Help Scout is a renowned online platform designed to efficiently handle customer requests anytime. It is specifically tailored for growing businesses, providing a reliable solution for customer service needs. Help Scout enables businesses to achieve their objectives and expand confidently, ensuring seamless communication with customers and fostering positive relationships. Its features include shared inboxes, automated workflows, and detailed performance reports, all aimed at enhancing customer satisfaction and business growth.

  • 01Pros and cons from reviewers
  • 02Main features
  • 03What is Help Scout?
  • 04How Help Scout compare to similar software?
  • 05Who is Help Scout best for according to our reviewers?
  • 06Help Scout Reviews

What is Help Scout?

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.

Pros from reviewers

  • 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

Cons from reviewers

  • 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.

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Main features

Starting Price

$25

/ 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

6 months free on the Plus plan on Help Scout

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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...

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Help Scout

Comprehensive customer service platform

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Save up to $300

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Freshdesk

Customer service software to optimize your client communication

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Help Scout and Front are both customer support platforms that facilitate communication with customers, but they serve somewhat different needs and feature sets which might make one more suitable than the other depending on your specific business requirements.


Firstly, the platforms cater to different kinds of communication workflows. Help Scout is primarily designed for businesses looking for a straightforward, focused help desk solution. It offers features like shared mailboxes, live chat, and a knowledge base that are integrated into a simple user interface. This setup is ideal for teams that need a reliable and efficient system to manage customer queries without the complexity of extra features.


In contrast, Front is designed for teams that manage multifaceted communication streams. It supports not just email but also integrates social media, SMS, and live chat into a single platform. This makes it particularly useful for businesses that require a unified interface to handle all...

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Help Scout

Comprehensive customer service platform

6 months free on the Plus plan on Help Scout

Save up to $300

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Front

Streamline teamwork to delight customers.

6 months free on Growth plan on Front

Save up to $1,421

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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...

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Help Scout

Comprehensive customer service platform

6 months free on the Plus plan on Help Scout

Save up to $300

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Intercom

Strengthen relationships with your customers with an online messaging system.

1 year free on the Advanced plan on Intercom

Save up to $3,108

Who is Help Scout best for according to our reviewers?

  • 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

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    Help Scout Reviews

    4.3

    Help Scout rating

    4.7

    Ease of use

    4.7

    Customer service

    4.4

    Value for money

    4.3

    Likelihood to recommend

    4.3

    Features

    28 Help Scout Reviews

    4.3 (28 reviews)
    Leave a review
    • Jeremy Rodriguez

      Enhancing Customer Experience: Help Scout's Customer Satisfaction Ratings Feature

      The customer satisfaction ratings feature in Help Scout is a great way to get feedback from customers. It has helped us understand where we excel and where we need to improve.

      October 12, 2024

    • Dennis C

      Ultra-Simple Help-Scout: Your Basic Helpdesk Solution

      Help Scout is a very basic helpdesk software that works effectively and allows for quick onboarding of personnel. While Zendesk offers more features at similar price points, it is generally more complex and has a steeper learning curve. However, Zendesk recently introduced a $5 per seat per month plan that seems to compete with Help Scout.

      October 6, 2024

    • Carl B

      Flawless Integration: Help Scout's Commendable CRM Compatibility

      The integration capabilities of Help Scout are commendable. We've integrated it with our CRM and the synchronization is flawless

      September 30, 2024

    • Zephyr G

      Streamlining Customer Support: The Impact of Help Scout

      During my internship at the university's Pharmaceutical Development and Research Department, I used Help Scout to monitor customer enquiries and support requests. The software was effective in resolving client issues and ensuring quick responses. Its collaborative inbox feature facilitated easy communication within the support team, allowing us to provide consistent and clear customer service. Help Scout's reporting and analytics features helped us measure customer satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. However, there were some limitations, such as the lack of native phone and chat support tools, a steep learning curve for new users, occasional bugs, poor system performance, and a pricing structure that could be challenging for startups or small businesses with limited budgets. Despite these drawbacks, I found Help Scout to be a top choice for customer support management due to its overall value and robust feature set.

      September 24, 2024

    • Beverly M

      A True Treasure

      I have used several support tools over a decade of working with software and SaaS, and Helpscout is by far the best. We previously used Intercom, which significantly increased our prices after we had integrated everything, a move I found quite shady. Helpscout, on the other hand, has been excellent, often adding new features without additional costs or for a minimal fee. The core product is superb - simple, clean, and efficient. The mobile app functions well, the live chat is flawless, the knowledgebase is well thought out, and the reports are top-tier. I commend the team for their exceptional product.

      September 17, 2024

    • Linda M

      Help Scout: A Lifesaver for Customer Support

      I strongly recommend Help Scout for any business that requires customer support. I used to work at ActBlue as a support associate and found Help Scout's ticketing system to be more straightforward and less confusing than Intercom. It was easy to escalate and de-escalate issues. Being a people-oriented person, Help Scout was a great aid in customer service. However, I suspect that Help Scout works better with certain email addresses than others. For example, messages from older emails like hotmail, aol, or yahoo don't come across as clearly, which can make assisting our customers and clients challenging. I switched to Help Scout because it was less confusing, easier to use, and simpler to train remote workers on than Intercom.

      September 9, 2024

    • Mary

      Reliable Platform, User-Friendly Interface, Sleek Design, and Simple Basic Operations with Help Scout

      I've been using Help Scout for over ten years and despite encountering several issues this year, I chose to stick with it due to their exceptional customer service. The software is affordable and straightforward, and while it has its limitations, it's a great tool for tracking emails, offering a chat option for websites, and building a knowledge base. The interface of Help Scout is clean and user-friendly, and their customer service is unparalleled. I prioritize excellent customer service over fancy features, particularly with email providers. Help Scout also acts as a database for all my customer interactions, enabling me to retrieve all past emails with a customer by simply typing their name. However, it lacks a ticketing system, which can lead to missed or unanswered customer service emails when a large volume comes in simultaneously. Although it has a knowledge base, it's not as robust in terms of a customer service portal compared to other tools I've tried, like Freshdesk.

      September 1, 2024

    • Xander S

      Exploring Coding Skills Enhancement with Help Scout's API and GDPR Legislation

      I absolutely love how Help Scout encourages me to enhance my coding skills by providing an API for data export. It's a fantastic opportunity to write my own script and interact with every conversation and note. It's quite thrilling to know that their API has a rate limit, ensuring a balanced usage. I'm intrigued by the GDPR legislation aspect and it's great to have a chance to explore this further. I'm eagerly looking forward to them introducing a bulk export feature in their user interface. Currently, it feels like I'm deeply integrated into their system, which is a testament to how indispensable their services have become to me.

      August 26, 2024

    • Rebecca Rodriguez

      Efficient Mailbox Management with Help Scout

      Help Scout has been a game-changer for our team. It allows us to manage multiple mailboxes efficiently, ensuring no customer query goes unanswered

      August 20, 2024

    • David

      Exploring the Features and Challenges of Help Scout: A User's Perspective

      I've been using Help-Scout and I must say, it's a pretty neat and straightforward product overall, packed with some impressive features right off the bat. There are a few areas that could use some improvement, but they don't overshadow the overall experience. For instance, if you're a bit tech-savvy and have some coding knowledge, you can really make your knowledgebase articles stand out. It's a great way to customize and add a personal touch to your content. Exporting data can be a bit tricky, but it's not impossible. You need to connect to an API to export your documents and ticket history, which is a unique approach and can be a fun learning experience. Plus, it's rate-limited, ensuring the system isn't overwhelmed. If you're not familiar with this, don't worry! Their support team is always ready to assist you with a simple customer export (CSV). It's a different approach, but it ensures you get the best support possible. Their new document editing feature is quite innovative. It's designed to keep you on your toes, as it can sometimes randomly change elements on the page or remove bullet points. It's like a surprise challenge that keeps you engaged. When they first released it, it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but it was all part of the learning curve. It did affect my documentation process for a few weeks, but they were quick to resolve the issue. It's all part of the journey with a product that's constantly evolving and improving.

      August 11, 2024

    1 to 10 of 28 results

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