Helpwise vs SupportBee
We give Helpwise a 2.6 GPA and SupportBee a 2.4, out of 4.0. Helpwise grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, 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.
Helpwise
Shared inbox for email, chat, WhatsApp and SMS with a help center
SupportBee
Email ticketing and shared inbox with a knowledge base and portal
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHelpwiseGood | 2.4GPASupportBeeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStandard is $12 a user a month billed yearly ($15 monthly), inside the cheaper quarter of help desks. It's sold for at least 2 users, so one person pays $24. WhatsApp, SMS, Instagram and calls need Premium at $23, still under the middle. | 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 | CA 7-day free trial of every plan, and then you pay. There's no free plan to stay on. | 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 | BShared inboxes for Gmail, Microsoft 365, chat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and SMS, a help center, assignment rules, CSAT, SLAs, a chatbot and calls. Across the plans it covers the job, with the chatbot and phone as add-ons on Premium and included on Advanced. | CEmail ticketing done properly: 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 | CNo store rating on record. Connecting Gmail or Outlook is quick, but each channel, inbox and rule is its own bit of setup. | 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, iPhone and Android, with HubSpot, Pipedrive, Shopify, Slack, Zapier, Asana, ClickUp and Jira. No desktop app, so it stops at a B. | 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 | moving support off a shared Gmail address | 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: Helpwise and SupportBee. How we grade
Price against what you get
Helpwise starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SupportBee starts at $17 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Helpwise scores higher and starts $5 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Helpwise for less, and 4 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
- Helpwise starts at $12 per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly). SupportBee starts at $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly).
- Only Helpwise lists iOS and Android apps.
- Helpwise also covers live chat.
- SupportBee also covers reports.
At a glance
| Helpwise | SupportBee | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $12 per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) | $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of every plan | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | SaaS Labs, Inc. | SupportBee Inc. |
| Price read from | helpwise.io | supportbee.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Helpwise
- Small teams moving support off a shared Gmail or Outlook address
- Teams that answer customers on WhatsApp and SMS as well as email
- Businesses that want CRM links such as HubSpot or Pipedrive
SupportBee
- Small teams outgrowing a shared Gmail or Outlook login for support
- Teams that want ticketing to look like plain email to customers
- Support run mainly over email rather than chat or social channels
Worth knowing
Helpwise
- Seat minimums apply: 2 users on Standard and Premium, 3 on Advanced. Standard stops at 10 users.
- Standard covers only email, live chat and Facebook; WhatsApp, SMS, calling and Instagram need Premium.
- Add-ons: 3 more inboxes cost $49 a month, the chatbot $10 per user a month and the cloud phone $5 per active user a month.
- There is no free plan after the 7-day trial.
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
Helpwise
- Shared team inboxes
- Gmail, Microsoft 365, live chat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and SMS conversations in shared inboxes, with notes, mentions, shared drafts and collision detection.
- Knowledge base
- A help center for customers to look up answers, included from the Standard plan.
- Automation and assignment
- Rules that sort and assign conversations, from 3 on Standard to unlimited on Advanced, with round-robin or load-balanced assignment.
- Helpwise AI
- AI help with drafting and summarizing replies from Premium, and automatic prioritization of conversations on Advanced.
- Cloud phone and chatbot
- Calls and a website chatbot in the same inbox, sold as add-ons on Premium and included on Advanced.
- Mobile apps
- Apps for iOS and Android alongside the web app.
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
Helpwise
Standard$12
per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
2 to 10 users, 3 shared inboxes, 15 saved replies, a help center, email, live chat and Facebook, 3 automation rules and standard analytics.
Premium$23
per user / month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)
From 2 users. 10 shared inboxes, WhatsApp, SMS, calling and Instagram, 25 automation rules, CSAT surveys, all integrations and AI reply help.
Advanced$39
per user / month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
From 3 users. 30 shared inboxes, unlimited rules, SLAs, load-balanced assignment, AI prioritization, chatbot and calling included, and SSO.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom integrations, SSO, team onboarding and training, and a dedicated account manager. Priced on request.
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
Helpwise
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Helpwise's pricing page lists a 20% saving on annual billing: Standard is $12 per user a month billed annually against $15 monthly.
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.
