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Help Scout vs Fin by Intercom

Help Scout and Fin by Intercom are both customer support tools. Help Scout is aimed at small businesses, while Fin by Intercom is aimed at small businesses and enterprise. Help Scout costs less, from $25/mo versus $49/mo for Fin by Intercom. Only Help Scout has a free plan.

Help Scout

Email-centric helpdesk with a human touch

Fin by Intercom

AI customer service agent priced per outcome

PricingFreemium · $25Paid · $49
Starting price$25/mo$49/mo
Free planYesNo
Free trial15 days14 days
Built forSmall businessesSmall businesses, Enterprise
Platformsweb, ios, androidweb
CountryUS · 2011US · 2023
Rating——

Choose Help Scout if

Small and mid-size companies that want personal email-based support with a knowledge base.

  • Free plan for up to 5 users
  • Simple, email-like experience agents like
  • Fast to set up; good docs product

Look elsewhere if: Call centers or enterprises needing WFM, QA and voice.

Choose Fin by Intercom if

Support teams with volume and good documentation.

  • Pay per outcome
  • High resolution rates
  • Works with Zendesk too

Look elsewhere if: Very low-volume support.

Help Scout vs Fin by Intercom pricing

Help Scout

  • Free$05 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts/mo
  • Standard$25/user/mo25 users, 2 inboxes, unlimited contacts; 16% off annually
  • Plus$45/user/mo50 users, 5 inboxes, Salesforce/Jira/HubSpot
  • Pro$75/user/moMin 10 users; 10 inboxes, SSO/SAML, HIPAA

Fin by Intercom

  • Fin AI Agent$0.99/outcomeWith any helpdesk: $49/mo minimum incl. 50 outcomes
  • Fin + Intercom helpdesk$0.99/outcomePlus Intercom seats from $19/seat/mo
  • Fin Voice$1.99/voice outcomeVia sales

Help Scout · Key features

  • Shared inboxes with assignments, tags and workflows
  • Docs knowledge base with multiple sites
  • Beacon widget for chat, contact forms and article suggestions
  • AI drafts, summaries and AI Answers for customers
  • Customer profiles with app data via integrations
  • Reports on volume, happiness and productivity

Cons

  • No phone support channel
  • Routing and automation less deep than Zendesk
  • Per-user pricing adds up as the team grows

Fin by Intercom · Key features

  • Resolution-focused AI agent
  • Works on multiple help desks
  • Procedures and actions
  • Multilingual
  • Analytics on resolution
  • Guidance controls

Cons

  • Costs scale with volume
  • Needs good knowledge base
  • Configuration effort

Help Scout vs Fin by Intercom: FAQ

Which is cheaper, Help Scout or Fin by Intercom?

Help Scout starts at $25/mo and Fin by Intercom at $49/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.

Do Help Scout and Fin by Intercom have a free plan?

Help Scout has a free plan. Fin by Intercom has no free plan, a 14-day free trial.

Not sure yet?

Help Scout vs Fin by Intercom (2026): Pricing and Features