Help Scout

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Score7.6

Rank#42 of 138

From$25/mo

Free planYes

Free trialYes

Runs onAPI

Summary

Help Scout is customer support software that brings email, SMS, social, chat, and voice into a shared Inbox. It also offers ticket automation, SLA management, a customer portal, and Docs sites for searchable, branded help centers or knowledge bases. Teams can use permissions to manage access at company, team, or user level, and connect Help Scout to more than 100 tools or apps. A mobile app and API access are also listed. Its Free plan costs $0.00 per free and includes five users, one Inbox, and one Docs site, with limits of 100 contacts per month, 10 saved replies, and 10 tags. Paid plans start at $25 per user per month, and annual pricing is shown as 16% lower than monthly pricing. Standard and Plus plans have 15-day trials without a credit card; new accounts also receive three months of unlimited AI Answers resolutions. Help Scout says it is HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliant. Support options include email, onboarding, and customer success management, with priority support on paid plans.

Who it is for

Help Scout may suit teams that handle customer conversations across several channels and want a shared Inbox, help center, and workflow tools. Its free plan provides a small starting setup, while paid plans offer higher Inbox limits and additional capabilities.

What is good

Shared Inbox supports email, SMS, social, chat, and voice.
Free plan includes five users and one Docs site.
Connects to more than 100 tools or apps.
Offers access permissions at company, team, or user level.
HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliant.

What to know first

Free plan is limited to one Inbox.
Free plan allows 100 contacts per month.
Paid plans start at $25 per user per month.
Pro plan requires a minimum of 10 users.

Verdict

Help Scout combines multi-channel customer conversations with help-center publishing, automation, and access controls. The free tier has clear user and Inbox limits, while paid plans start at $25 per user per month.

Help Scout plans and pricing

All plans

Free Free 5 users · 1 Inbox · 1 Docs site · 100 contacts per month · 10 saved replies · 10 tags helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026

Standard $25/mo $25 per user/mo Up to 25 users · 2 Inboxes · 2 Docs sites · 1 basic SLA policy · 150 basic workflows · 30-day report history helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026

Plus $45/mo $45 per user/mo Up to 50 users · 5 Inboxes · 3 Docs sites · 2 advanced SLA policies · 500 advanced workflows · 2-year report history helpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026

Pro $75/mo $75 per user/mo; minimum 10 users Unlimited users · Minimum 10 users · 10 Inboxes · 5 Docs sites · Unlimited SLA policies · All-time report history helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026

AI Answers Add-on $0.75 once $0.75 per resolution helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026

Compared on knowledge base software

Free plan: Yeshelpscout.com
Customer portal: Yeshelpscout.com

Facts

Free plan: Yeshelpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026
Paid from: 25helpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026
Shared inbox: Yeshelpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026
SLA management: Yeshelpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026
Help center: Yeshelpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026
Ticket automation: Yeshelpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026
Customer portal: Yeshelpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026
API access: Yeshelpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026
Included agent seats: 5helpscout.com · 20 Sept 2026
Starting price: Paid plans start at $25 per user per month.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Annual discount: Annual pricing is shown as 16% lower than monthly pricing.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Free plan limits: The Free plan includes 5 users, 1 Inbox, and 1 Docs site.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Standard Plus trial: Standard and Plus offer 15-day trials without requiring a credit card.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
AI Answers trial: New accounts get 3 months of free, unlimited AI Answers resolutions.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Supported channels: Inbox brings email, SMS, social, chat, and voice into one space.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Mobile app: Help Scout offers a mobile app for supporting customers on the go.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Available integrations: Help Scout connects to more than 100 tools or apps.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Security compliance: Help Scout is HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliant.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Team permissions: Advanced permissions control visibility and access at company, team, or user level.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Light users: Plus includes 25 light users and Pro includes 50 light users.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Inbox limits: Free allows 1 Inbox; Standard 2; Plus 5; Pro unlimited.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Knowledge base: Docs sites create searchable and branded help centers or knowledge bases.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
API access: API access supports read/write data and plan-dependent limits up to 800 calls per minute.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Support options: Support includes email, priority support on paid plans, onboarding, and customer success management.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Company history: Help Scout says it started 15 years ago with a customer-focused support software premise.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026
Customer base: Help Scout says it powers support for more than 12,000 customer-first brands.helpscout.com · 28 Sept 2026