Drift vs Intercom
Converge Team
Side-by-side comparison for 2026
| Feature | Drift | Intercom |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | From $2500/mo | From $85/seat/mo |
| Best For | Large enterprises with complex B2B sales processes | Well-funded SaaS companies wanting AI-first customer service |
| Standout Feature | Advanced conversational AI and revenue acceleration | Fin AI Agent that autonomously resolves customer queries |
| Free Plan | ✗ | ✗ |
| G2 Rating | 4.4 | 4.5/5 |
Drift and Intercom compete in the customer engagement space but serve different primary purposes. Drift ($2500-Custom, G2 4.4) specializes in conversational marketing and sales, while Intercom ($29-$132/seat, G2 4.5) focuses on comprehensive customer support and engagement.
This comparison explores how these platforms differ in their approach to customer conversations and which serves different business objectives better.
Feature Comparison
Drift excels in conversational marketing with advanced chatbots for lead qualification, meeting scheduling, and sales pipeline integration. Its AI-powered conversation routing and account-based marketing features make it ideal for B2B sales teams.
Intercom offers broader customer engagement capabilities including support ticketing, knowledge base, customer onboarding, and product tours. While it has marketing features, its strength lies in post-sale customer success and support.
The key difference is focus: Drift optimizes for converting visitors to leads, while Intercom optimizes for supporting existing customers throughout their lifecycle.
Pricing Comparison
Drift's pricing starts at $2500 monthly with custom enterprise pricing, making it a significant investment focused on high-value B2B sales scenarios where lead conversion justifies the cost.
Intercom's per-seat pricing ($29-$132) scales more predictably with team size and offers more flexibility for different use cases, from small support teams to large customer success operations.
Drift's higher entry cost reflects its specialized sales focus, while Intercom's pricing model accommodates various team sizes and use cases.
Drift
Pros
- ✓ Powerful conversational AI
- ✓ Strong B2B focus
- ✓ Advanced lead qualification
Cons
- ✗ Extremely expensive pricing
- ✗ Complex setup and learning curve
- ✗ Overkill for small businesses
Intercom
Pros
- ✓ Fin AI Agent resolves queries autonomously
- ✓ Beautiful, modern interface design
- ✓ Strong product tour and onboarding features
Cons
- ✗ Premium pricing, especially with AI usage
- ✗ Complex pricing structure
- ✗ Per-resolution AI fees add up
Verdict
Choose Drift if you prioritize conversational marketing, lead qualification, and sales-focused chat automation. Choose Intercom if you need comprehensive customer support with marketing capabilities as a secondary feature.
Choose Drift if: You're a B2B company focused on conversational marketing, lead qualification, and can justify the higher cost for specialized sales automation.
Choose Intercom if: You need comprehensive customer support and engagement features with marketing capabilities as an added benefit.
Consider Converge as an alternative: At $49/month flat rate with up to 15 agents, it provides essential customer engagement features without the high costs of either platform, making it ideal for growing teams.
Looking for more options? Browse all 750+ platform comparisons, or see all Drift comparisons and all Intercom comparisons.