Appcues vs Intercom: What are the differences?

Introduction

Appcues and Intercom are both popular tools used by businesses to improve user engagement and customer communication. While they both offer similar features, there are key differences between the two platforms that can impact the decision-making process for businesses.

1. Focus on User Onboarding: Appcues specializes in user onboarding, providing businesses with tools to create interactive guides, tooltips, and walkthroughs to help users familiarize themselves with the product. On the other hand, Intercom offers a broader range of customer communication tools, including live chat, email marketing, and help desk features, with less emphasis on onboarding specifically.

2. Integration Capabilities: Intercom is known for its robust integration capabilities, allowing businesses to connect with a wide range of third-party apps and services. Appcues, while also offering integrations, may not have the same level of compatibility with as many different platforms as Intercom.

3. Messaging Channels: Intercom provides businesses with the ability to communicate with customers across multiple channels, including email, in-app messages, and social media. While Appcues offers similar messaging features, its focus on user onboarding means that its messaging capabilities may be more tailored to that specific use case.

4. Personalization and Targeting: Appcues excels in providing personalized onboarding experiences based on user behavior and characteristics, allowing businesses to create targeted messages for specific user segments. Intercom also offers personalization features, but its focus may be more distributed across its range of communication tools.

5. Analytics and Reporting: Intercom offers in-depth analytics and reporting capabilities, allowing businesses to track engagement metrics, customer satisfaction, and ROI on campaigns. Appcues also provides analytics, but its reporting capabilities may be more specialized towards user onboarding and guide performance metrics.

6. Pricing Structure: In terms of pricing, Intercom typically follows a tiered pricing structure based on the features and number of users, making it suitable for businesses of varying sizes. Appcues may offer more simplified pricing plans, sometimes tailored specifically to user onboarding needs, which could be beneficial for businesses focused solely on that aspect.

In Summary, Appcues and Intercom offer similar features but differ in their focus on user onboarding, integration capabilities, messaging channels, personalization, analytics, and pricing structures.