ChatBeacon vs. Intercom

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ChatBeacon
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
ChatBeacon (formerly SightMax) is a live chat tool from SmartMax Software headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.N/A
Intercom
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Intercom is an AI-first customer service platform that enhances the customer experience and improves operational efficiency, built on a single AI system with three major components: AI Agent, AI Copilot and AI Analyst (coming soon) to deliver customer service.
$39
per month per seat
Pricing
ChatBeaconIntercom
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Essential
$39
per month per seat
Advanced
$99
per month per seat
Expert
$139
per month per seat
The Early Stage program
From $65 for 5 support seats
per month
Proactive Support Plus add-on
from $99
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ChatBeaconIntercom
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAI customer service features included in every plan. Intercom integrates Help desk, AI Chat bot, and Proactive support.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ChatBeaconIntercom
Top Pros
Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
ChatBeaconIntercom
Incident and problem management
Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Product A and Product B
ChatBeacon
-
Ratings
Intercom
8.2
122 Ratings
5% above category average
Organize and prioritize service tickets00 Ratings8.4112 Ratings
Expert directory00 Ratings8.471 Ratings
Subscription-based notifications00 Ratings7.874 Ratings
ITSM collaboration and documentation00 Ratings8.581 Ratings
Ticket creation and submission00 Ratings8.3114 Ratings
Ticket response00 Ratings7.8120 Ratings
Self Help Community
Comparison of Self Help Community features of Product A and Product B
ChatBeacon
-
Ratings
Intercom
7.2
125 Ratings
5% below category average
External knowledge base00 Ratings7.3124 Ratings
Internal knowledge base00 Ratings7.0105 Ratings
Multi-Channel Help
Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Product A and Product B
ChatBeacon
-
Ratings
Intercom
8.1
122 Ratings
7% above category average
Customer portal00 Ratings8.697 Ratings
IVR00 Ratings7.738 Ratings
Social integration00 Ratings7.075 Ratings
Email support00 Ratings8.8116 Ratings
Help Desk CRM integration00 Ratings8.388 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ChatBeaconIntercom
Small Businesses
Gist
Gist
Score 9.6 out of 10
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Genesys DX (discontinued)
Genesys DX (discontinued)
Score 10.0 out of 10
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Genesys DX (discontinued)
Genesys DX (discontinued)
Score 10.0 out of 10
Front
Front
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ChatBeaconIntercom
Likelihood to Recommend
6.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(272 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(19 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(180 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
6.8
(10 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.5
(5 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
ChatBeaconIntercom
Likelihood to Recommend
SmartMax Software
ChatBeacon is a decent choice for on-premises chat support, but the clunky agent UI sparks no joy. If your organization can use a cloud-based solution, there are plenty of other fish in the sea
Read full review
Intercom
Intercom is particularly helpful when talking to your customer base. Their automation help you start conversations and their inbox lets you keep the conversation going. We build out a new flow every Black Friday and save new FAQ macros to help with the influx of chats. We schedule popups to show up showing we're here to answer questions based on different times of day. Onboarding is particularly handy with Intercom. You can build out a tour that walks your users through different features on the site and it's easy to send that out to your clients right through the chat.
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Pros
SmartMax Software
  • Easy to install and configure.
  • Easy for customers to use.
Read full review
Intercom
  • Intercom's ability to centralize customer communication is a game-changer.
  • Intercom's automation features have saved us time and streamlined workflows.
  • Help desk for users.
  • Intercom seamlessly integrates with a variety of other tools and platforms, enhancing its functionality and making it a central part of our tech stack.
Read full review
Cons
SmartMax Software
  • ChatBeacon is just SightMax with a fresh coat of paint.
  • The entire agent UI is remarkably worse than SightMax.
Read full review
Intercom
  • Pricing - it is not a cheap product and more features could be included in lower tier packages
  • Customer segmentation is not as simple as I would like it to be
  • For being a help desk / customer support company, they are not the fastest at responding to any questions we might have
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
SmartMax Software
No answers on this topic
Intercom
We have been and will be continuing our journey with Intercom and nothing too concerning has happened that I have experienced or heard of that has us on the edge yet. If it ever happens it will be something along the lines of "Outgrowing" the use of need of the platform.
Read full review
Usability
SmartMax Software
No answers on this topic
Intercom
Everything is very straightforward and easy to see, explore, and use. Intercom provides walkthroughs and helps guides in case something is not apparent to the user and has their agents available to help. I always feel confident when exploring new features or making changes that I can have it accomplished due to the service they provide.
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Reliability and Availability
SmartMax Software
No answers on this topic
Intercom
always there
Read full review
Performance
SmartMax Software
No answers on this topic
Intercom
works perfect
Read full review
Support Rating
SmartMax Software
Support is a strong point for ChatBeacon - their support team is small, but you definitely get white-glove service. Zero complaints about ChatBeacon support!
Read full review
Intercom
Intercom is the premier customer support/engagement model and it definitely has one of the top tier customer support teams as well. I don't think I have ever waited more than 5 minutes to get the information I need or get help with an issue. They are incredible and I aim to model our customer service department after them.
Read full review
Online Training
SmartMax Software
No answers on this topic
Intercom
Easy to know the learning path
Read full review
Implementation Rating
SmartMax Software
No answers on this topic
Intercom
The implementation was surprisingly easy but we are having to adapt from our old process to work well with Intercom.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
SmartMax Software
Before using SightMax (now ChatBeacon), we used AliveChat, which was an OK SaaS product, but the team operating the service would frequently restart the servers after maintenance and forget to start our instance back up. ChatBeacon(SightMax) as on-prem software eliminated this concern. We've been evaluating ChatBeacon vs. other products lately, and we really like how DeskPro stacks up vs. ChatBeacon - ChatBeacon is purely a chat product, and DeskPro does web chat/phone/email ticketing.
Read full review
Intercom
I didn't make the call. It was my manager or leadership who decided that, so this one does not apply to me, unfortunately. However, as I've mentioned, it should've been for ease of use and efficiency. The exact reasons are not disclosed to me. Great job Intercom you're doing it great
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Return on Investment
SmartMax Software
  • Using website chat (often with an agent:customer ratio of up to 1:3 or more ) vs. phone support (with an agent ratio of 1:1) has greatly reduced support costs in every business unit.
  • Providing realtime feedback and links (vs. phone calls) has greatly improved the turnaround on the sales and customer inquiry processes.
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Intercom
  • I like how easy it is to spot the user data needed to assist our members.
  • Love how easy it is to link articles on the chat that will help both us and the customers.
  • I like that the sales force or the tickets is already connected on the chat
Read full review
ScreenShots

Intercom Screenshots

Screenshot of AI Agent - The agent resolves 50% of support volume.Screenshot of AI Copilot - A personal AI assistant for every support agent.Screenshot of Omnichannel inbox - AI-enhanced to increase productivity.Screenshot of Tickets - Intercom tickets are designed for collaboration so complex issues are resolved faster.Screenshot of Help Center -  The help center powers AI and self-serve support.Screenshot of Workflows - Automations are built using the Intercom no code visual builder.