Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs Zoho Desk comparison

Intercom and Zoho are both solutions in the CRM Customer Engagement Centers category. Intercom is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.0, while Zoho is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3. Intercom holds a 0.6% mindshare in CCEC, compared to Zoho’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Intercom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Zoho users who would recommend it.

Intercom Customer Communica...

Read 1 Intercom Customer Communications Platform review

16 Views
9 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Zoho Desk

Read 21 Zoho Desk reviews

70 Views
41 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Intercom Customer Communica...

Zoho Desk

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Zoho Desk and Intercom compete in the customer service platform category. While Zoho Desk offers strong pricing and support, Intercom holds an advantage with advanced features.

Features: Zoho Desk provides robust ticket management, automation capabilities, and multi-channel support. Intercom offers powerful messaging, automation with bots, and extensive integration options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zoho Desk is known for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. Intercom's deployment is rapid, focusing on personalized onboarding experiences.

Pricing and ROI: Zoho Desk is noted for competitive pricing and low setup costs, offering a solid ROI for budget-conscious businesses. Intercom, despite higher setup costs, offers significant long-term ROI potential through feature-rich engagement tools.

To learn more, read our detailed CRM Customer Engagement Centers Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CRM Customer Engagement Centers

March 2025

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Helped 849,335 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 CRM Customer Engagement Centers

12th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CRM (28th), Social CRM (6th)

Zoho Desk

Ranking in CRM Customer Engagement Centers

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Help Desk Software (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the CRM Customer Engagement Centers category, the mindshare of Intercom Customer Communications Platform is 0.6%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoho Desk is 1.5%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

CRM Customer Engagement Centers

Featured Reviews

Karan-Singh

Account Executive at Speak Ai

A good tool that can be used to capture inbound leads and manage all customer interactions

Sometimes, the solution lags and takes time to update something. If I put a specific tag on an inbound lead, it would take around five minutes for that tag to reflect throughout the solution for all the users. If my colleague and I are using the solution simultaneously and I create a tag for a specific lead, then that tag would not be visible to my colleague for about three to four minutes. Since the solution is great at capturing leads and giving me an overview of all the people interacting with our platform, I would love to see a CRM structure created. We can create a pipeline in the solution itself, and then it can give us that CRM experience.

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Babatunde-Olugbode

Technical presales engineer at Avetium Consult Ltd

End-to-end solution to manage customer support tickets and consolidate all communication channels into one platform

For me, the valuable features are related to customer engagement because I want to ensure I don't miss any customer inquiries, no matter the channel. For example, I haven't seen any other platform that consolidates all channels into one console. That's a valuable feature to me. Then there's the pricing, which is better than Zendesk. Zendesk charges in USD per user, per month, whereas Zoho let us pay in Naira (Nigerian currency). Zoho can also identify user locations, letting you leverage existing reviews. These are valuable features that many organizations have adopted Zoho Desk for. We can download the mobile app to see requests and respond from anywhere. It is one of the most improved applications and widely integrated systems I've worked with. You can virtually integrate it with almost anything, like Microsoft Teams and other data applications. The marketplace lets you find native integrations. For example, we have an organization that uses multiple systems and wants to ensure agents don't log in to multiple platforms to see emails. They have a native integration system that takes care of that and works seamlessly.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"The deployment process is swift, typically taking just one day, and includes customization and automation setup."

"The most valuable features are that it's user-friendly, you can customize it the way you want it, and it is very easy to use. You don't need anybody else to configure it."

"Good at capturing online inquiries has portal functionality, and is very good at managing inbound customer inquiries."

"It is a highly scalable solution. You can easily add more users through the portal within seconds."

"The most valuable feature of Zoho Desk is the parent and child task management feature."

"The tool has made support very flexible and strong. We can use chat boxes and auto-responses. If someone creates a ticket, it will be created in Zoho Desk's ticket module. We can get emails and respond to them within the product. We don't need a support email product to manage emails. We can easily manage it within Zoho Desk. The tool's interface is good since it updated the layout three months ago and the current interface is more effective."

"The product is quite stable."

"The tool's UI is very user-friendly. The solution's workflow is flexible and we can create our workflows. We can assign and create groups with the tool. We are also able to control the privileges with the tool."

More Zoho Desk pros

Cons

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

"I would like to have integrated support, and integration between the ticketing tool and the project management tool."

"Could have slightly better integration between additional functionalities in the Zoho desk."

"Zoho Desk could be improved by making it multi-tenant, as it is currently not suitable for service providers with multiple customers."

"The main concern is the pricing of Zoho Desk, as I consider it to be on the expensive side."

"As per customer requirements, it may have some limitations."

"The solution needs to have more customization on alerts and notifications."

"There is room for improvement with the pricing."

"I would want Zoho Desk to integrate Zoho CRM, Zoho SalesIQ , and Zoho Campaigns."

More Zoho Desk cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The gap is limited, but it should limit the price back bracket so that most start-ups can use it most effectively."

"The solution costs INR 8400 per user."

"Zoho Desk is a cost-effective solution."

"Regarding pricing, it's 35 USD per user a year and 45 USD per user a month. Under the price, I have access to all Zoho products since it all falls under Zoho One's package."

"The pricing is better than Zendesk. Zendesk charges in USD per user per month, whereas Zoho let us pay in Naira (Nigerian currency)."

"Price-wise, Zoho Desk is about 35 USD a month per user."

"Zoho Desk's cost is pretty much okay."

"The product costs $10 to $25 per user per month."

More Zoho Desk pricing and cost advice

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849,335 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Educational Organization

55%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

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

See all answers

What needs improvement with Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

See all answers

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

We use the solution to capture leads and interact with them. Our company manages all the customer interactions through the solution.

See all answers

What do you like most about Zoho Desk?

The most valuable features of Zoho Desk are archiving queries and analytics.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoho Desk?

The price point is a concern. The licensing model is quite easy, however, the pricing issue remains the main concern.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zoho Desk?

The main concern is the pricing of Zoho Desk, as I consider it to be on the expensive side.

See all answers

Comparisons

No data available

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Compared 48% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs Zoho Desk

Compared 11% of the time

JIRA Service Management vs Zoho Desk

Compared 9% of the time

Freshdesk vs Zoho Desk

Compared 8% of the time

ConnectWise PSA vs Zoho Desk

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

CRM Customer Engagement Centers

March 2025

Intercom Customer Communications Platform report

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Buyer's Guide

Zoho Desk

April 2025

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Also Known As

Intercom

No data available

Overview

Intercom Customer Communications Platform enhances interactions by offering robust tools designed to streamline customer engagement and support, effectively catering to modern business communication needs.

Providing a comprehensive approach to customer interaction, Intercom facilitates seamless conversation management through its adaptable suite of messaging, logistical, and analytical features. Frequently utilized for customer support and marketing, its flexibility and user-friendly design encourage efficient communication. While offering valuable insights through analytics, some users note areas for improvement in customizability and pricing models, pointing towards a potential enhancement in fine-tuning its cost-effectiveness and adaptability to diverse business strategies.

What are the standout features of Intercom?

Live Chat: Immediate customer support through real-time messaging.
Automated Bot: Streamlines inquiries by handling routine questions.
Integration Capabilities: Connects seamlessly with third-party tools.
Inbox Management: Organizes conversations for efficient response.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Faster resolutions lead to happier clients.
Improved Team Efficiency: Automation reduces manual workload.
Actionable Analytics: Data-driven insights optimize strategies.
Scalable Solutions: Adapts to growing business demands.

Industries such as e-commerce, SaaS, and tech-driven businesses often implement Intercom for its ability to provide personalized customer journeys. Its messaging platform excels in maintaining customer relationships and resolving issues quickly, which is crucial in these fast-paced sectors.

Intercom

With Zoho Desk, agents become more productive, managers become more impactful, and customers become more empowered. It's customizable, convenient to use, and it doesn't cost you a fortune. Part of Zoho's 30-strong suite of business software, Zoho Desk brings you the power to put customer service at the heart of your company.

Zoho

Sample Customers

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

Intel, Sears, Daimler, Essilor, Aon Hewitt, Shop Your Way, CoffeeRocket

Buyer's Guide

CRM Customer Engagement Centers

March 2025

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