Help Scout is a help desk built around a shared inbox. Customer emails, chats, and messages arrive as conversations that a team works through together, alongside a knowledge base product called Docs. It’s one of the few established help desks with an ongoing free plan, and its paid tiers add inboxes, channels, automation, and routing as a team grows.

This review covers what each plan includes, how Help Scout’s AI pricing works, and where the tool fits best. All pricing details were checked against Help Scout’s pricing page on October 24, 2026.

What Help Scout Does

Help Scout keeps the familiar feel of an email inbox while adding the structure a support team needs:

Shared inboxes: each inbox is a queue the team works from together, with assignment, internal notes, saved replies, tags, and custom fields.
Docs: a knowledge base for self-service help articles, published as one or more Docs sites depending on plan.
Messaging channels: live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger are listed from the Standard plan. Phone support works through integrations such as Aircall rather than a built-in voice product.
Workflows and routing: rule-based automations on every paid plan, with round-robin routing from Plus.
AI features: AI Assist, AI Summarize, and AI Drafts for agents, plus AI Answers, an AI assistant that answers customer questions and is billed per resolution.
Reporting: pre-built reports, with longer report history on higher plans.

If you’re weighing whether you need a help desk at all, our guide to shared inboxes vs. help desk software covers where a plain shared inbox stops working.

Help Scout Pricing (2026)

Plan	Price	Users	Key inclusions
Free	$0	Up to 5	1 inbox, 1 Docs site, 100 contacts per month, 10 saved replies, 10 tags, 10 Docs articles, 1 integration
Standard	$25/user/mo	Up to 25	2 inboxes, 2 Docs sites, unlimited contacts, messaging channels, 150 basic workflows, 1 basic SLA policy
Plus	$45/user/mo	Up to 50	5 inboxes, 3 Docs sites, round-robin routing, 500 advanced workflows, 2 advanced SLA policies, up to 25 light users, Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot integrations
Pro	$75/user/mo	Unlimited (minimum 10)	10 inboxes, 5 Docs sites, multiple routing types, unlimited advanced workflows and SLA policies, up to 50 light users

A few details on that page change the real cost:

Billing basis. The pricing page has a monthly/annual toggle labeled “-16%” but doesn’t state which basis the listed per-user prices reflect. Confirm before you budget.
Extra inboxes and Docs sites. Additional inboxes cost $10/month billed annually ($12 otherwise), and additional Docs sites cost $20/month billed annually ($24 otherwise).
AI Answers. It costs $0.75 per resolution, billed monthly, with pre-paid discounts available. New accounts get 3 months of free, unlimited AI Answers resolutions, starting when the account is created.
Trials. Standard and Plus come with a 15-day free trial and no credit card required. Pro requires a demo with sales.

How the free plan’s contact limit works

The free plan covers up to 100 contacts per month. Help Scout defines a contact as “someone who received a reply from your team or had their question resolved by the AI assistant”, and multiple conversations with the same person count as one contact. Paid plans have unlimited contacts.

That makes the free plan a real option for a very small team or a low-volume product. The tighter limits are 10 saved replies, 10 tags, and 10 Docs articles, which a team writing its first help center will likely reach quickly.

How AI Answers is billed

Help Scout defines a resolution as “a single conversation that is resolved by AI Answers without human assistance.” A conversation doesn’t count as resolved if the customer escalates, asks more questions, or selects “I still need help.” You’re charged at most once per conversation, and you can set a monthly spending cap. AI Answers turns off for the rest of the billing cycle once the cap is reached.

As an illustration, a team whose AI Answers resolves 200 conversations a month would pay $150 a month after the free period ends. Setting a cap from the start makes that cost predictable. For more on how usage-based pricing differs from per-seat pricing, see how SaaS pricing models work.

Who Help Scout Is a Good Fit For

Small teams starting from zero. The free plan lets up to 5 people run real support before paying anything.
Email-first support teams that want help desk structure without moving to a heavy, ticket-centric platform.
Teams adding chat and messaging early. Messaging channels are listed from the first paid tier.
Teams that want a help center without a separate tool. Docs is included on every plan.

It’s a weaker fit for teams that need advanced routing on day one, built-in voice, or enterprise security controls at a published price.

Pros

A genuine free plan. It’s an ongoing plan for up to 5 users, not a trial that expires.
Messaging channels from the entry paid tier. Live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger are listed on Standard.
Agent AI tools are included. AI Assist, AI Summarize, and AI Drafts aren’t sold as a per-agent add-on, and AI Answers has a spending cap.
Docs on every plan. Every plan includes at least one knowledge base site.

Cons

Per-user pricing scales with headcount. For 10 users, Standard is $250/month and Plus is $450/month at the listed prices.
Routing depth costs more. Round-robin assignment starts on Plus, and multiple routing types require Pro.
Security add-ons aren’t priced publicly. SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance, and IP restrictions are listed as add-ons without published prices.
No built-in voice. Phone support depends on an integration such as Aircall.

Help Scout vs. Alternatives

Help Scout is most often compared with Freshdesk. Freshdesk has a lower entry price per agent but no free plan, while Help Scout offers a free tier and lists messaging channels on its first paid plan. See the full Freshdesk vs Help Scout comparison for a side-by-side breakdown.

Teams moving off Zendesk often consider Help Scout too. Our Zendesk alternatives guide covers when it’s the better fit. For a wider shortlist, see the best help desk software for small businesses.

FAQ

Is Help Scout free?

Yes. Help Scout has an ongoing free plan for up to 5 users, with 1 inbox, 1 Docs site, and up to 100 contacts helped per month. Paid plans start at $25/user/month.

How much does Help Scout cost for 10 users?

At the listed prices, 10 users cost $250/month on Standard, $450/month on Plus, and $750/month on Pro. Pro has a 10-user minimum. Confirm the billing basis on Help Scout’s pricing page, since it doesn’t say whether these prices are monthly or annual.

Does Help Scout have AI?

Yes. AI Assist, AI Summarize, and AI Drafts help agents write and review conversations. AI Answers responds to customers directly and costs $0.75 per resolution, with 3 months of free, unlimited resolutions for new accounts.

Does Help Scout have a knowledge base?

Yes. Help Scout’s knowledge base is called Docs. The free plan includes 1 Docs site with up to 10 articles. Standard includes 2 sites, Plus 3, and Pro 5, all with unlimited articles.

Does Help Scout support live chat and phone?

Live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger are listed from the Standard plan. Phone support is available through integrations such as Aircall, not as a built-in voice channel.