8 Help Scout Alternatives for Teams Outgrowing It in 2026

Key Takeaways

• On October 24, 2026, Help Scout lists $30 to $90 per user a month ($25 to $75 annual). Its Envoy AI agent adds $0.75 per resolution.
• Conditional SLA policies, advanced workflows, unlimited AI Drafts and round robin routing start on Help Scout Plus. Every full user then pays the Plus rate of $54 a month ($45 annual).
• At 10 users, 1,000 conversations a month and 500 AI resolutions, Help Scout Plus costs $915 a month ($825 annual). The eight Help Scout alternatives run from $200 ($140) plus AI tokens on Zoho Desk to $2,290 ($1,950) on Zendesk. Helply comes to $399 ($339).
• Five more full users on Help Scout Plus add $270 a month ($225 annual). Helply's bill stays put, because every plan has unlimited users.
• You can export Help Scout conversations only through its API. Helply imports supported conversations, customer records and Docs content, while Zendesk, Freshdesk, Front and Gorgias point to migration services.

Help Scout Alternatives and Competitors at a Glance

All prices are monthly list prices on October 24, 2026, with annual billing in parentheses. The 10-person bill covers 1,000 monthly conversations, and AI resolves 500 of them. Per-use AI fees are at pay-as-you-go rates.

Each seat-priced tool appears on its first plan with SLAs, or with more than one SLA policy if a lower plan has one. For Gorgias, the plan is Pro, its first bundle with room for 1,000 tickets a month.

Why Teams Outgrow Help Scout

A growing Help Scout team meets four limits: two billing meters, features on higher plans, changing pricing models, and reporting and channel mix.

You moved to Help Scout Plus for round robin routing and a second SLA policy. Then you turned on Envoy, and it started resolving chats. Each of those resolutions added $0.75 to the invoice.

Next quarter you plan to hire five agents, and success and ops want to answer customers too. On Plus, each full user costs $54 a month ($45 annual).

Help Scout has changed its billing model before. After its April 2025 email announcing contact-based billing, one r/SaaS poster wrote: "It makes the costs unpredictable."

Help Scout Pricing Has Two Meters: Users and Envoy Resolutions

Help Scout's first meter counts users. The pricing page lists $30 ($25 annual), $54 ($45) or $90 ($75) per user each month for Standard, Plus or Pro.

Envoy, Help Scout's AI agent add-on, costs $0.75 per resolution on a monthly bill, and new accounts get a three-month free trial. Help Scout's pricing FAQ still uses AI Answers, the older name for Envoy's chatbot. The FAQ defines a resolution as "a single conversation that is resolved by AI Answers without human assistance."

That second meter rises as the AI improves. Help Scout says Envoy resolves 73% of requests on average, and its pricing page gives no method for the figure. At 1,000 conversations, 73% means 730 resolutions, or $547.50 a month in AI fees on top of the per-user bill.

The Feature You Need Next Is Usually One Plan Up

Help Scout Standard covers live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, basic workflows and one basic SLA policy. SMS on Standard runs through an integration.

Plus adds Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot integrations, advanced workflows, two SLA policies with conditions, unlimited AI Drafts and round robin routing. It includes five light users, and each full user pays $24 more a month ($20 annual) than on Standard.

Teams that set different SLA targets for VIP and standard customers need Plus for the conditions. Standard has a 25-user cap, and Plus a 50-user cap. Pro adds unlimited SLA policies, SSO/SAML and HIPAA, and its 10-user minimum means $900 a month ($750 annual).

Help Scout Has Switched Pricing Models Twice Since 2024

In November 2024, Help Scout launched plans that billed by contacts instead of users. In April 2025, it began telling existing customers their plans would switch, with at least six months' notice.

Help Scout customer Daniel Jalkut compared the old and new prices in April 2025. In his example, a three-person team serving 500 customers a month would go from $66 to at least $266 a month.

By mid-November 2025, Help Scout's pricing page showed per-user plans again, plus a fee for each AI resolution. Co-founder Nick Francis explained the turn on the Startups For the Rest of Us podcast in June 2026:

Reporting and Channel Mix Can Lag as Teams Grow

An operations manager at a mid-market financial services firm found Help Scout's native reporting a little too basic. Their May 2026 G2 review describes exporting data to Tableau or Google Sheets to track SLA breaches and resolution times.

A customer service director with six years on Help Scout wrote on TrustRadius in July 2025 that it suits email-first teams. Teams running several channels, the director added, fit an omnichannel tool better.

The 8 Best Help Scout Alternatives

Each entry prices the example team: 10 people, 1,000 conversations a month and 500 AI resolutions.

1. Helply: Best for Unlimited Users and AI on Every Conversation

Helply has no user meter, since every plan has unlimited users, and AI work draws on one monthly credit block. On Helply's B2B sizing rule, the 10-person team at 1,000 conversations lands near 7,000 credits, or $399 a month ($339 annual).

Helply is the help desk itself: shared inbox and ticketing, live chat, a knowledge base and help center, customer records, reporting and workflows. The Support, Assist and Background agents work inside it, and all three come on every plan.

What Helply Fixes From Help Scout

• Room for success, ops and engineering. Unlimited users apply at $49 a month too, so those teams can join conversations. Hiring doesn't change the bill.
• AI priced by the work. A draft or summary uses 1 credit, a bounded lookup in one or two connected systems 4, and a multi-system investigation 12. Retries, failed actions, spam and drafts your team turns down before sending use no credits.
• A Support Agent for Envoy's job. The Support Agent can resolve requests end to end. Connected to your order, account or billing systems, it can look up the answer itself.
• Escalations with the work attached. If the Support Agent can't confidently resolve something, it hands the conversation to a person with its findings and the customer context.
• An Assist Agent for AI Drafts' job. The Assist Agent writes drafts from the thread, what Helply knows about the customer, and your Guidelines. Your team can also direct it to take supported Actions.
• CRM and issue-tracker context. Help Scout adds Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot on Plus. On any Helply plan, you can connect CRMs such as HubSpot and Salesforce and issue trackers such as Jira and Linear.
• SLAs inside ticketing. Ticketing lets you set response and resolution targets, prioritize conversations automatically and see what needs attention before a target slips.
• Docs that keep up. The Knowledge Agent spots missing answers and stale information, then suggests fixes your team can review first.
• Reporting and signals. Helply's help desk includes analytics and reporting. Background Agents for churn, revenue, feature requests and insights watch conversations and can alert teammates, update systems, create work or trigger workflows.
• Channels in one workspace. Helply connects email, live chat, Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram, and phone and SMS. For phone, Helply keeps supported call information and transcripts in each customer's history.

David Blacker, co-founder and CEO of the online music marketplace AirGigs, describes the results:

Pricing

At the low end, 500 credits cost $49 a month ($42 annual). The largest self-serve block, 32,000 credits, costs $1,549 ($1,317). Helply sizes blocks at about 7 credits per conversation for B2B support and about 4 for B2C.

On the B2B rule, the 10-person team needs about 7,000 credits, or $399 a month ($339 annual). On the B2C rule it needs about 4,000 credits, or $249 ($212).

Your monthly spending ceiling defaults to the price of your block, and you can raise it. If credits run out, Helply buys the next block at the same rate, up to that ceiling. With top-ups off, the AI pauses there and your team keeps working.

Annual billing takes 15% off and pools the year's credits. If you pay monthly, unused credits stay for one extra month before they lapse.

Trade-Offs

• Deep work uses more credits. A 12-credit investigation costs 12 times a drafted reply, so a queue full of multi-system research needs a bigger block.
• Lookups need connected systems. The Support Agent can check an order or a billing account only in systems you connect. Setup work, such as connecting tools or writing Skills, uses no credits.
• A shorter AI trial than Envoy's. Help Scout gives new accounts three months of free Envoy resolutions and existing customers none. Helply's free trial runs 14 days on 1,000 credits and asks for no card.

Moving From Help Scout

Helply's Help Scout migration brings supported conversations, customer records and Docs content across. The importer connects to your Help Scout workspace, and you choose which supported mailboxes, customers, conversations and Docs to move. You review the new workspace before cutover.

You can run Helply beside Help Scout on a slice of the queue first. Switch the whole queue once you trust the AI's resolution rate and your workflows. Enterprise plans include dedicated migration.

Security reviewers can get a SOC 2 Type II report under NDA and a DPA on request. Helply designed its platform to support GDPR. AI providers never use the customer data Helply sends them for model training.

Where Helply Fits Better Than Help Scout

Helply fits better once more people need access to conversations or the AI does more of the work. Help Scout Plus charges $54 per user ($45 annual) and $0.75 per Envoy resolution. Helply includes every user and bills AI work in credits, $399 ($339) for the 10-person team.

See the full Helply vs. Help Scout comparison.

2. Zendesk: Best for Low AI Volume With Resolutions Included per Agent

Zendesk Suite Professional costs $2,290 a month ($1,950 annual) for the example team (10 people, 1,000 conversations a month, 500 AI resolutions). That is the highest bill of the eight alternatives. Suite Professional is the first plan on Zendesk's pricing page with SLAs.

Zendesk vs Help Scout: What Zendesk Fixes

Zendesk includes AI agent resolutions per agent: 5 a month on Support Team and Suite Team, and 10 on Suite Professional. At 10 per agent, a 10-person team pays no AI fee up to 100 resolutions a month. Help Scout bills every Envoy resolution, and existing customers get no Envoy trial.

Pricing

Zendesk's per-agent prices run $25 ($19 annual) for Support Team, $69 ($55) for Suite Team and $149 ($115) for Suite Professional. Suite Enterprise with Copilot goes through sales.

Each resolution past the included amount costs $2.00 pay-as-you-go, or $1.50 when you commit in advance. On Suite Professional and above, Copilot adds $50 per agent a month, billed yearly. A 14-day trial covers Suite Professional features and includes Copilot.

Trade-Offs

• Both meters stay. Zendesk charges per agent, plus a fee for each resolution that passes Zendesk's verification once the allowance runs out. At 500 AI resolutions for 10 agents, the extra 400 cost $800 a month at most, or $600 with an advance commitment.
• A higher seat price. Suite Professional costs $95 more per agent than Help Scout Plus on monthly billing ($70 annual).

Moving From Help Scout

The Zendesk Marketplace lists Help Desk Migration, a third-party app that imports from 100+ platforms. Its maker runs a dedicated Help Scout to Zendesk service.

Where Helply Fits Better Than Zendesk

If the per-user bill is why you're leaving Help Scout, Zendesk keeps both meters. Suite Professional costs $149 per agent ($115 annual), plus $2.00 per resolution past the allowance. Copilot adds $50 per agent, billed yearly.

For $399 a month ($339 annual), Helply covers every user, the Assist Agent and SLAs inside ticketing.

See the full Helply vs. Zendesk comparison.

3. Freshdesk: Best for a Lower Entry Price per Agent

For the example team (10 people, 1,000 conversations a month, 500 AI resolutions), Freshdesk Pro costs $905 a month ($795 annual). Help Scout Plus with Envoy costs $915 ($825) for the same team.

Freshdesk vs Help Scout: What Freshdesk Fixes

Freshdesk Growth costs $23 per agent ($19 annual), below Help Scout Standard's $30 ($25). Every account gets one default SLA policy, and Pro adds multiple SLA policies.

Pricing

Freshdesk charges $23 ($19 annual) per agent for Growth, $66 ($55) for Pro and $107 ($89) for Enterprise. On Pro and Enterprise, Copilot adds $35 per agent ($29 annual).

Freddy AI Agent bills by session, at $49 per 100 sessions. The first 500 sessions come free once per account, so the monthly 10-person bill includes all 500 at that rate.

Trade-Offs

• AI billed per session. Freshdesk defines a session as a unique interaction between a customer and the AI Agent, and an email session lasts 72 hours. A session counts whether or not the AI resolves the request.
• More SLA policies cost more per agent. Pro costs $66 per agent ($55 annual), $12 more than Help Scout Plus ($10 annual).
• Copilot costs extra. The 10-person bill leaves out the $35 per-agent Copilot add-on ($29 annual).

Moving From Help Scout

Freshworks' marketplace carries an import app from Help Desk Migration, a third-party service that lists Help Scout as a source.

Where Helply Fits Better Than Freshdesk

Freshdesk prices AI in two places: Copilot at $35 per agent ($29 annual) and AI Agent sessions at $49 per 100. Both sit on top of Pro's $66 per agent ($55 annual). On Helply, one credit block covers drafting and resolution for the whole team, and every plan includes all three agent types.

See the full Helply vs. Freshdesk comparison.

4. Zoho Desk: Best for the Lowest List Price

Zoho Desk has the lowest list price of the eight alternatives. Standard costs $200 a month ($140 annual) for 10 users, before any AI token charges.

Zoho Desk vs Help Scout: What Zoho Desk Fixes

Standard costs $20 per user ($14 annual), against $54 ($45) on Help Scout Plus. It also includes 4 SLA policies to Plus's 2.

Pricing

Zoho Desk's per-user prices run $9 ($7 annual) for Express, $20 ($14) for Standard, $35 ($23) for Professional and $50 ($40) for Enterprise. A 15-day trial needs no card, and the account drops to the free plan afterward.

Zia Agents carry no fee, and you pay for model usage instead. Zoho-hosted models on the Standard model tier include 30 million free tokens a month, then cost $1 per million.

Trade-Offs

• AI cost needs a usage estimate. Token billing has no per-resolution price, so you forecast AI cost by estimating tokens per conversation.
• Native generative AI starts on Professional. Standard runs generative AI on your own model key, and Zoho's native version needs Professional at $35 per user ($23 annual).

Moving From Help Scout

Zoho's Zwitch migration tool lists Help Scout as a source and pulls the data through Help Scout's API. Zoho advertises free data migration.

Where Helply Fits Better Than Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk Standard lists below Helply, at $200 ($140 annual) for 10 users, with AI on your own model key or metered tokens. Helply's agents resolve, draft and investigate from one $399 block ($339), and your spending ceiling defaults to the block price.

See Helply's pricing for every credit block.

5. Front: Best for AI Billed by How Far It Gets

Professional is Front's first plan with SLAs. It costs the example team (10 people, 1,000 conversations a month, 500 AI resolutions) $1,295 a month ($1,095 annual).

Front vs Help Scout: What Front Fixes

Front's Autopilot charges each conversation once, at the highest level the AI reaches. Triage costs $0.05, a handoff $0.39 and a full resolution $0.89, above Envoy's $0.75. Teams that want AI to triage and hand off, as well as resolve, get one price per level.

Pricing

Front lists Starter at $35 per seat monthly ($25 annual) for up to 10 seats. Professional is $85 ($65) for up to 50 seats, and Enterprise costs $105 per seat on annual billing only.

Starter and Professional teams can add Copilot for $20 per seat each month, and Enterprise includes it. A 14-day trial covers Professional features.

Trade-Offs

• Starter covers one channel type. Starter supports email, Front Chat or SMS, but only one of the three, and stops at 10 seats.
• SLAs start on Professional. Professional costs $85 per seat ($65 annual), $31 more than Help Scout Plus on monthly billing ($20 annual).
• You pay for handoffs too. Autopilot charges $0.39 when the AI drafts, replies or acts for a person to take over. Envoy charges only for conversations it resolves without human help.

Moving From Help Scout

Front's help article calls its own Help Scout importer "not actively maintained" and recommends Help Desk Migration or ClonePartner. That importer skips notes and comments.

Where Helply Fits Better Than Front

Front Professional costs $85 per seat ($65 annual), Copilot adds $20 per seat, and each resolution costs $0.89. With Helply, SLAs and several channels come without a per-user price. Helply's Support, Assist and Background agents all run on the $399 block ($339 annual) at 1,000 conversations.

See the full Helply vs. Front comparison.

6. Intercom: Best for Teams That Want Fin as Their AI Agent

The example team (10 people, 1,000 conversations a month, 500 AI resolutions) pays $1,885 a month ($1,815 annual) on Intercom Expert. Expert is Intercom's only plan with SLAs.

Intercom vs Help Scout: What Intercom Fixes

Fin, Intercom's AI agent, can answer customers and complete workflows that Intercom calls Procedures. It bills $0.99 for each outcome and counts no more than one per conversation.

Fin can also run without Intercom seats, from a $49 monthly minimum that includes 50 outcomes. A 14-day trial includes Fin and needs no card.

Pricing

Intercom's Essential plan lists at $39 a seat monthly ($29 annual), and in October 2026 new customers pay $29 ($19). Advanced costs $99 ($85) and Expert $139 ($132).

Trade-Offs

• Procedure handoffs count as outcomes. Intercom counts an outcome when a customer confirms the fix, stops asking after Fin replies, or Fin completes a Procedure. A Procedure that ends in a handoff still counts, but if a customer asks for a person, Intercom charges nothing.
• SLAs need Expert. Expert costs $85 more per seat than Help Scout Plus on monthly billing ($87 annual).

Moving From Help Scout

Intercom's docs describe a migration you script against its API, or a paid migration package from its implementation team.

Where Helply Fits Better Than Intercom

Intercom Expert charges $139 per seat ($132 annual), and Fin adds $0.99 for each outcome, including Procedure handoffs. On Helply, people add nothing to the bill, and one credit block covers AI work: $399 ($339 annual) at 1,000 conversations.

See the full Helply vs. Intercom comparison.

7. Hiver: Best for Teams That Want to Stay in Gmail or Outlook

On Hiver Pro, the example team (10 people, 1,000 conversations a month, 500 AI resolutions) pays $650 a month ($550 annual).

Hiver vs Help Scout: What Hiver Fixes

AI Agents come on every Hiver plan, with no per-resolution price on its pricing page. Hiver in Gmail runs as a Chrome extension on Google Workspace. Hiver Omni works with Gmail, Outlook and other email providers.

Pricing

Hiver charges $35 per user monthly ($25 annual) on Growth, $65 ($55) on Pro and $95 ($85) on Elite. Voice adds $30 per voice seat a month. A 7-day trial opens Elite with no card.

Trade-Offs

• A higher price per user. Pro costs $65 per user ($55 annual), above Help Scout Plus at $54 ($45).
• No SLAs on Growth. That plan also caps at 10 users.
• Seats come in steps. Plans start at 2 seats, then 5, then steps of 5, so a team of 11 pays for 15.

Moving From Help Scout

Hiver offers to migrate your data at no extra cost.

Where Helply Fits Better Than Hiver

Helply suits teams that keep adding people. Each Hiver Pro user costs $65 ($55 annual), and seats above 5 come in steps of 5. Helply has unlimited users and costs $399 a month ($339 annual) at 1,000 conversations.

8. Gorgias: Best for Shopify and Ecommerce Stores

Gorgias prices its helpdesk by tickets. The example team (10 people, 1,000 tickets a month, 500 AI resolutions) needs Pro with AI Agent, at $1,015 a month ($936 annual).

Gorgias vs Help Scout: What Gorgias Fixes

Gorgias built the product for ecommerce and Shopify and never prices per agent. Basic and above include up to 500 user seats, and Starter includes 3. Every Helpdesk plan comes with SLA policies.

Pricing

Gorgias sells ticket bundles. Starter gives 50 tickets for $10 on monthly billing only, and Basic gives 300 for $60 ($50 annual). Pro gives 2,000 for $360 ($300), and Advanced 5,000 for $900 ($750).

AI Agent bills per automated interaction: a ticket it resolves with no human reply within 72 hours. Pro with AI Agent costs $550 a month ($471 annual) and includes 190 at $1.00 each ($0.90 annual), then $1.50 each.

Trade-Offs

• AI-resolved tickets count twice. Each automated interaction also counts as a helpdesk ticket against your allowance.
• Overage doubles Help Scout's rate. Past the bundle, each interaction costs $1.50, twice the $0.75 Envoy charges.

Moving From Help Scout

Gorgias publishes no Help Scout guide, and its docs point to email import or a migration platform. Its pricing FAQ says it "supports ticket imports from most major helpdesks" and that its team can help migrate data during onboarding.

Where Helply Fits Better Than Gorgias

On Gorgias, each AI resolution uses up a bundle ticket and counts as a billed interaction, at $1.50 past the first 190.

Helply bills AI actions in credits with no ticket fee. At 1,000 conversations, that's $399 a month ($339 annual) on its B2B sizing rule. On Helply's B2C rule, the same conversations land near 4,000 credits, $249 a month ($212 annual).

If you're weighing Gorgias itself, see how eight Gorgias alternatives bill.

Which Help Scout Alternative Costs Least for a 10-Person Team?

At 1,000 conversations a month, Zoho Desk Standard lists lowest for 10 users at $200 a month ($140 annual) plus AI tokens. Helply follows at $399 ($339), and its credit block covers the AI work. Help Scout Plus with Envoy comes to $915 ($825), and Zendesk Suite Professional tops the range at $2,290 ($1,950).

The example team has 10 people answering customers across 1,000 conversations a month. The AI resolves 500 end to end, and the team answers the other 500. All figures use October 24, 2026 list prices.

Each seat-priced tool sits on its first plan with SLAs, or with more than one SLA policy if a lower plan has one. Its bill is 10 users times the per-user price, plus AI fees on the 500 resolved conversations. Gorgias prices by tickets, and a team with 1,000 a month needs Pro.

Two changes raise the Help Scout bill:

• Add five full users. Help Scout Plus rises $270 a month ($225 annual). Helply's bill stays at $399 ($339).
• Let Envoy hit Help Scout's 73% average. Resolutions climb to 730, and the Plus bill reaches $1,087.50 ($997.50). Helply's sizing rule gives 7,000 credits either way.

What Happens to Your Help Scout History When You Switch?

Help Scout exports conversation history only through its API, so you need an importer or a migration service to move it. Helply's built-in importer brings over supported conversations, customer records and Docs content. Zendesk, Freshdesk and Front point to third-party services such as Help Desk Migration.

Help Scout last updated its data export article on November 20, 2024. It says: "Exporting data via the API is currently the only means of obtaining data."

Reports export as CSV or XLSX from Standard up. Help Scout sends a customer CSV on request, without conversation history.

A switch with no gap in coverage runs in four steps:

1. Connect or export. Authorize Help Scout in the new tool's importer, or pull your data through Help Scout's API.
2. Move Docs content first. Your team and AI agents then start from your existing answers.
3. Run a slice of the queue side by side. Point part of the queue at the new tool while Help Scout handles the rest.
4. Cut over when the numbers hold. Move the rest once AI resolution rates and workflows look right.

When Help Scout Is Still the Right Choice

Stay on Help Scout if your team fits one of these four cases:

• Five people or fewer. Help Scout's Free plan includes up to 5 users, a single Inbox and Docs site, and room for 100 contacts each month.
• Email-first teams up to 25 users. Standard includes live chat, WhatsApp and one basic SLA policy for $30 per user ($25 annual).
• HIPAA requirements. Help Scout includes HIPAA compliance on Pro and sells it as an add-on on Plus.
• Testing AI before paying. New accounts get three months of free Envoy resolutions.

To weigh HubSpot Service Hub, Plain or Pylon too, see the best help desk software for SaaS companies.

Stay on Help Scout or Switch: How to Decide

Keep Help Scout while your headcount and Envoy volume hold steady, or if you need its HIPAA option. Once either meter starts to climb, compare the Help Scout alternatives on your own numbers.

If per-user cost is the problem, Helply removes it and Zoho Desk lowers it to $20 a user ($14 annual). If the Envoy fee is the problem, Helply's credit block covers AI work, and Hiver includes AI agents on every plan. Try Zendesk for low AI volume, Intercom for Fin, Front for per-level AI pricing, Freshdesk for cheaper entry plans and Gorgias for Shopify.

Helply fits teams whose Help Scout bill grows each time they hire or Envoy resolves a chat. You can hire without raising the Helply bill. Drafts, lookups and investigations all draw from one monthly credit block.

Help Scout reserves unlimited AI Drafts for Plus and Pro. On Helply, all three agent types come on every plan, including the Assist Agent that drafts replies. You set SLA targets inside Helply's ticketing.

Helply's own support team runs on the platform, and 2 people now cover the 1,400 customers that once took a team of 6.

On Helply's B2B sizing rule, the example 10-person team pays $399 a month ($339 annual), or $249 ($212) on the B2C rule. The smallest block costs $49 a month ($42 annual), and your default spending ceiling matches the block price. Run a slice of your Help Scout queue beside Helply, then move the rest once the resolution rate holds.