zendesk Battle: Ultimate Comparison for Better Choices

I’ll dive into their chatbots more later, but their bot automation features are also stronger. There are many features to help bigger customer service teams collaborate more effectively, such as private notes or a real-time view of who’s handling a given ticket at the moment. At the same time, the vendor offers powerful reporting capabilities to help you grow and improve your business. Intercom also uses AI and features a chatbot called Fin, but negative reviews note basic reporting and a lack of customization.

Also, their in-app messenger is worth a separate mention as it’s one of their distinctive tools (especially since Zendesk doesn’t really have one). With Intercom you can send targeted email, push, and in-app messages which can be based on the most relevant time or behavior triggers. It has very limited customization options in comparison to its competitors. Customer support and security are vital aspects to consider when evaluating helpdesk solutions like Zendesk and Intercom. Let’s examine and compare how each platform addresses these crucial areas to ensure effective support operations and data protection. So, whether you’re a startup or a global giant, Zendesk’s got your back for top-notch customer support.

In terms of pricing, Intercom is considered one of the hardest on your pocket. Zendesk can be more flexible and predictable in this area as you can buy different tools separately (or even use their limited versions for free). Though Intercom chat window says that their team typically replies in a few hours, I received the answer in a couple of minutes. Their agent was always trying to convert me into a lead along the way, but heck, that’s a side effect of our job. What can be really inconvenient about Zendesk, though is how their tools integrate with each other when you need to use them simultaneously.

It’s important that the user performing the migration has Admin access in Zendesk. Admins have the necessary permissions needed to view and manage Zendesk data. Generative AI can turn bullet points into full articles, refine content, and adjust tone. When selecting a CX tool, it’s crucial to verify its financial impact and ongoing costs. Ensure the tool offers a clear return on investment and is cost-effective throughout its lifecycle. Let’s see how conversational AI in telecom helps make agents more productive.

By the end of the article, you’ll not only know all of the main differences between Zendesk and Intercom, but you’ll know which is the right tool for you. Now that we know the differences between Intercom vs. Zendesk, let’s analyze which one is the better service option. Grow faster with done-for-you automation, tailored optimization strategies, and custom limits. You can try Customerly without any risk to you as we offer a 14-day free trial. G2 ranks Intercom higher than Zendesk for ease of setup, and support quality—so you can expect a smooth transition, effortless onboarding, and continuous success.

It works seamlessly with over 1,000 business tools, like Salesforce, Slack, and Shopify. With its features and pricing, Zendesk is geared toward businesses that full in the range from mid-sized to enterprise-level. Triggers should prove especially useful for agents, allowing them to do things like automate notifications for actions like ticket assignments, ticket closing/reopening, or new ticket creation. Their template triggers are fairly limited Chat GPT with only seven options, but they do enable users to create new custom triggers, which can be a game-changer for agents with more complex workflows. Using this, agents can chat across teams within a ticket via email, Slack, or Zendesk’s ticketing system. This packs all resolution information into a single ticket, so there’s no extra searching or backtracking needed to bring a ticket through to resolution, even if it involves multiple agents.

Struck not in a bad way, more like in a very neutral ‘huh, this may be interesting’ way. In terms of G2 ratings, Zendesk and Intercom are both well-rated platforms. Zendesk has a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on over 5,600 reviews. Intercom has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, based on over 2700 reviews. It can team up with tools like Salesforce and Slack, so everything runs smoothly. Many use cases call for different approaches, and Zendesk and Intercom are but two software solutions for each case.

In addition to Intercom vs Zendesk, alternative helpdesk solutions are available in the market. ThriveDesk is a feature-rich helpdesk solution that offers a comprehensive set of tools to manage customer support effectively. Intercom is praised as an affordable option with high customization capabilities, allowing businesses to create a personalized support experience. Although the interface may require a learning curve, users find the platform effective and functional.

Both tools can be quite heavy on your budget since they mainly target big enterprises and don’t offer their full toolset at an affordable price. Zendesk provides comprehensive security and compliance features, ensuring customer data privacy. This includes secure login options like SAML or JWT SSO (single sign-on) and native content redaction for sensitive information. We also adhere to numerous industry standards and regulations, such as HIPAA, SOC2, ISO 27001, HDS, FedRAMP LI-SaaS, ISO 27018, and ISO 27701.

Chatbots are automated customer support tools that can assist with low-level ticket triage and ticket routing in real-time. How easy it is to program a chatbot and how effective a chatbot is at assisting human reps is an important factor for this category. Intercom focuses on real-time customer messaging, while Zendesk provides a comprehensive suite for ticketing, knowledge base, and self-service support.

When it comes to Sprinklr, you can rest easy knowing no piece of consumer intelligence slips through the cracks. To ensure every interaction racks in minimal customer effort scores, you need all your internal tools (like CRM, marketing automation and research tools) to talk to each other. Sprinklr dissolves point-solution chaos to help you deliver consistent omnichannel customer experiences to all your customers at every single touchpoint, without fail, each time. Zendesk’s customer support is also very fast, though their live chat is only available for registered users. All interactions with customers be it via phone, chat, email, social media, or any other channel are landing in one dashboard, where your agents can solve them fast and efficiently. There’s a plethora of features to help bigger teams collaborate more effectively — like private notes or real-time view of who’s handling a given ticket at the moment, etc.

Automated triggers, saved responses, and live chat analytics are all baked in. The only other downside is that the chat widget can feel a bit static and outdated. When comparing chatbots, it’s important to consider their level of intelligence, “trainability,” and customization. While both Zendesk and Intercom offer strong ticketing systems, they differ in the depth of automation capabilities. According to G2, Intercom has a slight edge over Zendesk with a 4.5-star rating, but from just half the number of users. Similar to Zendesk, though, users praise its ease of use and feature set.