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28 Aug 2026 · updated 1 Sept 2026

Cove vs Intercom: switch to the complete desk

Cove is live chat, email, help, CRM, and workflows in one product. This page is for teams who want that desk instead of Intercom.

Checked 29 Aug 2026 on Intercom’s pricing page. Seats: Essential $29/mo, Advanced $85/mo, Expert $132/mo, per full seat. Fin is $0.99 per outcome on those plans. Copilot is $29/agent/mo billed annually ($35 monthly). Proactive Support Plus (Series, tours, posts, surveys) is $99/mo for 500 messages. All plans include Fin.

Fin is not an add-on you can leave off the brochure

Their outcomes article (same date) bills when the customer confirms a resolution, when they do not ask for more help after Fin’s last answer, or when Fin finishes a procedure that hands off. Qualification is listed at $9.99. One charge per conversation. A minimum monthly commitment applies; Intercom’s own FAQ example is 50 outcomes ($49.50 at $0.99 before any seats).

Assumed resolution is the line item people miss. The visitor gets an answer, wanders off, never types thanks. That can still count. If you only wanted a widget, you bought a meter.

A four-seat picture, no fake savings

  • Intercom Essential: 4 × $29 = $116/mo in seats. If Fin records 200 outcomes, that is another $198 before Copilot or WhatsApp.
  • Cove Mini: $39/mo for the workspace (10 seats included). Conversations do not add a line. Yearly is $396 once.
  • When WhatsApp or a first reply is the job, connect the channel and turn on a live workflow. Cove still has no per-outcome meter.

What you get when you switch

A website messenger, a team inbox, help the visitor can open without a new tab, resolve, CSAT. Cove’s extra is messenger control: glass/dark/light/brand, radius in px, launcher icon or pill. Intercom’s extra is Fin, Series, tours, Copilot, and a marketplace. Switch to the complete desk.

What you get on the Cove desk

  • Article drafts and live workflows — no per-outcome meter.
  • Broadcasts and widget teasers instead of a billed outbound pack.
  • WhatsApp, SMS, and phone callbacks in the same inbox when connected — not Crisp-complete.
  • SLA clocks and a customer portal.
  • Inbox PWA and a WebView widget.

Cove’s bill instead

Per workspace, from Cove pricing: Free $0, Mini $39, Essentials $89, Plus $219 per month. Yearly knocks two months off. Extra seats $6 on Mini and up. Unlimited conversations. Fourteen-day trial. Draft from articles is a keyword match against pages you published — a person still sends.

The switch: Cove vs Intercom. The meter: Live chat without a per-resolution AI tax. Help: coveinbox.co/help/cove. Start: signup.

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Try the widget and the shared inbox

Fourteen-day trial. Per workspace. Conversations are unlimited.