A messenger that sells, not just resolves tickets
Intercom is a customer-service helpdesk with Fin, its AI agent, at the centre — priced per seat plus per Fin outcome. Captiwate is built for the sales moment: see who is on your site, talk to them live on video, book the meeting — with unlimited seats and no per-conversation metering.
Why choose Captiwate?
Built for the sales moment
Intercom describes itself as “a complete system for human and AI customer service”. Captiwate starts from the other end: a high-intent visitor is on your pricing page right now, and a rep should be talking to them before they leave.
Humans on video, in the browser
Live video and chat, co-browsing and one-click booking run inside the visitor’s tab — no download, no calendar link. Fin handles support conversations across chat, email and voice; live video calls from the website are not listed on Intercom’s pricing or product pages.
One price, no meters
Intercom charges from $29 per seat/month, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome, plus add-ons such as Copilot at $29 per agent/month. Captiwate is priced on monthly visitors — from $15,000/year — with unlimited seats, unlimited conversations and AI chat included.
Feature comparison
Intercom is a helpdesk first; Captiwate is a sales floor for your website. The table shows what each vendor lists on its own pages.
| Feature | Captiwate | Intercom |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Live sales conversations on your website | Customer-service helpdesk with Fin AI |
| Live chat with a human | Included | Included |
| AI chat, 24/7 | Included, unlimited | Fin AI Agent, from $0.99 per outcome |
| Live video calls from the website | Included | Not listed publicly |
| Co-browsing / screen sharing | Included | Not listed publicly |
| Company & person-level visitor identification | Included | Not listed publicly |
| Scheduling & click-to-meet | Included | Not listed publicly |
| Shared inbox, ticketing, help center | Not a helpdesk | Included |
| HubSpot & Salesforce sync | Two-way | Not tied to a plan on the pricing page |
| Seats & pricing | From $15,000/year by monthly visitors — unlimited seats | From $29 per seat/month + Fin from $0.99 per outcome |
Swipe sideways to see both columns →
Last verified 2026-09-03 against intercom.com/pricing, intercom.com, fin.ai and fin.ai/pricing. “Not listed publicly” means the feature does not appear on those pages — confirm with Intercom before deciding. Captiwate details are from our pricing page.
Pricing: three meters vs one number
Intercom’s bill has three moving parts — seats, Fin outcomes and add-ons. Captiwate’s has one: your monthly visitor volume. Everything else is unlimited.
- Grow: $15,000/year, up to 20,000 monthly visitors
- Scale: $30,000/year, 20,000–100,000 visitors
- Unlimited: Custom, 100,000+ visitors
- Unlimited seats, conversations, AI chat and co-browsing on every plan
Annual plans. No free trial — we build a demo on your own website instead.
- Essential: $29 per seat/month
- Advanced: $85 per seat/month
- Expert: $132 per seat/month
- Fin AI Agent: from $0.99 per outcome ($9.99 per qualification)
- Copilot add-on: $29 per agent/month
- Proactive Support Plus: $99/month for 500 messages
Seat prices as displayed on intercom.com/pricing with the annual-billing toggle; SMS, WhatsApp and phone are usage-based. 14-day free trial.
Which one fits your team?
Both are good at their job — they are just different jobs. Pick by what you need the website to do.
“One thing that should get any business excited about Captiwate is when there is a call coming from a visitor. A user is calling the website — that is pretty cool, and that is the dopamine hit.”
Frequently asked questions
Is Intercom a sales tool or a support tool?
Intercom describes itself as “a complete system for human and AI customer service” and “the only helpdesk with a natively integrated AI Agent, Fin”. Fin is also marketed for inbound sales, but the platform’s core is the helpdesk: inbox, tickets, help center. Captiwate is built for sales conversations on the website — identification, live video and chat, booking — and does not try to be a helpdesk.
How does Intercom’s pricing compare to Captiwate’s?
Intercom lists Essential at $29, Advanced at $85 and Expert at $132 per seat per month (annual toggle), with Fin at $0.99 per outcome and add-ons such as Copilot at $29 per agent/month. Captiwate is priced on monthly visitors: Grow is $15,000/year up to 20,000 visitors, Scale is $30,000/year up to 100,000, Unlimited is custom. Seats, conversations and AI chat are unlimited at every tier, so the price does not move when you add reps.
Does Captiwate have an AI chat like Fin?
Yes. AI Chat runs 24/7 on every plan, answers questions, qualifies visitors and hands hot prospects to a live rep — and it is included, not metered per outcome. Fin’s strength is support resolution across many channels; Captiwate’s AI is tuned to move a website visitor toward a conversation or a meeting.
Can Captiwate replace Intercom?
If you use Intercom as your support helpdesk, keep it. Captiwate replaces the sales side of a website messenger: proactive engagement, visitor identification, live video, scheduling. Running a helpdesk for customers and Captiwate for prospects is a normal setup.
Does Captiwate identify visitors by company?
Yes — company and person-level identification with intent signals is included on every plan, with unlimited identified companies. Visitor identification is not listed on Intercom’s pricing or product pages; ask them directly if you need it there.
Does Captiwate integrate with HubSpot and Salesforce?
Yes, two-way CRM sync with HubSpot and Salesforce is included on every plan, alongside Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar, Outlook and Zoom. Intercom’s pricing page does not tie CRM integrations to a plan; Fin’s standalone offer mentions working with existing helpdesks including Salesforce.
Is there a free trial?
Intercom offers a 14-day free trial. Captiwate does not — we build a customised demo on your own website so you see it work on your real traffic before committing, and migration from Intercom is covered.
Want the numbers first? See pricing →
Switching from Intercom? Migration included.
We take care of teams coming from Intercom — financially and during the move. Bring your current setup to a 30-minute walkthrough on your own website and leave with a plan.
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