Live chat, a shared inbox, and a workspace bill

This is the small-SaaS version of the Intercom question. You want a widget on the docs or the app, a place for two people to answer, and a bill you can put in a spreadsheet. You do not want a meter on “the bot handled it.” Switch to Cove: one desk for chat, help, and team workflows.

What “per resolution” means on Intercom

On 29 Aug 2026, Intercom prices Fin at $0.99 per outcome. Their outcomes article says you can be billed 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 $9.99. One charge per conversation. A minimum commitment applies (their FAQ example is 50 outcomes, which is $49.50 at $0.99 before any seats).

Assumed resolution is the line item founders miss. A visitor gets an answer, wanders off, and never says thanks. That can still count. If Fin is good, the meter runs. If Fin is noisy, you still bought the platform.

What Cove charges instead

Per workspace, from Cove pricing: Free, Mini $39, Essentials $89, Plus $219 per month. Yearly knocks two months off. Extra seats $6. No conversation cap. No $0.99. The pricing cards still mention agent credits; there is no production Fin or Hugo consuming them. Treat those credits as a label, not a usage product.

Crisp sits between the two: flat workspace like Cove, Hugo credits like a small AI allowance. Their Mini is $45 with $5 of credits. If you want Hugo, that is the comparison. If you want no AI meter at all, Cove is the stricter reading.

A desk that does not need Fin

Most early SaaS support is the same ten questions. The cheap version of “AI” is a good article in the messenger. Cove’s widget has an Articles tab that searches what you published. Operators can pull a keyword draft into the composer. People still own the send button. That is slower than Fin. It also does not bill you for silence.

You will do more of the typing. For a team that already sits in the inbox, that is the job. Pair articles with live workflows when you want a greeting. There is no per-outcome meter.

Who this is for

• A SaaS or site with a handful of operators, website chat as the channel, and a dislike of usage lines that move with traffic.
• A Crisp Mini/Essentials shop that never turned Hugo on and does not need WhatsApp this quarter.
• Someone leaving Intercom because Fin was attached to a plan they wanted only for Messenger.

What else ships on the same desk

• WhatsApp, SMS, and phone callbacks in Settings.
• Broadcasts for email campaigns. Widget teasers for a page.
• A customer portal, inbox PWA, visitor map, and highlight on page.

If the for-list matches, the next page is How to run Cove, then the trial on pricing.