Free Intercom alternatives 2026
9 alternatives reviewed and compared
These Intercom alternatives all have a genuinely free plan or are fully open source — no trial countdown, no card required.
Looking for alternatives to:
Intercom
Customer messaging platform with live chat, bots, product tours, and help center.
Top alternatives compared
| Software | Rating | Starting price | Best for | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Crisp Business messaging platform for startups and SMBs with live chat, shared inbox, chatbot, and a generous free plan. | 8.0 | Free | SMB teams that want Intercom's feature set without per-seat pricing | |
 Tidio Live chat, chatbot, and help desk platform built for small businesses and e-commerce stores. Free plan available. | 8.3 | Free | Ecommerce stores that want predictable AI chat pricing | |
 Freshchat Conversational messaging platform by Freshworks with AI bots, omnichannel support, and a free plan for 100 agents. | Free | Teams already standardized on Freshworks | ||
 Freshdesk Customer support software with ticketing, automation, and self-service for growing teams. | 4.4 | Free | SMBs and growing companies (5-100 agents) | |
 Jira Service Management ITSM platform built on Jira with incident, change, and asset management plus a free tier for up to 3 agents. | 8.0 | Free | IT teams already using Jira Software for development | |
 Zoho Desk Affordable help desk software with ticketing, AI, and Zoho ecosystem integration. | 4.2 | Free | Companies already using Zoho products | |
 LiveAgent All-in-one help desk with ticketing, live chat, call center, and social media support. | 4.5 | Free | Teams needing omnichannel including phone | |
 Hiver Gmail-based help desk that turns your inbox into a shared workspace with ticketing, SLAs, and automation. Free for up to 10 users. | 8.3 | Free | Teams already using Gmail/Google Workspace for email | |
 osTicket Open-source support ticket system with custom forms, auto-routing, and SLA tracking. Free self-hosted or $12/agent/mo cloud. | Free | Organizations with strict data sovereignty requirements |
Detailed reviews
Crisp
Business messaging platform for startups and SMBs with live chat, shared inbox, chatbot, and a generous free plan.
Best for:
Why pick Crisp over Intercom?
Crisp bundles chat, chatbots, knowledge base and shared inbox for a flat $95/month covering 20 operators, while Intercom charges around $99 per seat — the same toolkit at a fraction of the price for SMB teams.
Tidio
Live chat, chatbot, and help desk platform built for small businesses and e-commerce stores. Free plan available.
Best for:
Why pick Tidio over Intercom?
Tidio includes its Lyro AI chatbot inside the standard plans and keeps a real free tier, where Intercom's Fin AI is billed per resolution on top of seat fees — easier to forecast for small ecommerce shops.
Freshchat
Conversational messaging platform by Freshworks with AI bots, omnichannel support, and a free plan for 100 agents.
Best for:
Why pick Freshchat over Intercom?
Freshchat plugs into the wider Freshworks suite (Freshdesk, Freshsales) so support, sales and CRM share one contact record — a cleaner fit than Intercom for teams already on Freshworks.
Freshdesk
Customer support software with ticketing, automation, and self-service for growing teams.
Best for:
Why pick Freshdesk over Intercom?
Freshdesk has a genuinely usable free tier and is strong at SMBs and growing companies (5-100 agents).
Jira Service Management
ITSM platform built on Jira with incident, change, and asset management plus a free tier for up to 3 agents.
Best for:
Why pick Jira Service Management over Intercom?
Jira Service Management has a genuinely usable free tier and is strong at IT teams already using Jira Software for development.
Still deciding?
Put your shortlist side by side and see how the numbers and features really stack up.