Freshworks vs Help Scout
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Freshworks is the stronger AI pick in Help Desk: it has a visibility score of 61.5 versus 29.8 for Help Scout, and ranks ahead in 80% of the answers that name both.
Choose Freshworks if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (61.5 vs 29.8)
- You need ISO 27001 or ISO 27701 or PCI DSS coverage
- You prefer a larger, established vendor (5,000+ employees)
- Affordable pricing and good value
Choose Help Scout if…
- AI answers describe it more positively (38% vs 26% positive)
- You need HIPAA coverage
- Shared inbox with email-like, human feel
- Simple, straightforward support for small teams
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 3
| Metric | Freshworks | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 61.5% | 29.8% |
| Change vs last week | up+1.7% | up+1.5% |
| Rank in Help Desk | #1 | #4 |
| Share of voice | 12.9% | 8.2% |
| Mentions this run | 65 | 42 |
| Positive in AI answers | 26% | 38% |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
Freshworks +1.7000000000000028pp · Help Scout +1.6000000000000014pp over 1 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Freshworks leads on 3 of 3 engines
Head to head in AI answers
40 engine answers name both brands
| Prompt | Engine | Freshworks | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|---|
| How do I choose a help desk platform for a mid-market team? | Perplexity | #2 | #4 |
| What is the difference between a help desk platform and a live chat tool? | ChatGPT | #2 | #3 |
| How long does it take to roll out a help desk platform? | AI Mode | #2 | #3 |
| What are the best Help Desk tools in 2026? | ChatGPT | #2 | #7 |
| What are the best Help Desk tools in 2026? | AI Mode | #1 | #3 |
| What are the best Help Desk tools in 2026? | Perplexity | #2 | #8 |
| Top help desk platform options for B2B SaaS companies | ChatGPT | #5 | #8 |
| Top help desk platform options for B2B SaaS companies | Perplexity | #7 | #6 |
| Best help desk platform for startups | ChatGPT | #3 | #1 |
| Best help desk platform for startups | AI Mode | #1 | #2 |
| Best help desk platform for startups | Perplexity | #4 | #1 |
| Compare the leading Help Desk platforms | ChatGPT | #2 | #5 |
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | Freshworks | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | — | Per seat |
| Entry price | — | Free; paid from $25 per seat / mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud (hosted on AWS) |
| Integrations | — | 100+ |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, PCI DSS | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA |
| Support | — | Email, Dedicated onboarding specialist, Strategic account manager |
| Founded | 2010 | 2011 |
| Headquarters | San Mateo, California, United States | Boston, MA, United States |
| Employees | 5,000+ | 201–500 |
| Funding | IPO | Series B1 |
| Best for | — | Small businesses, growing companies and non-profits that want simple, multichannel customer support |
Plans side by side
Freshworks
Pricing not available.
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
Freshworks
- Affordable pricing and good value
- Free tier or free trial available
- Intuitive, easy-to-use interface
- Fast deployment and quick time-to-value
- Strong AI and automation features
- Per-minute charges for advanced calling features
Help Scout
- Shared inbox with email-like, human feel
- Simple, straightforward support for small teams
- Clean, intuitive interface
- Free plan for small teams
- Free trial with full feature access
- Costs more for extra inboxes and Docs sites
- Free plan limited to 100 contacts per month
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 98.8%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Freshworks vs Help Scout”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/freshworks-vs-help-scout, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.