The True Cost of Intercom in 2026
Intercom's pricing has changed dramatically. We break down what a 15-agent support team actually pays — and why the sticker price is only the beginning.
If you're evaluating customer support tools in 2026, you've probably seen Intercom's pricing page. It says "from $29/seat/month." Sounds reasonable, right?
Here's the problem: almost no team actually pays $29/seat. That's the Starter plan, and it's missing most of the features a real support team needs — SLAs, custom reporting, team-based routing, and the AI features Intercom now leads with.
Let's do the math on what a typical 15-agent B2B SaaS team actually pays.
The Real Numbers
What most teams need: The Advanced plan at $85/seat/month. This is where you get SLAs, custom reports, and the collaboration features that make a shared inbox actually work.
- 15 agents at $85/seat = $1,275/month
- Annual commitment required = $15,300/year
But that's not the whole story.
The AI Resolution Tax
Intercom now charges $0.99 per AI resolution on top of your per-seat cost. If your AI agent resolves 500 conversations per month (which Intercom actively encourages you to set up), that's an additional $495/month or $5,940/year.
Your real annual cost: $21,240/year — and it goes up every time your AI gets better at its job.
This is the perverse incentive: Intercom sells you on AI automation to reduce agent workload, then charges you more when the automation works. The better your AI performs, the higher your bill.
What's Gated Behind Higher Tiers
Even at $85/seat, some features are still missing:
- Custom objects and advanced workflows require Enterprise pricing (no public pricing — "contact sales")
- HIPAA compliance is Enterprise-only
- SSO/SAML requires the $85/seat tier minimum (not available on Starter or Pro)
- Sandbox/testing environment is Enterprise-only
The Annual Lock-In
Intercom requires annual billing for their published prices. Monthly billing exists but at a significant premium. If your team grows mid-contract, you pay the new per-seat rate immediately. If your team shrinks, you wait until renewal.
What We Learned Building Taktik
When we started building Taktik, we talked to dozens of support teams about their tool costs. The pattern was consistent:
- Teams sign up for what looks like a reasonable per-seat price
- They discover the features they actually need are on a higher tier
- They set up AI features as recommended
- Their bill grows faster than their team
The result: support leaders spend more time managing their tool budget than improving their support quality.
A Different Approach
Taktik includes SLAs, analytics, canned responses, and team management at every paid tier. No AI resolution surcharges. No features gated behind enterprise pricing. Month-to-month billing as the default, not a premium option.
We're not trying to be everything Intercom is. We're building the 20% of features that 80% of support teams actually use — and pricing it honestly.
If you're approaching an Intercom renewal and the number feels wrong, we'd love to show you what an alternative looks like. Start a free trial or see how we compare.