Our take
Pick HubSpot if ops teams who will stay on Smart CRM at $0/seat while they open a first Conversations inbox search, then Starter at $15/month per seat when they need a paid hub — not Professional $50 unless they need multiple inboxes (Professional / Enterprise). Pick Intercom if support teams who will start on Essential at $19/seat/month (strikethrough $29, new-customer 35% off) while they open a first Inbox table,
Best for
HubSpot An inbox search you start at a public $
Intercom A conversation table you start at a public $
Free plan
HubSpot $0 · /seat. No card. Schema: “HubSpot CRM is free to use with no credit card required. Priced per seat at $0.” Conversations inbox: all products and plans (help)
Intercom No free plan
Lowest paid
HubSpot HubSpot Credits $10/mo
Intercom Fin AI Agent (standalone) $0.99
Next step up
HubSpot Starter $15/user/mo
Intercom Essential from $19/user/mo
Runs where
HubSpot Hosted
Intercom Hosted
Watch out
HubSpot The $15 / $50 / $75 cards are “Starts at” per seat / month
Intercom Essential is a paid seat
Last checked
HubSpot 2026-10-23 · hubspot.com/products/crm
Intercom 2026-10-23 · intercom.com/pricing
ops teams who will stay on Smart CRM at $0/seat while they open a first Conversations inbox search, then Starter at $15/month per seat when they need a paid hub — not Professional $50 unless they need multiple inboxes (Professional / Enterprise).
Read the HubSpot pagesupport teams who will start on Essential at $19/seat/month (strikethrough $29, new-customer 35% off) while they open a first Inbox table, then Advanced at $85/seat/month when they need workflows and multiple team Inboxes — not Expert $132 unless they need SSO / HIPAA.
Read the Intercom page