Customer Support · Core Replacement

Replace Intercom with software you own.

Chat widgets shouldn't cost $74/seat/month. We build a custom alternative in 6-10 weeks for $25,000$45,000.

$74

Intercom per seat/mo

$25,000$45,000

One-time build

13%

Savings over 3 years

6-10 wks

Build time

The Problem

Why teams leave Intercom

High per-seat cost ($74-$132/seat/month)

Fin AI chatbot charges per-resolution ($0.99 each) on top of seats

Pricing changes frequently — hard to budget

Proactive messaging and product tours require higher tiers

Complex pricing calculator makes true cost opaque

Data locked in Intercom's platform

What We Build Instead

Your custom customer support tool

Live chat and messaging platform you own

AI chatbot with no per-resolution fees

Product tours and onboarding flows

In-app messaging and announcements

Customer data platform with behavior tracking

Help center with full-text search

The Math

Intercom vs. custom build

Based on 20 seats at $74/seat/month, with ~10% annual SaaS price increases.

Keep paying Intercom

Year 1$17,760
Year 2 (~10% increase)$19,536
Year 3 (~10% increase)$21,490

3-year total$58,608

Build with 86 SaaS

Build cost (one-time)$25,000$45,000
Annual maintenance$5,250/yr
Per-seat cost$0

3-year total$50,750

3-year savings with 20 seats

$7,858

13% less than Intercom

How It Works

From Intercom to ownership in 6-10 weeks

01

Free Audit

We analyze your Intercom usage and identify exactly which features your team actually uses.

02

Scope & Build

We build your custom customer support tool with only the features you need. 6-10 weeks.

03

Deploy & Migrate

We deploy to your infrastructure, migrate your data from Intercom, and train your team.

04

You Own It

Full source code, documentation, and optional maintenance retainer. No vendor lock-in. Ever.

Ready to 86 Intercom?

Get a free audit showing exactly how much you'd save replacing Intercom with a custom build. Takes 5 minutes. No commitment.