· Feedbot team
Help Scout Alternatives: Pricing and 8 Options Compared
Help Scout alternatives compared: Help Scout pricing, AI Answers at $0.75 per resolution, and Front, Freshdesk, Zendesk, Hiver and flat AI chat.
TL;DR. Help Scout is one of the nicest shared inboxes to use, and its pricing is fair for email support. People look for alternatives when they need more routing and SLAs (Freshdesk, Zendesk, Zoho Desk), want to stay inside Gmail (Hiver), want a collaborative inbox for several teams (Front), or mainly want an AI that answers website visitors without per-user and per-resolution fees (Feedbot, Crisp). Below: Help Scout pricing as of October 2026 and eight alternatives with verified prices.
We make Feedbot, an AI chat widget with a light inbox for small teams. If your support is mostly email, Feedbot won’t replace Help Scout, and we’ll say which tool will.
Help Scout pricing in 2026
Help Scout charges per user. Here are the plans on Help Scout’s pricing page, as of October 2026:
| Plan | Price (monthly billing) | Users | Inboxes | What stands out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Up to 5 | 1 | 100 contacts/month, 1 Docs site, basic shared inbox |
| Standard | $25 per user/mo | Up to 25 | 2 (+$10/mo each) | Unlimited contacts, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, basic workflows, 1 SLA policy |
| Plus | $45 per user/mo | Up to 50 | 5 | Advanced workflows, 2 SLA policies, customer portal, unlimited AI Drafts, Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot integrations |
| Pro | $75 per user/mo | Unlimited (minimum 10) | 10 | Unlimited workflows and SLAs, SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance, account manager |
Annual billing takes 16% off. Standard and Plus have a 15-day free trial with no credit card.
Help Scout AI pricing
AI writing tools (AI Assist, Drafts, Summarize) are included on paid plans, with more limits on Standard. The AI that answers customers on its own is a separate add-on:
- AI Answers: $0.75 per resolution, billed monthly, with a 3-month free trial.
- A resolution counts when the customer gets an AI answer and doesn’t escalate, search the knowledge base, ask more questions or say they need more help.
- You can set a monthly spending cap, and pre-paid discounts are offered.
So 500 AI-resolved chats a month cost $375 on top of your seats. That’s cheaper per resolution than Zendesk ($1.50 to $2.00) or Intercom ($0.99), but it still grows in a straight line with traffic.
Why teams look for a Help Scout alternative
- They need heavier routing or SLAs. Help Scout keeps workflows simple on purpose. Skill-based routing and many SLA policies sit in bigger helpdesks.
- Per-user pricing. A team of 8 on Plus is $360 a month before AI.
- The 10-user minimum on Pro. SSO and HIPAA compliance start at $750 a month.
- They mostly want AI website chat. If the goal is “answer visitors instantly”, a helpdesk plus a per-resolution AI fee is a roundabout way to get there.
Note that some older comparison articles say Help Scout lacks social channels. As of October 2026, its pricing page lists WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger from Standard.
Help Scout alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Entry price | AI pricing | Shared email inbox | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feedbot (ours) | $0, paid from $5/mo | Flat, by conversations | No (chat inbox, tickets, leads) | AI-first website chat for small teams |
| Front | $25/seat/mo (annual) | Autopilot from $0.05/conversation | Yes | Several teams sharing inboxes |
| Hiver | $25/user/mo (annual, 2-seat minimum) | AI Agents add-on, price not listed | Yes, also inside Gmail | Gmail-based teams |
| Freshdesk | $19/agent/mo (annual) | 500 free sessions once, then $49 per 100 | Yes | More routing and SLAs for less |
| Zendesk | $19/agent/mo (annual) | $1.50 to $2.00 per resolution | Yes | Large omnichannel teams |
| Zoho Desk | $0 (3 users), paid $7/user/mo | Free token allowance or your own key | Yes | Lowest cost per agent |
| Intercom | $29/seat/mo (annual) | $0.99 per outcome | Yes | Chat-first SaaS support |
| Crisp | $0 (2 seats), paid $45/mo flat | AI credits included | Yes | Live chat with flat pricing |
Cost example: 3 users, 500 AI-handled chats a month
| Tool | Monthly cost at list price | How we got it |
|---|---|---|
| Help Scout Standard (monthly) | ~$450 | $75 seats + 500 × $0.75 |
| Front Starter (annual) | from ~$100 | $75 seats + from 500 × $0.05 |
| Freshdesk Omni Growth (annual) | ~$332 | $87 seats + $245 in sessions after the free 500 |
| Intercom Essential (annual) | ~$582 | $87 seats + 500 × $0.99 |
| Zendesk Suite Team (annual) | ~$893 | $165 seats + 485 resolutions × $1.50 |
| Crisp | $95 to $295 | Essentials covers around 450 automated conversations |
| Feedbot Pro | $19 | 1,000 conversations included, no seats |
Read this with care. Help Scout, Front, Freshdesk, Intercom and Zendesk include a full email inbox for your team. Feedbot doesn’t take in email, so the comparison holds only when website chat is the work you want automated.
The 8 best Help Scout alternatives
1. Feedbot (ours)
What it is. An AI chat widget for websites and apps. It answers from your site, docs and FAQ, in the visitor’s language, and asks for contact details when a visitor wants a follow-up. When a person is needed, it hands off: your team gets a Telegram, Slack, Discord or email notification and can reply live from Telegram or the inbox, with replies sent by email if the visitor has left. Refunds and similar requests become tickets; contacts go to a Leads list with CSV export or a webhook.
Pricing. Free: 50 conversations a month. Starter $5 (100 conversations, website import). Pro $19 (1,000 conversations, no branding, team members, API, webhooks). Business $49 (5,000). +500 conversations for $10. No per-user or per-resolution fees. Pricing.
Choose it if your goal is AI answers on the website, you’re a small team, and you’d rather pay a flat fee. Some teams keep Help Scout for email and use Feedbot for chat.
Skip it if email is your main channel. Feedbot has no shared email inbox, no SLAs and no WhatsApp or Instagram.
2. Front
What it is. A collaborative inbox where support, sales and ops share email, chat and SMS, with ticketing and a knowledge base.
Pricing. Starter $25 per seat (one channel type, up to 10 seats), Professional $65 (omnichannel, up to 50 seats), Enterprise $105, billed annually. Autopilot from $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20 per seat, included on Enterprise. Source: Front pricing.
Choose it if several teams answer customers from shared addresses.
Drawbacks. Starter allows only one channel type.
3. Hiver
What it is. A helpdesk that runs inside Gmail, or as a standalone platform (Hiver Omni) for email, chat, Slack, voice and WhatsApp.
Pricing. Hiver Omni: Growth $25, Pro $55, Elite $85 per user per month billed annually ($35, $65, $95 monthly), 2-seat minimum. AI Agents is listed as an add-on on all plans without a public price. Voice is $30 per seat. Source: Hiver pricing.
Choose it if your team lives in Gmail and doesn’t want a new tool.
Drawbacks. AI pricing requires a sales conversation.
4. Freshdesk
What it is. A traditional ticketing helpdesk; chat and phone live in Freshdesk Omni.
Pricing. Freshdesk $19, $55, $89 per agent billed annually; Omni $29, $79, $119. Freddy AI Agent: 500 free sessions once per account, then $49 per 100. Sources: Freshdesk pricing, Freshdesk Omni pricing. Details in Freshdesk alternatives.
Choose it if you need SLAs, routing and a portal at a low per-agent price.
Drawbacks. More setup and a busier interface than Help Scout.
5. Zendesk
What it is. The large omnichannel helpdesk.
Pricing. Support Team $19, Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115 per agent billed annually. AI agents: 5 to 10 included resolutions per agent per month, then $1.50 to $2.00 each. Source: Zendesk pricing. See Zendesk alternatives.
Choose it if you’re scaling to a big team with voice and many channels.
Drawbacks. Higher seat and AI costs, more admin.
6. Zoho Desk
What it is. A full helpdesk at a low price, with a free tier.
Pricing. Free for 3 users. Express $7, Standard $14, Professional $23, Enterprise $40 per user billed annually. Source: Zoho Desk pricing.
Choose it if cost per agent is the deciding factor.
Drawbacks. Website live chat is listed only on Enterprise (via Zoho SalesIQ).
7. Intercom
What it is. A chat-first helpdesk with the Fin AI agent.
Pricing. $29, $85 and $132 per seat billed annually; Fin $0.99 per outcome. Source: Intercom pricing. Compare with Feedbot on our Intercom Fin comparison.
Choose it if chat is your primary channel and you want a mature AI agent.
Drawbacks. Seats and outcomes both add up.
8. Crisp
What it is. Live chat and a shared inbox, priced per workspace instead of per user.
Pricing. Free (2 seats). Mini $45, Essentials $95, Plus $295 a month, with AI credits for around 90, 450 and 1,350 automated conversations. Source: Crisp pricing.
Choose it if you want live chat for a growing team at a flat price.
Drawbacks. AI capacity is capped by credits per plan.
Who should stay on Help Scout
- Email-first teams of 3 to 20 who value a clean inbox over configuration.
- Teams that need HIPAA compliance and can meet the Pro minimum.
- Moderate AI use. At $0.75 per resolution with a spending cap, AI Answers is predictable at low volume.
How to choose
- Where do customers write? Mostly email: stay with a helpdesk (Help Scout, Front, Hiver, Freshdesk). Mostly your website: an AI customer service agent may be the main tool you need.
- How many people answer? Per-user pricing is fine for 3 full-time agents and costly for 10 part-timers.
- What does AI cost at your volume? Multiply monthly AI-handled chats by $0.75 (Help Scout), $0.99 (Intercom) or $1.50 to $2.00 (Zendesk), then compare with flat plans.
- Trial on real questions. Paste your top 20 questions into each tool’s test chat.
Migration notes
- Export conversations and customers from Help Scout first. Most helpdesks offer importers or migration services.
- Docs articles can be imported by most helpdesks. For Feedbot, point it at your public Docs site on a paid plan and it imports the pages (knowledge base docs).
- To swap the Help Scout chat widget, remove its embed code and add the new snippet, one script tag for Feedbot (install guide).
Prices checked on October 6, 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their sites before you buy.
Sources
- Help Scout pricing: https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/
- Front pricing: https://front.com/pricing
- Hiver pricing: https://hiverhq.com/pricing
- Freshdesk pricing: https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/
- Freshdesk Omni pricing: https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk/omni/pricing/
- Zendesk pricing: https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/
- Zoho Desk pricing: https://www.zoho.com/desk/pricing.html
- Intercom pricing: https://www.intercom.com/pricing
- Crisp pricing: https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/
- Feedbot pricing: https://feedbotai.com/pricing/