Does Hobson charge per outcome or resolution?

No. Hobson is a flat monthly price. The bill stays the same however many replies the AI drafts or sends.

What counts as a conversation?

One customer’s thread on any channel, however many messages go back and forth. Imported history and spam don’t count.

What happens if I go over my plan?

Hobson tells the owner at 80% and 100% of the plan’s conversations. At the limit it stops drafting replies to new conversations until you upgrade or the next period starts. Messages still arrive and your team can still reply. There are no overage charges.

Does Hobson work for SaaS teams?

Yes. Hobson can show the customer’s account from your own lookup endpoint, escalate bugs to Linear and send the “it’s fixed” reply when the issue closes, and run your own actions with approval.

Can Hobson issue Shopify refunds?

Yes. Hobson can propose a refund, cancellation, address change, replacement order or discount code with its reply. Nothing runs until a person approves it, and agents have a money limit above which an owner or admin must approve.

Where is my data stored?

Email and files are stored in AWS in Ireland (eu-west-1) and the app runs in the EU. AI drafting uses providers in the US under standard contractual clauses. OAuth tokens and API keys are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM, each with its own key, wrapped by a master key held outside the database.

Hobson vs Intercom Fin: predictable AI support

Fin is a mature autonomous AI agent, aimed mainly at SaaS and B2B teams. Intercom charges per seat, plus $0.99 for each Fin outcome, and an outcome includes a customer who simply stops replying.

Hobson drafts every conversation for a flat monthly price, a person approves, and auto-send is earned per category.

Choose Fin if you want the most autonomous agent available today. Choose Hobson if you want to know next month’s bill and approve what the AI says until it has proved itself.

14-day free trial. Hobson starts in shadow mode, so nothing reaches your customers until you choose.

Get early access Compare your costs

Updated 11 October 2026. Competitor prices checked on each vendor’s own site.

At a glance

Feature	Hobson	Intercom Fin
Pricing model	Flat monthly plans by conversations, every feature on every plan	Per seat, plus $0.99 for each Fin outcome
Starting price	£49 a month for 300 conversations (£490 a year billed annually)	Essential $29 per seat a month, Advanced $85, Expert $132
AI fee	None. Drafting and auto-send are included in the plan	$0.99 per outcome. An outcome includes a resolution, a customer who stops replying after Fin answers, or a completed workflow including a handoff
Over the limit	No overage charges. At the limit Hobson stops drafting new conversations until you upgrade or the next period starts	Billed per outcome. Fin on another helpdesk has a 50-outcome monthly minimum
Seats	Unlimited seats on every plan	Charged per seat
AI drafting	A draft on every conversation, included	Copilot $29 per agent a month billed annually, $35 monthly
Shopify order actions	Refund, cancel, address change, replacement order and discount code, proposed with the reply and run only when approved	A general helpdesk aimed mainly at SaaS and B2B teams
Channels	Email (Gmail, forwarding), live chat, Instagram, Messenger and contact forms. Microsoft 365 direct connect coming soon. No voice, SMS or WhatsApp	Chat, email, social and voice

Competitor details as listed on their own pricing pages, checked on the dates under Sources. Prices exclude VAT.

What it costs in practice

Three example stores on monthly billing at list prices. Each competitor figure counts its seats and its fee for each conversation its AI resolves, on the plan shown. Drafting add-ons are left out, which favours the competitors. US dollar prices are converted at £1 = $1.33. Hobson’s AI drafting pauses at your plan limit, and you’re never billed overage.

Small store

300 conversations, 2 agents, 30% (90) resolved by AI

Hobson Starter: £49
Intercom Fin Essential: ≈ £111

Change the numbers

Growing store

1,000 conversations, 3 agents, 40% (400) resolved by AI

Hobson Growth: £149
Intercom Fin Essential: ≈ £363

Change the numbers

Busy store

3,000 conversations, 8 agents, 50% (1,500) resolved by AI

Hobson Scale: £349
Intercom Fin Essential: ≈ £1,291

Change the numbers

How the AI works

Hobson drafts every conversation and a person approves it. A category, such as order status or returns, can only send on its own once it has at least 20 reviewed outcomes, a 95% confidence lower bound of 70% or more acceptable, and facts changed in no more than 10% of replies. Policy categories like refunds stay locked until your policy is in the knowledge base. Every auto-send waits a minute so you can undo it, and a category goes back to asking first if corrections rise.

Intercom Fin’s AI is priced per outcome, so the bill rises as it does more. Hobson’s price stays the same.

Where Intercom Fin is better

Fin is a mature autonomous agent, with procedures for multi-step answers.
Voice, and a deep ecosystem for SaaS products.
A well-known brand with a long track record.

Where Hobson is better

A flat monthly price. Your bill doesn’t rise when the AI does more.
Drafting included, where Copilot is $29 to $35 per agent a month.
Shopify order actions approved with the reply.
Priced in pounds, for UK businesses.

Why teams look beyond Intercom Fin

Common themes in public reviews and write-ups, as of 11 October 2026:

Bills are hard to predict because an outcome includes customers who simply stop replying (Intercom community feedback)

Switching

Connect Gmail in two clicks or forward your support email, and Hobson starts in shadow mode: it drafts every reply and sends nothing until you choose. Your history in Intercom Fin stays where it is.

Questions

Sources

Intercom pricing, checked 11 October 2026
Intercom community feedback, checked 11 October 2026

Prices are list prices excluding VAT, voice, SMS and add-ons unless shown, and can change at any time. Check the vendor’s own page before you decide. Intercom Fin is a trade mark of its owner. Hobson is not affiliated with it. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@hobson.support and we’ll correct it.

Put Hobson on duty.

Connect your inbox in a few minutes. Hobson drafts, you approve, and nothing reaches a customer until you say so.