Help Scout vs Zendesk
Help Scout and Zendesk are both customer support tools. Help Scout is aimed at small businesses, while Zendesk is aimed at enterprise and small businesses. Only Help Scout has a free plan.
Help Scout
Email-centric helpdesk with a human touch
Zendesk
Enterprise ticketing and support suite
| Pricing | Freemium · $25 | Paid · $25 |
| Starting price | $25/mo | $25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | 15 days | 14 days |
| Built for | Small businesses | Enterprise, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2011 | US · 2007 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Help Scout if
Small and mid-size companies that want personal email-based support with a knowledge base.
- Free plan for up to 5 users
- Simple, email-like experience agents like
- Fast to set up; good docs product
Look elsewhere if: Call centers or enterprises needing WFM, QA and voice.
Choose Zendesk if
Mid-market and enterprise support teams with multiple channels and compliance needs.
- Mature, reliable at enterprise scale
- Broadest channel and app coverage
- Strong reporting and routing
Look elsewhere if: Startups and small teams; Help Scout, Freshdesk, Crisp or Plain are leaner.
Help Scout vs Zendesk pricing
Help Scout
- Free$05 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts/mo
- Standard$25/user/mo25 users, 2 inboxes, unlimited contacts; 16% off annually
- Plus$45/user/mo50 users, 5 inboxes, Salesforce/Jira/HubSpot
- Pro$75/user/moMin 10 users; 10 inboxes, SSO/SAML, HIPAA
Zendesk
- Support Team$25/agent/mo$19 billed annually; core ticketing
- Suite Team$69/agent/mo$55 billed annually; AI agents, messaging, voice
- Suite Professional$149/agent/mo$115 billed annually; skills routing, IVR
- Suite EnterpriseCustomSandbox, custom roles, approval workflows
Help Scout · Key features
- Shared inboxes with assignments, tags and workflows
- Docs knowledge base with multiple sites
- Beacon widget for chat, contact forms and article suggestions
- AI drafts, summaries and AI Answers for customers
- Customer profiles with app data via integrations
- Reports on volume, happiness and productivity
Cons
- No phone support channel
- Routing and automation less deep than Zendesk
- Per-user pricing adds up as the team grows
Zendesk · Key features
- Omnichannel ticketing: email, chat, voice, social, WhatsApp
- Help center and community with multiple brands
- AI agents, agent copilot and intelligent triage
- Skills-based routing, SLAs, macros and triggers
- Explore analytics and dashboards
- Workforce management, QA and marketplace apps
Cons
- Expensive per agent plus AI add-ons
- Complex packaging and frequent changes
- Overkill for small teams
Help Scout vs Zendesk: FAQ
Do Help Scout and Zendesk have a free plan?
Help Scout has a free plan. Zendesk has no free plan, a 14-day free trial.