Help Scout
Help Scout: A broad help desk with a practical free tier for teams of up to five users. Ranked #9 of 100 in Help Desk Software by our editors (8.5/10); pricing: Free plan · 15-day trial; best for small teams wanting free support for five seats.
At a glance
- Editor score8.5 / 10
- PricingFree plan · 15-day trial
- Best forSmall teams wanting free support for five seats
- Free planYes
- Paid from$25/user/mo
- SLA managementYes
- Founded2011
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Free plan includes up to five users, one inbox, and one Docs site
- Shared inboxes, SLAs, workflows, knowledge bases, portals, and reporting
- Supports web, iOS, Android, APIs, and major customer-service integrations
Where it doesn't
- Free plan is limited to one inbox and one Docs site
- Paid pricing is charged per user each month
- Advanced capabilities are concentrated in higher-priced plans
Our verdict on Help Scout
Help Scout is a customer support platform for teams managing customer conversations across email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and other channels. Its shared inboxes support team-managed conversations, while customer profiles, workflows, SLA policies, reporting, searchable knowledge bases, an embeddable support hub, and customer portals extend the service beyond email. Mobile apps for iOS and Android, API access, and AI-assisted drafting, summarization, editing, and translation make it suited to small teams that want a broad support workspace without starting with a paid plan.
Pricing is accessible at the entry level. The Free plan costs $0 per account and includes up to 5 users, 1 inbox, and 1 Docs site. Standard costs $25 per user per month and adds multiple inboxes, live chat and SMS, one basic SLA policy, basic workflows, and an AI Inbox assistant. Plus costs $45 per user per month, adding advanced workflows, two advanced SLA policies, a secure customer portal, unlimited AI Drafts, and round robin routing. Pro costs $75 per user per month and adds unlimited workflows, unlimited SLA policies, SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance, and up to 50 light users. A 15-day free trial is also available.
The platform fits teams that need multiple ways to connect support operations with the rest of their stack. Listed integrations include Salesforce, HubSpot, Aircall, Jira, Linear, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, while the Inbox, Docs, and Beacon APIs support webhooks and custom apps. The main trade-off is plan progression: the free tier is intentionally narrow, and capabilities such as secure portals, advanced workflows, SSO/SAML, and HIPAA compliance require paid plans. Teams wanting free support for five seats should start with Help Scout; teams needing broader free capacity or advanced features at the lowest possible per-user cost should compare alternatives.
Your product? Our editors can test Help Scout in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →
Help Scout pricing
All 4 Help Scout plans and prices →
Help Scout fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $25/user/mo |
| Shared inbox | Yes |
| SLA management | Yes |
| Help center | Yes |
| Ticket automation | Yes |
| Customer portal | Yes |
| API access | Yes |
| Included agent seats | 5 |
| Free trial | 15 days · no card needed |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
| Deployment | Cloud, Mobile |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android |
| Compliance & security | HIPAA, SSO/SAML, 2FA |
| Support | Email, Docs |
| Built for | Small business, Mid-market (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 100+ integrations: Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, Linear, Aircall, WhatsApp … |
| Pricing | Free plan · 15-day trial (source) |
| Website | helpscout.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Help Scout integrations
Help Scout lists 100+ integrations on its own site — the 8 named here are the ones its pages call out.
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Jira
- Linear
- Aircall
- Facebook Messenger
Alternatives to Help Scout
- FreshdeskA mature omnichannel help desk with ticketing, automation, AI, and analytics.9.3
- Zoho DeskA broad help desk with a free plan, multichannel support, automation, SLAs, and self-service tools.9.2
- Salesforce Service CloudA deeply capable service platform whose higher tiers carry significant per-user costs.9.1
See all Help Scout alternatives →
Help Scout vs the competition
- Help Scout vs Freshdesk
- Help Scout vs Zoho Desk
- Help Scout vs Salesforce Service Cloud
- Help Scout vs ServiceNow Customer Service Management AI Agents
- Help Scout vs Intercom
- Help Scout vs Odoo Helpdesk
Compare Help Scout with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Help Scout is ranked in 14 of our directories; the 6 strongest besides Help Desk Software.
Used Help Scout? Be the first to review it
The editor score above is our own research. What this page doesn't have yet is a reader's view — what you used Help Scout for, what worked and what didn't. No stars are seeded and no review is paid for; an editor reads every one before it appears.
Write a reviewTwo minutes · verified accounts only · read by an editor before it appears
Featured on iTechGuides
Help Scout is listed in our Help Desk Software directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.
<a href="https://www.itechguides.com/products/help-scout/"><img src="https://www.itechguides.com/best/badge/help-scout.svg" alt="Featured on iTechGuides" width="230" height="46"></a>
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
Last updated · How we research and update