Open-source alternative to Intercom
Intercom built its offer around an AI agent that answers part of the requests on its own. Seats are billed per month, the AI per resolution. Chatwoot, which we host in Europe, brings your channels into one shared inbox for a flat fee, with unlimited agents.
Intercom bets on AI: its Fin agent resolves conversations without human intervention, billed $0.99 per resolution. Seats cost $29 to $132 per month on annual billing depending on the plan, and data hosting in the European Union, in Ireland, is available under conditions. These public prices, in US dollars and not converted, are the ones listed on Intercom's pricing page on 1 October 2026, on annual billing, and may change.
Chatwoot is open-source software under the MIT license. We host and operate it in Europe, from €99 per month excluding VAT, with an unlimited number of agents. Its API is publicly documented, as our Chatwoot guide shows, and the instance can move back onto your own infrastructure.
Point-by-point comparison
| Criterion | Chatwoot (Bunker) | Intercom |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Open source (MIT), auditable | Proprietary |
| Billing | Flat fee from €99/month excl. VAT, unlimited agents | Per seat, $29 to $132 per month depending on the plan (annual billing) |
| Free plan | No | No, 14-day trial |
| Data hosting | Europe | US, EU (Ireland) or Australia, the EU under conditions |
| Publisher or operator | Bunker, a company incorporated in France | Intercom, Inc., San Francisco (United States), with an entity in Dublin |
| AI triage and answers | AI triage as an integration, on quote, through our gateway hosted in Europe | Fin AI agent at $0.99 per resolution; Copilot at $29 per agent per month |
| API and export | Documented REST API, webhooks | REST API, CSV export and export to Amazon S3 |
| Re-internalization | Yes, same software on your infrastructure | No self-hosting offered, data export through the API |
A seat per agent, a fee per resolution
At Intercom, two meters run. The first counts seats: on the Advanced plan, $85 per seat per month on annual billing, so $850 per month for 10 agents, against $290 on the entry Essential plan at $29. The second bills the AI, at $0.99 per conversation resolved by Fin (public prices in US dollars, not converted, checked on 1 October 2026).
Our Chatwoot plan starts at €99 per month excluding VAT and does not move when you add an agent. It does not include an AI agent that answers customers on its own.
Where your conversations go
Intercom offers hosting in the European Union, in Ireland, under conditions. Intercom's parent company is incorporated in the United States, though. The CLOUD Act, a 2018 US law, can allow US authorities to order a provider subject to US law to produce data it controls, even when that data is stored in Europe, subject to the remedies the Act provides.
With us, Chatwoot is hosted in Europe by a company incorporated in France, and our subprocessors are listed in the data processing agreement required by Article 28 of the GDPR.
What Intercom does better, and what you gain by leaving
Intercom is ahead on conversational AI: its agent answers part of the requests on its own, and its in-app messenger is very polished. For a software publisher that wants to automate high-volume product support, that is an asset.
Chatwoot makes another choice: the AI routes, the agent answers. You gain a predictable cost, open software you can take back in-house, and AI triage with a model hosted in Europe through our sovereign AI gateway.
Frequently asked questions
Does Chatwoot have an AI agent like Fin?
Not in our plan. As an integration on quote, we offer AI triage that sets a label and suggests a team, through our gateway hosted in Europe. The answer to the customer is still written by an agent.
How much does Intercom cost for 10 agents?
On the Advanced plan, $85 per seat per month on annual billing, so $850 per month for 10 agents, plus $0.99 per conversation resolved by Fin, according to public prices checked on 1 October 2026. Our Chatwoot plan starts at €99 per month excluding VAT, whatever the number of agents, with a different functional scope.
Can we bring our Intercom history into Chatwoot?
Intercom lets you export conversations through its API or to Amazon S3. Importing into Chatwoot goes through the Chatwoot API and is prepared case by case, depending on volume and the fields to keep.
Customer support you keep
Chatwoot hosted in Europe, open source, flat fee and unlimited agents.
Bunker is not affiliated with Intercom. "Intercom" is a trademark of its publisher, referenced here for comparison to designate the competing service.