FreeScout vs SupportBee (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, SupportBee grades higher than FreeScout: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
FreeScout grades higher on the free plan. SupportBee grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
FreeScout
Free open-source help desk and shared mailbox you host yourself
SupportBee
Email ticketing and shared inbox with a knowledge base and portal
Which one is for you
Pick FreeScout if
- Fits if you can run your own server and want a free help desk
- Works for groups that need control over where support data lives
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want hosting done for you, as there is no official cloud service
- Watch out: modules are lifetime licences per instance and non-refundable
- Not for you if you want someone else to handle updates, backups and security
- Watch out: the module prices are filled in by script and could not be read
Pick SupportBee if
- Fits if you're a small team moving off a shared Gmail or Outlook login
- Works for software teams who pass bugs on to Linear or GitHub Issues
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if customers want to reach you by live chat, WhatsApp or social messages
- Not for you if you answer tickets from your phone, as no mobile or desktop app is on record
- Tight if you're on Startup, which allows 1 knowledge base and 1 team
- Watch out: the customer portal and business hours need Enterprise at $21 a seat billed yearly ($25 monthly)
- Watch out: there's no free plan after the 14-day trial
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAFreeScoutFair | 2.4GPASupportBeeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree if you host it yourself, which needs a server, so it is a C and not an A. | BStartup is $17 a seat a month billed annually ($20 monthly), right on the edge of the cheaper quarter of help desks. That already covers the shared inbox, a knowledge base, the API and satisfaction ratings. The customer portal and business hours need Enterprise at $21, still under the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree outright with unlimited agents, tickets and mailboxes, but you pay for a server and your own time. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Two weeks is long enough to run your real support email through it and decide. |
| Features | CShared mailbox and tickets, with extras like WhatsApp and Telegram sold as modules, whose prices we couldn't read. | CEmail ticketing with assignment to teams then people, private comments, shared drafts, labels, a knowledge base on your own domain, a customer portal, reports and an audit trail. The gap its listing names: no live chat, chatbot or messaging-app inboxes. |
| Ease of use | DYou handle installs, updates, backups and security on your own server. | CNo App Store rating on record. Customers just see email, which keeps their side simple, but you'll route your support address into it and set up teams, labels and snippets first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iOS and Android apps and an installable web app, with Slack, Jira, WooCommerce, Zapier and Make. | BWeb only, with Slack, Linear, Notion, Pipedrive, Asana, Trello, GitHub Issues and QuickBooks, plus webhooks and a public API on both plans. No desktop or phone app on record. |
| Best for | a free help desk you host yourself | email support that still looks like email |
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: FreeScout and SupportBee. How we grade
Price against what you get
FreeScout has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SupportBee starts at $17 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
SupportBee scores higher, and starts $17 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, none scores higher than FreeScout for less, and 7 score higher than SupportBee 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
- FreeScout is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- FreeScout also covers live chat.
- SupportBee also covers reports.
At a glance
| FreeScout | SupportBee | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | FreeScout | SupportBee Inc. |
| Price read from | freescout.net | supportbee.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
FreeScout
- There is no official cloud service; the project lists third-party hosts that can install it in one click.
- Modules are sold as lifetime licenses per instance and are non-refundable; their prices are filled in by script and could not be read.
- You handle installs, updates, backups and security on your own server.
SupportBee
- Email is the channel it is built for; the site lists no live chat, chatbot or messaging-app inboxes.
- The customer portal and business hours need the Enterprise plan; Startup includes 1 knowledge base and 1 team.
- The site lists no native desktop or mobile apps; the team works in a browser and through email notifications.
- There is no free plan after the 14-day trial.
Key features
FreeScout
- Shared mailbox and tickets
- Brings email, plus WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Slack and live chat through modules, into one inbox with notes, tags and saved replies.
- No limits on agents or tickets
- The core software has unlimited support agents, tickets and mailboxes, and installs on ordinary PHP and MySQL hosting.
- Modules marketplace
- Paid modules add workflows and SLAs, an end-user portal, knowledge base, custom fields, time tracking, SAML SSO and an API.
- Email integration
- Connects over SMTP, IMAP or POP3, with OAuth sign-in for Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace.
- Apps and installable web app
- iOS and Android apps and a progressive web app that sends web push notifications; apps use the same modules as your install.
SupportBee
- Team inbox
- Emails become tickets that can be assigned to a team and then a person, with private comments, shared draft replies, labels and Gmail-style keyboard shortcuts.
- Knowledge base
- A public or private help site with categories, inline images, file uploads, search, your own branding and domain, and an embeddable widget called Hive.
- Customer portal
- Customers open, track and reply to their requests through a private link with no password. Included on the Enterprise plan.
- Teams for departments
- Separate inbox views for groups such as Sales or Billing, which can be made private to their members and admins.
- Reports and audit trail
- Performance reports by agent, team and label, customer satisfaction ratings, and a log of every action taken on a ticket.
- Integrations and API
- Links to project tools such as Linear, Asana and GitHub Issues, CRMs such as Pipedrive, Slack notifications, webhooks and a public API on both plans.
Plans
FreeScout
FreeScout (self-hosted)$0
Download and host it yourself with unlimited agents, tickets and mailboxes. Optional modules are bought separately.
SupportBee
Startup$17
per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Shared inbox, snippets, 1 knowledge base and 1 team, filters, basic integrations, API access, unlimited email inboxes, satisfaction ratings and audit trails.
Enterprise$21
per seat / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
Everything in Startup plus enterprise integrations, business hours, the customer portal, audit log and data history, and portal access for customer groups.
Ways to pay less
FreeScout
- Lifetime license
Modules sold as lifetime licenses
Each module is a one-time purchase for a single FreeScout instance, with lifetime updates included.
SupportBee
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
SupportBee's pricing page lists a 20% saving on annual billing: Startup is $17 a seat a month billed annually against $20 monthly, and Enterprise $21 against $25.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, FreeScout or SupportBee?
As of Nov 12, 2026, FreeScout is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $17 a month for each person for SupportBee. FreeScout is free, and SupportBee starts at $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, FreeScout or SupportBee?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only FreeScout has a free plan. SupportBee does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do FreeScout and SupportBee run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only FreeScout lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.