In ecommerce your support needs to be fast, scalable and reliable.
Intercom promises to offer these things.
But there are 9 other alternatives that you should consider.
In this guide, I'll look at Intercom's competitors and when you should choose a certain tool. At the end, I'll also give you the best Intercom alternative (depending on what you need).
After reading this post, you'll know exactly which tool is best for your ecommerce business, so you can have:
- better communication with customers
- a better customer experience
- a faster response time than your competitors.
In the TLDR table, you'll find the 9 best options with features you should know.
TLDR of Intercom alternatives
1. Ringly.io: AI phone support for Shopify stores
Best for: Shopify stores looking for the best way to offer 24/7 AI phone support. Ringly resolves on average ~70% of support calls on its own.
Did you know that 83% of your customers want to call you when they need help? People are less likely to buy when they cannot reach you.
Features:
- AI resolves an average of 73% of calls without human intervention
- Automated order tracking, returns/exchanges, and more to automate repetitive calls
- Integrates with 7,000+ tools
- 30+ languages supported
- Only pay when at least 60% of your calls are resolved (results based pricing)
Pros:
- Makes your support way cheaper and more effective
- Analyzes every call, so you don't need to track CSAT
- Speaks 30 languages and is available 24/7. (this alone is groundbreaking for ecommerce stores)
- Scales with you on autopilot.
Cons:
- Focused on phone support (you still need an extra tool if you want more channels)
Built for Shopify, you can install Ringly from the Shopify app store. It lets the AI phone support rep find info about your customers before the call even starts.
Ideal for: Shopify stores that want to "wow" customers on the phone (= common reaction for people who try Ringly). And also save a lot of money on support.
What's unique about Ringly.io: currently the only AI phone support tool for e-commerce (73% average resolution rate on over 2,100 Shopify stores).
They also have the most risk-free offer, where you only pay when the AI does its job. Ringly is the first option for brands that want to offer personalized support through voice.
Editors note: Ringly.io opened 5 spots for Shopify stores to pay $0 until AI resolves 60% of your support calls. You can book a call to claim it.
2. Zendesk: Enterprise-grade support infrastructure
Best for: medium to large e-commerce businesses that need reliability.
Features:
- Multi-channel support (email, chat, phone, social)
- Good reporting & analytics
- Custom help center and knowledge base
- AI-powered automation
- A lot of third-party integrations
Pros:
- Very scalable
- Older and proven platform
- A big ecosystem
Cons:
- Can be complex for small teams
- Per-agent pricing can get expensive fast
Pricing: from $55 per agent/month (Suite Team), higher tiers are available for advanced features.
Shopify integration: a native app that syncs order/customer data into tickets.
Ideal for: e-commerce orgs that need more enterprise functionality.
What's unique about Zendesk: scalable (you will probably never grow out of Zendesk)
3. Gorgias: E-commerce-native customer service
Best for: stores that want support that integrated with Shopify
Features:
- A lot of Shopify integrations
- Automated order status
- Revenue metrics from support
- Product recommendations
Pros:
- Built for Shopify
- Revenue impact tracking
- Automation for repetitive tickets
Cons:
- More expensive at scale
- Not really meant for non-ecom use cases
Pricing starts at $10/month, scales with ticket volume.
Shopify integration: native integration
Ideal for: Shopify brands that want to automate support
What's unique about Gorgias is that it has revenue attribution and in-thread order actions
4. Tidio: Affordable live chat with AI automation
Best for: smaller to medium ecommerce stores that need a simple chat + bots on a budget.
Features:
- Customizable live chat widget
- No-code chatbot builder
- Email marketing
- Mobile app
- Cart abandonment recovery
Pros:
- Easy to set up
- A lot of value for a cheap price
- Pre-built chatbot templates
Cons:
- Less analytics
- Limited for bigger teams
Pricing: free plan, paid starts at $29/month.
Shopify integration: native app that surfaces cart/order data and triggers automations
Ideal for: early-stage stores setting up support and simple automations fast.
What's unique about Tidio is that it has simple no-code bots + entry-level pricing
5. Help Scout: human-focused support platform
Best for: Teams that need a clean email support experience.
Features:
- A shared inbox with collaboration
- Knowledge base builder
- Customer profiles & history
- Integrated reporting
Pros:
- Simple to set up and use
- Great for empathetic personal support
Cons:
- Not a lot of enterprise features
- Automation/reporting is less advanced
Pricing starts from $20 per user/month (15-day free trial).
Shopify integration: app available that shows customer/order context in conversations.
Ideal for: brands that want a more personable, high-touch service.
What's unique about Help Scout is that it has a deliberately simple UX that keeps teams fast and human.
6. Crisp: budget-friendly all-in-one solution
Best for: teams on a budget that need chat, bots, inbox, and KB in one place.
Features:
- Live chat
- Chatbot builder
- Shared team inbox
- Knowledge base integration
- Video/audio calling
Pros:
- A generous free tier (unlimited conversations)
- A lot of channels covered for the price
Cons:
- Advanced analytics/workflows are less advanced
- Feels more like “all-in-one” instead of best-in-class
Pricing: free (unlimited conversations), paid from $25/workspace/month.
Shopify integration: app available that syncs customer/shop data from Shopify.
Ideal for: value hunters and high-volume chat use cases.
What's unique about Crisp is that it offers unlimited conversations for free.
7. Kustomer: A more advanced solution
Best for: larger teams that need a more scalable solution.
Features:
- Customer timeline with full history
- Omnichannel conversation hub
- AI chatbot & automation
- Good analytics
- Workflow automation
Pros:
- Context across all channels
- Robust solution
- Good for repeat purchase/subscription
Cons:
- Enterprise complexity and pricing
- Difficult to implement well
Pricing: custom/enterprise pricing.
Shopify integration: it has connectors that get orders and events from Shopify, a less native integration.
Ideal for: larger businesses with complex journeys and multiple touchpoints.
What's unique about Kustomer is that it offers a timeline-first model that eliminates “fragmented tickets.”
8. LiveChat: Conversion focused chat solution
Best for: teams that use chat as a sales channel and need conversion tracking.
Features:
- Live chat with product cards/images
- Chatbot for after-hours
- Cart abandonment tracking
- Reporting & analytics
Pros:
- Good sales assistance inside chat
- Very good agent and visitor experience
- Solid handoff from bot to human
Cons:
- More reliant on chat instead of a full helpdesk
- Add-ons will increase cost a lot
Pricing starts from $20 per agent/month (14-day free trial).
Shopify integration: app available that will share product links/cards from the Shopify catalog.
Ideal for: ecom teams that want to combine support + guided selling.
What's unique about LiveChat is that they offer a chat product with tools built for sales assistance.
9. Re:amaze: E-commerce support specialist
Best for: Shopify brands that need unified channels with order actions in one dashboard.
Features:
- Multi-channel inbox with order management
- FAQ/knowledge base builder
- Automated workflows
- Staff collaboration & internal notes
- CSAT collection
Pros:
- A lot of e-commerce features out-of-the-box
- A good balance of automation and simplicity
Cons:
- Less enterprise governance
- UI can feel a bit old
Pricing starts at $29 per user/month (14-day free trial).
Shopify integration: a native integration for order lookups, shipping updates, refunds within the inbox.
Ideal for: Shopify stores that need specialized retail support without complexity.
What's unique about Re:amaze is that they offer ecom native workflows (order lookups, tracking, refunds) that are built in.
What to look for in an Intercom alternative (5 things)
- Make sure the tool you pick connects to your ecommerce platform.
- Does the tool offer multiple channels?
- Think of how much of your support AI can take over, and what tool offers that capability.
- Can the tool you pick scale without having to hire more humans?
- Does the pricing model fit your business?
Some context on Intercom: Intercom can be divided into 2 tools, Fin.ai and their support platform. Fin.ai started as a feature inside of Intercom, but later on became a separate product.
But Intercom still lacks features around AI phone support.
Conclusion: choose the right alternative to Intercom for your ecom store
Switching from Intercom is not just about finding a cheaper alternative. The goal should be to give your customers the best experience possible.
If you want AI phone support, Ringly.io is the best option.
If you want live chat, Tidio and LiveChat are the best options
If you are a large brand, I would recommend Zendesk or Kustomer
While deciding, keep your specific ecommerce use cases in mind and make sure the support platform you pick will:
- Make your customers happier
- Not cost you a fortune
That's it!
Want to bring your support to the next level? Pick one of the best Intercom alternatives above to find the tool for your customer support needs.
Have questions about automating your phone support or integrating with Shopify? Discover how Ringly.io is helping merchants like you save time, cut costs, and help every caller.
