Intercom vs Zendesk

The Swiss Army knife of customer chat, if Swiss Army knives came with a hefty subscription fee and a love for automation meets the swiss army knife of customer support—if you don't mind paying for all the blades you'll never use. Here's our take.

Intercom

Nice Pick

The Swiss Army knife of customer chat, if Swiss Army knives came with a hefty subscription fee and a love for automation.

Pros

• Unified inbox for chat, email, and in-app messages keeps support teams sane
• Powerful automation and bots that can handle routine queries without human intervention
• Seamless integrations with tools like Slack, Salesforce, and Shopify for a centralized workflow
• Detailed customer profiles and analytics help personalize interactions and track engagement

Cons

• Pricing can be steep, especially for small businesses or startups scaling up
• Feature bloat means it's easy to get overwhelmed and underutilize what you're paying for
• Customization and advanced setups often require technical know-how or extra support

Zendesk

The Swiss Army knife of customer support—if you don't mind paying for all the blades you'll never use.

Pros

• Unified ticketing system that actually works across email, chat, and social media
• Built-in analytics and reporting that make sense to non-techies
• Easy to set up and scale for growing teams without constant IT hand-holding

Cons

• Pricing can balloon faster than a support queue on Black Friday
• Customization often feels like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole without breaking the bank

The Verdict

Use Intercom if: You want unified inbox for chat, email, and in-app messages keeps support teams sane and can live with pricing can be steep, especially for small businesses or startups scaling up.

Use Zendesk if: You prioritize unified ticketing system that actually works across email, chat, and social media over what Intercom offers.

The Bottom Line

Intercom wins

The Swiss Army knife of customer chat, if Swiss Army knives came with a hefty subscription fee and a love for automation.