LiveChat vs Intercom
Both tools start at $19 per seat per month billed annually, so the headline prices look identical. They are not. Intercom's $19 is a new-customer price, and Fin AI adds $0.99 per outcome on top of seats. LiveChat's $19 is the standard Essential price, with no per-outcome charge in the pricing shown here.
Pick LiveChat if you want live chat with a bill you can predict. Pick Intercom if you need a wider platform for a larger team and you have done the Fin maths for your real chat volume.
Disclosure: LiveChat links on this page are affiliate links. A purchase through one earns this site a commission at no extra cost to you. Intercom links are plain homepage links.
All prices below are the prices shown on the vendors' pricing pages on October 27, 2026. Annual means billed annually, monthly means billed monthly.
| LiveChat | Intercom | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan, billed annually | Essential, $19 per user per month | Essential, $19 per seat per month for new customers (list $29) |
| Entry plan, billed monthly | Essential, $25 per user per month | Essential, $29 per seat per month for new customers (list $39) |
| Mid tier, billed annually | Growth, $79 per user per month | Advanced, $85 per seat per month |
| Mid tier, billed monthly | Growth, $99 per user per month | Advanced, $99 per seat per month |
| Top tier | Enterprise, custom pricing | Expert, $132 per seat per month billed annually ($139 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None. 14-day trial, no card required. | None. 14-day trial, no card required. |
| AI charges | Resolutions included in the plan: 10 per month on Essential, 200 per month on Growth. | Fin AI Agent: $0.99 per outcome, on top of seat prices, on all helpdesk plans. |
At 5 seats billed annually, LiveChat Essential costs $95 per month and Intercom Essential costs $95 per month for new customers. At 10 seats, both cost $190 per month on Essential annual pricing, before any Fin charges. The difference shows up in AI billing and in the step up to the next tier, not in the entry seat price.
LiveChat Essential at $19 per user per month billed annually is the standard price. Intercom Essential at $19 per seat per month billed annually is the new-customer price. The list price is $29 billed annually and $39 billed monthly. Compare the list prices if you want the price without any new-customer discount.
LiveChat includes a set number of AI resolutions in the plan: 10 per month on Essential, 200 per month on Growth. Intercom charges Fin AI per outcome, $0.99 each, on top of seats. If your team handles a lot of chats, the per-outcome charge is the number to model before you choose.
LiveChat moves from Essential $19 to Growth $79 per user per month billed annually. Intercom moves from Essential $19 to Advanced $85 to Expert $132 per seat per month billed annually. The jump from Essential to Advanced is the steepest entry to mid tier jump in the main comparison.
LiveChat is built around live chat. Intercom is a wider customer messaging platform, which is why its higher tiers exist for larger teams. If you only need live chat, you are paying for breadth you will not use on Intercom's higher tiers. If you need that breadth, LiveChat's narrower focus is the limitation.
You want live chat with a predictable bill. Essential at $19 per user per month billed annually, no per-outcome AI charge in the pricing shown here, and a 14-day trial with no card.
You run a larger team and want one platform for messaging and support, and you have modelled Fin at $0.99 per outcome for your real volume. Essential at $19 per seat per month billed annually for new customers, 14-day trial with no card.
For most teams buying live chat, LiveChat is the pick: the same entry price, a simpler bill, and no per-outcome charge. Intercom is the pick when the wider platform is the point, not just the chat window.
At entry pricing billed annually, they tie: $19 per user or seat per month, before Fin charges and before Intercom's new-customer qualification. Billed monthly, LiveChat Essential is $25 and Intercom Essential is $29 for new customers. Once Fin outcomes are counted, Intercom costs more for the same chat volume.
Neither. Both offer a 14-day trial with no credit card required.
$0.99 per outcome, on top of seat prices, on all Intercom helpdesk plans.
No. $19 billed annually and $29 billed monthly are new-customer prices. The list prices are $29 billed annually and $39 billed monthly.
LiveChat, for most small teams: the entry price is the same, the bill is predictable, and there is no per-outcome charge. Intercom fits when a small team specifically needs the wider messaging platform and has budgeted for Fin.
Yes, both sell monthly billing. LiveChat Essential is $25 per user per month billed monthly and Growth is $99. Intercom Essential is $29 per seat per month billed monthly for new customers, Advanced $99, Expert $139.
Method. Prices on this page were read from the vendors' pricing pages on October 27, 2026. Every price states whether it is billed annually or monthly. No price was calculated from another price. LiveChat links on this page are affiliate links. Intercom links are plain homepage links.