Intercom vs Userpilot: Add-On Trap vs All-in-One

You're comparing Intercom Product Tours ($99/month add-on) and Userpilot ($299/month standalone) because Intercom's pricing looks dramatically cheaper. After all, $99 < $299, right?

Here's the trap: Intercom Product Tours only works if you already pay for Intercom Messenger—minimum $87/month, typically $132-660/month. So you're actually comparing Userpilot at $299/month against Intercom at $186-759/month total.

And Intercom's tours are severely limited compared to Userpilot. No checklists, no analytics, basic features. The $99/month add-on is cheap because it's incomplete.

Let's break down when each tool makes sense and whether you should buy a messaging platform just to get tours.

What You're Actually Comparing

Userpilot is a standalone onboarding platform that bundles tours with product analytics. You get tours, checklists, surveys, plus analytics (funnels, cohorts, event tracking), session replays, and NPS. Event autocapture reduces engineering dependency. Setup takes 1-2 days. Pricing starts at $299/month ($3,588/year) for 2,500 MAUs with transparent rates.

Intercom Product Tours is an add-on to Intercom Messenger (their customer support platform). You must already pay for Intercom Essential ($87/mo), Advanced ($132/mo), or Expert ($660/mo) to add tours for $99/month. The tours are basic—no checklists, no analytics, limited customization. Total minimum cost: $186/month ($2,232/year).

Feature	Userpilot	Intercom Tours
Base Price	$299/mo (standalone)	$99/mo (requires Intercom)
Total Minimum Cost	$299/mo	$186/mo (Essential + Tours)
Typical Total Cost	$299/mo	$231-759/mo
Works Standalone	✅ Yes	❌ No
Checklists	✅ Yes	❌ No
Product Analytics	✅ Yes (funnels, cohorts)	❌ No
Session Replays	✅ Yes	❌ No
Event Autocapture	✅ Yes	❌ No
NPS Surveys	✅ Built-in	⚠️ Separate Intercom feature
Setup Time	1-2 days	~1 day (if on Intercom)

The price comparison only favors Intercom if you're already paying for Messenger. If you're not, buying Intercom just to get tours costs $2,232-9,108/year for a messaging platform to access $1,188/year worth of basic tours—financially absurd.

The Hidden Cost: Ecosystem Lock-In

Intercom's business model is transparent: hook you on Messenger for support, then upsell add-ons (Product Tours $99/mo, Resolution Bot $99/mo, etc). Each add-on looks cheap incrementally, but you can't use any without the base platform.

Real scenario: You start with Intercom Essential ($87/mo) + Product Tours ($99/mo) = $186/month. Seems cheaper than Userpilot's $299/month. But you're getting significantly fewer features (no analytics, no checklists, no session replays).

Then you need more monthly active seats for support, so you upgrade to Advanced ($132/mo). Now you're at $231/month—cheaper than Userpilot but still with worse tours and zero analytics.

Your team grows and you need Expert features ($660/mo). Now you're paying $759/month for messaging + basic tours. At that point, you could buy Userpilot ($299/mo) + a proper support tool and get better functionality for less money.

The lock-in is intentional. Once you're on Intercom for support, switching means migrating customer conversations, macros, workflows. That switching cost makes you tolerate expensive add-ons even when standalone alternatives are better.

Don't want platform lock-in?

Escourtly works standalone—no forced bundling with support platforms you might not need.

Try Escourtly →

Feature Comparison: All-in-One vs. Basic Add-On

Userpilot was built as an onboarding platform. Intercom Product Tours was added as a competitive response—the limitations show:

Capability	Userpilot	Intercom Tours
Multi-step tours	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Tooltips	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Checklists	✅ Yes	❌ No
Surveys/NPS	✅ Built-in	⚠️ Separate (via Intercom surveys)
Product analytics	✅ Yes (funnels, cohorts, paths)	❌ No
Session replays	✅ Yes	❌ No
Event autocapture	✅ Yes	❌ No
A/B testing	✅ Yes	❌ No
Resource centers	✅ Yes	❌ No
Custom CSS	✅ Yes	⚠️ Limited

According to reviews, Intercom's tours work for "very basic, linear onboarding flows" but struggle with complexity. The analytics are described as "basic" with limited visibility. One user noted the integration works well "if you are already using Intercom Messenger since you can showcase the product tours within the messenger."

That's the only legitimate use case: you're already on Intercom, so the $99/month add-on is incremental. But if you're not on Intercom, you're paying $2,232-9,108/year for basic tours when Userpilot offers far more for $3,588/year standalone.

The Analytics Bundle: Userpilot's Value

Userpilot's core value proposition is bundling onboarding with product analytics. Instead of buying tours + Mixpanel separately, you get both in one platform.

The analytics aren't just "nice to have"—they're essential for optimizing onboarding. You can see:

Which features correlate with retention
Where users drop off in funnels
What paths successful users take
Session replays showing exactly what confused users

Intercom Product Tours offers none of this. You get basic tour completion metrics, nothing more. To understand why users drop off or what they do after tours, you'd need to buy Mixpanel ($899/year) or Amplitude separately.

Analytics Feature	Userpilot	Intercom
Funnels	✅ Yes	❌ No
Cohort analysis	✅ Yes	❌ No
Session replays	✅ Yes	❌ No
Path analysis	✅ Yes	❌ No
Event autocapture	✅ Yes	❌ No
Tour completion tracking	✅ Yes	✅ Basic

Need analytics without forced bundling?

Escourtly gives you onboarding with insights—no platform dependencies or ecosystem lock-in.

See pricing →

When Intercom Product Tours Makes Sense

Choose Intercom if you already use Intercom Messenger for customer support and need very basic tours. At $99/month incremental cost, it's cheaper than adding Userpilot separately. The integration is native—tours can trigger from support conversations.

The use case is narrow: you're on Intercom Essential ($87/mo), you need simple linear tours, and $99/month is easier to justify than $299/month for standalone tools. You're willing to accept no checklists, no analytics, and limited customization because convenience outweighs functionality.

Skip Intercom if you don't use their Messenger or if you need real onboarding capabilities. Buying Intercom just for tours is wasteful.

When Userpilot Makes Sense

Choose Userpilot if you don't use Intercom for support, or if you need real onboarding capabilities beyond basic tours. At $299/month standalone, you get tours, checklists, surveys, plus product analytics, session replays, and event autocapture all bundled.

Userpilot works best when you need both onboarding and analytics without paying for redundant platforms. You're not locked into Intercom's ecosystem. You get comprehensive features instead of basic add-ons. The bundled analytics save you from buying Mixpanel separately.

Skip Userpilot if you're already on Intercom and only need very basic tours—the $99/month incremental is hard to beat if you accept the limitations.

The Real Cost Comparison

Let's run the 3-year math based on realistic usage:

Scenario	Tool	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Total
Already on Intercom Essential	Tours add-on	$1,188	$1,188	$1,188	$3,564
Not on Intercom	Essential + Tours	$2,232	$2,344	$2,461	$7,037
Standalone with analytics	Userpilot	$3,588	$3,588	$3,588	$10,764

If you're already on Intercom, the tours add-on saves $7,200 over 3 years versus buying Userpilot. But you're getting dramatically worse features (no analytics, checklists, replays).

If you're NOT on Intercom, buying it for tours costs $7,037 over 3 years—still less than Userpilot's $10,764, but you're paying for a messaging platform you might not need just to access basic tours.

The question isn't "which is cheaper?" It's "do you actually need Intercom Messenger, and can you live with basic tours + zero analytics?"

What Bootstrapped Founders Should Do

If you're at $10K-50K MRR, evaluate whether you need either tool. Both use user-based pricing that scales with growth.

Don't buy Intercom ($2,232-9,108/year) just to get tours. If you need customer support and onboarding, Intercom Essential + Tours at $186/month might work. If you only need onboarding + analytics, Userpilot at $299/month is cleaner.

The decision matrix:

Your Situation	Right Choice
Already on Intercom for support	Intercom Tours ($99/mo add-on)
Not on Intercom, need full features	Userpilot ($299/mo)
Not on Intercom, basic needs	Still Userpilot (don't buy Intercom just for tours)
Need analytics with onboarding	Userpilot (bundled)
Under $50K MRR	Consider Escourtly, Userflow (cheaper)

Consider alternatives like Escourtly that offer onboarding without subscription inflation. For more comparisons: Userpilot vs Userflow | Intercom vs Userflow | Userpilot vs Appcues

The Bottom Line

Intercom Product Tours and Userpilot solve similar problems with vastly different approaches and capabilities.

Intercom Tours: Cheap add-on ($99/mo) if you already use Intercom Messenger. Basic features, no analytics, limited customization. Total cost $186-759/month depending on Intercom tier.

Userpilot: Standalone platform ($299/mo) with tours, checklists, surveys, plus bundled analytics, session replays, and event autocapture.

The decision matrix:

Already on Intercom for support: Intercom Tours (saves money but accept limitations)
Not on Intercom, need full features: Userpilot (don't buy Intercom just for tours)
Need analytics with onboarding: Userpilot (bundled approach)

Don't let Intercom's "$99/month" fool you. That's the add-on cost on top of $87-660/month for Messenger. Unless you already pay for Intercom, Userpilot's standalone approach with bundled analytics makes more sense.

And before you buy either, ask whether tours solve your actual problem. If users drop off because your UX is confusing, tours won't fix that—better product design will.