Drift
Intercom
| Feature | Drift | Intercom |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $2500/mo | From $39/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | b2b-companies, enterprise, sales-teams, marketing-teams | saas-companies, startups, product-led-growth, tech-companies |
| Founded | 2015 | 2011 |
| Chatbots | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Meeting Scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Messaging | ✓ | ✗ |
| Revenue Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Engagement | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Agent | ✗ | ✓ |
| Messenger | ✗ | ✓ |
| Inbox | ✗ | ✓ |
| Help Center | ✗ | ✓ |
| Product Tours | ✗ | ✓ |
| Outbound Messages | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflows | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Drift Pros
- Powerful chatbot builder
- Revenue attribution
- Good integrations
- AI-powered routing
✗ Drift Cons
- Very expensive
- Complex setup
- Steep learning curve
✓ Intercom Pros
- Fin AI Agent resolves issues autonomously
- Beautiful messenger widget
- Powerful product tours and onboarding
- Unified inbox across all channels
✗ Intercom Cons
- Very expensive for growing teams
- Per-resolution pricing for AI can add up
- Complex pricing structure
The Verdict
Drift is built for b2b companies and enterprise, with a focus on chatbots and live-chat. Intercom targets saas companies and startups and leads with ai-agent and messenger.
On pricing, Intercom is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $39/mo compared to $2500/mo for Drift. That $2461/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
Feature-wise, Intercom offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Drift takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.