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Help desk software · 11 alternatives

Help Scout alternatives: 11 compared

Sebastiaan Smits By Sebastiaan Smits · Published October 8, 2026 · Updated October 8, 2026

Teams look past Help Scout when seat prices climb with each tier, when SSO, SLAs and unlimited workflows sit on the Pro plan, or when they need native phone support. Most move to Freshdesk or Zendesk for a deeper ticketing suite, Front for a shared-inbox style, and Zammad if they want to self-host.

Short answer: The closest replacements for Help Scout in our help desk software ranking are Freshdesk, Front and Zendesk. Choose Freshdesk if you want per-agent ticketing tiers with day passes for occasional agents. All 11 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Help Desk Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from Help Scout and when Help Scout is still the better choice.

Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. How it works: placement disclosure · editorial process.

Help Scout at a glance

  • Headquarters: United States
  • Pricing model: Per user / month
  • Pricing: Free plan for five users and 100 contacts a month, then per-user tiers from about $25 a month, with AI Answers billed at $0.75 per resolution.
  • Free option: Free plan
  • Built for: Small teams with conversational support
  • Wrong for: High-volume consumer support with strict SLAs, many brands, or a large phone channel will outgrow it. Freshdesk or Zendesk handle that load better, and Gorgias suits online stores.
  • Place in our ranking: #2 of 14
  • Website: helpscout.com

Facts from our help desk software ranking, last checked October 8, 2026.

Why buyers look past Help Scout

  1. Seat price steps with each tier

    The pricing page lists Standard at $25, Plus at $45 and Pro at $75 per user per month, with a 16% discount for annual billing. Standard caps users at 25 and Plus at 50, and Pro requires at least 10 users, so growing teams change plan and price together.

  2. Control features sit on the top plan

    SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance and unlimited SLA policies are listed under Pro. Plus has two advanced SLA policies and the secure customer portal, and Standard has one basic SLA policy and 150 basic workflows. Compliance-minded buyers reach the top price quickly.

  3. Extras are metered on top of seats

    Each plan includes a fixed number of inboxes and Docs sites, and extra ones are billed at $10 and $20 a month. Phone and voice are only available through an integration. AI Answers is charged at $0.75 per resolution, outside the seat price.

11 alternatives at a glance

Closest replacement first. The last column is our place in the full 14-product ranking.

#AlternativeHeadquartersPricingKey differenceSwitch ifOur rank
1FreshdeskUnited StatesPer agent / month; free trialTicketing and automation at a moderate price, chat in Omniyou want per-agent ticketing tiers with day passes for occasional agents#1
2FrontUnited StatesPer seat / month; free trialCollaborative inbox for customer-facing teamsyou want a collaborative inbox for email, SMS and chat with SSO on a mid tier#7
3ZendeskUnited StatesPer agent / month; free trialThe most complete help desk suite, priced for scaleyou need native telephony and a broad ticketing platform with a large app marketplace#4
4Zoho DeskIndiaPer agent / month; free planLow-cost ticketing tied into the Zoho suiteyou already use Zoho apps and want a low-cost per-agent edition ladder#6
5HubSpot Service HubUnited StatesPer seat / month; free planTicketing that lives inside the HubSpot CRMyour customer records live in HubSpot and support should share that CRM#5
6ZammadGermanyOpen source + paid hosting; open sourceOpen-source help desk, self-hosted or hosted in Germanyyou want to self-host under an open-source licence or keep data in German data centers#10
7LiveAgentSlovakiaPer agent / month; free trialLow-cost multichannel ticketing with a built-in call centeryou want phone, chat and social channels built in at a lower per-agent price#13
8HappyFoxUnited StatesPer agent / month or flat; free trialTraditional ticketing with unlimited-agent plansyou have many agents with modest ticket volume and would consider unlimited-agent pricing#9
9IntercomUnited StatesPer seat + per outcome; free trialAI-first support desk built around the Messengerlive chat and an AI agent matter more than the shared email inbox#3
10DeskproUnited KingdomPer agent / month; noneHelp desk offered as cloud, private cloud or on-premisesyou have a larger team and need on-premise or HIPAA-compliant hosting options#14
11GorgiasUnited StatesPer ticket volume; free trialEcommerce help desk built around Shopify ordersyou run an online store on Shopify and prefer pricing by ticket volume#8

What each alternative does differently

1. Freshdesk

Ticketing and automation at a moderate price, chat in Omni · United States

A conventional ticketing suite with per-agent tiers. Growth is $19 per agent a month billed annually, Pro $55 and Enterprise $89, and each includes 500 AI agent sessions once, then $49 per 100. Occasional agents can use day passes. Its Pro tier adds multiple SLA policies and intelligent routing.

Switch from Help Scout if you want per-agent ticketing tiers with day passes for occasional agents.

Pricing: Per agent per month on published tiers, from $19 billed annually for email-centered Freshdesk or $29 for Freshdesk Omni with chat and social channels; 500 AI agent sessions are included once, then sold in packs of 100. (free trial)

Full review: #1 of 14 in our ranking · Visit Freshdesk →

2. Front

Collaborative inbox for customer-facing teams · United States

Built around a shared inbox shared across teams. Starter is $25 per seat on annual billing, limited to 10 seats and one channel type. Professional is $65 for up to 50 seats and adds omnichannel, SSO and SCIM. AI add-ons are extra on every tier except Enterprise.

Switch from Help Scout if you want a collaborative inbox for email, SMS and chat with SSO on a mid tier.

Pricing: Per seat per month on published tiers from $25 billed annually, with seat caps on the lower tiers, one channel type on Starter, and AI tools sold as add-ons except on Enterprise. (free trial)

Full review: #7 of 14 in our ranking · Visit Front →

3. Zendesk

The most complete help desk suite, priced for scale · United States

Sold as Support Team for plain ticketing and as Suite tiers that add AI agents, messaging, live chat and telephony. Copilot and workforce tools are sold as add-ons per agent. Annual billing is cheaper than monthly. The marketplace lists more than 1,800 apps.

Switch from Help Scout if you need native telephony and a broad ticketing platform with a large app marketplace.

Pricing: Per agent per month on published Suite tiers, with AI agent resolutions billed beyond a small monthly allowance per agent, and Copilot, workforce management and quality tools sold as add-ons. (free trial)

Full review: #4 of 14 in our ranking · Visit Zendesk →

4. Zoho Desk

Low-cost ticketing tied into the Zoho suite · India

A per-agent ladder of editions that starts with a Free edition. Express adds social channels and web forms, and the bring-your-own-key option connects an OpenAI key for generative features. The pricing page quotes in local currency, so check the figure in your region. Strongest for teams already on Zoho.

Switch from Help Scout if you already use Zoho apps and want a low-cost per-agent edition ladder.

Pricing: Free plan for a few agents, then low per-agent tiers billed annually, well under Zendesk at every level. (free plan)

Full review: #6 of 14 in our ranking · Visit Zoho Desk →

5. HubSpot Service Hub

Ticketing that lives inside the HubSpot CRM · United States

Sits on the HubSpot CRM. A Free plan covers two users, Starter is $7 per seat on annual billing, and Professional is $90 per seat with a required one-time $1,500 onboarding fee. AI agents run on HubSpot Credits. Best when customer records already live in HubSpot.

Switch from Help Scout if your customer records live in HubSpot and support should share that CRM.

Pricing: Free tools, then per-seat Starter, Professional and Enterprise tiers, with a large step up at Professional. (free plan)

Full review: #5 of 14 in our ranking · Visit HubSpot Service Hub →

6. Zammad

Open-source help desk, self-hosted or hosted in Germany · Germany

Open-source help desk under the AGPL-3.0 licence, so you can host it yourself. Hosted plans run in German data centers: Starter at €7 per agent a month annual, limited to 5 agents, up to unlimited agents on Plus. AI features cost €0.03 per call. Self-hosting means you own updates and backups.

Switch from Help Scout if you want to self-host under an open-source licence or keep data in German data centers.

Pricing: Free to self-host under an open-source license; hosted plans per agent per month from under €10, published. (open source)

Full review: #10 of 14 in our ranking · Visit Zammad →

7. LiveAgent

Low-cost multichannel ticketing with a built-in call center · Slovakia

Per-agent tiers from $15 a month billed annually for Small, which already includes live chat, knowledge base and ticketing. Call center, IVR and SLAs begin on Medium at $29. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram channels start on Large at $49. Call center depth is built into those higher tiers.

Switch from Help Scout if you want phone, chat and social channels built in at a lower per-agent price.

Pricing: Published per-agent tiers from about $15 a month billed annually for Small up to Enterprise, with social channels and call center depth reserved for upper tiers. (free trial)

Full review: #13 of 14 in our ranking · Visit LiveAgent →

8. HappyFox

Traditional ticketing with unlimited-agent plans · United States

A help desk priced from $24 per agent a month, with an alternative unlimited-agent plan priced on volume. AI is sold separately: Autopilot charges per successful action and the chatbot is $0.33 per resolution. A separate Service Desk product covers IT. Choose it when agent count is large and ticket volume modest.

Switch from Help Scout if you have many agents with modest ticket volume and would consider unlimited-agent pricing.

Pricing: Per agent per month from about $24, or flat unlimited-agent plans priced on volume, both published. (free trial)

Full review: #9 of 14 in our ranking · Visit HappyFox →

9. Intercom

AI-first support desk built around the Messenger · United States

Messenger-first. Essential is $19 per seat, Advanced $85 and Expert $132, each with the Fin AI agent charged at $0.99 per outcome on top. Advanced includes 20 free Lite seats and Expert 50. All plans include unlimited live chat. Email campaigns, SMS, WhatsApp and phone are pay-as-you-go.

Switch from Help Scout if live chat and an AI agent matter more than the shared email inbox.

Pricing: Per helpdesk seat per month on published tiers, plus $0.99 per Fin AI outcome. (free trial)

Full review: #3 of 14 in our ranking · Visit Intercom →

10. Deskpro

Help desk offered as cloud, private cloud or on-premises · United Kingdom

Cloud Team costs $39 per agent a month with a five-agent minimum, and Professional $59 with a ten-agent minimum. The vendor also sells Deskpro Private for self-managed deployments, and Enterprise adds a sandbox and HIPAA-compliant hosting. The minimums make it a poor fit below five agents.

Switch from Help Scout if you have a larger team and need on-premise or HIPAA-compliant hosting options.

Pricing: Published per-agent cloud tiers from $39 a month for Team through Enterprise, each with a minimum seat count, plus a separately quoted Private edition for on-premises or dedicated hosting and discounts for nonprofits and education. (none)

Full review: #14 of 14 in our ranking · Visit Deskpro →

11. Gorgias

Ecommerce help desk built around Shopify orders · United States

Priced by billable tickets per month, not agents, with plans from 50 up to 5,000 tickets and AI Agent billed per resolved conversation. It positions itself around Shopify and other ecommerce platforms. A small team with a high ticket count pays more here than on a per-seat plan.

Switch from Help Scout if you run an online store on Shopify and prefer pricing by ticket volume.

Pricing: Monthly plans sized by billable tickets, from a low entry plan, with per-ticket overage and AI agent interactions billed separately. (free trial)

Full review: #8 of 14 in our ranking · Visit Gorgias →

When Help Scout is still the right choice

Help Scout stays the right choice for a small team that lives in email and wants a shared inbox, a Docs site and live chat without a heavy admin layer. The Free plan covers five users and one inbox. Teams under 25 people without SSO or HIPAA requirements rarely need the higher plans.

What to expect when you switch from Help Scout

  1. Conversation history needs the API

    In-app export covers reports as CSV or XLSX and excludes conversation thread contents. Conversations, customers and users come out through the Inbox API, Docs articles through the Docs API. Plan for a migration service or script, and book time for it.

  2. Repoint the support address

    Help Scout's own switching guide shows the support address forwarding to an inbox address that looks like support@yourdomain.helpscoutapp.com. Moving out means changing that forwarding at your email provider. Run both desks for a short period so no email is lost.

  3. Rebuild automation and portal rules

    Workflows, SLA policies, saved replies and Docs site structure are not part of any export described in the docs. Write them down before cutting over. Check redirects for Docs articles separately, since the Docs API returns article content rather than links.

Questions and answers

How do I export all conversations from Help Scout?

Through the Inbox API only. The in-app export covers reports as CSV or XLSX and leaves out conversation thread contents. Help Scout's data export page states that the API is the only means of obtaining the remaining data, so third-party migration tools use it.

Can I get a CSV of my customers from Help Scout?

Yes, on request. Account Owners can ask Help Scout support for a CSV with the names and email addresses of all customers. It does not include conversation history. The Inbox API returns customer data on demand as well.

Which Help Scout plan includes SSO?

Pro. SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance, unlimited SLA policies and multiple routing types are listed under Pro at $75 per user a month, and Pro requires a minimum of 10 users. Plus does not include SSO.

Does Help Scout support phone calls natively?

No. The plan comparison lists phone and voice as available via integration on the paid plans. Live chat is a listed channel from Standard, alongside WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.

Is AI Answers billed per seat?

No. AI Answers is priced at $0.75 per resolution, billed monthly, and Help Scout offers a three-month free trial. Other AI features such as AI Drafts are unlimited on the higher tiers rather than metered.

What does the Help Scout Free plan include?

Five users, one inbox and one Docs site, with 100 contacts a month. A contact is someone who received a reply from your team or had a question resolved by the AI assistant.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts about Help Scout on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on October 8, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.

Who wrote this

Sebastiaan Smits Sebastiaan Smits, Founder, wrote, edited and fact-checked this page. Founder of The Interregnum and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Writes, edits and fact-checks every page here. Last reviewed October 8, 2026. How we review.