Gmelius vs Help Scout
We give Gmelius a 2.8 GPA and Help Scout a 3.0, out of 4.0. Gmelius grades higher on ease of use. Help Scout grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Gmelius
Shared inboxes and AI agents that work inside Gmail
Help Scout
Shared inbox and help desk with a knowledge base and AI answers
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAGmeliusGood | 3.0GPAHelp ScoutVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CMeli is $19 a user a month billed yearly, already double the $9 that's typical here. And it's the AI assistant only, for up to 5 users, with no automation rules. Shared inboxes and shared labels start on Growth at $25, or $33 billed monthly. Pro is $40. | 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. You get 7 days of the Growth plan when you sign up, and then the account is suspended unless you pay for a plan. Every member of a team has to be on the same plan, too. | 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 | AGroup addresses handled from each person's own Gmail, with assignments, collision detection, shared drafts and notes. Round-robin rules, SLAs and reports on response times. Meli drafts and sorts, and agents act in connected apps and hand off to a person when unsure. That's a deep shared inbox. | 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 browser extension, so the team stays in the Gmail they already know. Meli's drafts land in the inbox and nothing is sent without approval. | 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 | BA browser extension for Chrome, Brave, Opera and Edge, plus the web. On phones and tablets it's a progressive web app, not a native one. It connects to Slack, Trello, HubSpot, Salesforce and Zapier, with an API from Growth. Gmail and Google Workspace accounts only. | 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 | shared inboxes and AI agents inside Gmail | 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: Gmelius and Help Scout. How we grade
Where they differ
- Gmelius starts at $19 per user / month, billed yearly. Help Scout starts at $25 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly).
- Help Scout has a free plan. Gmelius does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Gmelius lists a browser extension.
- Only Help Scout lists iOS and Android apps.
- Gmelius also covers templates and kanban boards.
At a glance
| Gmelius | Help Scout | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed yearly | $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 | 7-day free trial of the Growth plan on sign-up; the account is suspended afterwards unless a plan is paid for | 15-day free trial of Standard or Plus, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Gmelius SA | Help Scout |
| Price read from | gmelius.com | helpscout.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Gmelius
- Teams that run support@ or ops@ addresses from Gmail
- Google Workspace teams that want AI agents acting on incoming mail
- Managers who need SLA, workload and response-time reports on 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
Gmelius
- It works only with Gmail and Google Workspace accounts; each user is a Google email account on the subscription.
- There is no free plan, and every member of a team must be on the same plan.
- The $19 Meli plan is capped at 5 users and has no automation rules; shared inboxes and shared labels start at Growth.
- The extension is offered for Chrome, Brave, Opera and Edge. On phones and tablets Gmelius is a progressive web app (PWA).
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
Gmelius
- Shared inboxes in Gmail
- Group addresses are handled from each person's own Gmail, with assignments, collision detection, shared drafts, team read statuses, tags, and notes with @mentions on a thread.
- Meli assistant
- Drafts email replies for review, sorts and classifies incoming mail, schedules meetings and follows up. Drafts land in the inbox and nothing is sent without approval.
- AI agents
- An agent is a standing instruction for one job: it reads incoming mail, acts in connected apps such as a CRM, logs each step, and hands off to a person when its confidence is low.
- Automation rules
- Rules cover auto-replies, tagging, round-robin and load-balanced assignment, and response-time SLAs. Growth allows up to 10,000 rule executions a month and Pro up to 100,000.
- Email analytics
- Reports on conversations, team performance, productivity, SLA response times and tags, with weekly or monthly digests by email and CSV export.
- Shared labels, views and boards
- Gmail labels can be shared across a team, and the plan comparison also lists custom views, Kanban board views, shared email templates and email permalinks.
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
Gmelius
Meli$19
per user / month, billed yearly ($21 billed monthly)
AI assistant for Gmail that drafts replies, sorts email, schedules meetings and follows up. Up to 5 users and 5,000 email conversations a month.
Growth$25
per user / month, billed yearly ($33 billed monthly)
Adds unlimited shared inboxes and labels, automation rules, auto-assignment, shared templates, SLA and email analytics, and the API. Up to 50 users.
Pro$40
per user / month, billed yearly ($50 billed monthly)
Adds AI dispatching assistants, CRM integrations, webhooks, advanced team analytics, custom user permissions, and backups of Gmail and Drive.
EnterpriseCustom
Bespoke AI assistants, custom integrations and reports, user provisioning and no usage caps. Minimum of 50 users.
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
Gmelius
- Annual discount
Lower per-user price with yearly billing
The pricing page shows Meli at $19 a user a month billed yearly against $21 monthly, Growth at $25 against $33, and Pro at $40 against $50.
- Nonprofit
30% to 50% off for non-profits
Non-profits and NGOs with 5 or more users can request 30% off Growth, Pro or Enterprise on annual billing, or 50% off from 20 users, by emailing sales with proof of status.
- Education
Same discount for educational institutions
The pricing FAQ extends the non-profit discount to educational institutions: 30% off for 5 to 19 users and 50% off for 20 or more, on annual billing.
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.
