Zendesk vs Intercom: support platforms, 20 points apart

{"providers":[{"slug":"zendesk","name":"Zendesk","band":"exemplar","composite":71.2,"trend":"flat","delta":0,"api_count":150,"api_count_basis":"split","artifact_types":["Security","Rules","Plans","RateLimits","FinOps","Scopes","AgenticAccess","Arazzo","Overlay","Documentation","GraphQL","APIsJSON","AsyncAPI","OpenAPI","JSONLD","JSONSchema"],"industries":["customer-relationship-management-crm","customer-support","telecommunications"],"regions":[],"facets":{"discoverability":71.4,"contract_quality":53,"contract_governance":18.2,"operational_transparency":78.9,"developer_ergonomics":58.3,"access_clarity":84.2},"facet_gap":{"discoverability":3.6,"contract_quality":1.4,"contract_governance":0,"operational_transparency":0,"developer_ergonomics":0,"access_clarity":0},"agent_readiness":{"score":35,"band":"agent-ready"},"economics":{"audience":"business-product","pricing_basis":"per-seat","delivery":"managed","entry_usd_month":{"usd":19,"grade":"A","plan":"Support Team","from":"$19 agent/month paid yearly","unit":null,"formula":null},"marginal_usd":{"usd":0.00001759259259259259,"grade":"C","plan":"Support Team","from":"$19 agent/month paid yearly at a published ceiling of 41.6667 req/s","unit":"request","formula":"C1 capacity-implied: monthly price / (rps x 2,592,000) / utilisation"},"take_rate":null,"fetched":"2026-09-20","source":"https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/"}},{"slug":"intercom","name":"Intercom","band":"developing","composite":51.3,"trend":"flat","delta":1.4,"api_count":9,"api_count_basis":"split","artifact_types":["MCP","Security","Rules","Plans","RateLimits","FinOps","AgenticAccess","OpenAPI","Documentation","GettingStarted","Authentication","AsyncAPI","APIsJSON"],"industries":["artificial-intelligence","customer-support","telecommunications"],"regions":[],"facets":{"discoverability":75,"contract_quality":54.4,"contract_governance":13.6,"operational_transparency":44.7,"developer_ergonomics":38.1,"access_clarity":55.3},"facet_gap":{"discoverability":0,"contract_quality":0,"contract_governance":4.6,"operational_transparency":34.2,"developer_ergonomics":20.2,"access_clarity":28.9},"agent_readiness":{"score":29.9,"band":"agent-ready"},"economics":{"audience":"business-product","pricing_basis":"tiered-subscription","delivery":"managed","entry_usd_month":{"usd":19,"grade":"A","plan":"Essential","from":"$19 per seat/mo","unit":null,"formula":null},"marginal_usd":{"usd":0.01,"grade":"B","plan":"Pro (add-on)","from":"additional credits at $0.01 per credit","unit":"credit","formula":"quoted overage / quoted unit count"},"take_rate":null,"fetched":"2026-09-20","source":"https://www.intercom.com/pricing"}}],"artifact_union":["APIsJSON","AgenticAccess","Arazzo","AsyncAPI","Authentication","Documentation","FinOps","GettingStarted","GraphQL","JSONLD","JSONSchema","MCP","OpenAPI","Overlay","Plans","RateLimits","Rules","Scopes","Security"],"artifact_matrix":{"APIsJSON":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true},"AgenticAccess":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true},"Arazzo":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":false},"AsyncAPI":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true},"Authentication":{"zendesk":false,"intercom":true},"Documentation":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true},"FinOps":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true},"GettingStarted":{"zendesk":false,"intercom":true},"GraphQL":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":false},"JSONLD":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":false},"JSONSchema":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":false},"MCP":{"zendesk":false,"intercom":true},"OpenAPI":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true},"Overlay":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":false},"Plans":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true},"RateLimits":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true},"Rules":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true},"Scopes":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":false},"Security":{"zendesk":true,"intercom":true}},"facet_leaders":{"discoverability":{"provider":"intercom","score":75},"contract_quality":{"provider":"intercom","score":54.4},"contract_governance":{"provider":"zendesk","score":18.2},"operational_transparency":{"provider":"zendesk","score":78.9},"developer_ergonomics":{"provider":"zendesk","score":58.3},"access_clarity":{"provider":"zendesk","score":84.2}},"best_overall":"zendesk","cheapest_entry":"zendesk","economics_basis":{"stamp_generated":"2026-10-17","priced":2,"of":2,"note":"Entry cost is the cheapest published paid tier — a floor on getting in, not the price of the API alone. Grades: A quoted on the provider's page, B arithmetic on quotes, C a stated prior."},"unknown":[]}