Intercom vs Drift: Customer Messaging Platforms Compared

Overview

Intercom and Drift both enable conversational engagement with customers, but they've evolved different focuses. Intercom emphasizes support and product engagement across the customer lifecycle. Drift focuses heavily on conversational marketing and sales, particularly for B2B demand generation.

For retention specifically, Intercom has more relevant features - product tours, in-app messaging, and lifecycle automation. Drift's strength in sales conversations is less directly applicable to existing customer retention.

Key Differences

Use Case Focus

Intercom serves the full customer lifecycle from acquisition through retention. Product Tours help with onboarding. The Messenger handles support. Series automates engagement throughout the customer journey. These features directly support retention.

Drift focuses primarily on B2B sales acceleration - qualifying leads, booking meetings, and accelerating pipeline. The conversational features are optimized for converting visitors to leads rather than retaining existing customers.

Pricing

Intercom starts at $74/month and scales with seats and contacts. While it can get expensive, there are accessible entry points for smaller teams.

Drift typically starts around $2,500/month, positioning it firmly in the enterprise segment. This pricing reflects its focus on B2B sales teams with budget for revenue acceleration tools.

Retention Features

Intercom's retention capabilities include proactive in-app messages based on behavior, product tours that drive adoption, and automated Series that engage users throughout their lifecycle.

Drift's features for existing customers are limited. The platform excels at sales conversations but doesn't provide comparable tools for customer retention.

Who Should Choose What

Choose Intercom if:

• Customer retention is a primary use case
• You need support and engagement in one platform
• Product tours and in-app messaging matter
• You want lifecycle automation (Series)
• Budget is a consideration

Choose Drift if:

• B2B sales acceleration is the primary goal
• You need conversational marketing for lead gen
• ABM and revenue orchestration are priorities
• Enterprise budget is available
• Sales team is the primary user

The Bottom Line

For retention, Intercom is the clear choice. It provides the support, engagement, and lifecycle features that help keep customers. Drift's sales focus makes it less relevant for retention use cases.

Intercom's email features, while capable, aren't as specialized for retention as dedicated tools. Pair Intercom with Sequenzy for AI-powered retention email sequences that complement in-app engagement.