When we launched our SaaS, we picked Zendesk. Not because we researched it — because everyone we knew used Zendesk. It was the default.
Eighteen months later we evaluated Intercom. Not because Zendesk was broken — because our support workflow was getting expensive in ways that didn't show up in the license cost.
Here's what I wish someone had told me before we spent three weeks migrating.
Zendesk is a ticket machine. Intercom is a messaging platform.
This distinction sounds like marketing copy but it actually determines whether the software fits your team's mental model.
