IN THIS ARTICLE
Intercom is a capable platform. The pricing model is the problem. Every time an AI agent closes a ticket without human involvement, $0.99 is billed. A team handling 5,000 tickets a month at a 40% AI resolution rate generates 2,000 AI resolutions, which adds $1,980 per month in fees before seat costs are counted. This comparison shows the full picture.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Delyt | Intercom |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Starter $39/seat/mo (3 seats) · Growth $69/seat/mo (10 seats included) | $39/seat/month + $0.99/AI resolution |
| Pricing model | Tiered flat plans, no per-resolution fees | Per-seat plus per-resolution fees |
| Per-resolution fee | None — ever | $0.99 per AI resolution |
| AI resolutions included | 500/mo (Starter) · 2,000/mo (Growth) · Unlimited (Enterprise) | Billed at $0.99 each |
| Unlimited conversations | Yes — all plans | Unlimited (but AI resolutions billed separately) |
| Included from Starter | Add-on or higher plan required | |
| Email support | Yes | Yes |
| Live chat | Yes | Yes |
| Social media management | Built in — scheduling, comments, DMs | Not included |
| Agentic AI (MCP-connected, learns from cases) | Yes | Fin AI (strong, but no MCP connections) |
| GTM integrations (Clay, Apollo, Instantly, n8n) | Native integrations included | Not natively included |
| Lead management | Coming soon | No |
| Knowledge base | Yes | Yes (Articles) |
| Analytics and reporting | Yes | Yes (more depth on higher tiers) |
| Free trial | Yes (30 days, no credit card) | No |
| Free implementation support | Included on Growth and Enterprise | Not included — charged separately |
| Setup time | Days — self-serve | Days to weeks — requires onboarding |
| Overage pricing | +$10/seat/month above plan limit | Per seat adds automatically |
Real cost comparison: what you actually pay
The table below uses 5,000 monthly conversations at a 40% AI resolution rate. That means 2,000 AI resolutions per month. On Intercom: 2,000 x $0.99 = $1,980 in resolution fees alone, added on top of seat costs every single month.
| Team size | Delyt | Intercom seats only | Intercom total (seat + resolution fees) | Annual difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 seats (Starter) | $117/mo | $195/month | $2,175/month | $25,512/year more on Intercom |
| 10 seats (Growth) | $690/mo | $780/month | $2,760/month | $31,332/year more on Intercom |
| 50 seats (Enterprise) | Custom pricing | $1,950/month | $3,930/month | Contact Delyt for enterprise pricing |
The resolution fee compounds every month
5,000 conversations at 40% AI resolution rate = 2,000 AI resolutions x $0.99 = $1,980 per month. In a peak month with 10,000 conversations and the same resolution rate, that becomes $3,960 in fees. There is no ceiling. Delyt charges a flat monthly plan with no per-resolution fees on any tier.
What Delyt does that Intercom does not
- Social media management built in: Delyt includes post scheduling, comments monitoring, and social DMs in the same inbox as support conversations. Intercom has no social media management. Teams typically pay $49 to $299 per month for a separate social tool such as Buffer or Hootsuite, on top of their support platform.
- Native GTM integrations: Delyt connects natively with Clay for lead enrichment, Apollo for lead fetching, Instantly for outbound sequencing, and n8n for agentic workflows. Intercom does not include these integrations natively, requiring separate subscriptions and typically a RevOps engineer to connect them.
- Agentic AI with MCP tool calls: Delyt's AI reads live data from your tools (Shopify, Stripe, HubSpot) before it acts — checking facts mid-conversation rather than relying on static training data. Intercom's Fin AI is strong but does not perform live tool lookups via MCP in the same way.
- Playbooks: Delyt includes a visual playbook builder where you define multi-step automated workflows triggered by business intent. A Lead Qualification playbook, for example, runs 2–4 qualifying questions then routes the lead with full context. Intercom has no equivalent playbook builder at this tier.
- Business Intents: Delyt detects and classifies customer intent in real time (return request, pricing enquiry, churn signal) and triggers the matching playbook automatically. Intercom does not include a configurable intent taxonomy tied to automation triggers.
- AI Case Advisor: every open case surfaces a risk score, intent summary, and recommended next action (issue refund, apply credit, escalate). Intercom has no equivalent case intelligence layer in the inbox.
- Reply Assistance: the Delyt reply editor generates a grounded AI draft from your knowledge base for every case, with one-click tone adjustments. Intercom does not include reply drafting at this level.
- Free implementation on Growth and Enterprise: Getting started on Delyt Growth or Enterprise includes free implementation support. Intercom charges for professional services separately.
- Flat predictable pricing: A team's Delyt bill is the same in a peak month as a quiet month. Intercom bills spike whenever AI resolution volume rises.
What Intercom does better
Intercom's Fin AI has some of the highest published AI resolution rates in the market. The reporting suite is detailed, the design is polished, and the ecosystem of third-party integrations is extensive. For large enterprise teams that are already deeply embedded in the Intercom ecosystem, the switching cost is real. Intercom's account management and customer success resources at the enterprise tier are strong.
Full stack cost: replicating Delyt with Intercom
| What you need | With competitors | With Delyt |
|---|---|---|
| Support platform (5-20 agents) | $55-115/agent/month | Included in plan |
| Social media management tool (Buffer/Hootsuite/Sprout) | $49-299/month extra | Built in — no extra cost |
| Agentic AI platform (Decagon/Sierra) | $95,000+/year | Built in — no extra cost |
| WhatsApp integration | Add-on or higher plan required | Included from $39/seat/mo |
| Onboarding and implementation | Charged extra or requires IT team | Free on Growth and Enterprise |
| GTM integrations (Clay, Apollo, Instantly) | Separate subscriptions + RevOps engineer | Native integrations included |
| Total (approximate) | $2,000-10,000+/month depending on tools | From $39/seat/mo all-in |
When you should choose Intercom instead of Delyt
Intercom is the right choice in a specific set of circumstances: your team is 50 or more agents, you are already deeply embedded in the Intercom product ecosystem with years of data and automations built on it, budget is not a material constraint, and you need Intercom's specific level of enterprise reporting depth. If AI resolution volume is low enough that per-resolution fees are negligible, the Intercom pricing model becomes less problematic. For large SaaS companies whose entire go-to-market motion runs through Intercom, the platform consolidation value is real.
Who Delyt is built for
- Teams of 1 to 20 agents who need predictable monthly costs without per-resolution billing surprises
- Businesses where WhatsApp is a primary customer contact channel
- Teams that want social media management and support handled in one platform instead of two separate subscriptions
- Founders and small teams who want agentic AI without a six-figure annual contract
- Growing companies that want to be live in days, not weeks, without an engineering team or implementation project
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