Migration guide

Migrate from Intercom to Helpzen

Step-by-step guide. Free migration tool. Most teams switch in under a day and save $8,412 per year.

Start the migration →See full comparison

Average yearly savings (10-agent team)

$8,412

Flat $39/mo on Helpzen vs. per-agent pricing on Intercom

Why teams leave Intercom

  • $74+ per seat plus $0.99 per AI Fin resolution makes budgeting impossible
  • Contract renewal price jumps (some customers report 40%+ increases)
  • Email and ticketing feel bolted onto a chat-first tool
  • No self-host or open-source option
  • AI resolution pricing punishes customer-facing traffic growth

What gets imported from Intercom

All conversations with full history
Contacts and companies
Articles and Collections → Helpzen knowledge base
Teammates and teams
Custom attributes and tags
Macros → Helpzen canned replies
Automation workflows → Helpzen automations
Inbox views

Step-by-step migration

  1. 1

    Sign up for Helpzen

    2 min

    Start your free 14-day trial at app.helpzen.io/register.

  2. 2

    Connect Intercom

    3 min

    Settings → Migrations → Import from Intercom. OAuth with your Intercom account.

  3. 3

    Preview and configure

    5 min

    Review what will import. Decide whether to bring historical conversations or start fresh with contacts and articles only.

  4. 4

    Run the import

    30-120 min

    Typical Intercom migrations take 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on conversation volume.

  5. 5

    Replace the Messenger widget

    5 min

    Swap the Intercom JavaScript snippet for Helpzen's (one line). All existing user identifiers carry over if you use user-hash.

  6. 6

    Redirect custom domain (optional)

    5 min + DNS propagation

    If you use help.yourdomain.com for your Intercom help center, update the DNS CNAME to point at Helpzen.

  7. 7

    Train AI on your articles

    15 min

    Helpzen AI auto-indexes your imported articles. Spot-check 10 sample tickets to verify accuracy before going live.

  8. 8

    Cut over and cancel Intercom

    1 week overlap

    Route new conversations to Helpzen. Give your team a week overlap, then cancel Intercom.

What to plan for

A few Intercom features don't 1:1 map — here's how to handle them.

  • Intercom Messages (outbound campaigns) → rebuild in Helpzen broadcasts or use Customer.io
  • Fin AI agent → replaced by Helpzen AI Auto-Reply (flat rate, no per-resolution fees)
  • Intercom Surveys → rebuild with Helpzen CSAT + custom surveys

Timeline: Most Intercom migrations take 2-3 business days including the 1-week parallel-run recommended for live chat teams.

FAQ

How long does it take to migrate from Intercom to Helpzen?+

Most Intercom migrations take 2-3 business days including the 1-week parallel-run recommended for live chat teams.

Is the Intercom migration tool free?+

Yes. The Helpzen migration tool is free for all customers. Teams over 10 agents get free white-glove migration assistance from our team.

Will we lose any data from Intercom?+

No. Helpzen imports tickets, contacts, articles, macros, automations, and custom fields. Your historical conversations are preserved with full thread history.

How much will we save by switching from Intercom?+

A 10-agent team saves approximately $8,412 per year switching from Intercom to Helpzen. Larger teams save proportionally more.

Can we run Intercom and Helpzen in parallel during the migration?+

Yes — we recommend 1 week of parallel running. Route a percentage of new tickets to Helpzen while your team gets comfortable, then cut over fully.

Migrating from a different tool?

From Zendesk

Save $13,332/yr →

From Freshdesk

Save $5,412/yr →

From HubSpot Service Hub

Save $10,332/yr →

Ready to leave Intercom?

Free migration tool. White-glove support for teams of 10+. Start your Helpzen free trial in under 2 minutes.

Start free trial →See pricing