At a glance
Email-first customer support platform with a shared inbox, knowledge base (Docs), live chat (Beacon) and AI features, priced per user. Integrates with Shopify via API/partners.
Who it fits
Best forSmall-to-mid teams (3–30) primarily doing email support that want a clean, simple helpdesk.
Skip ifTeams needing native phone/voice, very large teams (per-user costs scale), or those needing AI in the base tier.
Pros & cons
- Clean / simple interface
- Strong knowledge base
- Lower mid-tier pricing than Intercom
- Hidden add-on costs (AI/inboxes/Docs)
- Key integrations Plus-only
- No native phone
Pricing
Starting price
$25/mo
- up to
- $75/mo
- Model
- freemium
Pricing source: www.helpscout.com/pricing
Features
Shared inbox
- plan
- All plans
Docs knowledge base
- plan
- All plans
Beacon widget / live chat
- plan
- Plus for full
Workflows / automation
- plan
- Standard and above
AI Answers (autonomous resolution)
AI- plan
- Usage ($0.75/resolution)
AI Drafts (reply generation)
AI- plan
- Plus and above
Advanced reporting
- plan
- Plus and above
Shopify integration
Works via API. Simple email-first helpdesk alternative to Gorgias/Zendesk — clean and affordable for small teams, but AI and key integrations carry add-on costs.
Integrations
External platforms
- Salesforce
- Jira
- HubSpot
- Slack
- Shopify
- Aircall
Rating breakdown
Ease of use
9.0/10
[I] inferred
Features
7.0/10
[I] inferred
Value
8.0/10
[I] inferred
Support
8.0/10
[I] inferred
External ratings
G2
4.4/5
424 reviews
What operators say
“Pricing is fair compared to Zendesk and Gorgias, and the interface is clean.”
Chatarmin · 2026
“Jump from $25 to $45 per user is significant — $2,400/yr for a 10-person team.”
BunnyDesk · 2026
Our verdict
Help Scout is the clean, email-first helpdesk — a shared inbox and a genuinely strong knowledge base (Docs), with a Beacon chat widget and AI features, all in an interface reviewers consistently call uncluttered. There's a real free plan (5 users), then Standard $25 / Plus $45 / Pro $75 per user (verified 2026-06-05), with mid-tier pricing that undercuts Intercom. The cost lives in add-ons: AI Answers bills $0.75/resolution (3 months free, then variable at scale), extra inboxes and Docs sites cost more, key integrations (Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot) and reporting are Plus-only, and Pro requires a 10-user minimum. There's no native phone channel. Pick Help Scout if you're a small-to-mid team (roughly 3–30) doing primarily email support and you want simple over feature-maximal. Skip it if you need native phone or you're a Shopify store that wants commerce actions in the ticket — Gorgias is purpose-built for Shopify, with order and refund actions inside the helpdesk, and is the stronger fit when support is tied to orders.