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Intercom vs Zendesk: startup credits compared

Side-by-side amounts, eligibility and access paths, both verified against the official program pages.

Intercom93% off year one ($65/month), 50% off year two, 25% off year threeVerified Nov 3, 2026ZendeskFree Suite Professional + Copilot (up to 50 agents) for 6 months; up to 2 years via partnersVerified Nov 3, 2026

At a glance

FactIntercomZendesk
Value93% off year one ($65/month), 50% off year two, 25% off year threeFree Suite Professional + Copilot (up to 50 agents) for 6 months; up to 2 years via partners
TypeDiscountFree plan
Duration1 year6 months
StagesPre-seed, Seed, BootstrappedPre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
RegionsGlobalGlobal
Max funding raised$10,000,000Not stated
Max company ageNot stated10 years
Ways to get it
  • Apply directly — 93% off year one
  • Apply directly — 6 months free
  • Zendesk VC and accelerator partners — Up to 2 years free
Requirements
  • Raised up to $10 million in total funding
  • Fewer than 15 employees
  • New customer: no active Intercom subscription or annual plan at application time
  • Net-new Zendesk customer (no existing paid subscription)
  • Outside funding received: angel, pre-seed, seed, Series A or Series B
  • Fewer than 250 employees; 50-249 employees requires a partner referral
  • Company under 10 years old
Not eligible
  • Companies using Fin with an existing non-Intercom helpdesk (Salesforce, HubSpot, Freshworks, etc.)
  • Companies that previously joined the Early Stage program
  • Existing Intercom customers
  • Existing paid Zendesk customers
  • Companies past Series B
  • Bootstrapped companies with no outside funding (the program page requires outside funding)
VerificationVerified· Nov 3, 2026Verified· Nov 3, 2026

Which should you pick?

The two programs are not directly comparable on dollar value. Zendesk accepts a wider range of funding stages, while Intercom is more targeted. Intercom credits last longer (12 months versus 6). If you qualify for both, there is usually no reason not to apply to both; the programs are independent.

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