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According to G2, there are 233 companies in the category of Customer Self-Service Software (CCM solutions) and Capterra shows 759 products under Customer Engagement Software category. And among those hundreds there are solutions that can stand by Intercom in terms of functionality and affordability.
8 Customer Communication Platforms (CCM solutions) alternatives to Intercom
If you're looking for alternatives to Intercom, there are a number of customer communication platforms that can provide the same or similar features. Here are 8 of the best options:
#1 MarbleFlows
MarbleFlows is an all-in-one automated user onboarding and engagement software and is a great choice if you want to deliver unique and personalised experience to your audience for onboarding and continuous learning and engagement. It is one of the alternatives to intercom and can be selected as your CCM solution.
User rating: 4.7/5 ⭐ (Capterra)
Features
No code flows creation. It does not require any coding skills to create and add your flow to the place you need it.
Unlimited and various content blocks. With a variety of content blocks, including text, images, videos, games and other you can quickly create and share your flow with your audience.
A collection of templates. If you don’t feel like creating from scratch, there is a collection of templates for different use cases and scenarios created by designers.
Gamification. Onboard and engage your users via gamified surveys, quizzes and other content types.
Conditional logic. Create a unique personalised onboarding or learning path for your users by interconnecting the flow pages the way you need it.
Redirect at any flow point. Redirect your audience to any part of your flow or external resources at any point of the journey.
Analytics dashboard. Get understanding of your audience behaviour with the help of the flows analytics. Check new users, flows’ and individual pages’ views and segment your users.
Easy sharing. Share your ready flow in a number of ways: link, widget or iframe.
Customisable canvas. Create a unique and suitable for you flow canvas to work with and present it in an unlimited number of ways, including pop-up, slider, page embed.
Pricing
- Free: includes unlimited number of flows and unlimited number of content blocks used, as well as analytics and templates.
- Paid plans: starts from €12.99 and suits the teams that plan to grow. Check MarbleFlows pricing.
#2 Drift
Drift is a customer communication platform (CCM solutions) that offers live chat, email, and messenger integrations. It also has a number of powerful features such as lead capture, automatic triggers, and conversation routing and can be counted as one of the alternatives to Intercom.
User rating: 4.5/5 ⭐ (Capterra)
Pros
- Collects your audience from various sources (e.g. website’s individual pages)
- Integrates with other apps like Salesforce, Google Analytics, Hubspot, Zoom, Slack and others.
- Customisable for your brand chatbots.
- Visualised reporting.
Cons
- Some Drift users complain about confusing backend UI.
- There have been some complaints about difficulty in explaining the features.
Pricing
There is no prices shown on the website, neither there is a free trial for the product as a self-service, only through the demo. So this alternatives to Intercom can be comparable by proce with other CCM solutions. Drift follows the premium pricing, which might not be the option for small and medium-sized businesses.
#3 Hubspot Marketing Hub and Service Hub
HubSpot is a comprehensive marketing and sales platform that includes a powerful customer communication tool (CCM solutions). It offers features such as live chat, email automation, and contact management, as one of the alternatives to Intercom.
User rating: 4.5/5 ⭐ for Marketing Hub (Capterra) and 4.4/5 ⭐ for Service Hub (Capterra)
Pros
- Easy and effective lead tracking and management CCM solutions
- Automated workflows for leads nurturing.
- Comes with CRM.
- Starts with pricing suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.
- Gives more than Intercom in a way, as it is a combined solution if you need it.
Cons
- Some users complain about confusion in features usage.
- Some users have experienced difficulties in Knowledge Centre set-up.
- Limited live chat functionality.
Pricing
- Free: there is a forever-free version with some limitations implied.
- Paid plans: start from $45/month with Starter Plan for Service Hub. Same pricing implies for Marketing Hub. Professional Plan starts from $800/month for Marketing Hub and $720/month for Service Hub.
#4 Customerly
Customerly is in-app messaging platform for SaaS companies and provides solution to engage with SaaS users, support them and gather feedback (CCM solutions). It is one of the cheapest alternatives to Intercom.
User rating: 4.5/5 ⭐ (Capterra)
Pros
- Easy to use and set it up, especially if familiar already with Intercom.
- Pricing is more affordable than Intercom for small and medium-sized businesses.
- Very helpful and flexible customer support on Customerly end.
Cons
- Some difficulties in setting up APIs, poor documentation on that.
Pricing
- Free version called Basic: free forever plan with limited number of teammates and history saved.
- Paid plans: starts from $24/month for Startup Plan and goes up to $129/month for Enterprise Plan.
#5 HelpCrunch
HelpCrunch is a communication platform for support, marketing and sales (CCM solutions). It includes such common features as live chat, auto messages, pop-ups and Knowledge Centre as one of the extensive alternatives to Intercom.
User rating: 4.8/5 ⭐ (Capterra)
Pros
- Multiple communication channels managed through one platform.
- Users mention great company support and constant development of new features.
- Affordable pricing in comparison to Intercom.
Cons
- Chatbot is in beta, not fully released.
- Some users mention minor issues, like missing some notifications, etc.
Pricing
- Basic: starts from $12/month for 1 team member and no emails included. Also there are limitations implied on features. The price grows with the number of team members and number of emails to send.
- Pro: starts from $20/month for 1 team member and no emails included. More features included compared to Basic plan.
- Enterprise: custom pricing that is not disclosed on the website.
#6 Zendesk Chat
Zendesk Chat is a customer communication platform that offers live chat, messenger, and email integrations (CCM solutions). It also has features such as team collaboration, contact management, and custom branding. It provide a good suite as one of altenatives of Intercom.
User rating: 4.4/5 ⭐ (Capterra)
Pros
- Multiple channels to provide support to users, including live chat, social and emails.
- Collective Knowledge Centre empowering users to contribute to content creation.
- Automation and AI-powered bots.
Cons
- Some users have reported minor issues like with exporting data or data deletion.
- The pricing can be steep for smaller companies when packed with needed features and desired number of team members.
Pricing
- Suite Team: €49/month for 1 team member and billed annually.
- Suite Growth: €79/month for 1 team member and billed annually.
- Suite Professional: €99/month for 1 team member and billed annually.
- Separate plans for Enterprise customers.
#7 Chatfuel
Chatfuel is a customer communication platform (CCM solutions) that offers live chat and messenger integrations. It also has features such as AI powered chatbots and pre-set answers and questions which are not available in other alternatives to Intercom.
User rating: 4.5/5 ⭐ (Capterra)
Pros
- No coding skills required to set up and use.
- Triggered messages delivered through a company’s social channels.
- AI-powered chatbot.
Cons
- Limited in features compared to other similar solutions and serves a narrower niche of tasks.
- Some users have also mentioned poor documentation.
Pricing
- Entrepreneur: $14.99/month with 500 conversations per month.
- Startup: $24.99/month with 1000 conversations per month.
- Small business: $59.99/month with 3000 conversations per month.
- There is also a Trial version available with 50 conversations included.
#8 HelpScout
A customer conversations platform (CCM solutions) including such common features as Knowledge Centre, APIs and integrations, live chat and automated workflows. It is a flexible alternative to Intercom..
User rating: 4.7/5 ⭐ (Capterra)
Pros
- Simple to set up and use, as reported by many users.
- Workflows to automate repetitive tasks and daily routines.
- Lots of apps integrated with HelpScout.
Cons
- Some users report lack of detailed reporting.
- Pricing can feel steep if packed with needed number of team members and users.
Pricing
- Standard: $25/month per user and 2 mailboxes.
- Plus: $40/month per user and 5 mailboxes with a wider range of features included.
- Company: custom pricing available on annual basis only and not disclosed on the website.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a customer communication (CCM solutions) and engagement platform. The first is the size of your business. If you have a small business, you may not need all the features that a larger business would need. You might rather choose a more affordable solution that provides all the functionality your business needs.
The second factor is the type of customer you have to be served by CCM solutions. If you have customers who are always on the go, you will need a platform that offers mobile capabilities. If you have customers who are more likely to be at their computers, you will need a platform that offers web-based capabilities.
The third factor is the type of customer service you provide which can influence your choice of the best CCM solutions. If you offer customer service via phone, email, and chat, you will need a platform that offers all three options. If you only offer customer service via chat, you will only need a platform that offers chat capabilities. There are solutions out there providing multichannel communication, including also socials. Thus, any specific in this smaller than Intercom solution, would be a better choice in case you need those.
Once you have considered these factors, you can begin to narrow down your choices and find the customer communication and engagement platform that is right for your business.
Finally, there are a number of free and open source customer communication platforms (CCM solutions) available . These platforms typically have lower costs than commercial platforms like Intercom and Zendesk. However, they may also have more limited features and functionality.
Conclusion
There are a number of customer communication platforms (CCM solutions) available on the market today, each with its own unique set of features and benefits. In this article, we have highlighted some of the most popular alternatives to Intercom. They do provide also different functionality and some serves more niche needs, but maybe in your case it is a better match. We hope that this information has been helpful in your search for the perfect customer communication platform for your business needs.
