QuackbackIntercom alternative
Quackback vs Intercom: an open-source Intercom alternative
Intercom, from the company now called Fin, charges for each seat and again for each conversation its AI agent handles. Quackback is an open-source Intercom alternative with a shared inbox, tickets, a help center and Quackback AI, plus a status page and feedback boards. Seats are included in the plan, and the AI agent has no per-resolution fee.
Try Quackback free
- 14-day Pro trial, no card needed
- Keep using it free if you don't upgrade
- Open source. Self-host with Docker
- Inbox, help center and status page in one
Quackback and Intercom, feature by feature
Prices, features and hosting side by side. A tick means it's included; a note says on which plan.
| Feature | Quackback | Intercom |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | 1 seat, 1 board, 50 posts | No free plan; 14-day trial |
| Paid plans | $29/mo, billed annually | $29, $85 or $132 per seat a month billed annually (Essential, Advanced, Expert); Essential is $19 for new customers on a current offer |
| Team of 5 | $29/mo on Pro (5 seats) | $145/mo on Essential, $425/mo on Advanced |
| Team of 10 | $59/mo on Business (20 seats) | $290/mo on Essential, $850/mo on Advanced |
| Team of 20 | $59/mo on Business (20 seats) | $580/mo on Essential, $1,700/mo on Advanced |
| AI agent | Included from Pro, no per-resolution fee | $0.99 per outcome, on top of seats |
| Copilot for your team | YesEvery plan | Yes$29 per agent a month add-on, billed annually |
| Self-hosted | YesFree, with every feature | No |
| Inbox and channels | ||
| Live chat and emailIn one shared inbox | Yes | Yes |
| GitHub issues as a channelIssues and comments arrive as conversations | YesBusiness and up | No |
| WhatsApp, SMS and phone | No | YesBilled as you go |
| TicketsA ticket and its conversation stay one thread | Yes | Yes |
| Turn a conversation into feedbackCreate a post or add a vote for the customer, in one click | Yes | NoNeeds a separate feedback tool |
| SLAs with office hours | YesA default SLA on every plan | YesHigher plans; check Intercom's pricing |
| Two-way inbox translation | YesWithin your AI usage | YesUnlimited with the Copilot add-on |
| Macros and saved replies | Yes | Yes |
| Native mobile SDKs | NoiOS and Android in preview, wrapping the web widget | Yes |
| Help center and AI | ||
| Help center | Yes | Yes |
| Ask AI in the help centerAnswers that cite your own articles | YesEvery plan | YesFin, $0.99 per outcome |
| Quackback AI usage | YesStandard AI usage on Pro, more on higher plans | Billed per outcome |
| Beyond support | ||
| Status pageIncidents, maintenance and subscriber emails | YesEvery plan | No |
| Feedback boards and voting | Yes | No |
| Public roadmap | Yes | No |
| Changelog | Yes | NoNews posts in the Messenger |
| Integrations and apps | YesA smaller catalogue, Business and up | YesA large app store |
| Hosting and data | ||
| Open sourceRead, audit and change the code | AGPL-3.0 | No |
| Self-hostingRun it on your own servers | YesDocker, with every feature | No |
| Where your data lives | Our cloud, or your own Postgres | Intercom's cloud |
Intercom details come from Intercom's public website, checked 6 November 2026, and can change, so check their pricing page before you decide. Quackback prices are for Cloud, billed annually; self-hosting is free under AGPL-3.0.
Quackback vs Intercom: the full picture
The company behind Intercom renamed itself Fin in May 2026, after its AI agent, and Salesforce completed its acquisition of Fin on 10 September 2026. The help desk keeps the Intercom name and is sold alongside Fin, which you can also buy on its own. It is a mature help desk with a deep channel list, native mobile SDKs and a large app store.
The cost has two parts. You pay for every seat, and Fin adds $0.99 for each conversation it resolves or hands off. Copilot for your team is a further add-on. Quackback charges one price per plan with seats included, and Quackback AI, the agent for customers and the Copilot for your team, comes with the plan. There is no per-resolution fee.
Quackback also covers what Intercom leaves to other tools: feedback boards, a public roadmap, a changelog and a status page. A conversation becomes a feedback post or a vote in one click, so support and product work from the same record. And it is open source under AGPL-3.0, so you can self-host every feature.
Be clear about the gaps. Quackback has no WhatsApp, SMS, social or phone channels, no conversation merge or collision detection, and no workforce management or QA tooling. Its mobile SDKs are a preview that wraps the web widget, its integration catalogue is smaller, and there is no importer for past Intercom conversations.
Which one fits your team
Both are good tools. Here is where each one is the better choice.
Where Intercom fits
Intercom suits larger support teams that run many channels, rely on native mobile apps, and want a long list of ready-made integrations.
- WhatsApp, SMS and phone beside chat and email
- Native iOS and Android SDKs
- A large app store and a long track record
- Fin works with other help desks too
Where Quackback fits
Quackback suits teams that support customers over chat and email and want feedback, a help center and a status page in the same product, at a price that doesn't grow with every AI answer.
- Quackback AI included from Pro, with no per-resolution fee
- Seats included: 5 on Pro, 20 on Business, unlimited on Enterprise
- Feedback boards, roadmap, changelog and status page built in
- Open source under AGPL-3.0, with every feature when you self-host
Further reading: Switch from Intercom · Salesforce bought Fin: what customers should know · Intercom pricing explained · Quackback vs Zendesk · The Quackback inbox · All comparisons
See Quackback for yourself
A working demo of Quackback with sample data. Click around: open a conversation, reply, switch pages.
One inbox, with AI beside you
Live chat and email land in one inbox, plus GitHub issues on Business and up. Quackback AI answers first and hands over to your team, Copilot drafts your replies, and one click turns a request into a feedback post.
Explore the inboxA help center that answers
Write articles once. Customers search them in the portal and the widget, and Ask AI answers their question with citations from your own articles.
Explore the help centerHow can we help?
Search the guides or browse by topic.
Popular articles
Switching from Intercom
There is no Intercom importer, so you move one channel at a time and keep Intercom open until its last conversations close.
Move your email
Forward your support address to the inbound address Quackback gives you. When you self-host, connect the mailbox over IMAP instead.
Swap the widget
Replace the Intercom snippet with the Quackback widget and identify signed-in users from your app.
Recreate saved replies
Rebuild your saved replies as macros, with variables and actions such as assign, tag and close.
Add your articles
Add your help-center articles in Quackback's editor, so customers and Quackback AI can use them.
Redirect old article links
Point your help-center domain at Quackback and add redirect rules, so links to moved articles still land on the right page.
Past conversations stay in Intercom. Quackback has no help-desk importer, so export what you need to keep before you close the account.
Common questions
Is Quackback a good Intercom alternative?
For teams that support customers over live chat and email, yes. Quackback has a shared inbox, tickets, SLAs, macros, a help center and an AI agent, plus feedback boards, a roadmap, a changelog and a status page. If you rely on WhatsApp, SMS, phone or native mobile apps, Intercom covers more channels today.
Is Intercom now called Fin?
The company is. It renamed itself Fin in May 2026, after its AI agent, and Salesforce completed its acquisition of Fin on 10 September 2026. The help desk is still called Intercom and is sold alongside Fin. No pricing changes had been announced when we checked, so check Intercom's pricing page for current terms.
How much does Intercom cost compared with Quackback?
Intercom's seats are $29, $85 or $132 a month on Essential, Advanced and Expert, and Fin adds $0.99 per outcome. Copilot is a further $29 per agent a month. Quackback's paid plans start at $29/mo, billed annually, with 5 seats on Pro and 20 on Business, and Quackback AI comes with the plan. A team of 10 pays $59/mo on Quackback Business, against $290/mo for Intercom Essential seats before any Fin outcomes.
Does Quackback charge per AI resolution?
No. Quackback AI usage is included in every plan, from Basic AI usage on Free to 20x Standard AI usage on Enterprise. The AI agent that answers customers starts on Pro, Copilot works on every plan, and usage resets each month.
Can I import my Intercom conversations?
No. Quackback has no help-desk importer, so past conversations stay in Intercom. Forward your support email, swap the widget snippet, rebuild saved replies as macros and add your articles. Then run both tools side by side until the old conversations close.
What does Intercom do that Quackback doesn't?
Intercom has WhatsApp, SMS and phone channels, native mobile SDKs and a larger app store. Quackback has no conversation merge, collision detection, or workforce management and QA tooling. Quackback's mobile SDKs are an open-source preview that wraps the web widget.
Have another question? Talk to the team.