FreeScout vs Help Scout
A side-by-side comparison of FreeScout and Help Scout on what each one charges, what it meters, and which plan every capability actually sits on.
The short answer
17 of the 21 capabilities tracked on both differ, mostly in Channels and Ticketing.
| Measure | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | Free | Free, then $25/seat/mo |
| Charged per | Not published | Each agent seat |
| AI billed at | Not published | $0.75 per AI resolution |
| Included, where the other says no | 0 capabilities | 1 capability |
Capability by capability
17 of the 21 capabilities tracked on both products differ.
Channels
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| IncludedFree core. FreeScout is a shared mailbox first, connected over IMAP and SMTP. | IncludedAll plans, including Free | |
| Live chat | Paid add-onLive Chat Module, $13.00 once per instance. | IncludedStandard and above. Not on Free. |
| Voice | Not published | Paid add-onAircall add-on on Standard and Plus; preferred Aircall pricing on Pro. Help Scout publishes no price for it. |
| SMS | Paid add-onSMS Tickets Module (Twilio), $12.00 once per instance. SMS Notifications is a separate $8.00 module. | IncludedStandard and above, listed alongside live chat. |
| Paid add-onWhatsApp Integration Module (Meta Cloud API), $4.00 once per instance. | IncludedStandard and above. | |
| Instagram / Facebook | Paid add-onFacebook Integration Module, $4.00 once per instance. Instagram is not published as a channel. | IncludedStandard and above. Instagram and Messenger. |
| X / Twitter | Paid add-onTwitter Integration Module, $14.00 once per instance. | Not published |
Ticketing
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Shared inbox | IncludedFree core. | IncludedAll plans. Free 1 Inbox; Standard 2, Plus 5, Pro 10 included, extras at $10/mo annual. |
| Ticket queues | Not published | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| SLA policies | Paid add-onSLA rules are part of the Workflows Module, $14.99 once per instance. | IncludedOne basic SLA on Standard, two advanced on Plus, unlimited on Pro. None on Free. |
| Business hours | Not published | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Macros / saved replies | Paid add-onSaved Replies Module, $4.99 once per instance. Not in the free core. | IncludedSaved replies on all plans. Free caps at 10, paid plans unlimited. |
| Side conversations | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The matrix has no row for a conversation held beside the customer thread. |
| Custom fields | Paid add-onCustom Fields Module, $7.99 once per instance. User Fields is a separate $8.00 module. | IncludedPlus and Pro. |
| Custom objects | Not published | NoNot on any plan. Custom fields cap at 10 a conversation and customer properties at 50, which are fields rather than objects. |
| Ticket forms | Not published | IncludedEvery plan including Free. |
Routing & automation
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Skills-based routing | Not published | NoNot on any plan. Routing is round robin on Plus $45 and load balanced on Pro $75, neither of which reads a skill. |
| Round-robin assignment | Not published | IncludedPlus and Pro. |
| Load balancing | Not published | IncludedPro only, listed as multiple routing types. |
| Triggers | Not published | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Workflow builder | Paid add-onWorkflows Module, $14.99 once per instance. | Included150 basic workflows on Standard, 500 advanced on Plus, unlimited on Pro. None on Free. |
| Escalation rules | Not published | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
AI resolution
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous resolution agent | NoThe free core ships no AI. A ChatGPT Module and a Chrome GPT Assistant are announced as paid modules on the vendor news list, with prices Unknown, and neither is documented as resolving a conversation without an agent. | Paid add-onAI Answers add-on at $0.75 a resolution, on Standard $25 and above. Three months free from signup and a monthly spend cap that switches it off rather than overrunning. |
| Resolution over knowledge base | Not published | Paid add-onAI Answers add-on at $0.75 a resolution, on Standard $25 and above. Three months free from signup and a monthly spend cap that switches it off rather than overrunning. |
| Action-taking (API calls) | Not published | NoNot on any plan. AI Answers is described as answering, never as doing. |
| Handoff to human | Not published | Paid add-onAI Answers add-on at $0.75 a resolution, on Standard $25 and above. Three months free from signup and a monthly spend cap that switches it off rather than overrunning. |
AI assist
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Reply drafting | Not published | IncludedPlus $45 a user and above. |
| Tone rewrite | Not published | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Summarization | Not published | IncludedPlus $45 a user and above. |
| Translation | Not published | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Next-best-action | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The four AI rows are Assist, Drafts, Summarize and Answers. |
| Auto-tagging | Not published | NoNot on any plan. Tags are unlimited on paid tiers and applied by hand or by a workflow. |
| Sentiment analysis | Not published | NoNot on any plan. Not among the four AI rows. |
AI voice
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Voice agent | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The matrix lists phone and voice as "via integration" on every tier, which is Aircall billed separately, so there is no voice layer to put AI on. |
| IVR replacement | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The matrix lists phone and voice as "via integration" on every tier, which is Aircall billed separately, so there is no voice layer to put AI on. |
| Real-time transcription | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The matrix lists phone and voice as "via integration" on every tier, which is Aircall billed separately, so there is no voice layer to put AI on. |
| Call summarization | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The matrix lists phone and voice as "via integration" on every tier, which is Aircall billed separately, so there is no voice layer to put AI on. |
Knowledge base
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Public help center | Paid add-onKnowledge Base Module, $12.00 once per instance, attached to a mailbox. | IncludedAll plans. Free 1 Docs site; Standard 2, Plus 3, Pro 5 included, extras at $20/mo annual. |
| Multi-brand | Not published | IncludedDocs sites by tier: 1 on Free, 2 on Standard $25, 3 on Plus $45, 5 on Pro $75, and $20 a month for each one beyond that. |
| Versioning | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The Docs rows cover sites, branding, articles, contact forms and access control. |
| Localization | Not published | NoNot on any plan. AI Assist translates agent text, not articles. |
| In-product widget | Not published | IncludedThe embeddable support hub: 1 on Free, 5 on Standard $25, unlimited on Plus $45 and Pro $75. |
| AI answers over KB | Not published | IncludedAll paid plans, metered at $0.75 per resolution with no included allowance. Delivered through Help Scout's own Beacon widget over Docs content; there is no bring-your-own-helpdesk version. |
Self-service
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Chatbot flows | Not published | NoNot on any plan. AI Answers is a retrieval agent, not a flow anyone builds. |
| Order lookup | Not published | NoNot on any plan. AI Answers replies from content; the matrix describes no transactional actions. |
| Returns / RMA | Not published | NoNot on any plan. AI Answers replies from content; the matrix describes no transactional actions. |
| Account actions | Not published | NoNot on any plan. AI Answers replies from content; the matrix describes no transactional actions. |
QA & workforce
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Conversation QA scoring | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix runs to roughly sixty rows across ten sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. |
| Automated QA coverage | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix runs to roughly sixty rows across ten sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. |
| Calibration | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix runs to roughly sixty rows across ten sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. |
| Agent scorecards | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix runs to roughly sixty rows across ten sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. |
| Forecasting | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix runs to roughly sixty rows across ten sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. |
| Scheduling | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix runs to roughly sixty rows across ten sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. |
| Adherence tracking | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix runs to roughly sixty rows across ten sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. |
Reporting
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Prebuilt dashboards | Paid add-onReports Module, $14.99 once per instance. Wallboards is a separate $14.99 module. | IncludedEvery plan, but the history is the gate: 30 days on Free, two years on Standard $25, all-time on Plus $45 and Pro $75. |
| Custom reports | Not published | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Raw data export | Paid add-onExport Conversations Module, $6.00 once per instance, for CSV. A database dump is free and ungated. | IncludedPaid plans. Reporting data only, delivered to CSV or Excel "with the exception of conversation thread contents". |
| Data warehouse sync | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The export row goes to CSV or Excel and no further. |
| CSAT / NPS | Paid add-onSatisfaction Ratings Module, $8.99 once per instance. | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Real-time reporting | Not published | NoNot on any plan. Reporting is described by history window, not as a live dashboard. |
Collaboration
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| @mentions | Paid add-onMentions Module, $5.00 once per instance. | Not published |
| Assignment | IncludedFree core, with "User can see only assigned conversations" and "Hide from Assign list" as per-user restrictions. | IncludedEvery plan including Free. |
| Approvals | Not published | NoNot on any plan. Nothing in the matrix reviews a reply or an article before it goes out. |
Enterprise
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| SAML SSO | Paid add-onSAML SSO Module, $10.00 once per instance. LDAP Integration is a separate $17.99 module. | Paid add-onAdd-on on Plus and Pro, at a price Help Scout does not publish. Unavailable on Free and Standard. |
| Role-based access control | IncludedFree core: an admin and user split with per-mailbox permissions. The paid Teams Module ($11.00) groups users. | Not published |
| Custom roles | NoNo custom role builder is published. Permissions are the admin and user split plus per-mailbox and per-user restrictions. | Not publishedAdvanced permissions and Teams appear as rows in the plan matrix, but the matrix is icon-only and Help Scout publishes no text describing which plans carry them. |
| Audit logs | IncludedFree core, under Manage then Logs. The outgoing email log keeps the last 6 months and is cleaned monthly. | Not publishedNot listed in the published plan matrix or the security page. |
| IP allowlist | Not published | Paid add-onAdd-on on Plus and Pro, at a price Help Scout does not publish. |
| HIPAA / BAA | NoNot applicable by architecture. No vendor processes the data, so there is no counterparty to sign a Business Associate Agreement. | Paid add-onPro only, and an add-on even there. Requires a signed BAA. Price not published. |
| SOC 2 | NoNot applicable by architecture. There is no vendor-operated service to audit; the operator runs the only instance. | IncludedNot plan-gated. SOC 2 Type 2 for Security and Availability, report on request. |
| ISO 27001 | NoNot applicable by architecture. No vendor-operated service exists to certify. | Not publishedNot claimed anywhere on the security page, which names only SOC 2 Type 2 and penetration testing. |
| GDPR | Paid add-onGDPR Module, $5.00 once per instance, for bulk customer and mail-server deletion. Compliance itself is the operator's responsibility. | IncludedNot plan-gated. A DPA is published, though the security page says only that Help Scout adheres to relevant privacy regulations without naming GDPR. |
| Data residency | IncludedFree core, by construction: the operator picks the server and therefore the jurisdiction. There is no vendor region to select and no residency add-on. | Not publishedThe security page says only that Help Scout is hosted in AWS. No region choice is offered on the pricing page or the security page, and no data-residency product is published. |
Developer
| Capability | FreeScout | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | Paid add-onAPI & Webhooks Module, $12.99 once per instance. Documented endpoints for conversations, threads, customers and custom fields. | IncludedAll paid plans. Inbox API for customers, users and conversations; Docs API for articles. |
| GraphQL API | Not published | NoNot on any plan. The matrix lists API access with per-tier rate limits and nothing else. |
| Webhooks | Paid add-onSame $12.99 API & Webhooks Module. HMAC-SHA1 signed, 12 event types. | Not published |
| App framework | Not published | IncludedEvery plan including Free. |
| Published rate limits | Not publishedSelf-determined and unpublished. The operator hosts the instance, so any rate limit is whatever that server enforces. | IncludedPublished per plan in the pricing matrix: Standard 200 calls/min, Plus 400, Pro 800. |
Both entries last checked Sep 9, 2026.
What FreeScout costs
- Billing unit
The core application is free with no agent cap and no ticket cap - Free tier
Yes - Data export
Self-serve - Automation export
Partial
What Help Scout costs
$25/seat/month
4 published plans, billed annually- Billing unit
Per user per month - Free tier
Yes - AI pricing
$0.75 per AI resolution - Vendor calls it
AI Answers resolution - Human handoff
Not billed - Reopened chat
Not published - AI billing window
Not published - Data export
None published - Automation export
Not offered
2 of 9 not published by Help Scout, checked