Help Scout Alternatives and Competitors: 2026 Prices
· Wallu Team · 12 min read · Comparison
Help Scout Standard is $30 per user a month ($25 billed yearly) plus $0.75 per AI resolution. Front, Hiver, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Zoho Desk and more, compared.
Table of Contents
- What Help Scout costs in 2026
- What Help Scout does well and why teams look elsewhere
- The alternatives at a glance in both billing cycles
- The alternatives by what you need
- What a team of 3, 5 or 10 pays per month
- What AI adds at 500 conversations a month
- Where Wallu is the wrong choice
- Sources and read dates
- Frequently asked questions
Short answer: For another email-first shared inbox, look at Front ($35 per seat month-to-month, $25 billed annually) or Hiver, which works inside Gmail at the same prices. If you have outgrown Help Scout, Zendesk Suite Team ($69 per agent, $55 annually) bundles AI agents, live chat and telephony, and Freshdesk ($23 per agent, $19 annually) puts Freddy AI on every plan. If cost is the reason, Zoho Desk starts at $9 per user ($7 annually), with a free plan for three users. For AI that answers first, Intercom adds $0.99 per Fin outcome to its seats, and Wallu ($4.99 a month per account, $3.99 yearly) fits only if the answers belong on chat and social channels, not in a shared email inbox.
About the prices. All figures come from the vendors' own pricing pages, read on 10 October 2026. Six of them (Help Scout, Front, Hiver, Freshdesk, Zendesk, Intercom) open on the annual toggle, so we give both billing cycles.
What Help Scout costs in 2026
Help Scout has gone back to charging per user, and contacts are unlimited on paid plans. The pricing page opens on annual billing, shown as 16% off.
| Plan | Month-to-month | Billed annually | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Up to 5 users, 1 Inbox, 1 Docs site, 100 contacts a month, no AI |
| Standard | $30 per user | $25 per user | Up to 25 users, 2 Inboxes, 2 Docs sites, AI Assist |
| Plus | $54 per user | $45 per user | Up to 50 users, 5 Inboxes, unlimited AI Drafts and Summarize, 5 light users |
| Pro | $90 per user | $75 per user | Minimum 10 users, 10 Inboxes, sold through sales only |
AI Answers is an add-on on Standard, Plus and Pro at $0.75 per resolution, billed monthly, with a spend cap. New accounts get three months of unlimited AI Answers free, counted from account creation. Standard and Plus have a 15-day trial, no card.
Our arithmetic from their published rates: five users on Standard cost $150 a month month-to-month ($125 billed annually), or $270 ($225) on Plus. If AI Answers resolves 300 conversations a month after the free months, add $225.
What Help Scout does well and why teams look elsewhere
Help Scout is an email-first shared inbox, and it does that job well. Its pricing has real strengths: a free plan for up to five users, a no-card trial, unlimited contacts on paid plans, a Docs knowledge-base site even on Free, and an AI meter that charges only per resolution, at $0.75, below Intercom's $0.99 per Fin outcome and Zendesk's $1.50 to $2.00 per extra automated resolution.
The reasons to look elsewhere are mostly cost, caps and channel fit:
- Seats add up. Ten users on Plus cost $540 a month month-to-month, or $450 billed annually.
- Plans have caps. Standard allows 2 Inboxes and 25 users, Plus 5 Inboxes and 50 users; Pro needs 10 users and a sales call.
- Gmail. Some teams would rather not leave it for a separate app.
- Scope. Some want telephony and AI agents in one larger suite.
- Channels. If most conversations start on WhatsApp, Instagram or Discord, an email-first tool is centred in the wrong place; see our live chat comparison.
The alternatives at a glance in both billing cycles
Entry plans only. The billing unit matters as much as the number.
Shared inbox and helpdesk tools, sorted by month-to-month entry price:
| Tool (entry plan) | Month-to-month | Billed annually | Billed per | Free plan or trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk (Express) | $9 | $7 | User, up to 5 users | Free plan for 3 users; 15-day trial |
| Freshdesk (Growth) | $23 | $19 | Agent | 14-day trial |
| Zendesk (Support Team) | $25 | $19 | Agent | 14-day trial |
| Help Scout (Standard), for reference | $30 | $25 | User | Free plan for 5 users; 15-day trial |
| Front (Starter) | $35 | $25 | Seat, up to 10 seats | 14-day trial |
| Hiver (Growth) | $35 | $25 | User, minimum 2 | 7-day trial |
Tools built around an AI agent, sorted alphabetically, because each bills in a different unit:
| Tool (entry plan) | Month-to-month | Billed annually | Billed per | Free plan or trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helply, formerly Groove | $49 | $42 | Account: 500 AI credits, unlimited users | 14-day trial with 1,000 credits |
| Intercom (Essential) | $39 list; $29 test price | $29 list; $19 test price | Seat, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome | 14-day trial |
| Wallu (Mini) | $4.99 | $3.99 | Account: 350 AI replies a month | 10 free AI replies a month; 7-day trial, card required |
The alternatives by what you need
Four different reasons for leaving lead to four different shortlists.
If you want the same kind of tool
Front: $35 per seat month-to-month, $25 annually (Starter). The nearest like-for-like on billing, matching Help Scout Standard's $25 on annual terms. Starter covers one channel type and up to 10 seats, enough if email is all you support; omnichannel needs Professional at $85 per seat ($65 annually). Autopilot, the AI agent, is quoted by sales from $0.05 per conversation, and Copilot is a $20 per seat add-on. 14-day trial, no card.
Hiver: $35 per user month-to-month, $25 annually (Growth). Hiver works inside Gmail, so try it if your team will not leave Gmail. Pro ($65, or $55 annually) includes SLAs, CSAT and an API, and Elite ($95, or $85) AI QA and SSO/HIPAA, both via a demo. Seats run from 2 to 5, then in fives, so six people pay for 10: $350 a month on Growth, month-to-month (our arithmetic). AI Agents are on every plan; their usage price is not published. 7-day trial, no card.
If you have outgrown it
Zendesk: $25 per agent month-to-month, $19 annually (Support Team). Support Team is email ticketing only, without messaging, live chat or telephony. Suite Team ($69, or $55 annually) adds those and AI agents, and Suite Professional is $149 ($115). Plans include 5 automated resolutions per agent a month (10 on Suite Professional), then $1.50 each committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go, two to nearly three times Help Scout's $0.75. Copilot is $50 per agent a month, paid yearly. 14-day trial. More in Zendesk vs Intercom.
Freshdesk: $23 per agent month-to-month, $19 annually (Growth). Pro is $66 ($55) and Enterprise $107 ($89). Freddy AI Agent is on all three: 500 sessions are included once per account, not monthly, then $49 per 100, or $0.49 each (our arithmetic). A session is not a resolution, and an email session lasts 72 hours, so compare it with Help Scout's $0.75 carefully. Freddy Copilot is $35 per agent ($29 annually) on Pro and Enterprise. 14-day trial. More in Freshdesk vs Intercom.
If cost is the main reason
Zoho Desk: $9 per user month-to-month, $7 annually (Express, up to 5 users). The lowest per-user price here, plus a free-forever plan for 3 users (email ticketing only). Standard ($20, or $14 annually) includes live chat, messaging apps and Answer bot, and Professional ($35, or $23) Zia AI and telephony. "AI Agents" run from Express on your own model key or Zoho's model (up to 30M free tokens a month); no per-resolution price is published. 15-day trial, no card. Read as a US visitor.
Or stay put. With five or fewer users and no more than 100 contacts a month, Help Scout's own Free plan may be the cheapest option. It has no AI.
If you want AI to answer first
Intercom: $39 per seat month-to-month, $29 annually (Essential, list price). When we read the page, most visitors were shown a test price of $29 ($19 annually). The pricing is built around Fin, the AI agent: it is on every plan and in the 14-day no-card trial, billed at $0.99 per outcome with no included allowance. An outcome (a confirmed resolution, no further request for help, or a completed workflow) is charged at most once per conversation, never when the customer asks for a human. Fin is also sold for other helpdesks, without seats, at a monthly minimum; ask whether yours is supported.
Groove, now Helply. Groove's pricing page redirects to Helply, which lists Groove as an alternate name; there is no Groove plan to buy. Helply has unlimited users and sells monthly AI credit blocks: 500 for $49 month-to-month ($42 annually), 1,200 for $99 ($84), 2,000 for $139 ($118) and 4,000 for $249 ($212), with tiers up to 32,000. At Helply's estimate of 4 to 7 credits per conversation, 500 credits cover about 71 to 125 conversations (our arithmetic). 14-day trial with 1,000 credits.
Wallu: $4.99 a month per account month-to-month, $3.99 billed yearly (Mini). Not a like-for-like shared email inbox: it fits only if what you need is AI answers on chat and social channels. One AI agent answers from your knowledge base across eight channels (website chat widget, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Discord, Slack and email) and hands over to a human. No per-seat charge; plans run from 350 AI replies a month to 25,000 on Enterprise ($149, or $119 yearly). See pricing.
What a team of 3, 5 or 10 pays per month
Our arithmetic from their published rates: seats only, before AI usage, month-to-month, plus ten users billed annually. Rows are sorted by the five-user month-to-month cost.
| Plan (per user, month-to-month) | 3 users | 5 users | 10 users | 10 users, billed annually |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk Express ($9) | $27 | $45 | Not sold (5-user limit) | Not sold |
| Zoho Desk Standard ($20) | $60 | $100 | $200 | $140 |
| Freshdesk Growth ($23) | $69 | $115 | $230 | $190 |
| Zendesk Support Team ($25), email only | $75 | $125 | $250 | $190 |
| Help Scout Standard ($30) | $90 | $150 | $300 | $250 |
| Front Starter ($35), one channel type | $105 | $175 | $350 | $250 |
| Hiver Growth ($35) | $105 | $175 | $350 | $250 |
| Intercom Essential ($39 list) | $117 | $195 | $390 | $290 |
| Help Scout Plus ($54) | $162 | $270 | $540 | $450 |
| Zendesk Suite Team ($69) | $207 | $345 | $690 | $550 |
| Front Professional ($85) | $255 | $425 | $850 | $650 |
| Help Scout Pro ($90) | Not sold (10-user minimum) | Not sold | $900 | $750 |
- Help Scout Standard sits mid-table. Zoho Desk Express and Standard, Freshdesk Growth and Zendesk Support Team cost less per seat; Front Starter and Hiver Growth cost more month-to-month and the same billed annually.
- The cheapest row is not always like-for-like. Zendesk Support Team has no live chat or messaging and Front Starter covers one channel type; plans that add channels cost two to three times as much.
- At Intercom's test price ($29, or $19 annually), its row reads $87, $145, $290 and $190.
- Helply and Wallu are left out: neither charges per seat, so AI volume sets their price (next table).
What AI adds at 500 conversations a month
One scenario: 500 conversations a month that the AI handles without a person stepping in. Our arithmetic from their published rates. Rows are alphabetical, because the units differ.
| Tool and AI product | Billed per | 500 AI-handled conversations a month | On top of seats? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk, Freddy AI Agent | Session | $245 (5 × $49), after the one-time 500 | Yes |
| Front, Autopilot | Conversation, via sales | From $25 (500 × $0.05) | Yes |
| Help Scout, AI Answers | Resolution | $375 (500 × $0.75), after the free months | Yes |
| Helply, formerly Groove | Credit, 4 to 7 per conversation (their estimate) | $139 to $249 ($118 to $212 annually) for 2,000 to 3,500 credits | No, whole bill |
| Hiver, AI Agents | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Intercom, Fin | Outcome | $495 (500 × $0.99) | Yes |
| Wallu | AI reply sent | $19 ($15 yearly): about 1,600 replies at 3.2 per conversation fits Starter's 2,500 | No, whole bill |
| Zendesk, automated resolutions | Resolution beyond allowance | $712.50 committed or $950 pay-as-you-go (5 agents on a Team plan: 25 included, then 475 × $1.50 or $2.00) | Yes |
| Zoho Desk, AI Agents | No per-resolution price | Not published | Yes |
- Per-resolution meters charge only for success. Help Scout, Intercom and Zendesk bill when the AI resolves a conversation. Freshdesk's sessions, Helply's credits and Wallu's replies are not defined by a resolution, so if the AI resolves only half of the 500, only the per-resolution bills fall.
- Seats still apply everywhere except Helply and Wallu. Front's figure is a sales-quoted floor; Hiver and Zoho Desk publish no rate.
Where Wallu is the wrong choice
If any of these describes your team, choose something else.
- You need a shared email inbox for a team of people. Wallu is an AI agent that answers across eight channels and hands over to a human, not a like-for-like Help Scout replacement. For people answering email together, Help Scout itself, Front or Hiver fits.
- You need a full helpdesk suite. Wallu has no workforce management, multi-brand help centre, SLA policy engine, phone contact centre or skills-based routing for large teams. Zendesk Suite Team and Zoho Desk Professional both list telephony.
- Your budget is zero. A free Wallu account gets 10 AI replies a month, enough to test it, not to run support on. Help Scout Free covers up to 5 users and Zoho Desk Free 3.
- You only want to pay for successes. Wallu bills every AI reply it sends; Help Scout and Intercom bill per resolution or outcome. At high, steady volume, a flat-rate or unlimited plan elsewhere can also beat per-reply credits.
- You depend on integrations. Wallu has no app marketplace and far fewer third-party integrations than Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk or HubSpot, and full API and webhooks come only with Enterprise ($149, or $119 yearly). It is a young company.
- You need an uptime SLA. None is published below Enterprise.
Sources and read dates
All prices come from the vendors' own pages, not from review sites.
| Vendor | Pricing page | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Help Scout | helpscout.com/pricing | 10 Oct 2026 |
| Front | front.com/pricing | 10 Oct 2026 |
| Hiver | hiverhq.com/pricing | 10 Oct 2026 |
| Zendesk | zendesk.com/pricing | 10 Oct 2026 |
| Freshdesk | freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing | 10 Oct 2026 |
| Zoho Desk | zoho.com/desk/pricing.html | 10 Oct 2026, as a US visitor |
| Intercom | intercom.com/pricing | 10 Oct 2026 |
| Groove (now Helply) | groovehq.com/pricing, redirecting to helply.com/pricing | 10 Oct 2026 |
| Wallu | wallu.ai/pricing | 10 Oct 2026 |
Frequently asked questions
How much does Help Scout cost in 2026?
Help Scout charges per user. Standard is $30 a month month-to-month or $25 billed annually, Plus $54 or $45, and Pro $90 or $75 with a 10-user minimum, sold through sales. The Free plan covers up to 5 users and 100 contacts a month, without AI. AI Answers costs $0.75 per resolution after three free months.
What is the closest alternative to Help Scout?
Front, billed per seat at $35 month-to-month or $25 annually on Starter, which covers one channel type and up to 10 seats. If your team lives in Gmail, Hiver works inside it at the same prices per user, with a 2-seat minimum.
Is there a free alternative to Help Scout?
Zoho Desk has a free plan for 3 users (email ticketing only), and Help Scout's own Free plan covers up to 5 users and 100 contacts a month. Front, Hiver, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom and Helply offer trials, not free plans. A free Wallu account gets 10 AI replies a month, enough only to test.
Is Groove still a Help Scout alternative?
Not under that name. Groove's pricing page redirects to Helply, and there is no Groove plan to buy. Helply is priced by monthly AI credits with unlimited users, from $49 month-to-month or $42 billed annually for 500 credits.
Which Help Scout alternative has the cheapest AI?
It depends on the unit. Per resolution, Help Scout's own $0.75 is below Intercom's $0.99 per Fin outcome and Zendesk's $1.50 to $2.00 per extra automated resolution. Freshdesk charges $0.49 per session after a one-time 500, and a session is not a resolution. Front quotes from $0.05 a conversation through sales; Hiver and Zoho Desk publish no rate.
What should I check before moving off Help Scout?
Check plan caps (Front Starter stops at 10 seats, Zoho Desk Express at 5 users, and Hiver sells seats in fives above five), the AI unit, and whether an AI allowance is monthly or one-time, as Freshdesk's 500 sessions are. Compare month-to-month prices, and agree how your history, customer records and help articles will move before you cancel.
Is Wallu a replacement for Help Scout?
Only for part of the job. Wallu is an AI agent that answers from your knowledge base across eight channels, including website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and email, and hands over to a human, from $4.99 a month per account ($3.99 billed yearly). It is not a like-for-like shared email inbox; for that, Front, Hiver or Help Scout itself fits better.
