Help Scout
Shared inbox and help desk with a knowledge base and AI answers
Help Scout report card
Very good · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 9, 2026
Best for support teams leaving a shared Gmail mailbox
Help Scout is a shared inbox for customer support, where your team answers email, chat, SMS and social messages together, with a help centre and a website widget thrown in. Five people can start on the free plan. It gets pricey as you grow, though: Standard is $25 a user a month on annual billing, and AI Answers is billed on top at $0.75 per resolution.
Who Help Scout is for
- Great if your support team has outgrown a shared Gmail or Outlook mailbox
- Handy when you want a help centre and live chat alongside email
- Good for early-stage startups that qualify, who can apply for 6 months of Plus at no charge
Who Help Scout is not for
- Skip it if you want a personal email app, because this is a help desk for teams
- Tight if you're staying free, as that stops at 100 contacts a month and has no AI tools
- Pricey if you need SSO, since that's Pro at $75 a user a month on annual billing, with a 10-user minimum
Why Help Scout gets a 3.0
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyStandard 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.
- BFree plan and trialFree 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.
- AFeaturesEmail, 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.
- CEase of use4.2 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.
- APlatforms and integrationsWeb, 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.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Help Scout's own pages on 5 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Help Scout? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/help-scout#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/help-scout.svg" alt="Help Scout: 3.0 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>What is Help Scout?
Help Scout is a customer support platform built around a shared inbox, where a team answers email, live chat, SMS and social messages together. It also includes Docs, a hosted knowledge base, and Beacon, a help widget that can be embedded in a website or app. Paid plans add workflows, SLA policies and AI writing tools, and the AI Answers add-on resolves routine customer questions automatically for a per-resolution fee.
Help Scout has a free plan. Paid plans start at $25 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly). See every plan
Good for
- 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
- 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
- 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.
Help Scout pricing
- Starts at
- $25 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- 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
- 15-day free trial of Standard or Plus, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | $25per 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 | $45per 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 | $75per 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. |
Read from helpscout.com on Oct 5, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Help Scout before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discount16% 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.
Stated on helpscout.com - Nonprofit10% 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.
Stated on helpscout.com - Startups6 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.
Stated on helpscout.com
How people rate the Help Scout app
4.2
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars72%
- 4 stars6%
- 3 stars6%
- 2 stars6%
- 1 star11%
319 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 5, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Works with
Help Scout alternatives
- Help Scout vs Front
Free trial · from $25/mo
- Help Scout vs Missive
Free trial · from $14/mo
- Help Scout vs Hiver
Free trial · from $25/mo
- Help Scout vs Zoho TeamInbox
Free trial · from $0.99/mo
- Help Scout vs Gmelius
Free trial · from $19/mo
Common questions
Is Help Scout free?
Help Scout has a free plan. 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. Paid plans start at $25 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly).
How much does Help Scout cost?
Help Scout lists 4 plans. Free: $0. Standard: $25 per user / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly). Plus: $45 per user / month, billed annually ($54 billed monthly). Pro: $75 per user / month, billed annually ($90 billed monthly). Prices were read from helpscout.com on Oct 5, 2026.
What platforms does Help Scout work on?
Help Scout is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Help Scout offer any discounts?
Help Scout publicly lists the following: 16% off with annual billing; 10% lifetime discount for non-profits and B Corps; 6 months free for early-stage startups.
How is Help Scout rated?
Help Scout's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.2 out of 5 from 319 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 5, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from us.
Does Help Scout have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Help Scout is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Help Scout have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Help Scout is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Help Scout open source?
Help Scout is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
Does Help Scout have an API?
Yes. Help Scout offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Help Scout integrate with?
Help Scout's listing names Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Linear, Shopify, Slack, Aircall and Zapier. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Does Help Scout have a free trial?
Yes. 15-day free trial of Standard or Plus, no credit card required.
Who makes Help Scout?
Help Scout is made by Help Scout. It dates from 2011.
What are the alternatives to Help Scout?
The closest alternatives to Help Scout in our directory are Front, Missive, Hiver, Zoho TeamInbox and Gmelius. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Help Scout.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 5, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.