SupportBee
Email ticketing and shared inbox with a knowledge base and portal
SupportBee report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 18, 2026
Best for email support that still looks like email
SupportBee turns a support email address into a ticketing inbox: assign, label and comment privately, while customers only ever see normal email replies. A knowledge base and satisfaction ratings come with it, from $17 a seat on annual billing. It's email only, though, with no live chat, chatbot or WhatsApp, and no phone app.
Who SupportBee is for
- Great if you're a small team outgrowing a shared Gmail or Outlook login
- Handy when you want tickets behind the scenes but plain email for your customers
- Good for software teams who pass bugs on to Linear or GitHub Issues
Who SupportBee is not for
- Skip it if customers want to reach you by live chat, WhatsApp or social messages
- Not for you if you answer tickets from your phone, as no mobile app is on record
- Tight if you're on Startup, which allows 1 knowledge base and 1 team
Why SupportBee gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for moneyStartup 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.
- CFree plan and trialNo 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.
- CFeaturesEmail 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.
- CEase of useNo 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.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb 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.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from SupportBee's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/supportbee#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/supportbee.svg" alt="SupportBee: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where SupportBee stands among help desk and live chat tools
SupportBee's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 22 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 7.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 13 of 22) and worst on features (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $17 a month for each person, against a middle price of $21.59 for the category: 4 of the 21 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 23 help desk and live chat tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. SupportBee’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 13 of 22, level with 5
- CFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 22, level with 19
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 22, level with 10
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 22, level with 17
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 22, level with 18
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 22 help desk and live chat tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep SupportBee, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace SupportBee 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: 9 of the 22 other help desk and live chat tools grade higher. It costs $204 a year.
What you could make
- Help desk, help center and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- One mailbox that several people work at once.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- It plugs into other products, Slack, Linear and Notion among them, and has an API.
- Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
What this rests on. SupportBee’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.
What is SupportBee?
SupportBee is a help desk built around email: messages to a support address become tickets that a team can assign, comment on privately and label, while customers only ever see ordinary email replies. It adds a knowledge base, a customer portal for tracking requests and satisfaction ratings, and is priced per seat on two plans.
SupportBee is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly). See every plan
Good for
- 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
- 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
- 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.
SupportBee pricing
- Starts at
- $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Startup | $17per 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 | $21per 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. |
Read from supportbee.com on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with SupportBee before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountSave 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.
Stated on supportbee.com
Works with
SupportBee alternatives
- SupportBee vs Help Scout
Free plan · from $25/mo
- SupportBee vs Front
Free trial · from $25/mo
- SupportBee vs Hiver
Free trial · from $25/mo
- SupportBee vs Helpwise
Free trial · from $12/mo
- SupportBee vs Freshdesk
Free trial · from $19/mo
Common questions
Is SupportBee free?
No, SupportBee is a paid product, but you can try it first. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
How much does SupportBee cost?
SupportBee lists 2 plans. Startup: $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly). Enterprise: $21 per seat / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly). Prices were read from supportbee.com on Oct 18, 2026.
What platforms does SupportBee work on?
SupportBee is available on Web.
Does SupportBee offer any discounts?
SupportBee publicly lists the following: Save 20% with annual billing.
Does SupportBee have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. SupportBee is listed for Web.
Does SupportBee have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. SupportBee is listed for Web.
Is SupportBee open source?
SupportBee is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does SupportBee have an API?
Yes. SupportBee offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does SupportBee integrate with?
SupportBee's listing names Slack, Linear, Notion, Pipedrive, Asana, Trello, GitHub Issues and QuickBooks. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes SupportBee?
SupportBee is made by SupportBee Inc. It dates from 2011.
What are the alternatives to SupportBee?
The closest alternatives to SupportBee in our directory are Help Scout, Front, Hiver, Helpwise and Freshdesk. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with SupportBee.
How does SupportBee compare with other help desk and live chat tools?
SupportBee's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 22 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 7. It stands best on value for money (B, above 13 of 22) and worst on features (C, above 0).
Is SupportBee good value for money?
ToolGPA grades SupportBee B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $17 a month for each person, against a middle price of $21.59 for the category: 4 of the 21 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less.
Could I make my own version of SupportBee?
To replace SupportBee 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: 9 of the 22 other help desk and live chat tools grade higher. It costs $204 a year. What you could not make: One mailbox that several people work at once. It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. It plugs into other products, Slack, Linear and Notion among them, and has an API. Hooks into the device itself: widgets. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026.