{
  "$schema": "https://tiergauge.com/api/tools.schema.json",
  "feed_version": "1",
  "generated_at": "2026-05-01T02:58:26.531Z",
  "site": "https://tiergauge.com",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0 with attribution to TierGauge.",
  "tool": {
    "slug": "help-scout",
    "name": "Help Scout",
    "vendor": "Help Scout",
    "homepage_url": "https://www.helpscout.com",
    "pricing_url": "https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/",
    "tagline": "Conversation-centric help desk and shared inbox for support teams.",
    "description": "Help Scout is a help-desk and shared-inbox platform built around a conversational UI rather than the ticket-grid model used by Zendesk or Freshdesk. The product bundles email-based shared inboxes, live chat, a knowledge base (Docs), basic SLA policies, workflows, and an AI Inbox assistant. Pricing is per-user, with a genuinely usable Free plan for teams up to 5, a Standard tier at $25/user, a Plus tier at $45/user with advanced workflows and unlimited AI Drafts, and a Pro tier at $75/user that adds HIPAA, SSO/SAML, and a dedicated onboarding specialist. AI Answers is sold separately at $0.75 per resolution.",
    "primary_category": "help-desk",
    "secondary_categories": [
      "live-chat"
    ],
    "plans": [
      {
        "name": "Free",
        "slug": "free",
        "tagline": "Up to 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "free"
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 0,
        "limits": {
          "seats": {
            "kind": "number",
            "value": 5
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "1 shared inbox",
          "1 Docs (knowledge base) site",
          "10 saved replies",
          "10 tags",
          "Email support"
        ],
        "features_missing": [
          "Live chat",
          "Multiple inboxes",
          "Workflows",
          "SLA policies",
          "AI Inbox assistant",
          "AI Drafts"
        ],
        "is_free": true,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual"
      },
      {
        "name": "Standard",
        "slug": "standard",
        "tagline": "Entry paid tier with live chat and AI Inbox assistant",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "monthly",
            "price": {
              "amount_cents": 2500,
              "currency": "USD"
            },
            "per_unit": "user"
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 2500,
        "limits": {
          "seats": {
            "kind": "number",
            "value": 25,
            "unit": "users (max)"
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "2 inboxes included",
          "Live chat",
          "Instagram and Messenger channels",
          "Multiple knowledge bases",
          "One basic SLA policy",
          "Basic workflows",
          "Unlimited tags and saved replies",
          "AI Inbox assistant"
        ],
        "features_missing": [
          "WhatsApp channel",
          "Advanced workflows",
          "Advanced SLA policies",
          "Unlimited AI Drafts",
          "Round robin routing",
          "Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot integrations",
          "SSO/SAML",
          "HIPAA compliance"
        ],
        "is_free": false,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "16% off with annual billing. 2 inboxes included; additional inboxes $10/mo each."
      },
      {
        "name": "Plus",
        "slug": "plus",
        "tagline": "Advanced workflows, unlimited AI Drafts, WhatsApp",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "monthly",
            "price": {
              "amount_cents": 4500,
              "currency": "USD"
            },
            "per_unit": "user"
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 4500,
        "limits": {
          "seats": {
            "kind": "number",
            "value": 50,
            "unit": "users (max)"
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "5 inboxes included",
          "WhatsApp channel",
          "Advanced workflows",
          "Two advanced SLA policies",
          "Unlimited AI Drafts",
          "Round robin routing",
          "Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot integrations",
          "Internal teams",
          "Group conversations by company"
        ],
        "features_missing": [
          "Unlimited workflows and SLA policies",
          "SSO/SAML",
          "HIPAA compliance",
          "Light users",
          "Dedicated onboarding specialist",
          "Strategic account manager"
        ],
        "is_free": false,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "16% off with annual billing. 5 inboxes included."
      },
      {
        "name": "Pro",
        "slug": "pro",
        "tagline": "Unlimited users, SSO/SAML, HIPAA, dedicated onboarding",
        "prices": [
          {
            "cycle": "monthly",
            "price": {
              "amount_cents": 7500,
              "currency": "USD"
            },
            "per_unit": "user",
            "min_units": 10
          }
        ],
        "anchor_monthly_usd_cents": 7500,
        "limits": {
          "seats": {
            "kind": "unlimited"
          }
        },
        "features_included": [
          "10 inboxes included",
          "Unlimited workflows",
          "Unlimited SLA policies",
          "Multiple routing types",
          "SSO/SAML",
          "HIPAA compliance",
          "Up to 50 light users",
          "Dedicated onboarding specialist",
          "Strategic account manager",
          "Preferred Aircall pricing"
        ],
        "features_missing": [],
        "is_free": false,
        "has_free_trial": false,
        "contact_sales": false,
        "source_url": "https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/",
        "captured_at": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
        "capture_method": "manual",
        "notes": "16% off with annual billing. Minimum 10 users. 10 inboxes included; up to 50 free 'light users' available."
      }
    ],
    "free_plan_available": true,
    "free_trial_days": null,
    "starting_price_usd_cents": 0,
    "has_custom_enterprise": false,
    "alternatives": [
      "crisp"
    ],
    "pros": [
      "Clean conversation-centric UI compared with ticket-form-heavy competitors like Zendesk",
      "Genuinely useful Free plan with 5 users and 1 inbox, not a token tier",
      "HIPAA compliance available on Pro for healthcare buyers",
      "AI Drafts unlocked on the Plus tier rather than gated to the top plan",
      "16% annual discount applied across every paid tier"
    ],
    "cons": [
      "Per-user pricing scales fast for high-headcount support orgs (10 users on Pro is $750/month)",
      "Advanced SLA policies are gated to Plus and above, which is $45 per seat",
      "Fewer enterprise governance controls than Zendesk or Freshdesk",
      "AI Answers is a separate per-resolution add-on at $0.75, stacking on top of the seat price"
    ],
    "best_for": [
      "SaaS support teams of 5 to 50 with email and chat as the main channels",
      "Healthcare-adjacent companies that need HIPAA on the help desk",
      "Teams that prefer a calm conversational inbox over the ticket-grid model"
    ],
    "not_for": [
      "Enterprises with thousands of agents (Zendesk or Freshdesk fit better)",
      "Companies whose primary support channel is voice (no built-in voice)",
      "Teams that need deeply customizable ticket fields beyond what Help Scout exposes"
    ],
    "affiliate_program": {
      "name": "Help Scout Partner Program",
      "network": "direct",
      "commission_type": "recurring",
      "joined": false
    },
    "last_verified": "2026-04-30T21:00:00.000Z",
    "scraper_status": "manual-only"
  }
}