Head-to-head · helpdesks · facts checked 13 Sept 2026
Hiver vs Intercom
Intercom scores 8.2 to Hiver's 7.4 among the helpdesks we rate, and is the better pick for 3 of the 4 kinds of buyer below.
The verdict
Intercom wins, 8.2 to 7.4
Intercom uniquely has 8 features · Hiver uniquely has 6 features.
Best for
Who each one suits, decided on the criteria that matter to that buyer and the checked facts where the two differ.
Small teams on a budget
Intercom
Hiver 5.0 · Intercom 5.5 on pricing
- Free trial: 14 days against 7 days
Answering customers with AI
Hiver
Hiver 8.5 · Intercom 7.8 on ai that answers your customers
- AI included in the price: Included against Per_resolution
- But Intercom leads on what the AI learns from: Help_center, website, files, helpdesk_sync, notion against Help_center, notion
Support teams on many channels
Intercom
Hiver 8.8 · Intercom 10.0 on channels and running a support team
- Channels it works in: Email, live_chat, voice, whatsapp, sms, messenger, instagram, slack against Email, live_chat, slack, voice, whatsapp, sms
Regulated industries
Intercom
Hiver 8.0 · Intercom 9.5 on security and privacy
- Audit log: Intercom yes, Hiver no
- Choice of data region: Us, eu, au against Us
- But Hiver leads on does not train AI on your data: Yes against unless you opt out
Section 01
How they score
Both are scored the same way, against the other helpdesks we rate, from facts on each vendor's own pages. Intercom leads on 4 of 7 criteria.
AI that answers your customers25% of the score
Hiver8.5
Intercom7.8
Pricing20% of the score
Hiver5.0
Intercom5.5
Channels15% of the score
Hiver8.0
Intercom10.0
Security and privacy15% of the score
Hiver8.0
Intercom9.5
Running a support team10% of the score
Hiver10.0
Intercom10.0
Integrations10% of the score
Hiver7.5
Intercom7.5
Support and branding5% of the score
Hiver2.5
Intercom8.8
Section 02
Where they differ
Every point where the two vendors' published facts disagree, with a link to where each fact was read. "Not published" means the vendor does not say either way.
What the AI learns from
Intercom
Channels it works in
Intercom
Published by only one of them
Languages the AI answers in
Hiver
Not published
Connects to Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify and others
Ways to reach support
Hiver
Not published
Where they match (10)
Section 03
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
Hiver
Growth
$35/user/month · $300/user/mo
Ideal for small teams to deliver effortless, multi-channel support
Pro
$65/user/month · $660/user/mo
Most Popular; for teams looking to transform their support with advanced features
Elite
$95/user/month · $1,020/user/mo
For teams looking to transform their support with advanced features
Voice
$30/user/mo
2000 minutes/mo, Call recording and transcripts, AI call summaries, Call notes
Intercom
Essential
$29/mo per seat · $228/yr
Includes Fin AI Agent, Messenger, shared inbox, ticketing, pre-built reports, public help center; + $0.99 per Fin outcome
Advanced
$99/mo per seat · $1,020/yr
Everything in Essential plus multiple team inboxes, workflows automation builder, round robin assignment, private & multilingual Help Center, 20 free Lite seats; + $0.99 per Fin outcome
Expert
$139/mo per seat · $1,584/yr
Everything in Advanced plus SSO & identity management, HIPAA support, SLAs, multibrand Messenger/Help Center, 50 free Lite seats; + $0.99 per Fin outcome
Fin AI Agent (standalone)
$0.99 per outcome
Use Fin with existing helpdesk (Salesforce etc.), no seats required, set up in under an hour
Pro Add-on
$99/mo
CX Score, Topics, Recommendations, Monitors, Custom Scorecards; includes 1,000 conversation analyses/mo
Copilot Add-on
From $29/mo per agent
Personal AI assistant in inbox; unlimited usage; 10 free Copilot conversations per agent/mo on base plans
Proactive Support Plus Add-on
$99/mo
Posts, Checklists, Product Tours, Surveys, Series campaign builder; includes 500 messages sent/mo
Section 04
Pros and cons
From each tool's full review, written from the same checked facts.
Hiver
Pros
- Hiver lives inside Gmail and Outlook, eliminating the need for a separate helpdesk login or tab, which reduces friction for teams already working in email.
- Harvey AI is powered by OpenAI and can be trained on your own knowledge base, making suggestions more relevant than generic AI alternatives.
- Collision detection prevents two agents from replying to the same email simultaneously, reducing duplicate responses and confusion.
- The platform includes SLA policies with breach alerts, helping support teams stay accountable to response time commitments.
- Over 10,000 businesses use Hiver, indicating proven adoption for a narrowly focused tool in a competitive space.
- Built-in live chat widget, CSAT surveys, and a self-service knowledge base provide a reasonable support feature surface without requiring third-party add-ons.
- A REST API is available for teams that need to build custom integrations or extend the platform's functionality.
Cons
- Hiver is narrowly focused on Gmail and Outlook users, making it a poor fit for teams not already centered around those email clients.
- The product's tight niche means teams with more complex or multi-channel support needs will likely hit platform limitations quickly.
- Live chat is only available on higher-tier Growth and Elite plans, locking a key feature behind a more expensive subscription.
- It is not designed to compete with full-scale helpdesks like Zendesk, so teams needing advanced functionality may find it insufficient.
- The AI and automation features, while useful, are not exotic or differentiated enough to stand out against broader helpdesk competitors.
- Teams outside the specific shared-inbox-in-email use case may find the tool frustrating rather than helpful.
Intercom
Pros
- Fin, Intercom's native AI agent, is architecturally integrated into the same system human agents use, preserving full customer context across handovers.
- The platform supports 45+ languages, making it genuinely viable for international support teams.
- Intercom connects with hundreds of tools including Salesforce, HubSpot, Stripe, Jira, Shopify, and Slack via its marketplace.
- The unified platform bundles live chat, ticketing, AI agent, and knowledge base into a single coherent product rather than stitched-together tools.
- Intercom 2 brought over 60 product updates, signaling active and fast-moving development.
- The platform runs across web, iOS, Android, and a Chrome extension, covering most agent workflows.
- With 30,000+ businesses on the platform since 2011, Intercom has a long and verifiable track record.
Cons
- Key features like SLAs, multilingual Help Center, and white-label options are gated behind higher-tier plans, pushing real costs well above the entry price.
- The Essential plan starts at $39/month but the features most teams actually need require more expensive upgrades.
- The 'AI Agent era' positioning is partly marketing language, and whether the product execution matches the vision is what reviewers dispute.
- Intercom is explicitly not positioned as a budget tool, making it a poor fit for cost-sensitive or early-stage teams.
- The full changelog for Intercom 2's 60+ updates hasn't been clearly published, making it hard to evaluate what actually changed.
- Fast product iteration may introduce instability or learning curve for teams that need consistency in their support tooling.
Section 05
Hiver vs Intercom: common questions
Which is better, Hiver or Intercom?
Intercom scores 8.2 and Hiver 7.4 out of 10 among the helpdesks we rate. Intercom is ahead on pricing, channels, security and privacy and support and branding. Hiver is ahead on aI that answers your customers.
Is Hiver or Intercom cheaper?
Hiver's cheapest paid plan is $35/user/mo and Intercom's is $39/mo. Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
Do Hiver and Intercom have a free plan?
Neither has a free plan.
What can Intercom do that Hiver cannot?
On the facts both vendors publish: audit log.
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