Intercom vs Drift Pricing 2025
Intercom costs $29/seat/month. Drift costs Contact Sales (no public pricing). See comparison wins for different use cases.
🏆Quick Answer
Intercom wins for most teams with transparent per-seat pricing ($29-132/month) vs Drift's opaque enterprise model (no public pricing since Salesloft acquisition). Intercom excels at customer support automation with Fin AI, while Drift (now part of Salesloft) is purpose-built for enterprise B2B sales. Choose Intercom unless you're an enterprise with $50K+ budget who needs the full Salesloft revenue platform.
📊At a Glance
| Aspect | Intercom | Drift | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $29/seat/month | Contact Sales (no public pricing) | 🥇Intercom |
| AI Chatbot | Fin AI ($0.99/resolution) | Bionic AI (included) | 🤝Tie |
| Primary Focus | Customer Support | B2B Sales | 🤝Tie |
| Target Market | SMB to Enterprise | Enterprise Only | 🥇Intercom |
| Multi-channel | Email, SMS, WhatsApp, Social | Chat, Email, Video | 🥇Intercom |
| Sales Features | Basic lead capture | Full ABM + playbooks | 🥇Drift |
| Free Trial | 14 days | Demo only | 🥇Intercom |
| Value for Money | 9/10 | 6/10 | 🥇Intercom |
Bottom Line
For customer support and engagement: Intercom. For enterprise B2B sales acceleration: Drift. Drift no longer publishes pricing (all "Contact Sales" since Salesloft acquisition), making this an easy choice for 90% of teams. Drift only makes sense if you're an enterprise with dedicated SDRs and budget for opaque enterprise pricing.
Current Pricing Pages
Intercom's clean, modern inbox for managing multi-channel conversations
Fin AI resolving customer queries automatically from your help center
Drift's sales playbooks for automated lead qualification and routing
Bionic AI chatbot engaging B2B prospects and booking meetings
Why Compare Intercom vs Drift?
Intercom and Drift both dominate the conversational platform space, but they've evolved in very different directions. Intercom built the modern customer messaging category, while Drift pioneered conversational marketing. Since Drift's acquisition by Salesloft in February 2024, the distinction is even clearer: Intercom for support-first teams, Drift for sales-first enterprises. Understanding the pricing and feature differences is critical because choosing wrong can cost your team $15,000-50,000+ annually.
Common Decision Points:
- Per-seat vs flat-rate pricing models with vastly different cost structures
- Support automation vs sales acceleration as primary use case
- SMB-friendly accessibility vs enterprise-only positioning
- AI resolution costs ($0.99/each) vs included features
- Multi-channel support breadth vs sales-focused depth
- Help center and ticketing vs ABM and revenue intelligence
Our Methodology:
- Verified Intercom pricing on official pricing page (December 2025)
- Note: Drift no longer publishes public pricing (all "Contact Sales" since Salesloft acquisition)
- Drift estimates based on historical data, market research, and customer reports
- Analyzed feature comparison based on current product capabilities
- Reviewed 50+ G2 and Capterra reviews from verified users
- Tracked historical pricing changes over past 3 years
Intercom bills per seat with optional annual discounts (20% off). Drift no longer publishes pricing - all plans require contacting sales. Historical data suggests annual contracts starting at $30K+/year. Drift prices shown below are estimates based on market research.
Detailed Pricing Comparison
Side-by-Side Plans
| Plan | Intercom | Drift | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry Level | $29/seat/month (Essential) | ~$2,500/month* (estimate) | *Drift no longer publishes pricing - estimate based on historical data |
| Mid-tier | $85/seat/month (Advanced) | ~$4,000-6,000/month* (estimate) | *All Drift pricing requires contacting sales |
| Enterprise | $132/seat/month (Expert) | ~$75,000-150,000/year* (estimate) | *Pricing varies; includes Salesloft bundling options |
| AI Add-on | $0.99/resolution (Fin AI) | Included (Bionic AI) | Intercom AI costs scale with usage |
🧮Cost Calculator: Real-World Scenarios
Solo Founder / Early Startup
1 support person, basic chat needs
Intercom Essential - Drift doesn't target this market
Growing Support Team
5-person support team, needs automation
Intercom Advanced unless B2B sales is primary
Mid-Market Company
15-person team, complex workflows
Intercom for support-first, Drift if sales-focused
Enterprise B2B
50-person team, ABM strategy, dedicated SDRs
Drift if ABM and sales meetings are priority
Annual Billing Savings
| Tool | Monthly | Annual | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intercom Essential | $29/seat | $23/seat (20% off) | $72/seat/year |
| Intercom Advanced | $85/seat | $68/seat (20% off) | $204/seat/year |
| Intercom Expert | $132/seat | $106/seat (20% off) | $312/seat/year |
| Drift (all plans) | Contact Sales | Contact Sales (annual required) | N/A - no public pricing |
Pro tip: For Intercom, start with Essential and upgrade as needed - the per-seat model means you can scale incrementally. For Drift, negotiate hard on the annual contract and ask about Salesloft bundles if you need sales engagement tools.
Feature Comparison
📋Quick Feature Breakdown
| Feature | Intercom | Drift |
|---|---|---|
| Live Chat | ✅✅ Included | ✅✅ Included |
| AI Chatbot | •✅ Fin AI ($0.99/res) | ✅✅ Bionic AI (included) |
| Email Marketing | ✅✅ Full suite | ❌⚠️ Sequences only |
| Help Center | ✅✅ Included | ❌❌ Limited |
| Ticketing | ✅✅ Full-featured | •⚠️ Basic |
| SMS Support | •✅ Available | •❌ Not supported |
•✅ Available | •❌ Not supported | |
| Meeting Scheduler | •⚠️ Basic | •✅ Advanced |
| ABM Features | ❌❌ Limited | •✅ Comprehensive |
| Sales Playbooks | ❌❌ Not available | ✅✅ Included |
| Revenue Intelligence | •❌ No | •✅ Via Salesloft |
| Product Tours | •⚠️ $199/mo add-on | ❌❌ Not available |
| CSAT Surveys | •✅ Built-in | •⚠️ Basic |
| Custom Bots | •✅ Visual builder | •✅ Playbook builder |
| Free Trial | •✅ 14 days | ❌❌ Demo only |
📋Core Features
| Feature | Intercom | Drift | Price Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Chat Widget | ✅Included all plans | ✅Included all plans | No difference |
| AI Chatbot | •$0.99/resolution (Fin AI) | ✅Included (Bionic AI) | Intercom costs more at high volume |
| Email Campaigns | ✅Full suite included | ❌Sequences only | Intercom more complete |
| Help Center / KB | ✅Included | ❌Limited / separate | Intercom saves $100+/month |
| Ticketing System | ✅Full-featured | •Basic | Intercom better for support |
| Meeting Scheduler | •Basic | •Advanced | Drift better for sales |
| ABM Features | ❌Limited | •Comprehensive | Drift core strength |
| Product Tours | •$199/month add-on | ✅Not included | Both need extra investment |
Feature Deep Dives
AI Chatbot Capabilities
Intercom
Fin AI uses GPT-4 to answer customer questions by reading your help center. Resolves queries without human intervention. Charges per successful resolution.
Included in: All plans (usage-based) | Limits: $0.99 per resolution, no volume discounts publicly listed
Drift
Bionic AI qualifies leads and books meetings through conversational playbooks. Focused on sales outcomes rather than support deflection.
Included in: All plans (included) | Limits: Custom training only on Enterprise, conversation limits apply
Winner: Tie - Different purposes: Fin for support deflection, Bionic for sales acceleration. Choose based on primary use case.
Multi-Channel Support
Intercom
Chat, email, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter in unified inbox. True omnichannel support experience.
Included in: Advanced and above | Limits: Some channels require additional setup fees
Drift
Chat widget, email sequences, video calls. Focused on high-value 1:1 conversations rather than volume.
Included in: All plans | Limits: No SMS or social media integration
Winner: Intercom - Intercom supports 3x more channels for meeting customers where they are.
Sales Acceleration
Intercom
Basic lead capture, chatbot qualification flows, CRM sync. Works for simple lead gen but not built for complex sales.
Included in: All plans | Limits: No ABM, no playbooks, no revenue intelligence
Drift
Full ABM support, AI-driven lead scoring, sales playbooks, real-time alerts, Salesloft integration for complete revenue platform.
Included in: Advanced and above | Limits: Requires significant configuration and training
Winner: Drift - Drift was built specifically for B2B sales acceleration. No contest for sales-focused teams.
Pricing History: How Stable Are These Tools?
Intercom Price Changes
| Date | Change | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| March 2024 | Introduced Fin AI at $0.99/resolution | New cost center for high-volume teams |
| January 2024 | Simplified to 3-tier pricing (Essential/Advanced/Expert) | Clearer pricing, slight increases |
| September 2023 | Raised Professional tier by ~15% | Mid-market customers affected |
| 2022 | Removed Starter plan limits, flat per-seat pricing | More predictable costs |
Intercom has moved toward simpler, per-seat pricing with AI as a usage-based add-on. Prices have increased 15-20% over 2 years.
Drift Price Changes
| Date | Change | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| February 2024 | Acquired by Salesloft; pricing removed from public website | All pricing now requires contacting sales |
| January 2024 | Last known public pricing: ~$2,500/month minimum | Now historical reference only |
| 2023 | Introduced Bionic AI chatbot | Reduced need for separate AI add-on |
| 2022 | Removed free tier completely | Enterprise-only positioning solidified |
Drift no longer publishes pricing since Salesloft acquisition. Website drift.com redirects to salesloft.com. All pricing requires sales conversation.
Price Stability Winner: Intercom
- Intercom price increases have been moderate (15-20% over 2 years)
- Drift removed all public pricing after Salesloft acquisition (Feb 2024)
- Intercom maintains free trial; Drift requires sales demo
- drift.com now redirects to salesloft.com
- No way to compare Drift pricing without sales conversation
Intercom's transparent pricing lets you budget accurately. Drift's complete removal of public pricing makes comparison impossible without contacting sales - a significant friction point for teams evaluating options.
Data Source: SaaS Price Pulse historical tracking. Drift pricing is estimates based on pre-acquisition data.
Recommendation: Which Tool Should You Choose?
Choose Intercom If:
Ideal User Profile:
- Customer support is your primary use case
- Budget under $2,500/month for messaging tools
- SMB or mid-market company (under 500 employees)
- Need multi-channel support (email, SMS, WhatsApp, social)
- Want transparent, predictable per-seat pricing
- Prefer self-service onboarding over enterprise sales process
Best For:
- SaaS Customer Support - Unified inbox, Fin AI for deflection, help center included
- Product-Led Growth - In-app messaging, product tours, onboarding flows
- E-commerce Support - Multi-channel, high-volume handling, automation
- Scaling Startups - Per-seat pricing scales with team, free trial to start
Expected Cost: $145-660/month for 5-person team (Essential to Expert)
Choose Drift If:
Ideal User Profile:
- B2B enterprise sales is your focus
- You have dedicated SDR/BDR team
- Comfortable with opaque pricing (Contact Sales model)
- Account-based marketing is central to strategy
- Already using or considering Salesloft
- Average deal size exceeds $10,000
Best For:
- Enterprise B2B Sales - AI qualification, meeting booking, sales playbooks
- ABM Campaigns - Account targeting, personalized experiences, revenue intelligence
- High-Value Lead Generation - Real-time engagement, SDR routing, Salesforce sync
- Sales + Marketing Alignment - Salesloft integration, unified revenue platform
Expected Cost: Contact Sales (historical estimates: $30K-100K+/year)
Consider Neither If:
- Budget under $100/month → Try Consider Crisp, Tidio, or Tawk.to
- Simple live chat only needed → Try Consider LiveChat or Olark
- Email-only support → Try Consider Help Scout or Zendesk
- B2C high-volume support → Try Consider Freshdesk or Zendesk
The Hybrid Approach
Large enterprises sometimes run Intercom for support and Drift for sales, keeping them separate.
Cost: $4,000-10,000+/month combined
Only for organizations with distinct support and sales teams with different needs and budgets exceeding $75K/year for messaging tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pricing & Value
Is Drift worth the price difference over Intercom?
What's the true cost for a 10-person team?
Can I see Drift pricing without a sales call?
Features & Capabilities
How do the AI chatbots compare?
Can Intercom replace Drift for sales use cases?
Which has better integrations?
Company & Future
What happened to Drift after the Salesloft acquisition?
Is Drift going away?
Which company is more stable?
Track These Tools
Both Intercom and Drift have adjusted pricing since launch. Track historical changes and get notified when pricing updates.
Word Count: ~2800 | Last Updated: 2025-12-04