54 reviews
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Help Scout is a leading customer support platform used by over 12,000 companies, including Slack, Zapier, Opendoor and Trello. It is particularly beneficial for startups, helping to improve customer satisfaction and renewal rates due to its low cost and easy deployment. The platform can increase productivity by an average of 52% and allows teams to organize and collaborate more effectively through features like a shared inbox and instant messaging. Customers can also find answers themselves through the knowledge base, reducing assistance volume by 30%. Help Scout is capable of supporting tens of millions of customers, making it ideal for companies anticipating significant growth.
Effective customer service software
Help Scout is a reliable tool for managing customer service emails, providing a basic yet effective solution for businesses to handle their customer support management
Affordable and straightforward
Help Scout is easy to set up, use, and is more affordable compared to other customer service software, making it a great choice for small to medium teams.
Outstanding support team
Help Scout's support team is known for providing quick and relevant responses, ensuring users get the help they need when they need it
Excellent email deliverability
Help Scout ensures that all emails and responses directly reach customers' inboxes, eliminating issues with email deliverability
User-friendly mobile app
The Help Scout mobile app allows users to serve customers even when they're away from their desk, ensuring continuous customer support
Limited features
Despite its effectiveness in managing emails and customer support, Help Scout lacks certain features such as the ability to snooze or schedule an email or response, create embeddable forms, and link social media
Limited server locations
Help Scout does not have UK or EU servers, which can pose a risk of data being passed to bad actors
Inadequate reporting
The reporting feature in Help Scout could be improved to provide more detailed insights and enhance the daily management of support tickets
Lack of ticketing system
Help Scout does not have a ticketing system, which can lead to missed or unanswered customer service emails when a large volume comes in simultaneously
Expensive pricing plans
Help Scout's pricing plans can be a bit steep, especially for small businesses or startups.
Starting Price
Free Plan
Continuously improve your processes
Empower your customers with Docs, Chat, and Messaging
Benefit from a shared inbox
Save time with automation
Harness the power of chat for your customer service
Starting Price
/ user / month
Free Plan
No
Continuously improve your processes
Empower your customers with Docs, Chat, and Messaging
Benefit from a shared inbox
Save time with automation
Harness the power of chat for your customer service
Both Freshdesk and Help Scout are popular helpdesk platforms with dedicated user bases, but several key differences can guide you in selecting the right one for your business. One of the most significant differences lies in their pricing models. Freshdesk offers a range of pricing tiers, including a free plan for small teams, but charges per agent for its more advanced features. This model is beneficial for businesses that need access to a wide array of tools and don’t mind paying for each support agent. In contrast, Help Scout also charges per user but offers more straightforward pricing with all plans including core features like live chat and a knowledge base, making it potentially more cost-effective for teams focused on delivering personalized support without needing numerous add-ons.
If you’re considering a free helpdesk solution, it's essential to compare the free plan offerings of Freshdesk and Help Scout. Freshdesk’s free plan includes email and social ticketing, knowledge...
Freshdesk
Used by 389 members
Customer service software to optimize your client communication
14 days free
Save up to $20
When comparing Help Scout and Zendesk, there are several key differences that can influence your choice of customer support platform. One of the primary distinctions lies in their approach to customer communication and support management.
Help Scout is designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind, catering to businesses that prioritize straightforward customer interactions and streamlined support workflows. Its intuitive interface and focus on collaboration make it well-suited for teams seeking a user-friendly solution for managing customer inquiries and delivering personalized support.
On the other hand, Zendesk offers a comprehensive suite of support tools, catering to businesses of all sizes and industries. It provides a wide range of features, including ticketing systems, knowledge bases, live chat, and automation capabilities, making it suitable for handling complex support workflows and scaling with growing businesses.
Another significant difference between Help Scout and...
Zendesk
Used by 2648 members
Create a customer success support suite that is accessible and available to your customers at all times.
6 months free (with AI Agents and Copilot)
Save up to $50,000
Help Scout and Intercom are both renowned customer support platforms, but they cater to different aspects of customer interaction and support management. Understanding the distinctions between these platforms is crucial when deciding which one aligns best with your business needs.
Help Scout is known for its straightforward, no-frills approach to customer support. It primarily offers features like shared mailboxes, a knowledge base, and live chat—all designed with ease of use in mind. This makes Help Scout an ideal choice for businesses that need efficient, reliable tools for direct customer support without the complexity of additional functionalities. Help Scout is particularly favored by small to medium-sized businesses that seek to maintain personal connections with their customers through a simple, user-friendly interface.
Intercom, on the other hand, provides a broader suite of products aimed not just at support, but also at sales and marketing automation. Intercom is...
Fin (ex. Intercom)
Used by 3259 members
Strengthen relationships with your customers with an online messaging system.
$6,500 in Fin AI Agent credits + Intercom helpdesk free for 1 year
Save up to $6,500
Large Businesses
Large businesses have used Help Scout for many years due to its robust features. However, recent changes to the software, particularly the WYSIWYG editor, have left some users dissatisfied
Educational Institutions
Help Scout has been used effectively in university departments to monitor customer enquiries and support requests. Its collaborative inbox feature facilitates easy communication within the support team, although it has some limitations such as lack of native phone and chat support tools.
Small to Medium Business Teams
These teams find Help Scout a great choice due to its simplicity and affordability. It is user-friendly and allows for excellent customer service delivery despite lacking some desirable features
Customer Support Teams
Help Scout is recommended for any business that requires customer support. Its straightforward ticketing system and ease of use make it a great aid in customer service
E-commerce Businesses
Help Scout is reliable for managing customer emails in e-commerce businesses. Its mobile app is particularly valued as it allows for customer service even when away from the desk
Help Scout rating
Ease of use
Customer service
Value for money
Likelihood to recommend
Features
Deborah Marks IV
Beacon + Knowledge Base Cuts Repeat Tickets
We moved from Gmail to Help Scout mainly for Beacon and the knowledge base, and it made a real difference since customers now find answers on their own before opening a ticket, which reduced repeat questions noticeably
June 28, 2026
Mrs. Norberto Schimmel
Reliable Docs + Beacon Chat with Joinsecret Onboarding Runway
Help Scout is not the flashiest platform, but it is reliable and practical, especially the knowledge base editor and the way Beacon connects help articles with live chat, and we happened to get six months of the Plus plan through Joinsecret which gave us room to onboard gradually
June 20, 2026
Mammie Windler DC
Unified Customer View Makes Replies Faster (Plus Joinsecret Bonus)
What sold me on Help Scout was the customer view inside each thread, since seeing past conversations and properties in one place saves time, and getting the six free months on Plus through Joinsecret was a nice bonus rather than the main reason
June 13, 2026
Brooks Tillman
Fast Onboarding with Shared Inbox and Collision Detection
Help Scout has been a solid fit for our support team because the shared inbox is simple enough that new agents pick it up fast, and the collision detection cuts down on two people answering the same customer at once
June 8, 2026
Antonia Luettgen V
Clean UI that Simplifies Handoffs and Context
One thing I appreciate is how clean the interface is compared with heavier help desk tools, and features like notes, tags, and conversation history make handoffs between team members much less messy
May 30, 2026
Lawrence Crist
Mobile Triage Without Clutter
The mobile experience is decent for triage, I can clear simple tickets and leave internal notes on the go, and the UI doesn’t feel cluttered like some heavier desk tools
May 23, 2026
Sixta Dickinson
Customer Profiles Speed Context and Onboarding
Customer profiles are a sleeper feature, seeing past conversations and properties in one place makes it easier to avoid asking customers to repeat themselves, and it’s helped newer agents ramp faster
May 19, 2026
Adam Bosco
Fair Pricing and Joinsecret Runway
We’re a small team and the pricing felt fair, especially since we grabbed the 6 months free Help Scout deal through Joinsecret and used that runway to migrate and clean up macros without pressure
May 9, 2026
Leanora Quigley
Truly Internal Notes and @Mentions
I like that Notes are truly internal, our support team can leave context for engineering without risking customers seeing it, and @mentions actually get read because notifications are restrained
May 3, 2026
Sadye Wisoky
Easy-to-Use Depth with Saved Replies and Workflows
I like Help Scout for the balance between ease of use and useful depth, especially saved replies and workflows, though reporting could still go a bit deeper for custom metrics
April 25, 2026
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