Chatbase vs Intercom Fin vs Helply: A Detailed Comparison

Choose Chatbase if you want a quick site chatbot with credit‑based plans and lighter automation.

Choose Intercom Fin AI if you want a resolution‑based AI agent tightly integrated with Intercom’s helpdesk (or connected helpdesks), with pricing at $0.99 per resolved conversation plus at least one Suite seat.

But Helply is the best alternative for Chatbase and Intercom Fin.

Why?

Because Helply cuts tickets, automates support, and keeps data secure and controlled. It ingests your knowledge, runs AI Actions (emails, API calls, product workflows), and surfaces gaps to train next.

But don't just take my word for it. Here's a detailed comparison of Chatbase vs Intercom Fin vs Helply.

Chatbase

Chatbase is a no-code platform that lets you build an AI chatbot from your own content. Chatbase allows users to custom train bots using their own data, enabling the creation of custom trained bots tailored to specific business needs.

You feed it sources like a website or PDFs, and can also upload custom data such as proprietary documents or unique knowledge bases.

Then you place the bot on your site or in channels and improve it over time using logs and suggestions.

Chatbase enables businesses to create chatbots that reflect their brand's voice for more personalized customer interactions.

Features

Chatbase offers several powerful capabilities for building customer-facing AI agents:

• Sync with real-time data: Agents connect to order-management tools, CRMs, and similar systems to retrieve up-to-date information such as orders, subscriptions, or customer details.
• Take actions on your systems: Agents can perform tasks within your systems or through integrations, like updating a subscription or changing an address.
• Compare AI models: Experiment with different large language models (LLMs) and configurations to find the best setup for your use case.
• Smart escalation: Agents can be programmed to hand conversations off to human agents when necessary, using natural language instructions.
• Efficiently answering questions: Agents are designed to handle answering questions from customers in real time, providing immediate and accurate responses to common inquiries.
• Advanced reporting: Detailed analytics on interactions help businesses refine and optimize their AI agents.
• Integrations: Supports connections with popular tools such as Make, Zendesk, Notion, Slack, Stripe, Salesforce, Calendly, WhatsApp, Zapier, and more.

Pricing Plans

Chatbase offers a free tier and several paid plans. Pricing is based on monthly message credits, number of agents, and available features.

Chatbase’s pricing is directly tied to chat volume—higher usage requires more message credits or upgrading to higher-tier plans.

Add‑ons: Chatbase sells add‑ons such as auto‑recharge message credits ($14/1 000 credits), extra agents ($7/agent/month), custom domains ($59/month), extra message credits ($12/1 000 credits) and removal of “Powered by Chatbase” branding ($39/month).

Changes and cost complaints

External reviewers note that Chatbase has altered its pricing multiple times; users on Reddit and social media reported sudden price increases and feature limitations.

Some users point out limited features and integrations with Chatbase, which may not meet all business needs.

There are also reports of auto‑upgrades when usage exceeds message limits and steep price jumps between tiers (e.g., jumping from 10,000 messages to 40,000 requires moving from Pro to a higher tier).

Pros

• Empowers customer self service. Chatbase enables customers to resolve common issues independently through AI-powered self service options, reducing the need for direct agent involvement.
• Fast setup and ease of use. Many reviewers highlight that Chatbase can be set up in under ten minutes and requires no coding knowledge. The platform also has a very fast learning curve.
• Trains on your own content. Users appreciate being able to upload PDFs, websites, Notion pages, Q&A pairs, and other documents so the bot answers accurately from company‑specific knowledge.
• Integrations and multi‑channel deployment. Chatbase offers integrations with Slack, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Zendesk, Zapier, and others. Reviewers cite the ability to embed the chat widget on websites and deploy it across multiple channels as a major plus.
• AI actions and workflow automation. The platform lets users create custom actions such as looking up orders or updating CRM records. This goes beyond simple Q&A and turns the bot into a “concierge.”
• Analytics and continuous improvement. An analytics dashboard provides metrics on conversations, feedback, and usage; reviewers praise the ability to review transcripts and improve answers.
• Multi‑lingual support and scalability. The platform supports multiple languages and can scale to enterprise levels.
• Low‑risk free plan. The free plan is appreciated for allowing users to test core features without payment. Users find it helpful for small experiments before committing to a paid tier.
• Better than building from scratch. Many users find that Chatbase “makes getting started easy” compared with building a custom bot.
• Good for quick setups and simple use cases. The platform is “great for quick setups” and works well for simple queries.

Cons

• Limited customization and flow control. Chatbase doesn’t allow users to build custom chatbot flows or create complex if‑then logic. Users report limited ability to fine‑tune responses deeply and that the platform struggles with complex queries, feeling rigid for anything beyond basic use. Some users want deeper control over retrieval logic, multi‑model flexibility, and clean retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows.
• Expensive and complex pricing. Many reviewers complain about steep pricing increases as usage scales. The free plan is very limited and costs climb quickly for higher usage; additional features (like removing branding) require extra fees. Negative feedback also focuses on steep pricing, limited customization, and other concerns. Customers have experienced unexpected charges when they exceeded usage limits, and plan tiers have changed multiple times.
• Additional fees for essentials. To remove branding, use custom domains, add extra agents or purchase additional message credits, customers must pay separate add‑on fees. Reviewers see these extra costs as nickel‑and‑diming.
• Limited free plan. The free tier allows only one agent with 100 monthly message credits; AI agents are deleted after 14 days of inactivity. Reviewers complain that this limitation makes it hard to fully test the platform.
• Inaccuracy and hallucinations. Some users report that Chatbase bots sometimes produce inaccurate answers or hallucinations, which can be risky for customer support.
• Hit‑or‑miss customer support. Company support can be inconsistent. Some comments mention slow or unresponsive support.
• Missing or poor integrations. Some users complained that Chatbase lacked certain integrations and that the live‑chat handoff was inadequate, leading them to switch to another tool.
• Pricing changes and surprise upgrades. Customers have been frustrated by sudden pricing changes and auto‑upgrades when they exceeded message limits. Users dislike “hard jumps” in cost—for example, needing to upgrade from Pro to a much higher tier when crossing a usage threshold.

Who Chatbase is for

• Small to medium‑sized businesses and startups. Many users appreciate Chatbase’s no‑code setup, making it a good fit for SaaS and e‑commerce companies that want to deploy a support bot quickly without developer resources. Chatbase is particularly useful for businesses with repetitive customer questions and a decent knowledge base to train on.
• Companies needing simple or moderately complex support bots. Chatbase works well for quick setups and straightforward Q&A scenarios. Its ability to train on a variety of content types and integrate with multiple platforms makes it attractive for customer support, lead generation and basic automation.
• Teams valuing multi‑channel deployment and integrations. Businesses that want to embed a chat widget on their website and connect to Slack, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Zendesk or CRM platforms will find Chatbase convenient.
• Organisations willing to pay for message credits. Those comfortable with a credit‑based pricing model and prepared to monitor usage to avoid sudden upgrades may find Chatbase scalable and predictable. The Pro and Enterprise tiers are aimed at higher‑volume support teams that need multiple agents, advanced analytics, and priority support.

Who Chatbase is not for

• Enterprises or teams requiring deep customisation and complex workflows. Chatbase doesn’t support visual flow builders or advanced if‑then logic, so companies needing sophisticated conversation flows, multiple models or custom retrieval pipelines may find it limiting. Users recommend building custom solutions for greater flexibility.
• Budget‑constrained users or those sensitive to usage‑based pricing. Frequent price changes, steep tier jumps and numerous add‑on fees make Chatbase expensive for higher usage. If a business expects high message volumes or wants multiple agents, costs can rapidly exceed alternatives.
• Companies requiring robust accuracy and human‑like responses. Reports of hallucinations and inaccurate answers mean Chatbase may not suit industries where incorrect information is unacceptable.
• Teams needing whitelabel or custom branding included. The base plans do not include white‑label branding; removing the branding tag costs extra. Businesses that require fully branded experiences might prefer other platforms.
• Those needing certain integrations. Some users complained about missing integrations and inadequate live‑chat handoff. If a required integration isn’t supported, Chatbase may not be suitable.

Intercom Fin AI

Intercom Fin is an AI support agent that lives inside Intercom’s helpdesk. Fin is deeply integrated with the Intercom platform and is part of the broader Intercom suite, offering seamless support automation.

It provides deep Intercom integration for instant responses and efficient ticket handling. Fin uses Intercom’s Fin AI Engine to search your content, generate answers, and hand off to humans.

It comes with tools to analyze, train, test, and then deploy across channels.

Features

Intercom’s official documentation and product pages highlight a number of features:

1. Analyse, train, test, and deploy in one workspace. Fin’s app layer includes analytics dashboards (Analyse) showing questions answered, deflection rates, CSAT, and detailed performance reports for real-time insights into support operations. Businesses can Train Fin by uploading articles or connecting data sources, configuring tone and behaviour rules, and defining external actions. A Test area allows staff to evaluate answers before going live, and Fin can then be deployed across live chat, email, and other channels.
2. Knowledge‑centric answers. Fin generates multi‑source answers by retrieving information from help‑centre articles, knowledge base content, and other documents stored in Intercom’s Knowledge Hub. Answers include citations linking back to the sources used, reducing hallucinations and helping customers trust the response.
3. Customisable tone, length, and behaviour. Administrators can control Fin’s tone of voice (e.g., professional or friendly), preferred answer length, and specific policies. Fin can be trained to follow tasks and procedures, allowing it to carry out actions such as cancelling subscriptions or updating orders in external systems.
4. Audience targeting and multi‑language support. Businesses can define audience rules so certain customers receive Fin answers while others are routed to human agents. Fin also translates queries and answers in real time into over 45 languages.
5. Real‑time escalation and human hand‑off. The system detects when questions require human assistance and automatically escalates to a support agent. It can integrate with Intercom’s shared inbox and messenger.
6. Vision and attachments. Fin can interpret images or files uploaded by customers and answer questions about them.
7. Data connectors and actions. Fin integrates with external data sources and workflows via connectors, allowing it to perform actions such as creating a ticket in another system or updating a record. Fin also offers deep integrations with enterprise systems and business workflows, enhancing connectivity and automation capabilities.
8. Intercom-native automation. Fin AI excels at providing Intercom-native chat automation and support, making it especially effective for businesses already using the Intercom platform.

Pricing plans

Intercom sells Fin as part of its broader support platform. The pricing is structured as follows (amounts are annual per‑seat rates plus usage fees):

Intercom also offers add‑ons such as Fin AI Copilot ($35 per seat/month) and proactive messaging (starting at $99 per month).

Seat prices increase if billed monthly rather than annually. Each resolved conversation handled by Fin counts towards the $0.99 fee, which can make costs unpredictable for high‑volume teams.

Pros

• Easy to set up and high answer quality. Fin is extremely easy to configure, requiring little technical skill and can be launched quickly, making it appealing for lean support teams. The quality of Fin’s answers is praised when fed with well‑structured help‑centre articles.
• Comprehensive feature set. Intercom bundles chat, ticketing, knowledge base, marketing, and AI features in one platform. Fin integrates seamlessly with Intercom’s messenger and shared inbox, and its analytics provide actionable insights.
• Real time analytics. Intercom Fin provides real time analytics, enabling support teams to monitor performance and customer satisfaction instantly.
• All‑in‑one convenience and polished UI. Intercom’s polished chat widget and product tours make Fin appealing for companies that want a professional‑looking customer experience without building multiple tools.
• Fast time‑to‑value. Fin delivers value within days because it requires no migration of data beyond uploading key articles, unlike competitors that need more complex setup.

Cons

• High and unpredictable pricing. Fin charges $0.99 per resolved conversation on top of Intercom seat fees. This can lead to unexpectedly high bills when volume spikes; the definition of “resolved” counts a chat as resolved when the user closes it, even if the answer was unhelpful.
• Not cost-effective or suitable for smaller teams or SMBs. Intercom Fin’s complexity and pricing structure can be overwhelming and expensive for smaller teams, making it less accessible for those with limited resources.
• Requires content migration into Intercom’s help center. Fin only works with knowledge stored in Intercom’s articles; companies with documentation in Google Docs, Confluence, or Notion may find Fin unsuitable without migration. Fin does not learn from historical tickets and must be trained manually.
• Limited integrations and features. Fin lacks integrations with Slack/Discord, auto‑tagging, and private notes. It sometimes misclassifies spam conversations as resolved, causing charges. It does not learn from past interactions and has a steep learning curve for complex workflows.
• Not ideal for complex or technical queries. Fin struggles with highly technical or multi‑step questions; it may need to hand off to human agents frequently. The support flow and prompt visibility are opaque, making troubleshooting difficult.

Who it’s for

Fin AI suits:

1. Businesses with organised help‑centre content. Fin relies on well‑structured documentation stored in Intercom’s knowledge hub. Companies that already use Intercom and have clear help articles will see the best results.
2. Organisations valuing rapid deployment, omnichannel support, and polished customer experience. Small to mid‑sized SaaS companies and startups appreciate Fin’s quick setup, integrated messenger, and professional UI. Intercom Fin provides omnichannel support, allowing businesses to deliver consistent customer experiences across multiple channels. Teams seeking an all‑in‑one customer‑experience platform with chat, ticketing, marketing, and AI may prefer Intercom over assembling multiple tools.
3. Businesses with high‑value support interactions. Fin’s per‑resolution fee (~$1) becomes economical when each successful automated resolution prevents a more expensive human interaction. Industries such as finance, insurance, or B2B SaaS, where support requests are valued at more than US$1, may find the pricing acceptable.

Who it’s not for

Fin may not suit:

1. High‑volume or low‑margin support operations. Because each Fin resolution costs $0.99, e‑commerce stores or consumer apps with thousands of low‑value queries may find costs unsustainable. Unanswered or spam chats can still count as resolved.
2. Companies with scattered knowledge sources. Teams relying on knowledge stored in tools like Google Docs, Confluence, or Notion may struggle because Fin only pulls data from Intercom’s knowledge hub. Migrating content may be labor‑intensive.
3. Organisations requiring extensive custom workflows or integrations. Fin lacks robust integrations with Slack/Discord, and does not offer advanced features such as auto-tagging or private notes. Businesses requiring custom flows, deep API access, or self‑hosted solutions may find alternatives more flexible.
4. Teams handling highly technical queries. Fin performs well with straightforward questions but often falters on complex troubleshooting, requiring human intervention. Companies requiring in-depth technical support may not receive sufficient value.

Helply AI Agent for Customer Support

Helply is an AI‑powered customer‑support agent that acts as both an AI customer support agent and an AI assistant, automating responses, handling multi-channel inquiries, and improving support efficiency.

It plugs into existing help‑desk platforms rather than replacing them. Helply starts resolving tickets immediately after setup, providing instant value to support teams. It is a self‑learning AI that can:

• Automatically resolve tier‑1 tickets
• Answer questions 24/7
• Continuously improve using feedback from past interactions

The agent connects to tools like Zendesk, Groove, Freshdesk and Help Scout, so teams can keep their current help desk while adding AI support.

Helply is easy to set‑up—no coding is required and the bot trains on existing knowledge bases and past tickets. So teams can start automating support quickly.

Key Features

Training the AI Agent

The AI learns from many kinds of information: articles in your help center (like Zendesk or Google Docs), web pages it can read, text you type in, files you upload, and special question-and-answer pairs you create.

You can continue to add new information, allowing the AI to become smarter over time.

Agent Configuration

You can change how the AI looks and sounds. Choose its style, like friendly or playful, and decide how it shows answers (for example, making some words bold).

You can also set what the AI should do if it doesn’t know an answer, like show a form or suggest contacting support.

Actions

The AI can do more than just answer questions. It can send emails, connect to other programs (like Stripe to check invoices), or run special tasks (like making a new article).

This makes the bot helpful and able to take action, rather than just provide information.

Contacts & Personalization

You can provide the AI with details about the person asking questions, such as their subscription plan.

This way, the AI can provide answers tailored to that person, such as “You’re on a Premium plan, so you have this feature.”

Conversations Dashboard

You can look at past chats between users and the AI. This helps you see how well the AI is doing, find ways to improve it, and check the quality of answers.

Gap Finder (like Knowledge Gap)

The AI checks support tickets to identify common questions it cannot yet answer.

It highlights where information is missing and helps you instruct the AI on these topics so it can provide more accurate answers next time.

Deployment

You get a simple code to add the AI chatbot to your website or help center. People can then chat with the bot wherever they put it.

Pricing plans (from the website)

Helply offers annual plans with monthly pricing based on AI answers and features.

Unused answers roll over month‑to‑month, and teams can purchase additional answer packs if they exceed their limit.

Pros

• Self-learning and continuous content improvement. Helply not only answers questions but also identifies gaps in documentation. Its Knowledge Bridge feature compares past tickets against help‑centre articles and drafts new docs, helping support teams enhance their knowledge base over time.
• Action-oriented automation. Helply’s AI Actions enable the agent to look up or update customer data and trigger workflows, moving beyond static answers to actively resolving customer issues.
• Abandoned cart recovery. Helply can assist e-commerce businesses with abandoned cart recovery by reaching out to customers who did not complete their purchases, helping recover lost sales.
• Quick setup with no coding required. Helply can be launched rapidly with minimal technical effort, integrating seamlessly with existing help‑desks without forcing a migration.
• Customizable tone and persona. The platform allows defining a specific tone of voice and persona for the AI agent, enabling it to match the brand’s character.
• Accelerates knowledge base development. By generating drafts of missing help articles, Helply helps reduce repetitive tickets and speeds up the creation of better support content.

Cons

• Not a full help‑desk. Helply only handles the AI portion of support. Companies must already have a help‑desk platform; Helply does not include ticketing, CRM, or marketing functions.
• Potentially high cost for heavy usage. While Helply advertises generous answer quotas, the pricing structure charges more for additional AI answers, Knowledge Bridge credits, and agents. Teams with large ticket volumes may find costs increase quickly.
• Requires content curation. To perform well, Helply needs high‑quality knowledge bases and may require teams to organise and maintain documentation. This is common to all retrieval‑based AI agents but adds operational overhead.

Who Helply is for

Based on available information and independent reviews, Helply is best suited to:

• Support teams drowning in repetitive tier‑1 questions and onboarding new users. If your agents spend most of their time answering the same basic queries, Helply’s autonomous agent can resolve a significant share of tickets, freeing humans for higher‑value tasks. Helply is also highly effective at onboarding and supporting new users, improving retention and activation rates.
• Organisations with existing help‑desks. Helply is built to layer on top of tools like Zendesk, Groove, Freshdesk, and Help Scout. Teams that like their current help‑desk but want AI automation can benefit.
• Companies that value documentation and continuous improvement. Helply’s Knowledge Bridge is useful for teams committed to maintaining a strong knowledge base. It helps identify missing articles and encourages creating better help content.
• Firms needing multi‑language support. Helply supports over 40 languages.

Who Helply may not be for

• Businesses seeking an all‑in‑one platform. Helply does not replace your help‑desk; it only adds AI automation. If you want an integrated system with ticketing, CRM, and marketing tools in one.
• Teams without a curated knowledge base. Helply relies on existing content to provide answers. Companies with little documentation or highly unique queries may need to invest heavily in creating and maintaining knowledge articles for the agent to perform well.

Final Verdict

Helply plugs into your current help desk, learns from past tickets, and does real work with AI Actions. It also spots gaps in your help articles with Knowledge Bridge, then drafts new docs so results keep getting better over time.

So if you want fast setup, real ticket resolution, and steady quality gains without moving your stack, then Helply is the safer bet.

However, you can use Intercom Fin AI only if you already live in Intercom and can afford the per-resolution fees.

Use Chatbase only if you need a quick, simple bot and are fine with limits and cost growth as usage rises.

Book a FREE demo to see how Helply will resolve 66.3% more tickets, do things 3x faster, and cut costs by 32.5%!