Help Scout pricing 2026: plans and costs
How AI answers describe Help Scout pricing
If transparent, publicly available pricing is your priority, I would shortlist Zoho Desk, Help Scout, Freshdesk, and Jira Service Management.
Compared to: Freshworks · Zendesk · Zoho
- Help Scout: about $25 per user/month.
- Help Scout — 15-day trial.
- Help Scout: publishes pricing for all plans, starting around $25–$30 per user per month, though extra inboxes and Docs sites may cost more.
Quick pricing summary
- Free: $0 month
- Standard: $25 user/month
- Plus: $45 user/month
- Pro: $75 user/month
- Annual billing: saves 16% vs monthly
- Worth noting: Annual billing saves 16%. 15-day free trial for Standard and Plus; Pro trial via sales. AI Answers/Envoy includes 3-month free trial. Discounts for non-profits, B Corps and startups.
Plans
Free
$0 month
- Up to 5 users
- 1 Inbox
- 1 Docs site
- 100 contacts/mo
Standard
$25 user/month
- Multiple Inboxes
- Live chat and SMS
- WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger
- Multiple knowledge bases
- One basic SLA policy
- Basic workflows
- Unlimited tags and saved replies
- AI Inbox assistant
Plus
$45 user/month
- Everything in Standard
- Advanced workflows
- Two advanced SLA policies
- Secure customer portal
- Unlimited AI Drafts
- Round robin routing
- Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot
- Internal teams
- Group conversations by company
Pro
$75 user/month
- 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
What you get on each plan
| Feature | Free | Standard | Plus | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Users | Up to 5 | Up to 25 | Up to 50 | Unlimited (minimum 10) |
| Light users | — | — | 5 included | 15 included |
| Inboxes | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Contacts | 100/mo | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Saved replies | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Tags | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Routing | — | — | Round robin | Round robin + load balanced |
| SLAs | — | 1 basic policy | 2 advanced policies | Unlimited |
| Phone/voice | — | Via integration | Via integration | Via integration |
| AI Assist | — | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| AI Drafts | — | — | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Envoy chatbot | — | $0.75 per resolution | $0.75 per resolution | $0.75 per resolution |
| Workflows | — | 150 basic workflows | 500 advanced workflows | Unlimited advanced workflows |
| Docs sites | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Articles | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Beacon widgets | 1 | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Pre-built reports history | 30-day | 2-year | All-time | All-time |
| HIPAA compliance | — | — | Add-on | ✓ |
| SSO/SAML | — | Add-on | Add-on | ✓ |
| IP restrictions | — | Add-on | Add-on | ✓ |
| API access | — | 200 calls/minute | 400 calls/minute | 800 calls/minute |
| Support | Email Standard | Priority | Priority | Priority |
Hidden costs & add-ons
| Cost driver | Price | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Envoy AI assistant | $0.75 per resolution | Standard, Plus, Pro (3-month free trial) |
| Additional Inbox | $10/mo annually or $12/mo monthly | Standard, Plus, Pro |
| Additional Docs site | $20/mo annually or $24/mo monthly | Standard, Plus, Pro |
Help Scout pricing vs alternatives
| Brand | Entry price | Free plan | Model | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Help Scout | Free; paid from $25 per seat / mo | Yes | Per seat | — | |
| Freshworks | — | — | — | — | Compare → |
| Zendesk | $19 per seat / mo | No | Per seat | Support teams from startups to enterprises that need omnichannel ticketing with AI automation | Compare → |
| Zoho | — | — | — | Businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises, wanting one suite for sales, support, finance and HR | Compare → |
| Intercom | $29 per seat / mo | No · 14-day trial | Per seat | Support teams from startups to large enterprises that want AI-first customer service with human agents and an AI agent in one system | Compare → |
List prices as published on www.helpscout.com/pricing/. Totals are worked examples, not quotes.