About Help Scout
Overview
Help Scout is a customer service platform designed for businesses that value long-term customer relationships. It brings customer insights, team collaboration, and AI together so every interaction is connected to the last.
The platform is built for growing teams that want an affordable alternative to enterprise tools while still getting email, live chat, AI agents, a knowledge base, and in-app messaging in one place.
Key Benefits
- Teams on Help Scout respond to 56% more messages in their first year.
- AI agents resolve 73% of interactions on average, increasing team capacity.
- Independent research shows Help Scout's NPS is 7x higher than competitors' scores.
- 80% of customers remain after 4 years, indicating strong retention.
- The platform integrates with 100+ third-party tools and services.
- Learn the platform in less than an hour and become a power user in less than a day.
How It Works
You connect all support channels — email, live chat, social media, and Shopify — into a single Inbox. AI agents handle routine requests automatically, and your team steps in for complex conversations with full customer context visible alongside each message.
You build a custom help center with a knowledge base, send proactive in-app messages and surveys, and track performance with reporting that shows volume, response time, and individual agent metrics.
Use Cases
- Ecommerce teams manage customer orders, returns, and inquiries across email, chat, and social from one Inbox.
- SaaS companies use AI agents to handle common support requests while routing technical issues to the right engineers.
- Real estate and property management firms send proactive maintenance alerts and gather tenant feedback via in-app messages.
- Healthcare organizations meet compliance requirements with HIPAA-eligible Pro plan features.
- Financial services and insurance teams use advanced workflows and SLA policies to prioritize urgent account requests.
- Educational institutions build multiple knowledge bases for different departments and set up dedicated Inboxes per program.
Why Choose This Product
Help Scout is best suited for growing teams that want an easy-to-learn customer service platform with AI capabilities. The Free plan supports up to 5 users with 1 Inbox and 1 Docs site, while paid plans scale to enterprise needs with SSO, HIPAA compliance, and dedicated account management on the Pro tier.
Help Scout Pros & Cons
- Free plan available for up to 5 users
- AI agents resolve 73% of interactions on average
- NPS 7x higher than competitor scores per independent research
- 80% customer retention after 4 years
- 100+ integrations with third-party tools
- Free plan limited to 1 Inbox and 1 Docs site
- HIPAA compliance only on the Pro tier ($75/user/month)
Key Features
Shared Inbox
All support channels — email, live chat, social, and Shopify — are unified into one Inbox.
AI Agents
AI agents (AI Answers) resolve customer requests without human assistance, with an average resolution rate of 73%.
Knowledge Base
Build a custom help center with multiple Docs sites to serve different products or departments.
In-app Messages
Send proactive welcome messages, NPS surveys, and promotional banners or modals inside the app or website.
Insights & Analytics
Reporting shows volume across channels, response time drivers, and individual and team performance metrics.
100+ Integrations
Connect to Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot, Aircall, and 100+ other third-party tools.
Workflows
Automate routing, snoozing, flagging, and other repetitive tasks with configurable workflows.
Mobile Support
Support customers on the go using the Help Scout mobile app for iOS and Android.
HIPAA Compliance
Pro plan includes HIPAA compliance for healthcare organizations handling protected health information.
Company Management
View and support full accounts — not just individual contacts — with company-level context and grouping.
Help Scout Pricing
View full pricing →- 5 users
- 1 Inbox
- 1 Docs site
- Multiple Inboxes
- Live chat, Instagram & Messenger
- Multiple knowledge bases
- One basic SLA policy
- Basic workflows
- Unlimited tags and saved replies
- AI Inbox assistant
- WhatsApp messaging
- Everything in Standard
- Advanced workflows
- Two advanced SLA policies
- Unlimited AI Drafts
- Round robin routing
- Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot
- Internal teams
- Group conversations by company
- Everything in Plus
- Unlimited workflows
- Unlimited SLA policies
- Multiple routing types
- SSO/SAML
- HIPAA compliance
- Up to 50 light users
- Dedicated onboarding specialist
- Strategic account manager
- Preferred pricing on Aircall
| Feature | Free Free/mo | Standard $25/mo | Plus $45/mo | Pro $75/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 users | ||||
| 1 Inbox | ||||
| 1 Docs site | ||||
| Multiple Inboxes | ||||
| Live chat, Instagram & Messenger | ||||
| Multiple knowledge bases | ||||
| One basic SLA policy | ||||
| Basic workflows | ||||
| Unlimited tags and saved replies | ||||
| AI Inbox assistant | ||||
| WhatsApp messaging | ||||
| Everything in Standard | ||||
| Advanced workflows | ||||
| Two advanced SLA policies | ||||
| Unlimited AI Drafts | ||||
| Round robin routing | ||||
| Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot | ||||
| Internal teams | ||||
| Group conversations by company | ||||
| Everything in Plus | ||||
| Unlimited workflows | ||||
| Unlimited SLA policies | ||||
| Multiple routing types | ||||
| SSO/SAML | ||||
| HIPAA compliance | ||||
| Up to 50 light users | ||||
| Dedicated onboarding specialist | ||||
| Strategic account manager | ||||
| Preferred pricing on Aircall |
Pricing extracted from the product website and may change. Check the source for current details.
Frequently asked questions about Help Scout
Can I add more Inboxes or Docs sites to my plan?
Yes. Additional Inboxes are available for $10 per month when paid annually (or $12 per month). Additional Docs sites are $20 per month when paid annually (or $24 per month). The Free plan is limited to 1 Inbox and 1 Docs site.
What counts as an AI resolution?
A resolution is a single conversation resolved by AI Answers without human assistance. It counts only if the customer receives an AI response and does not request escalation, search the knowledge base, or ask more questions. You are charged at most once per conversation.
How does the free trial work?
You get 15 days to test all features of the Standard or Plus plan — no credit card required. To trial the Pro plan, you must contact the sales team.
Do you offer discounts for startups or non-profits?
Yes. The Help Scout for Good program offers discounts for qualifying non-profits and B Corporations. A startup plan is also available for early-stage companies.
Is Help Scout free?
Help Scout offers a free plan with optional paid upgrades. See the pricing section for what's included in each tier.
How much does Help Scout cost?
Help Scout offers the following plans: Free, Standard, Plus, Pro. See the pricing section for what's included in each tier and any per-seat or usage-based costs.
