HelpDocs vs HelpKit (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, HelpDocs and HelpKit share a 2.2 GPA, neither has a free plan, and HelpKit starts cheaper, at $15 a month against $99 a month.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
HelpDocs grades higher on features. HelpKit grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
HelpDocs
Hosted knowledge base software priced by editor, not by reader
HelpKit
Publishes a Notion workspace as a help center or docs site
Which one is for you
Pick HelpDocs if
- Fits if you want to buy a help center today without a sales call
- Works for products that need help content inside the app, through the Lighthouse widget
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need a free plan, because after 14 days the lowest-priced plan is $99 a month
- Tight if you publish in many languages on Sprout, which covers 3 and 10 machine translations a month
- Pricey if you need single sign-on, as that only comes with Harvest at $399 a month
- Pricey if you need an audit trail or advanced permissions, which start on Bloom at $239 a month
- Tight if you need more than 25 editors or long analytics: only Harvest adds editors, at $25 each, and Sprout keeps 90 days
Pick HelpKit if
- Fits if your support articles are already in Notion
- Works for small SaaS teams that want a help centre under their own domain
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want Notion, since it is the only editor
- Tight if you have many articles: 25 on Starter, 100 on Business, 1,000 on Professional
- Pricey if you want the AI chatbot, a separate $49 monthly add-on
- Watch out: prices are per site, and the billing basis isn't shown on the page
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAHelpDocsFair | 2.2GPAHelpKitFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DSprout is $99 a month billed annually, or $129 monthly, where this category's middle is $15 and even its dear quarter starts at $75. Five editors are included, readers are unlimited. The audit trail and permissioning wait on Bloom at $239, SSO on Harvest at $399. | C$15 a site a month for Starter, above the category's $12 middle and inside its dearer quarter at $22. Business is $31 and Professional $79. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. Every plan has a 14-day trial that asks for no card, which is the ordinary arrangement, and after that the cheapest way in is $99 a month billed annually. | CA 7-day trial with no card, and no free plan. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole help-centre job: reusable Clips and Variables that update everywhere at once, AI drafting and Ask AI answers, the Lighthouse in-app widget, machine or hand translation, a REST API, a Slack app and an MCP server. | CCustom domain, branding, search and access control. The gaps are the article caps, the paid AI add-on and Notion blocks that don't render yet. |
| Ease of use | CNo app rating on record, and there's a site to stand up: a domain to point, templates to fill, articles to write and a widget to embed, with AI credits to keep an eye on. No sales call to sit through, at least. | CNo store rating on record. You need Notion pages written and a domain connected. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app with a browser extension, integrations with Slack, Intercom, Front, Crisp, Gorgias and HubSpot, a REST API that returns JSON and an MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT. No phone apps on record. | BWeb only, but it connects with Notion, Slack, Claude and ChatGPT. |
| Best for | a customer help centre without a sales call | a help centre from Notion pages |
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: HelpDocs and HelpKit. How we grade
Where they differ
- HelpDocs also covers wiki, templates and reports.
- HelpKit also covers no-code, help center and chatbots.
At a glance
| HelpDocs | HelpKit | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $99 per month, billed annually ($129 billed monthly) | $15 per site / month (billing basis of displayed price not confirmed) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial on every plan, no credit card required | 7-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | HelpDocs Ltd. | HelpKit |
| Price read from | helpdocs.io | helpkit.so |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
HelpDocs
- There is no free plan: after the 14-day trial the cheapest plan is $99 a month billed annually, or $129 billed monthly.
- Plans include 5, 15 or 25 editors. Only Harvest lists extra editors, at $25 each per month.
- Sprout is limited to 3 languages and 10 machine translations a month, and has no audit trail, advanced permissioning or SSO.
- Analytics history covers 90 days on Sprout, 180 days on Bloom and 365 days on Harvest.
HelpKit
- Prices are per site, and each plan caps articles at 25, 100 or 1,000.
- The AI chatbot is a separate $49 monthly add-on.
- Content stays in Notion, and some complex Notion block types are not yet rendered.
Key features
HelpDocs
- Editor with reusable content
- Clips are reusable blocks that update in every article they sit in, and Variables store a value such as a product name once so a change reaches every mention.
- HelpDocs AI
- AI credits pay for drafting and rewriting articles, generating meta descriptions, alt text and search tags, and Ask AI answers. Bloom adds AI style enforcement.
- Lighthouse widget
- An embeddable help widget lets customers find answers from the knowledge base inside a website or product, and is set up without writing code.
- Connections to AI tools and Slack
- An MCP server connects Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other clients to the knowledge base, a Slack app brings articles into a workspace, and a REST API returns JSON.
- Multilingual knowledge bases
- Articles are translated by machine or by hand. Sprout covers 3 languages, Bloom 20 and Harvest unlimited, each with a monthly allowance of machine translations.
- Permissions and governance
- Advanced permissioning and an audit trail start on Bloom. Single sign-on, IP restriction and custom HTTP headers come with Harvest.
HelpKit
- Notion as the editor
- Articles are written in Notion and published by HelpKit; most Notion blocks render, but calendars and databases are still limited.
- Custom domain and branding
- Every plan includes a custom domain with SSL, SEO settings and custom branding.
- Search and access control
- Basic search on Starter, full-text search and access protection from Business.
- HelpKit AI add-on
- A chatbot trained on your knowledge base, available on any plan for $49 a month; it includes an MCP server.
- Insights and multi-language
- Professional adds analytics, search intent insights, multiple languages and versions.
Plans
HelpDocs
Sprout$99
per month, billed annually ($129 billed monthly)
5 editors, 1,000 AI credits a month, 3 languages, unlimited viewers, the Lighthouse widget and custom CSS and JavaScript.
Bloom$239
per month, billed annually ($299 billed monthly)
15 editors and 5,000 AI credits, adding advanced permissioning, an audit trail, embedded SSO (JWT), 20 languages and custom HTML templates.
Harvest$399
per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)
25 editors and 10,000 AI credits, adding SSO with anonymous mode, IP restriction, unlimited languages and 2 additional domains.
HelpKit
Starter$15
per site / month; billing basis not shown
25 articles, 1 language, 1 seat, custom domain with SSL, basic search and custom branding.
Business$31
per site / month; billing basis not shown
100 articles, 3 seats, full-text search, embeddable widget, access protection, custom CSS and JavaScript.
Professional$79
per site / month; billing basis not shown
1,000 articles, 2 languages, 5 seats, analytics, multi-language and versions, Slack notifications.
Ways to pay less
HelpDocs
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
The pricing page marks annual billing as saving 20%: Sprout is $99 a month instead of $129, Bloom $239 instead of $299 and Harvest $399 instead of $499.
- Startups
Greenhouse: 50% off for two years
Startups under 3 years old with 5 or fewer employees can apply for 50% off Sprout, Bloom or Harvest for 24 months, plus 3,000 bonus AI credits.
HelpKit
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
HelpKit's pricing page offers a yearly option that gives two months free.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit and open-source contact option
The pricing page invites nonprofits and open-source projects to contact HelpKit about reduced pricing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, HelpDocs or HelpKit?
As of Nov 13, 2026, HelpKit is cheaper to start with: $15 a month, against $99 a month for HelpDocs. HelpDocs starts at $99 per month, billed annually ($129 billed monthly), and HelpKit starts at $15 per site / month (billing basis of displayed price not confirmed).
Which has a free plan, HelpDocs or HelpKit?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither HelpDocs nor HelpKit has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do HelpDocs and HelpKit run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only HelpDocs lists a browser extension. 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.