Intercom vs Zendesk: Comparing features, integrations, and pricing

Zendesk vs Intercom: Which is better? 2023

intercom vs zendesk

Research by Zoho reports that customer relationship management (CRM) systems can help companies triple lead conversion rates. Those same tools also increase customer retention by 27% while saving 23% on sales and marketing costs. You can construct an omnichannel suite by combining productivity, e-commerce, CRM, analytics, social media, and other applications. Having more connectors accessible gives organizations the flexibility to select software that meets their specific needs.

Both Zendesk and Intercom are customer support management solutions that offer features like ticket management, live chat and messaging, automation workflows, knowledge centers, and analytics. Zendesk has traditionally been more focused on customer support management, while Intercom has been more focused on live support solutions like its chat solution. Zendesk was founded in 2007 by Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl, and Alexander Aghassipour. The platform was created to provide a simple and effective way for businesses to manage customer support tickets. Over the years, Zendesk has expanded its offerings to include features such as live chat, knowledge base, and customer feedback.

Automation

Operator, Intercom’s automation engine, empowers Intercom chatbots to gather key information from each website visitor to qualify leads and route customers to the right destination. If you thought Zendesk prices were confusing, let me introduce you to the Intercom charges. It’s virtually impossible to predict what you’ll pay for Intercom at the end of the day. They charge for customer service representative seats and people reached, don’t reveal their prices, and offer tons of custom add-ons at additional cost.

Zendesk is renowned for its comprehensive toolset that aids in automating customer service workflows and fine-tuning chatbot interactions. Its strengths are prominently seen in multi-channel support, with effective email, social media, and live chat integrations, coupled with a robust internal knowledge base for agent support. Zendesk offers a comprehensive service suite with features such as a ticketing system and workflow configuration available to desktop and mobile device users.

About Intercom

You don’t have to pay per contact on your database, and you there are many free features you can use. Chat agents also get a comprehensive look at their entire customer’s journey, so they will have a better idea of what your customers need, without needing to ask many questions. Since Intercom doesn’t offer a CRM, its pricing is divided into basic messaging and messaging with automations.

intercom vs zendesk

For those with a complicated customer support process, Zendesk may be the better option. However, Intercom may be the better choice if a business is more sales-oriented. Ultimately, the decision between these two tools will depend on company size, budget, and specific business needs. In 2023, businesses will have an abundance of options when it comes to choosing a customer support and relationship management tool. Both of these tools have unique strengths and weaknesses, and choosing between them can be difficult for businesses of all sizes. Again, Zendesk has surpassed the number of reviewers when compared to Intercom.

HubSpot is known to serve businesses of different sizes, offering basic functionalities and advanced features via various plans. Overall, both Intercom and Zendesk are reliable and effective customer support tools, and the choice between the two ultimately depends on the specific needs and priorities of the user. In terms of pricing, both Intercom and Zendesk offer a range of plans to fit different business needs and budgets.

Zendesk’s user face is quite intuitive and easy to use, allowing customers to quickly find what they are looking for. Additionally, the platform allows users to customize their experience by setting up automation workflows, creating ticket rules, and utilizing analytics. Zendesk has an app available for both Android and iOS, which makes it easy to stay connected with customers while on the go. The app includes features like push notifications and real-time customer engagement — so businesses can respond quickly to customer inquiries. Zendesk offers a free 30-day trial, after which customers will need to upgrade to one of their paid plans. Intercom also offers an API enabling businesses to build custom integrations with their tools.

But sooner or later, you’ll have to decide on the subscription plan, and here’s what you’ll have to pay. If I had to describe Intercom’s helpdesk, I would say it’s rather a complementary tool to their chat tools. So you see, it’s okay to feel dizzy when comparing Zendesk vs Intercom platforms. Use HubSpot Service Hub to provide seamless, fast, and delightful customer service. The support team faced spiking ticket volumes, numerous new customer accounts, and the need to shift to remote work. Sendcloud is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that allows users to generate packing slips and labels to help online retailers streamline their shipping process.

  • If you’re looking for a comprehensive solution with lots of features and integrations, then Zendesk would be a good choice.
  • It really shines in its modern messenger interface, making real-time chat a breeze.
  • You can also set up interactive product tours to highlight new features in-product and explain how they work.
  • In short, Zendesk is perfect for large companies looking to streamline their customer support process; Intercom is great for smaller companies looking for advanced customer service features.

We wish some of their great features were offered in multiple plans, but none features overlap among plans. The Zendesk Admin Center panels allow administrators to control settings, accessibility, automations, and workflows for everything from chatbots to integrations and custom APIs. Users with light access–such as knowledgeable agents and supervisors–can be added to tickets for browsing and feedback. While light intercom vs zendesk agents cannot interact with the customer on the ticket, they can make notes and interact privately with other team members and agents involved with the ticket. The two essential things that Zendesk lacks in comparison to Intercom are in-app messages and email marketing tools. On the other hand, Intercom lacks many ticketing functionality that can be essential for big companies with a huge client support load.

Zendesk vs Intercom: customer support

Some of the links that appear on the website are from software companies from which CRM.org receives compensation. So, by now, you can see that according to this article, Zendesk inches past Intercom as the better customer support platform. There is a simple email integration tool for whatever email provider you regularly use.

intercom vs zendesk