Front vs Help Scout
We give Front and Help Scout the same GPA: 3.0 out of 4.0. Front grades higher on ease of use. Help Scout grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Front
Shared inbox and customer operations platform with AI and ticketing
Help Scout
Shared inbox and help desk with a knowledge base and AI answers
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAFrontVery good | 3.0GPAHelp ScoutVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $25 a seat a month billed annually, well above the $9 that's typical for email tools here, and it stops at 10 seats, one channel type and 10 rules. Every channel in one inbox means Professional at $65. Copilot is another $20 a seat until Enterprise at $105. | CStandard is $25 a user a month billed annually, or $30 monthly, nearly three times what email tools here typically start at. It's the dear end for shared inboxes too: Front and Hiver also start at $25, Missive at $14. Plus is $45, and AI Answers adds $0.75 per resolution. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. The trial is 14 days with all the Professional plan features and no credit card. After that it's a paid plan or nothing. | BFree for up to 5 users, with 1 Inbox and 1 Docs site. But it's capped at 100 contacts a month, 10 articles and 10 saved replies, and there are no AI tools. There's also a 15-day trial of Standard or Plus with no credit card required. |
| Features | AShared inboxes with assignment, ticketing, multi-step rules, analytics, a no-code knowledge base and live chat. Professional pulls email, SMS, Front Chat and WhatsApp into one place, and Autopilot resolves conversations from $0.05 each. For a support team that's the whole job, with depth. | AEmail, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger in one shared workspace, where conversations get assigned, tagged and discussed in internal notes. Add a hosted help centre, the Beacon widget, workflows and reports. AI Answers replies to routine questions from your own articles. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, so a B is our ceiling. It's a team tool with a lot of moving parts, and Front itself requires a paid onboarding package on contracts over $25k. | C4.2 from about 320 App Store ratings, which is on the low side. That's the iPhone and iPad app, mind. The service itself runs in a browser, and the 15-day trial lets you see how your team takes to it. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. It connects to HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Asana, Aircall and WhatsApp, and to AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude. There's a public API as well. | AWeb, iPhone and Android, and it connects to Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Linear, Shopify, Slack and Zapier, with an API as well. Phone and voice only work through an integration. |
| Best for | support teams running shared inboxes at volume | support teams leaving a shared Gmail mailbox |
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: Front and Help Scout. How we grade
Where they differ
- Front starts at $25 per seat / month, billed annually. Help Scout starts at $25 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly).
- Help Scout has a free plan. Front does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Front lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Help Scout also covers AI agents and reports.
At a glance
| Front | Help Scout | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $25 per seat / month, billed annually | $25 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Up to 5 users, 1 Inbox, 1 Docs site with 10 articles, 100 contacts per month, 10 saved replies and 30 days of report history. No AI tools are included. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with all Professional plan features, no credit card required | 15-day free trial of Standard or Plus, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | FrontApp, Inc. | Help Scout |
| Price read from | front.com | helpscout.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Front
- Support and operations teams working shared addresses at volume
- Companies that want email, chat, SMS and WhatsApp in one team inbox
- Teams that need ticketing, rules and reporting on top of email
Help Scout
- Support teams moving off a shared Gmail or Outlook mailbox
- Small teams: the Free plan covers up to 5 users
- Companies that want a help center and live chat alongside email
- Non-profits and early-stage startups that qualify for its discounts
Worth knowing
Front
- There is no free plan; the 14-day trial is the only way to use Front without paying.
- Starter is capped at 10 seats and one channel type, and Professional at 50 seats.
- Copilot, Smart QA and Smart CSAT cost extra per seat on Starter and Professional.
- Enterprise is sold on annual billing only, and contracts over $25k must include a paid onboarding package.
Help Scout
- The Free plan is limited to 5 users, 1 Inbox, 1 Docs site and 100 contacts a month, and includes no AI tools.
- AI Answers is billed separately at $0.75 per resolution once its 3-month free trial ends.
- Pro has a 10-user minimum, and trying Pro means talking to the sales team.
- Extra Inboxes cost $10 a month each on annual billing ($12 monthly) and extra Docs sites $20 ($24 monthly). Phone and voice work only through an integration.
Key features
Front
- Shared inboxes
- Team inboxes where incoming messages can be assigned and handled together, so everyone can see who is working on which conversation.
- Omnichannel inbox
- Professional and Enterprise combine email, SMS, Front Chat, WhatsApp and other channels in one place. Starter is limited to a single channel type.
- Ticketing and automation rules
- Ticketing for complex requests plus multi-step rules: up to 10 rules on Starter, 20 on Professional and unlimited on Enterprise.
- Front AI
- Autopilot resolves conversations from $0.05 each. Copilot ($20 per seat a month), Smart QA ($20) and Smart CSAT ($10) are add-ons that Enterprise includes.
- Analytics
- Reporting on team workload and support quality: basic analytics on Starter and advanced analytics from Professional.
- Knowledge base and live chat
- A no-code knowledge base and Front Chat let customers help themselves. Multi-language knowledge bases need Enterprise.
Help Scout
- Shared Inbox
- Email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger conversations arrive in one shared workspace, where they can be assigned, tagged, snoozed and discussed in internal notes.
- Docs knowledge base
- Docs sites publish a searchable, branded help center. The Free plan includes 1 site with 10 articles, and paid plans allow unlimited articles.
- Beacon help widget
- An embeddable widget that offers suggested help articles, a contact form and live chat on any website page or inside an app.
- Workflows and routing
- Workflows organize, assign or reply to conversations automatically: 150 basic on Standard, 500 advanced on Plus and unlimited on Pro. Round robin routing starts on Plus.
- AI Answers and AI Drafts
- AI Answers replies to customers from knowledge base content at $0.75 per resolution. AI Drafts suggests replies based on past conversations on Plus and Pro.
- Reports
- Pre-built reports cover volume, responses and customer happiness for each channel, with 30 days of history on Free, 2 years on Standard and all-time history on Plus and Pro.
Plans
Front
Starter$25
per seat / month, billed annually
Up to 10 seats. One channel type (email, Front Chat or SMS), shared inbox, ticketing, up to 10 automation rules and basic analytics.
Professional$65
per seat / month, billed annually
Up to 50 seats. Adds omnichannel support, macros, up to 20 rules, advanced analytics, up to 5 workspaces, SSO and SCIM.
Enterprise$105
per seat / month, annual billing only
Unlimited seats, rules and macros, smart rules, custom roles, and Copilot, Smart QA and Smart CSAT included.
Help Scout
Free$0
Up to 5 users, 1 shared email Inbox, 1 Docs site and 100 contacts per month, with limited saved replies and no AI tools.
Standard$25
per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
Up to 25 users and 2 Inboxes, with live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, 1 basic SLA policy, 150 basic workflows and AI Assist.
Plus$45
per user / month, billed annually ($54 billed monthly)
Up to 50 users and 5 Inboxes, with 500 advanced workflows, unlimited AI Drafts, round robin routing, a customer portal, and Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot.
Pro$75
per user / month, billed annually ($90 billed monthly)
Unlimited users with a 10-user minimum and 10 Inboxes, plus unlimited workflows and SLA policies, SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance and an account manager.
Ways to pay less
Front
- Annual discount
Save 24% with annual billing
Front's pricing page states a 24% saving for annual billing. The prices it lists for Starter ($25) and Professional ($65) are the annually billed rates per seat a month.
Help Scout
- Annual discount
16% off with annual billing
The pricing page shows a 16% discount for annual billing: Standard is $25 per user a month against $30 billed monthly, Plus $45 against $54 and Pro $75 against $90.
- Nonprofit
10% lifetime discount for non-profits and B Corps
Help Scout for Good gives non-profits and B Corporations a 10% lifetime discount on application, and up to 100% off for groups working on human rights, sustainability or representation in tech.
- Startups
6 months free for early-stage startups
New customers that are incorporated tech startups less than two years old with under $1 million in annual recurring revenue can apply for six months of the Plus plan and AI Answers at no charge.
