Freshdesk vs Help Scout
A side-by-side comparison of Freshdesk 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 54 capabilities tracked on both differ, mostly in AI assist and Knowledge base. Freshdesk starts at $19/seat/mo, Help Scout at Free, then $25/seat/mo.
| Measure | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $19/seat/mo | Free, then $25/seat/mo |
| Charged per | Each agent seat | Each agent seat |
| AI billed at | $0.49 per AI session | $0.75 per AI resolution |
| Included, where the other says no | 7 capabilities | 0 capabilities |
Capability by capability
17 of the 54 capabilities tracked on both products differ.
Channels
| Capability | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Included | IncludedAll plans, including Free | |
| Live chat | Not published | 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 | Not published | IncludedStandard and above, listed alongside live chat. |
| Not published | IncludedStandard and above. | |
| Instagram / Facebook | Not published | IncludedStandard and above. Instagram and Messenger. |
| Community forum | IncludedPro and above. Forums are also included in the account XML export. | Not published |
Ticketing
| Capability | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Shared inbox | Not published | IncludedAll plans. Free 1 Inbox; Standard 2, Plus 5, Pro 10 included, extras at $10/mo annual. |
| Ticket queues | IncludedAll three plans, from Growth at $19 an agent. | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| SLA policies | IncludedMultiple SLA policies require Pro. | IncludedOne basic SLA on Standard, two advanced on Plus, unlimited on Pro. None on Free. |
| Business hours | IncludedPro $55 an agent and above. Not on Growth. | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Macros / saved replies | Not published | IncludedSaved replies on all plans. Free caps at 10, paid plans unlimited. |
| Side conversations | IncludedAll three plans, from Growth at $19 an agent. | NoNot on any plan. The matrix has no row for a conversation held beside the customer thread. |
| Custom fields | IncludedPro $55 an agent and above. Not on Growth. | IncludedPlus and Pro. |
| Custom objects | IncludedEnterprise $89 an agent only. | NoNot on any plan. Custom fields cap at 10 a conversation and customer properties at 50, which are fields rather than objects. |
| Ticket forms | IncludedPro $55 an agent and above. Not on Growth. | IncludedEvery plan including Free. |
Routing & automation
| Capability | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Skills-based routing | IncludedEnterprise. Intelligent routing arrives on Pro. | 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 | IncludedPro $55 an agent and above. Not on Growth. | IncludedPlus and Pro. |
| Load balancing | IncludedPro $55 an agent and above. Not on Growth. | IncludedPro only, listed as multiple routing types. |
| Triggers | IncludedAll three plans, from Growth at $19 an agent. | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Workflow builder | IncludedAll three plans, from Growth at $19 an agent. | Included150 basic workflows on Standard, 500 advanced on Plus, unlimited on Pro. None on Free. |
| Escalation rules | IncludedAll three plans, from Growth at $19 an agent. | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
AI resolution
| Capability | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous resolution agent | IncludedAll plans. 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions included, then $49 per 100. Billed per session, not per resolution. | 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 | IncludedAll three plans, first 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions included, then $49 per 100 sessions. | 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. |
| Multilingual AI | Paid add-onFreddy AI Copilot add-on ($29/agent/mo annual), Pro and Enterprise only. Live translation in 60+ languages. | Not publishedAI Assist translates agent text; the page does not say whether AI Answers replies in the customer's language. |
AI assist
| Capability | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Reply drafting | Paid add-onFreddy AI Copilot add-on at $29 an agent a month billed annually, and only on Pro $55 and Enterprise $89. Not sold on Growth at any price. | IncludedPlus $45 a user and above. |
| Tone rewrite | Paid add-onFreddy AI Copilot add-on at $29 an agent a month billed annually, and only on Pro $55 and Enterprise $89. Not sold on Growth at any price. | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Summarization | Paid add-onFreddy AI Copilot add-on at $29 an agent a month billed annually, and only on Pro $55 and Enterprise $89. Not sold on Growth at any price. | IncludedPlus $45 a user and above. |
| Translation | Paid add-onFreddy AI Copilot add-on at $29 an agent a month billed annually, and only on Pro $55 and Enterprise $89. Not sold on Growth at any price. | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Next-best-action | Paid add-onFreddy AI Copilot add-on at $29 an agent a month billed annually, and only on Pro $55 and Enterprise $89. Not sold on Growth at any price. | 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 | Paid add-onFreddy AI Copilot add-on at $29 an agent a month billed annually, and only on Pro $55 and Enterprise $89. Not sold on Growth at any price. | NoNot on any plan. Not among the four AI rows. |
AI voice
| Capability | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Voice agent | NoNot on any plan. The three Freddy sections cover an email agent, a copilot and insights. Voice is Freshcaller, a separate product with its own bill. | 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 | NoNot on any plan. The three Freddy sections cover an email agent, a copilot and insights. Voice is Freshcaller, a separate product with its own bill. | 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 | NoNot on any plan. The three Freddy sections cover an email agent, a copilot and insights. Voice is Freshcaller, a separate product with its own bill. | 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 | NoNot on any plan. The three Freddy sections cover an email agent, a copilot and insights. Voice is Freshcaller, a separate product with its own bill. | 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 | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Public help center | IncludedAll plans. Portal customisation and article versioning require Pro. | 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 | IncludedPro and above. Approval workflow and flexible KB hierarchy are Enterprise. | NoNot on any plan. The Docs rows cover sites, branding, articles, contact forms and access control. |
| Localization | IncludedPro and above (multilingual helpdesk and knowledge base translation). | 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 | IncludedAll three plans, first 500 sessions included, then $49 per 100 sessions. | 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 | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Chatbot flows | NoNot on any plan. The AI Agent answers email from the knowledge base; the plan matrix describes no bot builder and no transactional actions. | NoNot on any plan. AI Answers is a retrieval agent, not a flow anyone builds. |
| Order lookup | NoNot on any plan. The AI Agent answers email from the knowledge base; the plan matrix describes no bot builder and no transactional actions. | NoNot on any plan. AI Answers replies from content; the matrix describes no transactional actions. |
| Returns / RMA | NoNot on any plan. The AI Agent answers email from the knowledge base; the plan matrix describes no bot builder and no transactional actions. | NoNot on any plan. AI Answers replies from content; the matrix describes no transactional actions. |
| Account actions | NoNot on any plan. The AI Agent answers email from the knowledge base; the plan matrix describes no bot builder and no transactional actions. | NoNot on any plan. AI Answers replies from content; the matrix describes no transactional actions. |
QA & workforce
| Capability | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Conversation QA scoring | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix enumerates nine sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. | 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 | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix enumerates nine sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. | 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 | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix enumerates nine sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. | 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 | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix enumerates nine sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. | 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 | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix enumerates nine sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. | 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 | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix enumerates nine sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. | 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 | NoNot on any plan. The plan matrix enumerates nine sections and none of them is quality assurance or workforce management. | 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 | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Prebuilt dashboards | IncludedAll three plans, from Growth at $19 an agent. | 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 | IncludedPro $55 an agent and above. Not on Growth. | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Raw data export | IncludedNot plan-gated. The account export is self-serve on every plan. | IncludedPaid plans. Reporting data only, delivered to CSV or Excel "with the exception of conversation thread contents". |
| Data warehouse sync | NoNot on any plan. The analytics section lists six capabilities and none of them moves data out. | NoNot on any plan. The export row goes to CSV or Excel and no further. |
| CSAT / NPS | Not published | IncludedStandard $25 a user and above. Not on Free. |
| Real-time reporting | IncludedAll three plans, from Growth at $19 an agent. | NoNot on any plan. Reporting is described by history window, not as a live dashboard. |
Collaboration
| Capability | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Internal notes | IncludedAll three plans, from Growth at $19 an agent. | Not published |
| Assignment | IncludedAll three plans, from Growth at $19 an agent. | IncludedEvery plan including Free. |
| Approvals | IncludedEnterprise $89 an agent only. | NoNot on any plan. Nothing in the matrix reviews a reply or an article before it goes out. |
Enterprise
| Capability | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| SAML SSO | IncludedAll three plans including Growth. JWT authentication is Enterprise. | Paid add-onAdd-on on Plus and Pro, at a price Help Scout does not publish. Unavailable on Free and Standard. |
| Custom roles | IncludedRole-based access control on all three plans. Field-level access control is Enterprise. | 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 | IncludedEnterprise only. Unavailable on Growth and Pro. | Not publishedNot listed in the published plan matrix or the security page. |
| IP allowlist | IncludedEnterprise only (allowed domains and IP whitelisting). | Paid add-onAdd-on on Plus and Pro, at a price Help Scout does not publish. |
| Sandbox environment | IncludedEnterprise only. | Not published |
| HIPAA / BAA | Not publishedNot mentioned on the security page or in the pricing matrix. | Paid add-onPro only, and an add-on even there. Requires a signed BAA. Price not published. |
| SOC 2 | Not publishedThe security page describes controls but names no certification, pointing to a separate Trust Center for attestations that is not publicly reachable. | IncludedNot plan-gated. SOC 2 Type 2 for Security and Availability, report on request. |
| GDPR | Not publishedA sub-processor list and regional data instances are published, but no explicit GDPR compliance statement was found on the security page. | 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 | IncludedNot plan-gated. US, EEA, UAE, India and Australia, chosen at signup. Moving regions later requires contacting support. | 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 | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | Included | IncludedAll paid plans. Inbox API for customers, users and conversations; Docs API for articles. |
| GraphQL API | NoNot on any plan. The published interface is REST, with per-tier rate limits. | NoNot on any plan. The matrix lists API access with per-tier rate limits and nothing else. |
| App framework | IncludedAll three plans. Connector app tasks are metered at $80 per 5,000 regardless of tier. | IncludedEvery plan including Free. |
| Published rate limits | IncludedGrowth 100 req/min, Pro 400, Enterprise 700, trials 50. Per-endpoint sub-limits are lower and extra capacity is purchasable. | IncludedPublished per plan in the pricing matrix: Standard 200 calls/min, Plus 400, Pro 800. |
Both entries last checked Sep 9, 2026.
What Freshdesk costs
$19/seat/month
3 published plans, billed annually- Billing unit
Seat (agent) + usage hybrid - Free tier
No, 14-day trial - AI pricing
$0.49 per AI session - Vendor calls it
Freddy AI Agent session - Human handoff
Not published - Reopened chat
Billed again - AI billing window
3d of inactivity - Data export
Self-serve - Automation export
Not offered
1 of 9 not published by Freshdesk, checked
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