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The Helply (formerly Groove) Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Helply (formerly Groove) in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPANovember 2026

Helply (formerly Groove)

The Insider’s Guide

Help desk with AI support agents, now sold as Helply

Helply (formerly Groove), as pictured on helply.com

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among help desk and live chat tools, read from Helply (formerly Groove)’s own pages.

Made by Helply · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.0GPA

Contents

  1. 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
  2. 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
  3. 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
  4. 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
  5. 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
  6. 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
  7. 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Helply (formerly Groove)’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Helply (formerly Groove)’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.0

GPA, above 15 of the 66 other help desk and live chat tools we grade

Groove, the help desk founded in 2011, now operates as Helply. It combines a shared inbox, live chat and a help center with AI agents that answer customers, assist human agents inside tickets and run in the background on customer accounts. Plans are flat monthly fees that bundle a number of human agents and a monthly pool of AI credits.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Helply (formerly Groove), taken from its own pages and our grades.

AI agents, rules and a help centre to set up.
From our grade for ease of use
  1. 1

    Best for a small-team help desk with AI agents bundled in

    Groove has been renamed Helply and now sells help desk plans with AI agents bundled in, from $99 a month for up to 2 human agents.

  2. 2

    Paid plans start at $99 a month

    As its pricing page puts it: $99 per month for up to 2 human agents, billed annually.

  3. 3

    You can try it first

    14-day free trial

  4. 4

    It runs on Web

    Web.

  5. 5

    Support agent

    An AI agent that works with customers directly to resolve issues end to end. It is included on every plan and uses AI credits when it acts.

  6. 6

    Assist agent in the inbox

    A second agent that works alongside human agents inside each ticket. It is also included on every plan.

  7. 7

    Background agents

    Agents that watch customer accounts instead of single conversations. Churn, Knowledge, Revenue, Feature request and Insights agents are listed, with the number available rising by plan.

  8. 8

    A 2.0 GPA, above 15 of 66

    That is against the other help desk and live chat tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.

  9. 9

    Keep it

    To replace Helply (formerly Groove) you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

Helply (formerly Groove) at a glance

Pricing
Free trial, from $99 per month for up to 2 human agents, billed annually
Free plan
No
Free trial
14-day free trial
Runs on
Web
Made by
Helply, since 2011
Category
Help Desks & Live Chat
Our grade
2.0 GPA, fair

The report card

Best for a small-team help desk with AI agents bundled in

Groove has been renamed Helply and now sells help desk plans with AI agents bundled in, from $99 a month for up to 2 human agents. AI credits are pooled and capped, and WhatsApp, SMS and SLAs wait on the $499 Team plan.

ToolGPA report cardHelply (formerly Groove)Graded Nov 12, 2026
SubjectGradeComment
Value for moneyD$99 a month billed annually for up to 2 agents, and $199 for 5, in the dearest tenth by floor.
Free plan and trialDA 14-day trial, but the page doesn't say whether a card is needed. No free plan.
FeaturesBShared inbox, ticketing, chat, help centre and AI agents for support and the inbox. Nothing in the listing is missing.
Ease of useCNo store rating on record. AI agents, rules and a help centre to set up.
Platforms and integrationsBWeb, with Slack, Stripe, Zapier, HubSpot, Jira, Linear and GitHub.
Grade point averageFair, out of 4.02.0

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Helply (formerly Groove) is for

  • Fits if you run a small B2B or SaaS support team that wants AI agents included
  • Makes sense if you are a Groove customer, as the page says your current price is locked

Who it is not for

  • Pricey if you are alone or a pair: Starter is $99 a month for up to 2 agents
  • Watch out: AI credits are capped per plan, with top-ups at $40 per 1,000 on Starter, Plus and Team
  • Skip it if you want WhatsApp, SMS, Discord or SLAs, which need Team at $499
  • Watch out: Pro and Growth are bought through a demo, and Salesforce and SSO need Growth

Good to know

Good for

  • Small B2B and SaaS support teams that want AI agents bundled with the help desk
  • Existing Groove customers, whose current price is stated to be locked
  • Teams that prefer a flat monthly fee over a per-agent price

Worth knowing

  • Groove has been renamed Helply; the product and its old Groove pricing have been replaced by the plans above.
  • AI credits are pooled and capped per plan. Starter, Plus and Team can top up at $40 per 1,000 credits; Pro and Growth use a hard cap or an agreed overage rate.
  • WhatsApp, SMS, Discord, SLAs and round robin routing need the Team plan at $499 a month; Salesforce and SSO / SAML need Growth.
  • Pro and Growth are bought through a demo, and the page shows no self-serve sign-up for them.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

$99

A month to start

Helply (formerly Groove) is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $99 per month for up to 2 human agents, billed annually.

  • Starter

    $99

    per month for up to 2 human agents, billed annually

    2,500 AI credits a month, shared inbox, email and live chat, and a help center with AI article writing. One inbox and 5 rules.

  • Plus

    $199

    per month for up to 5 human agents, billed annually

    5,000 AI credits a month, chat flows, ticket forms, Facebook and Instagram, CSAT surveys, 3 inboxes and 10 rules.

  • Team

    $499

    per month for 10 human agents, billed annually

    15,000 AI credits a month, WhatsApp, SMS, Discord and Slack Connect, SLAs and round robin routing, HubSpot, Jira, Linear and GitHub integrations. Extra agents are $49 a month each.

  • Pro

    $999

    per month for 25 human agents, billed annually

    50,000 AI credits a month, all Background agents, AI reports, up to 3 brands, a customer portal, custom roles and an audit log. Sold through a demo.

  • Growth

    $1,999

    per month for 50 human agents, billed annually

    100,000 AI credits a month, unlimited brands, skills-based routing, account intelligence, SSO / SAML and Salesforce. Sold through a demo.

Trying it first

14-day free trial

Read from helply.com on Nov 12, 2026.

Ways to pay less

  • Annual discount

    15% off with annual billing

    Every plan can be billed monthly or annually; the pricing page says paying annually saves 15%. The prices listed are the annual ones.

    Stated on helply.com

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

1

Place it runs: Web

Help desk with AI support agents, now sold as Helply. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, shared inbox, help desk, live chat, help center, AI support agent, chatbots.

Shared inbox, ticketing, chat, help centre and AI agents for support and the inbox.
From our grade for features
Support agent
An AI agent that works with customers directly to resolve issues end to end. It is included on every plan and uses AI credits when it acts.
Assist agent in the inbox
A second agent that works alongside human agents inside each ticket. It is also included on every plan.
Background agents
Agents that watch customer accounts instead of single conversations. Churn, Knowledge, Revenue, Feature request and Insights agents are listed, with the number available rising by plan.
Shared inbox and ticketing
Views, tags, macros, notes, snooze and collision detection on every plan, with SLAs, escalations and agent teams starting on Team.
Chat and help center
Live chat and a knowledge base on your own domain, with AI article writing and AI answers on every plan.
Skills, MCP and custom actions
From the Team plan, agents can be given written skills, memory, MCP connectors and custom API actions, with AI QA and backtesting.

Where it runs

  • Web

What it works with

  • Slack
  • Stripe
  • Zapier
  • HubSpot
  • Jira
  • Linear
  • GitHub
  • Salesforce

Helply (formerly Groove) is made by Helply, and has been around since 2011.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

15/66

Other help desk and live chat tools it is graded above

Helply (formerly Groove)'s GPA of 2.0 is higher than 15 of the 66 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 9.

It stands best on features (B, above 46 of 66) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).

Its paid plans start at $99 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 52 of the 57 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 67 help desk and live chat tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Helply (formerly Groove)’s own letter is outlined.

  • DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 66
  • DFree plan and trialAbove 11 of 66
  • BFeaturesAbove 46 of 66
  • CEase of useAbove 5 of 66
  • BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 6 of 66

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 59 help desk and live chat tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Helply (formerly Groove) is the marked dot.

D1.0C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$5$10$20$50$100$200$500$1k$2k$5kMore for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessHelply (formerly Groo…Zoho DeskFaveo HelpdeskFreeScoutTidio

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Keep it

To replace Helply (formerly Groove) you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 42 of the 66 other help desk and live chat tools grade higher. It costs $1,188 a year.

What you could make

  • Help desk and help center: an app builder makes these well.

What you could not

  • One mailbox that several people work at once.
  • An AI model answering your customers from your own help articles.
  • A chat box on your site that reaches you the moment a customer types.
  • A chatbot builder hooked into the messaging apps.
  • It plugs into other products, Slack, Stripe and Zapier among them, and has an API.
  • The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

What this rests on. Helply (formerly Groove)’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, HelpDesk and Plain

The 5 tools Helply (formerly Groove) is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

14

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Helply (formerly Groove) free?

No, Helply (formerly Groove) is a paid product, but you can try it first.

How much does Helply (formerly Groove) cost?

Helply (formerly Groove) lists 5 plans. Starter: $99 per month for up to 2 human agents, billed annually.

What platforms does Helply (formerly Groove) work on?

Helply (formerly Groove) is available on Web.

Does Helply (formerly Groove) offer any discounts?

Helply (formerly Groove) publicly lists the following: 15% off with annual billing.

Does Helply (formerly Groove) have an Android app?

No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Helply (formerly Groove) is listed for Web.

Does Helply (formerly Groove) have an iPhone app?

No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Helply (formerly Groove) is listed for Web.

Is Helply (formerly Groove) open source?

Helply (formerly Groove) is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.

Does Helply (formerly Groove) have an API?

Yes. Helply (formerly Groove) offers a public API, according to its own site.

What does Helply (formerly Groove) integrate with?

Helply (formerly Groove)'s listing names Slack, Stripe, Zapier, HubSpot, Jira, Linear, GitHub and Salesforce.

Who makes Helply (formerly Groove)?

Helply (formerly Groove) is made by Helply. It dates from 2011.

What are the alternatives to Helply (formerly Groove)?

The closest alternatives to Helply (formerly Groove) in our directory are Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, HelpDesk and Plain.

How does Helply (formerly Groove) compare with other help desk and live chat tools?

Helply (formerly Groove)'s GPA of 2.0 is higher than 15 of the 66 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 9.

Is Helply (formerly Groove) good value for money?

ToolGPA grades Helply (formerly Groove) D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $99 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 52 of the 57 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of Helply (formerly Groove)?

To replace Helply (formerly Groove) you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Helply (formerly Groove)’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 12, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Helply (formerly Groove)'s own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Helply. Prices change, so check helply.com before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

5,038

Tools graded, in 95 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

  • 5,038

    tools graded

  • 95

    categories

  • 739

    price changes on record

  • 579

    apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Helply (formerly Groove): The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/groove

Know someone choosing between help desk and live chat tools?

Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/groove/guide

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See our other guides

The best-graded help desk and live chat tools after Helply (formerly Groove), each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

ToolGPA

Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.

Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Helply (formerly Groove)’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Helply (formerly Groove) is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Helply. Prices and plans change: check helply.com before you buy.