The free Intercom alternatives worth your time. And the limits you'll run into on each one.
Intercom doesn't have a free plan, only a 14-day trial. If you want something free, Chatwoot's cloud plan covers 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, tawk.to stays free as long as you keep its branding, Crisp's free plan gives you 2 seats, and Tidio Free includes 50 billable conversations. None of them include much AI for free.
- Checked on vendor pages, 15 September 2026
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Which free Intercom alternatives are there?
These four have a real free plan, not just a trial. We read every limit on the vendor's own pricing page.
| Tool | What the free plan includes | What you give up | Next paid step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatwoot | Up to 2 agents and 500 conversations a month on the cloud Hacker plan. There's also a free self-hosted open-source edition. | Live chat only, 30 days of history, and Captain AI only on paid plans | Paid cloud plans |
| tawk.to | Live chat that stays free for life if you keep the tawk.to branding | Branding stays unless you pay, and AI Assist is a paid add-on | Branding removal $29 a month, AI Assist from $29 a month |
| Crisp | 2 seats and 100 customer profiles | No AI credits, and WhatsApp and Instagram only come with Essentials | Mini $45 a month, Essentials $95 a month |
| Tidio | 50 billable conversations, 100 Flows visitors and 50 Lyro AI conversations for the life of the account | The Lyro allowance doesn't reset each month | Starter $24.17 a month, billed yearly |
Checked on each vendor's pricing page on 15 September 2026. Free plans change, so look again before you commit.
What does free really cost you?
Free plans are great for getting started. It helps to know where each one stops before your customers find out for you.
- Seats
- Most free plans stop at one or two people. Once a third colleague needs to answer chats, you're on a paid plan.
- Conversation caps
- Chatwoot stops at 500 conversations a month and Tidio at 50 billable conversations. A busy week can use that up quickly.
- Branding
- tawk.to stays free as long as its branding is on your widget. Removing it costs $29 a month.
- AI answers
- This is the big one. None of these free plans give you an AI agent that answers most questions on its own. Tidio's 50 Lyro conversations are a one-off taster.
How do free plans compare with Intercom?
Intercom is a full customer service suite, so the comparison isn't like for like. Here's where the money goes once you need more than live chat. The Intercom pricing breakdown has every number.
| Intercom | Free alternatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | A 14-day free trial | Free plans with limits on seats, conversations or branding |
| Seats | From $29 per seat a month, billed yearly | Usually 1 or 2 seats free |
| AI agent | Fin from $0.99 per outcome | Little or none on the free plans |
| Startups | Up to 93% off in year one through the early-stage program | Free from day one, within the limits |
Which free option should you pick?
It mostly comes down to how many people answer chats and whether you need AI.
Chatwoot
A good fit if you have a developer and like open source, or if two people handling up to 500 conversations a month is enough.
tawk.to
The pick if you want unlimited live chat for nothing and don't mind the tawk.to branding on your site.
Crisp or Tidio
Worth a look if you want a polished inbox to grow into. Crisp gives you two seats, and Tidio lets you try its Lyro AI a little.
What if you want AI answers without Intercom's price?
That's the gap free plans don't fill, and it's why we built SimplyBoost. It isn't free forever. You can try it for 7 days with 100 AI replies and no credit card, and after that it's a flat $39, $89 or $169 a month.
For that you get an AI agent that answers from your own website, documents and FAQs on your website, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. When a customer needs a person, it hands over by email, dashboard alert, Slack, or a Zendesk, Freshdesk or Gorgias ticket. You don't pay per seat or per outcome. There's more detail on the AI support agent page.
Free Intercom alternative questions
No. Intercom offers a 14-day free trial without a credit card, but no free plan. Startups with up to $10M in funding and fewer than 15 employees can get up to 93% off in the first year.
It depends on your team. Chatwoot suits small teams and developers, with 2 agents and 500 conversations a month free. tawk.to gives you free live chat if you keep its branding. Crisp and Tidio have free plans that make it easy to upgrade later.
Yes. Chatwoot has a free self-hosted open-source edition you can run on your own servers. You look after the hosting and maintenance yourself.
Not much. Tidio Free includes 50 Lyro AI conversations for the life of the account, and Crisp's free plan has no AI credits. Chatwoot keeps Captain AI for paid plans, and tawk.to's AI Assist is a paid add-on from $29 a month.
SimplyBoost starts at $39 a month with 500 AI replies across your website, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, with no per-seat or per-outcome fees. You can try it free for 7 days with 100 AI replies.
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