The 13 best alternatives to Help Scout for more responsive customer support
Today, offering smooth, personalized customer support is no longer an option, but a requirement. And if you're already using Help Scout, you know that this tool has its strengths... but also its limitations. Whether in terms of price, functionality, ticket management or direct chat, there are more flexible, more powerful or simply better adapted solutions on the market.
👉 So we've selected the 13 best alternatives to Help Scout, tested, compared, and tailored for support teams, IT managers, or demanding contractors. All-in-one tools, more agile solutions, integrated chatbots, a better knowledge base, self-service, or more affordable pricing plans: there's something for every need, every use, and every budget.
What is Help Scout?
Help Scout is an all-in-one customer support tool, designed for companies that want to offer a seamless experience, without unnecessary complexity. Halfway between a collaborative messaging and a ticket management system, it seduces with its simplicity and uncluttered interface.
🎯 It's a popular choice among startups, SMEs and customer relations-oriented teams. Where Help Scout stands out is in its ability to make customer service more human, thanks to direct chat, an integrated knowledge base, and accessible automation tools. It enables your team to respond quickly and well, without sacrificing personalization.
💸 On the pricing side, Help Scout offers a free plan limited to 100 contacts per month. Plans start at €21.41 per agent per month, making it an intermediate solution between ultra-basic tools and complex platforms like Zendesk or Intercom. It also offers integrations with CRMs, analytics tools or third-party services like Slack or HubSpot Service.
But despite these strengths, Help Scout isn't always the best alternative for your needs... and that's what we're going to explore next.
Help Scout
Why consider an alternative to Help Scout?
Rates that rise quickly with growth
Help Scout's per-agent, per-feature pricing model can quickly become restrictive. If your support team is growing, or if you need :
- modules such as live chat,
- advanced knowledge base,
- or customized integrations, the monthly cost skyrockets.
This model is acceptable for small teams, but not very scalable without increasing the bill. Conversely, solutions such as Crisp or LiveAgent offer fixed-price plans per team, which are much more advantageous as you grow.
Limited functionality depending on the plan chosen
Some key functionalities, such as ticket automation, intelligent self-service or advanced chatbots, are either absent from the first Help Scout plans, or very limited. This can hinder your users' autonomy or limit your team's efficiency.
For companies looking to optimize response times or automate repetitive tasks, Help Scout can quickly show its functional limits.
Limited multi-channel support
Help Scout handles email and chat very well, but remains limited on other essential channels today: social networks, SMS, WhatsApp, or telephone. A good customer support management tool in 2025 needs to be truly omnichannel.
Platforms like Bird, Zendesk or LiveAgent integrate all these contact points into a unified inbox, offering a seamless customer experience, whatever the channel used.
Lack of native integration with certain business tools
Although Help Scout offers integrations with popular tools such as Hubspot or Slack, coverage remains limited compared to competitors. Some integrations require development via API or third-party gateways (such as Zapier), which can slow implementation.
If you use a broader technical ecosystem (CRM, data tools, e-commerce platforms), you'll gain in efficiency with a better-connected solution like Zoho Desk, Intercom or Zendesk.
A lack of personalized customer experience
Help Scout focuses on simplicity, but this sometimes translates into an overly generic customer experience. There is little scope for personalizing workflows, email content, automated responses or interactions according to customer profile.
For companies that want to personalize on a large scale or adapt their discourse to different segments (freemium, VIP, enterprise), it can become too rigid. Solutions such as Intercom or Hubspot Service Hub go much further in this respect.
A simple interface... but sometimes too simple
Help Scout's simple interface is one of its greatest assets when you're just starting out. But when managing large volumes of tickets or more complex workflows, this simplicity becomes an obstacle. There are few display options, no advanced routing, and no enriched customer view like Kayako or Zendesk. The result: agents waste time, and customer service efficiency can suffer.
Comparison table of the 13 best Help Scout alternatives
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 Zoho Desk | Help Scout |  Crisp |  Freshdesk |  Service Hub |  Intercom |  Kayako |  Landbot |  LiveAgent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For all companies | For all companies | For companies with 2 to 250 employees | For companies with 2 to 5000 employees | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies |
| See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software |
| Learn more about Zoho Desk | Learn more about Help Scout | Learn more about Crisp | Learn more about Freshdesk | Learn more about Service Hub | Learn more about Intercom | Learn more about Kayako | Learn more about Landbot | Learn more about LiveAgent |
Our top 13 alternatives to Help Scout
Crisp
Crisp is the up-and-coming Help Scout alternative made in France. Modern, affordable and ultra-connected, this platform offers much more than a simple support tool. It features fluid direct chat, no-code chatbots, a multilingual knowledge base, and even an integrated email marketing tool.
🎯 Thought for agile customer support teams and entrepreneurs alike, Crisp seduces with its simplicity and wealth of integrations: Slack, Zapier, WhatsApp, Shopify, Intercom, etc. And with its free offer, it's one of the best price/feature ratios on the market.
Here's what Crisp has to offer to centralize your customer service:
- real-time chat with co-browsing and file transfer;
- automated chatbot and personalized scenarios;
- shared inbox (email, chat, social networks);
- internal and public knowledge base;
- CRM and e-commerce integrations (Hubspot, Shopify...);
- integrated email campaign tool;
- open API and webhooks.
Crisp
Freshdesk
Freshdesk is one of the most popular alternatives to Help Scout. Developed by Freshworks, this cloud-based customer support solution is aimed at SMEs and large enterprises alike. It covers all the basics: tickets, chat, knowledge base, automations, and more.
💵 Often compared to Zendesk, Freshdesk stands out for its ease of use, flexible pricing plans (from a free plan to €79/agent/month), and a modular logic that means you only pay for what you need.
Here's how Freshdesk can help you optimize your customer support:
- multi-channel ticketing system with SLA, escalation, etc. ;
- live chat via Freshchat + automated bots;
- self-service portal with dynamic knowledge base;
- powerful automation scenarios (assignment, responses, lead times);
- analysis dashboard and activity report;
- integrations: WhatsApp, Slack, Salesforce, Zoho, etc. ;
- app marketplace for à la carte functionality.
Freshdesk
Groove
Groove is an alternative to Help Scout, aimed at SMEs looking for a simple, accessible yet comprehensive tool . Less well known than Zendesk or Intercom, it nevertheless shines for its fast learning curve, efficient ticket management and customer support-oriented features.
💵 It's positioned as a solution that goes straight to the point, uncluttered and 100% focused on customer support. All this with plans starting from €20.56 per month, which already include a fine array of features.
Here's what Groove has to offer to simplify the day-to-day work of support teams:
- ticket management with shared inbox ;
- rapid assignment and tagging workflows;
- public and private knowledge base;
- predefined responses and light automation;
- integration with Slack, Shopify, Zapier, Stripe, etc. ;
- agent performance monitoring;
- simple, efficient interface, ideal for small teams.
Hubspot Service Hub
Hubspot Service Hub is the customer support component of Hubspot's renowned CRM suite. It is aimed at companies that want a unified view of customer data across marketing, sales and service. It's a powerful tool for centralizing communication and tracking every interaction with precision.
🚀 Native integration with Hubspot CRM enables extensive personalization of support, while self-service features and automated workflows make it easy for the support team to scale up .
Here's how Hubspot Service Hub enriches the customer experience:
- CRM-linked ticketing system with full tracking ;
- personalized customer portal and dynamic knowledge base;
- automations (assignment, responses, notifications, reminders);
- live chat and chatbot (with conditional logic);
- dashboards for monitoring customer service KPIs;
- native integrations with other Hubspot + Zapier tools;
- advanced feedback functionalities (NPS, surveys).
Service Hub
Intercom
Intercom is the market leader in conversational customer support solutions . Powerful yet demanding, Intercom appeals to teams who want to personalize everything from automated onboarding to behavioral segmentation.
🎯 Targeting SaaS companies and fast-growing structures, Intercom combines live chat, intelligent chatbots, email automation campaigns and multi-channel support... in a single interface. Pricing starts at €24.84/month/agent, making it an affordable solution.
Here are the advanced features that distinguish Intercom from Help Scout:
- live chat with behavioral targeting ;
- chatbots with conditional logic and machine learning;
- automated email campaigns and in-app messages;
- interactive, self-fed knowledge base;
- ticket routing according to business rules;
- CRM, analytics and third-party platform integration;
- detailed self-service and productivity reporting tools.
Intercom
Kartra
Kartra is not a customer support tool in the strict sense, but an all-in-one platform that integrates CRM, marketing automation, sales and customer management. It offers chat, simplified ticketing and knowledge base functions in an environment designed for online business.
🎯 Ideal for entrepreneurs or solopreneurs who want to centralize everything without piling up tools. It's particularly relevant if you're managing training courses, sales tunnels or digital services. In terms of pricing, Kartra offers monthly plans at prices independent of the number of users, starting at €50.53/month.
Kartra's support features include
- integrated helpdesk with tickets and live chat ;
- public knowledge base and help desk;
- automated responses based on customer scenarios;
- tagging and sorting of users according to their actions;
- integrated CRM to segment and personalize relationships;
- email integration, forms, videos, sales tunnel;
- sales, membership and payment management tools.
Kayako
Kayako is a ticket management and customer communication tool that stands out for its ability to centralize all exchanges, whatever the channels used.
🎯 It is aimed primarily at IT or technical support teams managing complex request flows, with fixed price plans starting at €67.67/month.
Its strength? A unified view of the customer: every interaction (email, chat, social networks) is traced, logged and linked to a complete record. The result: a smoother customer experience and better decision-making for agents.
Here are the main Kayako features to consider:
- multi-channel helpdesk with advanced ticket management ;
- chronological view of all customer interactions;
- live chat with knowledge base integration;
- customized workflows for automation;
- internal collaboration tools (notes, assignments, tags);
- detailed reporting on team performance; integrations with Salesforce, Slack, Zapier and more.
Kayako
Landbot
Landbot clearly stands out from the other tools listed here: it's a conversational chatbot platform that lets you create interactive customer experiences without coding.
🎯its "design first" approach makes it perfect for marketing teams, support or even self-service in automated journeys. Used to complement or replace a tool like Help Scout, Landbot is particularly useful for offloading simple queries from human support. The solution is available free of charge , or from €40/month for more advanced features.
Here are the Landbot features that make it the tool of choice for automation:
- code-free chatbot creation via a visual editor ;
- channel integration: website, WhatsApp, Messenger ;
- triggering of personalized scenarios based on user behavior;
- real-time enrichment of customer data;
- integrations via API or Zapier (Hubspot, Google Sheets...);
- escalation to a human agent if required;
- integrated analytics to optimize bot performance.
Landbot
LiveAgent
LiveAgent is a performance-oriented, omnichannel customer support solution. It combines ticket management, real-time chat, video calls and even social networks in a single interface.
💵 Its big advantage? A very good features/price ratio, with plans starting at €7.71/agent/month. It's a platform that appeals to teams who want to centralize everything, without technical complexity. Its in-house gamification system can also motivate agents to keep up their performance.
Here's what LiveAgent has to offer to improve your support management:
- unified inbox (email, chat, social networks, phone) ;
- high-speed live chat with real-time monitoring;
- self-service portal with knowledge base;
- voice and video calls directly from the interface;
- comprehensive ticketing system with SLAs, reminders, labels;
- integration with over 200 tools (including CRM, e-commerce, etc.);
- customer rating function.
LiveAgent
Bird (formerly MessageBird)
Bird (formerly MessageBird) is an omnichannel customer communication platform, ideal for companies that want to unify their interactions on WhatsApp, SMS, Messenger, Instagram, email, and of course direct chat.
🎯 It's a strategic choice for international or high-volume companies. More than a support tool, Bird is a messaging-as-a-service tool, with powerful APIs for personalizing the customer experience on a massive scale. Perfect for those who want to automate, segment and integrate chatbots into a proactive customer relations logic.
Bird's key customer service features include
- unified inbox: all channels in a single stream ;
- automated responses with chatbot AI ;
- intelligent routing by team or priority;
- ticket management and conversation tracking;
- CRM integrations (Salesforce, Hubspot...) and marketing tools;
- flexible APIs for personalized customer journeys.
ThriveDesk
🎯 ThriveDesk is a little-known but fast-rising customer support tool designed for small SaaS teams, e-commerce or content creators looking for a fluid experience that's quick to deploy and fun to use.
Its minimalist yet effective interface makes it highly accessible, while integrating essential functionalities: collaborative inbox, live chat, knowledge base, customizable widget, and even a native WordPress plugin. The emphasis is on ease of use, while ensuring the robustness required for structured ticket management.
Here's what ThriveDesk has to offer to modernize your customer service:
- multi-channel shared inbox with tagging, assignment and status ;
- ultra-light live chat with customizable widget ;
- self-service portal with integrated knowledge base;
- integrations with WordPress, WooCommerce, Slack, and more ;
- reporting and analytics to track team performance;
- complete conversation history by customer;
- integrated customer feedback system (CSAT).
Zendesk
Zendesk is probably the best-known solution in the world of customer support. Zendesk's strength lies in its ecosystem: chat, voice, knowledge base, automation, analytics, AI... everything is modular. But beware: the learning curve is steeper, and pricing plans can climb quickly if you want to activate everything (from €19/agent/month to €169/agent/month)
🎯 This is an ultra-complete platform, designed for large teams, multi-site companies or departments that manage a high volume of tickets and communication channels.
Here's what Zendesk offers for managing large-scale support:
- multi-channel ticketing system with advanced prioritization ;
- AI-based live chat and chatbot;
- self-service help center and intelligent knowledge base;
- automated routing and pre-programmed responses;
- reports, dashboards, satisfaction scoring;
- extensive marketplace with +1000 integrations;
- collaborative tools for support teams.
Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is the customer service management tool in the Zoho suite, designed for companies looking to combine automation, CRM integration and omnichannel support.
🎯 It's a robust solution, particularly suited to IT or B2B support teams. Its strengths lie in its intelligent ticket prioritization logic and ultra-configurable workflows. What's more, its knowledge base can be linked to the customer portal to promote self-service.
Here's what Zoho Desk has to offer to structure your support:
- intelligent ticket system with automatic prioritization ;
- predefined responses and process automation;
- personalized customer portal with integrated knowledge base;
- multi-channel support: email, telephone, chat, social networks;
- customized analytical dashboards and reports;
- native integration with Zoho CRM, but also Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc. ;
- agent collaboration tools.
Zoho Desk
How to choose the right alternative to Help Scout?
Summary table of the best alternatives to Help Scout
| Tool | Starting price | Key features | Ideal for... |
| Crisp | Free offer | Real-time chat, chatbot, knowledge base, shared inbox | Startups, SaaS, agile SMBs |
| Freshdesk | Free offer | Tickets, chat, customer portal, automation with bots | Multi-channel customer support |
| Groove | From €20.56 per month | Simple tickets, shared box, knowledge base, reporting | Small teams, simple support |
| Hubspot Service Hub | Free offer | Integrated CRM, tickets, chat, knowledge base, NPS | Hubspot users, marketing+support teams |
| Intercom | From €24.84 per month | Conversational chat, AI chatbot, onboarding, email automation | Scale-ups, SaaS, growing companies |
| Kartra | From €50.53 per month | Helpdesk, CRM, sales tunnel, marketing automation | Entrepreneurs, trainers, infopreneurs |
| Kayako | From €67.67 per month | Ticket management, unified customer view, personalized workflows | Technical support, IT teams |
| Landbot | Free offer | Creation of visual chatbots, no-code integrations, conversational automation | Automation, self-service |
| LiveAgent | From €7.71 per month | Multi-channel inbox, telephony, self-service portal, reporting | Reactive, multi-channel support |
| Bird | On request | Omnichannel messaging (WhatsApp, SMS...), API automation, CRM | International support, multiple channels |
| ThriveDesk| | From €24.84 per month | Collaborative inbox, chat, knowledge base, WordPress plugin, analytics | Small SaaS teams, e-commerce, designers |
| Zendesk | From €19 per month | Complete helpdesk, AI chatbot, advanced reporting, knowledge base | Large companies, structured service |
| Zoho Desk | From €7 per month | Ticketing system, self-service portal, advanced automation | Structured SMEs, in-house customer service |
Criteria for selecting an alternative to Help Scout
Faced with the multitude of tools available, how do you choose the best alternative to Help Scout for your company? Here are the essential criteria to consider
- the type of customer support to be managed: managing technical tickets, offering direct chat, or automating a customer journey do not imply the same needs. A tool such as Zoho Desk will be perfect for structured support, whereas Crisp or Intercom focus on immediacy and conversation.
- Volume and team size: if you're a small team with a few agents, there's no need to opt for a behemoth like Zendesk. More agile solutions like Groove or LiveAgent will do the job.
- Key functionality requirements: do you need a knowledge base? a chatbot? automation workflows? Rank your priorities: some tools shine in one area, but fall short in others.
- integrate with your existing tools: your CRM, your communication channels, your data platforms... If the chosen alternative doesn't integrate natively, it can quickly become a headache (or an additional cost).
- ease of use and familiarity: a powerful but complex tool slows down adoption by the support team. Platforms like Crisp rely on a modern interface, designed to move fast.
- available budget (plan and cost per agent): prices can vary from a few dollars to several hundred per month, depending on the options activated. Be sure to check what's included in each plan (number of agents, chatbot access, API, reporting, etc.).
- long-term scalability: a tool that's suitable today may become limiting tomorrow. Choose a scalable solution that can keep pace with your growth.
Alternative to Help Scout: the right choice depends on your real needs
As we've seen, there isn't just one best alternative to Help Scout, but several that are more or less suited to your context. The right choice depends neither on price alone, nor on the number of features displayed on a home page.
Above all, it depends on your real needs:
👉 is your team comfortable with tech tools?
👉 do your customers expect answers in real time?
👉 is your budget stretchable, or do you need to do more with less?
Whether you're looking for an all-in-one tool, an intelligent chatbot, or a simple, efficient ticketing solution, today there are more flexible, more agile, sometimes even more human alternatives to Help Scout.
Take the time to test, compare and challenge. After all, a good support tool isn't one that does everything... but one that really helps you to serve your customers better.
Article translated from French