Featurebase vs HelpDesk (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Featurebase and HelpDesk share a 2.4 GPA, and only Featurebase has a free plan.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Featurebase grades higher on the free plan. HelpDesk grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Featurebase
Help desk, chat and feedback boards with a per-resolution AI agent
HelpDesk
Ticketing with an AI agent for email, chat, Messenger and SMS
Which one is for you
Pick Featurebase if
- Fits if you want support and feedback in one product
- Works for small teams starting on a single free seat
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: one seat, and the email channel starts at Growth
- Watch out: the AI agent costs $0.49 per resolution on top of seats
- Watch out: Slack and workflows need Professional at $59, and SSO needs Enterprise at $99
- Watch out: unlimited Copilot is $19 a seat beyond 10 free conversations
Pick HelpDesk if
- Fits if you answer customers by email, chat, Messenger and SMS from one inbox
- Works for a small team that wants tickets and an AI agent from $19 a user
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you lean on the AI: 10 resolutions a month on Essential, 200 on Growth, and extra 50-packs cost $49.50
- Pricey if you outgrow Essential, as Growth is $79 a user billed yearly ($99 monthly)
- Skip it if you want a free plan or phone apps, since it has neither
- Watch out: multiple brands, custom roles, SSO and HIPAA are on the custom-priced Enterprise plan
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAFeaturebaseFair | 2.4GPAHelpDeskFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$29 a seat a month billed yearly on Growth, in the category's middle, plus $0.49 per AI resolution. | B$19 per user a month billed yearly is at the edge of the cheapest quarter ($19). Growth is $79 a user, and that is where the 20 custom fields and 10 teams are. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free plan with 1 seat, live chat, inbox, ticketing, unlimited conversations and a help centre, plus a 10-day trial with no card. | CA 14-day trial with no credit card. There is no free plan. |
| Features | CInbox, tickets, chat, help centre, feedback boards and workflows. Discord, WhatsApp and Teams are listed as coming soon. | CEmail, chat, Messenger and SMS in one inbox, with an AI Agent and Copilot. Essential has 3 ticketing rules and 10 AI resolutions a month, which is the gap. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Channels, workflows and an AI agent to set up. | CNo store rating on record, and rules, teams and the AI Agent need setting up before they help. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, Linear, Jira and Azure DevOps, plus an API and MCP. | BWeb only, with 8 listed integrations. The chat widget can be embedded in your own mobile app, but there are no phone or desktop apps. |
| Best for | support and feedback boards in one product | a ticket inbox with AI replies built in |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Featurebase and HelpDesk. How we grade
Price against what you get
Featurebase starts at $29 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. HelpDesk starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and HelpDesk starts $10 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 16 score higher than Featurebase for less, and 7 score higher than HelpDesk for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Featurebase also covers help center.
- HelpDesk also covers sMS marketing and chatbots.
At a glance
| Featurebase | HelpDesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per seat / month, billed yearly ($37 billed monthly) | $19 per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 1 seat with live chat, inbox and ticketing, unlimited conversations, a help center and the mobile app. | None |
| Free trial | 10-day free trial of the paid plans, no credit card required | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Featurebase | Text, Inc. |
| Price read from | featurebase.app | helpdesk.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Featurebase
- The free plan has one seat; the AI agent and the email channel start at Growth.
- Fibi is billed at $0.49 per resolution on top of seat prices, so cost follows ticket volume.
- Slack and workflows need Professional; SSO needs Enterprise. Discord, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams are listed as coming soon.
- Unlimited AI Copilot use costs $19 per seat a month beyond 10 free conversations.
HelpDesk
- AI resolutions are capped: 10 a month on Essential and 200 on Growth. Extra packs of 50 resolutions cost $49.50.
- There is no free plan; the 14-day trial is the only free access.
- Per-user pricing means Growth costs $79 per user / month when billed yearly, $99 billed monthly.
- The pages describe a browser-based product and list no desktop or phone apps; the chat widget can be embedded in your own mobile app.
Key features
Featurebase
- Inbox, tickets and live chat
- One inbox for conversations with assigning, snoozing and internal notes; live chat and ticketing are on every plan including the free one.
- Fibi AI agent
- Answers customers in live chat and email on paid plans. It costs $0.49 per resolution, counted once per conversation, and human handovers are free.
- AI Copilot and macros
- Drafts replies for human agents. Each seat gets 10 free Copilot conversations a month; unlimited use is $19 a seat.
- Help center
- A public help center is on every plan; the Professional plan adds a private, multilingual one with AI translations.
- Feedback boards
- Collects and prioritizes customer feedback, and syncs posts with Linear and Jira so users hear when an issue ships.
- Workflows and SLAs
- Professional adds workflows, SLA timers and round-robin assignment for teams that share a queue.
HelpDesk
- One inbox for four channels
- Email, website chat, Messenger and SMS land in the same inbox as tickets, with statuses, priorities and automated assignment.
- AI Agent
- An AI Agent runs conversations using the knowledge, tone and skills you give it. One resolution is counted when it directly solves a customer question.
- AI Copilot for agents
- Reply suggestions and AI text edits for human agents, plus ticket summaries, tag suggestions and similar-ticket suggestions on higher plans.
- Selling through Shopify
- Every plan lists selling through Shopify, and the pricing page describes an AI sales skill with a live Shopify catalog and cart recovery campaigns.
- Rules and routing
- Ticketing rules and automated assignment sort incoming tickets, with 3 rules on Essential and 10 on Growth.
- Teams and reports
- Growth adds up to 10 teams, chat supervision and takeover, agent activity and performance reports.
Plans
Featurebase
Free$0
1 seat with live chat, inbox and ticketing, unlimited conversations, a help center and the mobile app.
Growth$29
per seat / month, billed yearly ($37 billed monthly)
Adds the Fibi AI agent, email channel, AI Copilot and macros, reports, API, MCP, webhooks and integrations.
Professional$59
per seat / month, billed yearly ($75 billed monthly)
Adds Slack, workflows and SLAs, round-robin assignment, a multilingual help center, CRM links and 20 free Lite seats.
Enterprise$99
per seat / month, billed yearly ($129 billed monthly)
Adds multi-brand workspaces, SAML SSO and SCIM, custom admin roles and 50 free Lite seats.
HelpDesk
Essential$19
per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly)
Inbox and tickets, 3 ticketing rules, 1 AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions a month, and AI Copilot with 5 reply suggestions per user a month.
Growth$79
per user / month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)
20 custom fields, 10 ticketing rules, up to 10 teams, 10 AI Agents with 200 AI resolutions a month, ticket summaries, chat supervision and 30 proactive campaigns.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI Agents, multiple brands, custom roles, SSO and audit logs, HIPAA compliance and a dedicated account manager. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Featurebase
- Annual discount
20% off with yearly billing
The pricing page lists a 20% saving when seats are billed yearly; Growth is $29 yearly against $37 monthly.
- Startups
Startups get 86% off
The pricing page says startups get 86% off; eligibility terms are not shown there.
HelpDesk
- Annual discount
Save up to 24% by billing yearly
The pricing page shows yearly billing at $19 and $79 per user against $25 and $99 billed monthly, and says paying yearly saves up to 24%.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Featurebase or HelpDesk?
As of Nov 12, 2026, HelpDesk is cheaper to start with: $19 a month for each person, against $29 a month for each person for Featurebase. Featurebase starts at $29 per seat / month, billed yearly ($37 billed monthly), and HelpDesk starts at $19 per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Featurebase or HelpDesk?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Featurebase has a free plan. HelpDesk does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.