7 Best Intercom Alternatives for Churches

ManyChat is a popular chatbot platform that excels in Facebook Messenger automation but also supports SMS, Instagram Direct, and web chat widgets. Churches often use ManyChat to engage new visitors, send welcome messages, and promote upcoming events. The platform’s visual flow builder allows users to design conversational flows without coding, and its built‑in templates can be tailored to religious content such as sermon reminders or prayer request forms. ManyChat’s email marketing integration and broadcast features let ministries keep their congregation updated on outreach programs and volunteer opportunities. While ManyChat shines in social media engagement, it is less focused on knowledge base management and does not provide a dedicated AI training or course building feature. Nevertheless, its robust automation capabilities, generous free tier, and extensive integration ecosystem—including Zapier, Mailchimp, and Salesforce—make it a solid choice for churches looking to scale their outreach with minimal technical overhead. ManyChat’s pricing tiers are: - Free (limited features) - Pro $15/month (unlimited sequences, broadcast messages, and 1,000 contacts) - Pro Unlimited $39/month (unlimited contacts, advanced integrations, and priority support) ManyChat is best suited for churches that rely heavily on Facebook Messenger and SMS for community engagement.

Tawk.to offers a free, real‑time live‑chat widget that can be embedded on any website, including church sites. The platform is renowned for its simplicity and zero cost, making it an attractive option for ministries with tight budgets. Tawk.to provides unlimited agents, so multiple staff members can monitor and respond to visitors simultaneously. The chat interface supports file sharing, pre‑set replies, and real‑time monitoring of visitor activity. Tawk.to’s free plan includes features such as automated greetings, chat transcripts, and a mobile app for on‑the‑go management. While it lacks advanced AI capabilities or a knowledge base, it can be paired with external knowledge management tools or integrated with Zapier to trigger actions such as adding a visitor to a mailing list. The platform is best suited for churches that need a straightforward, cost‑effective chat solution without the need for deep AI or analytics.

HubSpot Live Chat is part of HubSpot’s free CRM suite, offering a live‑chat widget that can be embedded on any church website. The platform is tightly integrated with HubSpot’s CRM, allowing conversational data to be automatically logged as contacts and deals. This integration makes it simple to track visitor interactions, nurture leads, and segment audiences. Key features include a visual chat flow builder, automatic greetings, chat transcripts, and chat analytics. The free plan supports a single chat agent and basic chat functionality, while the Starter plan (starting at $50/month) adds multiple agents, chat routing, and advanced chat analytics. HubSpot also offers chatbot templates that can be used to answer common questions in real time. Churches that already use HubSpot’s marketing, sales, or service tools will find the live‑chat integration seamless, as all data remains within the same ecosystem.

Crisp Chat provides a comprehensive live‑chat solution that includes chat, email, and phone support in a single interface. Churches can use Crisp to offer real‑time assistance, automated responses, and knowledge base articles. The platform’s visual editor lets users customize the chat widget’s appearance to match their branding, and the built‑in chatbot can be configured to answer FAQs. Crisp offers a free plan with limited features and a Business plan at $25/month that includes unlimited agents and additional integrations. Crisp also includes a knowledge base feature that allows churches to publish articles on topics such as worship schedules or volunteer opportunities. While it doesn’t provide advanced AI tutoring or course building, Crisp’s integrations with Zapier and other services enable automated workflows, such as adding new visitors to a church management system. The platform is ideal for churches that want a unified communication channel with email and phone support.

Drift is a conversation‑centric platform that offers chat, chatbots, and email automation to help businesses engage website visitors. The platform’s focus on sales and lead qualification makes it suitable for churches that want to capture new members or volunteer leads. Drift’s visual builder allows users to set up automated chat flows, and the platform automatically routes high‑priority visitors to human agents. While Drift is known for its advanced integration capabilities—such as Salesforce and HubSpot—it lacks a dedicated knowledge base or AI course building feature. The pricing starts at $400/month for the Pro plan, which includes unlimited chat agents and advanced analytics. Drift is best suited for churches with a dedicated marketing team that can manage the platform’s advanced features.

Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) is a versatile live‑chat solution that integrates seamlessly with Zendesk’s support and ticketing ecosystem. Churches can use Zendesk Chat to provide real‑time assistance, route inquiries to the appropriate support team, and automatically convert chats into tickets for follow‑up. The platform offers a visual chat flow builder, canned responses, and the ability to share files. Zendesk Chat’s pricing tiers are: - Starter: $19/month (single agent, basic features) - Growth: $49/month (multiple agents, chat routing) - Enterprise: $99/month (advanced analytics, priority support) While Zendesk Chat does not include an AI knowledge base or chatbot, it can be paired with Zendesk’s AI tools for automated responses. The platform is ideal for churches that already use Zendesk for support or ticketing.