Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud comparison

Intercom and Salesforce are both solutions in the Social CRM category. Intercom is ranked #5 with an average rating of 9.0, while Salesforce is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.5. Intercom holds a 6.3% mindshare in SC, compared to Salesforce’s 5.9% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of Intercom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

Intercom Customer Communica...

Read 3 Intercom Customer Communications Platform reviews

1,437 Views
331 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Read 62 Salesforce Marketing Cloud reviews

4,581 Views
412 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Intercom Customer Communica...

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Intercom Customer Communications Platform are in the digital marketing and customer engagement category, with Salesforce often having the advantage due to its extensive tool suite. However, Intercom is noted for its user-friendly interface and strong communication features.

Features: Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides powerful automation for email, mobile, social media, and advertising. It has robust analytics capabilities and a comprehensive set of marketing tools. Intercom focuses on live chat, messaging, and precise targeting features that integrate well with websites and mobile apps.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Salesforce Marketing Cloud can be complex and challenging in deployment but compensates with extensive customer support and resources. Intercom is known for its ease of use and rapid setup, alongside responsive customer service that aids straightforward integration.

Pricing and ROI: Salesforce Marketing Cloud often requires a higher initial setup cost but offers significant ROI through advanced functionalities and detailed analytics. Intercom typically involves a more affordable entry cost with high returns credited to its efficient customer engagement solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

February 2026

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Helped 881,515 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Intercom Customer Communica...

Ranking in Social CRM

5th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CRM Customer Engagement Centers (8th), CRM (21st)

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Ranking in Social CRM

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Marketing Automation (1st), Marketing Management (1st), Social Media Management Solutions (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Social CRM category, the mindshare of Intercom Customer Communications Platform is 6.3%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 5.9%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Social CRM Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Salesforce Marketing Cloud	5.9%
Intercom Customer Communications Platform	6.3%
Other	87.8%

Social CRM

Featured Reviews

Kumar Abhishek Anand

Director at Revivo Technologies

Customer support has improved significantly with seamless chat integration for quick resolutions

The feature we appreciate most about the Intercom Customer Communications Platform is the messenger functionality. We are able to integrate it into our application and provide support to customers directly through our application. The messenger works efficiently, allowing users to have conversations without entering their details repeatedly. There is conversation history available for each customer interaction, and they can access the help section within the chat itself. The Finn AI agent handles conversations both in chat and WhatsApp, which is particularly beneficial. Regarding automation tools, we have enabled the AI agent to answer customer queries instantly, reducing the need for constant staff presence. The AI agent quickly responds to customers and summarizes their issues, informing us when it cannot resolve a problem independently.

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GauravSingh2

Senior Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Targeted email journeys have boosted campaign insight and now need better data access and support

I feel that Salesforce Marketing Cloud can be improved in how the data views are accessed; it would be better to have something more physical. With data extensions, you can view them directly, but for data views, it is very difficult as you can only send it out or load it into data extensions. Improvements can also be made in the connections to different external tools such as Azure or AWS.Customer support can be improved in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, as sometimes it is not clear what the issue is or how to approach solving it, and it also takes time to resolve issues.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"With Zendesk, we have much more signals that we could use to understand better our client patterns."

"The feature we appreciate most about the Intercom Customer Communications Platform is the messenger functionality, allowing users to have conversations without entering their details repeatedly."

"The live chat is pretty good because you can create a macro, which is a predefined input we can give customers."

"I like the user interface it has a nice look and feel."

"Salesforce Marketing Cloud's journey builder is very easy to handle and quickly sets up a journey for clients who use a lot of communication."

"Salesforce is constantly evolving and have a good release cycle."

"The most valuable part of the solution are the selling features."

"It has excellent lead and opportunity tracking."

"We are satisfied with the Salesforce Marketing Cloud products, which is why we have extended and acquired the Data Cloud as integration."

"The AI-powered tools such as Salesforce Datorama and Einstein save time and have an impact on marketing strategy decisions for my customers."

"It is straightforward to set up."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pros

Cons

"The problem with Intercom Customer Communications Platform was a little bit of the implementation. It was complicated to use to actually get the automations and everything."

"Sometimes, the solution lags and takes time to update something."

"It would be beneficial if there was a way to train the AI to better understand customer language."

"It's a very good solution, but the way the prices are structured is not always good, and I feel like that is a problem."

"Clarity around new features could be improved when they are released."

"This solution could be more user-friendly."

"The UA could be better designed for a mobile connection."

"When you use your iPhone or Android phone, Salesforce is not as user-friendly as it could be. That UX needs to be improved."

"In the SMS area, it is not up to the mark, compared to what has been developed for email."

"User management could be better."

"The data extension tools are not very user-friendly."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The price is expensive."

"My company pays to use this solution."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"The solution is paid for monthly."

"It is a license per user."

"This is a low cost solution suited to larger organizations."

"It's not cheap, which is why I recommend that you use Marketing Cloud to create automated journeys. If you plan to use Marketing Cloud just to send emails, use another tool."

"We have two types of licensing. We have a yearly license for end users and we have a concurrent login for selling."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	31

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

We did not explore them. The problem with Intercom Customer Communications Platform was a little bit of the implementation. It was complicated to use to actually get the automations and everything....

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

Intercom Customer Communications Platform is for monitoring and visualizing data. Basically, it is used to know exactly what is happening. We monitor the software via logs, and whatever errors appe...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

Since I was not part of the pricing discussion, I am not completely sure about the conditions that we had at the moment, so I could not tell you exactly. My overall review rating for Intercom Custo...

See all answers

What do you like most about Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

Datorama is part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is quite a valuable feature that provides customer analytics.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

I did not work on any pricing or implementation aspects but learned on my own when dealing with Revenue Cloud products.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

See all answers

Comparisons

Sprinklr vs Intercom Customer Communications Platform

Compared 14% of the time

Nimble CRM vs Intercom Customer Communications Platform

Compared 13% of the time

Close CRM vs Intercom Customer Communications Platform

Compared 11% of the time

Zendesk vs Intercom Customer Communications Platform

Compared 11% of the time

Attio vs Intercom Customer Communications Platform

Compared 11% of the time

More Intercom Customer Communications Platform Competitors

HubSpot Marketing Hub vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 18% of the time

Marketo vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 12% of the time

Adobe Campaign vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 6% of the time

Oracle Eloqua vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 5% of the time

Amazon Pinpoint vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Compared 2% of the time

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Intercom Customer Communications Platform

January 2026

Intercom Customer Communications Platform report

Download Intercom Customer Communications Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

January 2026

Download Salesforce Marketing Cloud product report

Also Known As

Intercom

ExactTarget

Overview

Intercom Customer Communications Platform is designed to enhance interactions between businesses and their customers, offering a suite of tools for communication management. It caters to businesses looking to streamline communication and improve customer experience.

Intercom facilitates seamless customer interactions, supporting businesses in delivering personalized communication at scale. Its capabilities range from live chat and email integration to automation features. Known for its usability, Intercom simplifies customer support and engagement, supporting teams in reducing response times and improving satisfaction rates.

What are the key features of Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

Live Chat: Real-time messaging to engage customers effectively on your website.
Email Integration: Seamlessly connects with email systems to ensure consistent communication.
Automation: Automates repetitive tasks, freeing up time for more complex customer interactions.
Customer Segmentation: Allows tailored messaging based on customer data, enhancing personalization.

Why invest in Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

Enhanced Customer Experience: Tools that provide personalized customer interactions, improving satisfaction.
Increased Efficiency: Automation and segmentation reduce manual workload and optimize resources.
Faster Response Times: Reduces the time taken to address customer queries, improving service quality.

Intercom is utilized across sectors such as e-commerce, where live chat features enhance the shopping experience. In SaaS, it integrates with various apps to streamline user support. Its automation aids customer service in tech industries, providing consistent support without additional workforce strain.

Intercom

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a comprehensive marketing automation platform that enables businesses to create personalized and targeted marketing campaigns across multiple channels.

With its robust set of tools and features, marketers can easily manage and automate their email marketing, social media advertising, mobile messaging, and customer journey mapping.

The platform offers advanced segmentation capabilities, allowing marketers to segment their audience based on various criteria and deliver tailored messages to each segment.

Additionally, Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides powerful analytics and reporting features, enabling marketers to track the performance of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

With its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with other Salesforce products, Marketing Cloud offers a seamless and efficient marketing automation solution for businesses of all sizes.

Salesforce

Sample Customers

Expensift, Moz, Invision, Salesforce, Droplr, Vend, BugHerd, Ghost, Put.io, Codeship

American Express, Financial Conduct Authority, KPN, Merck KGaA, Peterborough City Council, The Chapar, ADP, Financial Times, Stanley Black & Decker, SureFlap, Western Union, Philips

Buyer's Guide

Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

February 2026

Free Report: Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

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