Fin vs. Agentforce: Competitive Comparison for 2026

As AI agents mature, one question increasingly shapes customer service technology decisions: Where should the intelligence live?

Some platforms embed AI directly within a helpdesk or CRM, relying on existing data models and workflows. Others treat AI as a standalone system-level capability, using an agent that can operate across surfaces, channels, and backend systems with independence.

Fin and Agentforce sit on opposite sides of this architectural divide.

• Fin functions as a universal AI customer service agent capable of resolving complex issues across any helpdesk or channel.
• Agentforce operates as Salesforce’s agentic AI layer, designed to automate actions within Salesforce’s objects, flows, and metadata.

This guide examines how these two approaches impact performance, workflow automation, configurability, cost, and overall suitability for different support environments.

What is Fin?

Fin is Intercom’s AI customer service agent built to autonomously resolve complex issues across chat, email, SMS, social channels, tickets, and voice.

It connects to internal and external systems so it can both answer questions and take action such as refunds, account updates, subscription changes, and multi-step troubleshooting.

Fin works inside Intercom or alongside any helpdesk, including Salesforce and Zendesk, using a purpose-built AI Agent architecture optimized for resolution accuracy, workflow execution, and policy alignment.

Key attributes

• 65% average resolution rate, improving ~1% each month
• Wins 100% of head-to-head performance tests
• 45+ language support
• Train, Test, Deploy, and Analyze in a single workflow
• $0.99 per resolved conversation with no hidden fees

What is Agentforce?

Agentforce is Salesforce’s agentic AI platform, built to automate actions across service, sales, marketing, and field operations by using CRM data, Salesforce Flows, and system metadata. Its agents run natively inside the Salesforce ecosystem and depend heavily on Salesforce objects, schemas, and governance models.

Salesforce positions Agentforce as a fast-to-deploy automation layer, but real implementations often require substantial configuration, admin expertise, data restructuring, and ongoing operational oversight.

Key attributes

• Uses Salesforce data objects, Flows, metadata, and Data Cloud
• Reliance on Salesforce’s Prompt Builder and Flow Builder
• Flex Credit pricing (~$0.10 per action) or conversation-based pricing (around $2 per conversation)
• Additional costs for Data Cloud; Salesforce positions it as the foundation and many Agentforce deployments depend on it for unified profiles, grounding, testing, and analytics
• Extra fees for sandbox usage and third-party channels
• Reported performance variability and administrative overhead

How Fin and Agentforce Differ

System Architecture

• Fin is designed as an AI-first customer service agent system that can operate across any support environment.
• Agentforce is built as an AI extension of Salesforce’s platform and is deeply tied to its CRM architecture.

Workflow Depth

• Fin combines natural language reasoning, code, and deterministic workflows to execute multi-step, action-heavy processes end-to-end.
• Agentforce executes workflows primarily through Salesforce Flows, with complexity often requiring significant setup and producing inconsistent results.

Configurability and Control

• Fin allows teams to manage the full lifecycle: analysis, training, testing, deployment inside a single no-code workspace.
• Agentforce configuration spans Prompt Builder, Flow Builder, metadata mapping, and routing logic, requiring admin or developer ownership.

Fin’s Real Differentiators

Superior and Documented Performance

Fin delivers reliable, high-accuracy resolution at scale:

• 65% average resolution rate
• 1% monthly improvement
• 100% win rate in competitive performance tests

Agentforce publishes no equivalent metrics and customers report scalability and reliability issues.

Deep Workflow Automation

• Fin handles complex workflows end-to-end—refunds, account changes, troubleshooting, multi-step actions—without requiring platform-specific engineering.
• Agentforce setups for similar workflows require significant Salesforce admin lift.

Self-Managed, No-Code Configuration

Fin gives support teams full control through the Fin Flywheel (TTDA):

• Train the agent
• Test changes safely
• Deploy with usage cap
• Analyze performance

Agentforce requires admin expertise across multiple Salesforce systems.

Transparent, Predictable Pricing

• Fin costs $0.99 per resolved conversation, with no hidden fees or channel charges.
• Agentforce uses per-action billing with sandbox and channel surcharges, making costs harder to forecast.

Flexible Deployment Model

• Fin runs with Intercom, Salesforce, and Zendesk natively. You may be able to connect to other helpdesk software via API.
• Agentforce is limited to Salesforce-native surfaces, with no SMS and fewer supported languages.

Agentforce: Recognized Strengths

Salesforce-Native Operation

Agentforce sits directly within Salesforce’s data model, permissioning, and metadata framework.

Cross-Cloud Alignment

Agentforce supports automation scenarios across service, sales, and marketing, enabling cohesive CRM-driven operations.

Governance and Compliance

Agentforce inherits Salesforce’s governance model, which is valuable for organizations already invested in strict CRM governance structures.

Fin Pricing

Fin offers a simple, transparent, and outcome-based pricing model that eliminates the complexity and hidden costs common in AI platform billing.

Unlike action-based or multi-model pricing—where costs can spike unexpectedly—Fin charges strictly per resolved conversation, making forecasting straightforward for teams of any size.

Fin can be deployed alongside any helpdesk or as part of Intercom’s full Customer Service Suite.

1. Fin with Any Helpdesk

Fin AI Agent works seamlessly with Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot, Freshdesk, and others.

Pricing

• $0.99 USD per resolved conversation
• Minimum commitments apply
• Free 14-day trial

Key Capabilities

• Set up in under an hour
• Handles tickets, cases, emails, live chat, WhatsApp, SMS, and more
• Customizable tone and answer length
• Takes action to update external systems
• Transfers to agents directly in preferred Inbox
• The #1 AI Agent on G2
• Eligible for Fin’s Million Dollar Guarantee

2. Fin with Intercom’s Helpdesk

Combine Fin with Intercom’s full Customer Service Suite for an integrated automation + agent experience.

Pricing

• $0.99 USD per resolved conversation plus
• $29 per helpdesk seat per month (see full plan details)

Key Capabilities

Includes every Fin AI Agent feature plus Intercom’s helpdesk features:

• Configurable Inbox and Ticketing system
• Email, live chat, phone, SMS, and more
• Workflows automations & pre-built reporting
• Public Help Center and Knowledge Hub
• Proactive Outbound Suite

3. Add-On: Copilot

Increase agent efficiency with a personal AI assistant in the inbox.

Pricing

• $35 USD per user / per month

Key Capabilities

• Instant advice, insights, and answers for agents
• Expert training and onboarding
• Trusted information from your content sources
• Provide global support with AI-translations
• Faster time to resolution

Agentforce Pricing

Salesforce offers two pricing models for Agentforce, each with additional cost drivers:

1. Flex Credits — Pay Per Action

Pay per action as you scale Agentforce.

• $500 USD per 100,000 Flex Credits
• Used by:
  • Customer-facing Agents
  • Employee-facing Agents
  • Agentforce Voice (US & CAN initial availability)
• Includes Digital Wallet
• Buying model flexibility (pay as you scale)

Cost considerations

• Multi-step workflows consume multiple actions
  • Even simple flows = 5+ actions
  • Enterprise flows = 20+ actions
• This can cause costs to accumulate rapidly
• Combined with other billing (channels, sandbox, Data Cloud), pricing becomes complex and difficult to anticipate

2. Conversations — Pay Per Conversation

Pay per conversation as you scale Agentforce.

• $2 USD per conversation
• Used by:
  • Customer-facing Agents
• Includes Digital Wallet
• Buying model flexibility (pre-purchased only)

Additional Agentforce Cost Factors

• Sandbox billing at 80%
• Channel fees (WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.)
• Data Cloud dependency, which Salesforce positions as the foundation for:
  • Unified customer profiles
  • Grounding
  • Testing instrumentation
  • Analytics
• Many real-world Agentforce deployments require Data Cloud, adding significant additional cost not reflected in list pricing

Standard Success Plan (Included in All Licenses)

• Self-guided, always-on resources
• Access to knowledge articles, documentation, and Trailhead

Global Trailblazer Community

Fin vs. Agentforce: At-a-Glance Comparison

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Agentforce if you need:

• AI automation fully inside Salesforce
• Workflows tightly bound to Salesforce objects and flows
• Alignment with Salesforce governance and security

Choose Fin if you need:

• High, consistent performance
• Deep automation for complex workflows
• Predictable pricing
• Fast deployment
• Platform flexibility
• Full control without engineering dependencies