Top 10 Help Scout Alternatives You Can Consider

Running a business means you’re basically the master of multitasking, right?

That includes production, marketing, customer service, and more. But, you can offload all your customer service-related tasks using good quality software.

Well, that’s where customer service software comes in to save the day. Businesses, big and small, rely on customer service software like Help Scout to streamline communication.

But when looking for other options, choosing the right one for your business is not that easy!

A study by CSO Insights found that 47% of CRM implementations fail to meet expectations. Another study shows that a staggering 53% of CRM failures result from companies not understanding customer expectations. On the other hand, some research say having a right-fit CRM can boost up business operation by 80%.

Helpscout is one of the popular tools for customer service management tools. But as you are here, you must be looking for some alternatives.

Sometimes, it’s not about the tools being bad; it’s just that the right features might be hiding in other options. Fear not! In this guide, we will help you to find the best one from the top 10 choices as Help Scout alternatives.

Keep reading—you’re in for a treat!

What Does Software Like Help Scout Do?

Help Scout is a customer service software that helps businesses to manage inquiries through a shared inbox, self-service knowledge base, live chat, and ticketing system. Softwares like this basically keep all your customer support channels organized and helps you deliver better service.

Benefits of using Help Scout

Help Scout offers a seamless user experience, with its friendly interface requiring minimal training. It fosters efficient collaboration among team members, ensuring swift resolution of customer queries. Businesses can also create and maintain a robust knowledge base and empower customers to find solutions independently.

With customizable workflows and insightful analytics, Help Scout enables businesses to adapt and improve their support processes continually. Moreover, its reliable integration with various third-party tools enhances overall workflow efficiency. In short, Help Scout excels at simplifying customer service.

Downside of Help Scout

Help Scout can be a great tool, but it’s not perfect for everyone. It might lack the advanced features and customization some businesses need. Integrating it with other software can be tricky at times. Besides, it might be more focused on email support than live chat.

Top 10 Help Scout Alternatives

Let’s explore the alternatives to Help Scout. We will get into the features, pros, and cons of each tool to help you find the perfect fit for your business.

Ready to discover your new go-to customer service solution?

Let’s do it!

1) Customerly

Customerly is an AI-driven customer service solution. It empowers businesses to respond instantly to customer queries. Its AI Assistant enhances response rates by personalizing responses swiftly.

Customerly has global support capabilities and seamless integration with email inboxes. It ensures fast resolutions and a more productive workflow.

Additionally, its AI missions streamline operations, and its all-in-one customer view and feedback tools centralize customer data, driving business growth.

Key Features

1. AI-Powered Chatbot
2. AI Assistant
3. Global Support Capabilities
4. Seamless Integration
5. AI Missions
6. All-in-One Customer View
7. Feedback Tools

Pricing

Customerly offers scalable pricing plans to meet your business requirements, starting at $7/month for Essential, $39/month for Startup, $82/month for Pro, and $249/month for Enterprise. Each plan includes varying numbers of teammates and interactions, catering to businesses of all sizes.

Pros:

• Excellent value for money.
• The Essential plan is ideal for businesses starting with customer service, especially those without revenue.
• Easy-to-use interface.
• Affordable pricing.
• Advanced email customization options for creating beautiful messages quickly.
• Automation driven by customer data and behavior.

Cons:

• Managing multiple chats can be challenging.
• Conversation Tags are not yet customizable.

2) Intercom

Intercom is a popular customer support tool that empowers businesses to engage with customers in real time. It has many useful features like custom bots, targeted emails, and push notifications.

Moreover, Intercom extends support to managing SMS marketing campaigns. It offers plugins for notifications, contact imports, and service marketing.

Key Features

• Real-time communication
• Custom bots
• Targeted emails
• Push notifications
• SMS marketing campaign management
• Plugins

Pricing

The Essential plan starts at $39/seat/month, ideal for individuals and small businesses. The Advanced plan, at $99/seat/month, offers automation tools for growing teams. The Expert plan, $139/seat/month, provides advanced features for large teams.

Pros

• User friendly Interface
• Easily implementable chatbot
• Easily installable on any website

Cons

• Long response time for contacting the support team
• Expensive for small businesses
• Unclear pricing structure
• Data analysis feature needs improvement

3) Knowledgeowl

KnowledgeOwl is a comprehensive knowledge management tool for software teams. It is used to build, manage, and share public and private knowledge bases. It boasts easy customization, robust search functionality, and stellar customer support.

With KnowledgeOwl, you can control CSS, HTML, and JS code. Features like Google-style search, secure access controls, and automatic article versioning enhance user experience and productivity.

Key Features

• Customization Control
• Robust Search Functionality
• Secure Access Controls
• Effortless Migration
• Documentation Management
• Stellar Customer Support
• Straightforward Pricing
• Nonprofit Discounts

Pricing

KnowledgeOwl offers transparent pricing starting at $100 per month. It includes all features included and no hidden costs. Nonprofits and purpose-driven organizations enjoy a 25% discount.

Pros

• Easy Customization
• Robust Search Functionality
• Secure Access Controls
• Comprehensive Documentation Management
• Stellar Customer Support
• Straightforward Pricing

Cons

• Limited Integrations
• Additional Costs for Extras

4) Copilot

Copilot is a platform tailored for professional service businesses. It provides tools to onboard clients, deliver services, and manage payments through a modern client portal. It consolidates essential functions like messaging, billing, file-sharing, contracts, and forms into one unified system.

It enables businesses to streamline operations and enhance client experiences.

Key Features

• Practice Management Suite
• Client Portal
• Custom App Development
• Elevated Branding
• Security Enhancements
• Client Interaction Hub
• Freelancer Management

Pricing

Starter Plan costs $29 per month per internal user. As you grow, upgrade to the Professional Plan at $69 per month or the Advanced Plan at $119 per month for expanded storage. Explore a 14-day free trial to find the ideal plan for your business.

Pros:

• Unified platform
• Branded client portal
• Streamlined messaging
• File-sharing
• Contracts and forms
• White-label capabilities
• Automations

Cons:

• Integration requirements
• Reliance on platform updates

5) Chatbot

ChatBot is an AI-driven chatbot platform. It helps businesses to enhance customer experience by providing instant and accurate responses to customer queries.

With ChatBot, businesses can resolve customer questions quickly and efficiently. It frees up valuable time for other tasks. The platform also offers integrations with popular tools like Facebook Messenger and Shopify.

Key Features

• AI-driven chatbot and Instant responses
• Automated workflows
• Control over bot responses
• Customer journey automation
• Integration with third-party tools

Pricing

ChatBot offers a 14-day free trial to explore its AI chatbot solutions. Plans start at $52/month for the Starter plan, $142/month for the Team plan, and $424/month for the Business plan. Contact ChatBot directly for Enterprise plan pricing tailored to your needs.

Pros

• AI-driven responses
• Personalized greetings
• Multi-source data training
• Data security

Cons:

• Setup complexity
• Query comprehension limitations
• Ongoing maintenance required

5) LiveAgent

LiveAgent is an all-in-one customer care solution that helps businesses provide excellent customer service across multiple channels. It has some amazing features like live chat, call center capabilities, ticketing systems, social media integrations, and a knowledge base.

LiveAgent empowers businesses to answer more tickets efficiently and boost customer satisfaction.

Key Features

• Ticket Management
• Live Chat
• Call Center
• Social Media Integration
• Reporting & Analytics
• Gamification
• Security & Integrations

Pricing

LiveAgent offers flexible pricing plans tailored for businesses of all sizes, starting from $9/agent per month for essential tools, up to comprehensive enterprise solutions at $69/agent per month. Choose the plan that suits your needs and scale effortlessly with LiveAgent.

Pros

• Comprehensive ticket management
• Robust live chat
• Call center features
• Extensive reporting and analytics
• Gamification for team engagement
• Strong security focus

Cons

• Higher pricing
• Initial setup required
• Limited customization
• Complex for very small businesses

6) Front

Front is the ultimate platform for modern service teams. It offers shared inboxes, live chat, AI bots, team collaboration, and powerful automation. With Front, you can provide exceptional customer service at scale while streamlining operations and boosting team efficiency.

You can experience the next level of customer support with Front’s intuitive interface and practical AI capabilities.

Key Features

• Omnichannel inbox
• Live chat and Collaboration
• AI chatbots and agent assistance
• Knowledge base
• Workflow automation
• Integrations and API
• Analytics

Pricing

Pricing starts at $59 USD/seat/month for the Growth plan, $99 USD/seat/month for the Scale plan, and $229 USD/seat/month for the Premier plan.

Pros

• Omnichannel communication capabilities
• Collaborative inbox for team efficiency
• Robust rules and workflow automation
• Live chat with integrated chatbots
• Strong CRM integration
• Effective security and team management features

Cons

• Pricing can be expensive for larger teams
• Steeper learning curve for utilizing advanced features
• Some features may require additional add-ons
• Limited customization options compared to other platforms

7) Freshworks

Freshdesk offers an AI-driven Customer Service Suite designed to elevate customer support operations. Freshdesk provides intuitive and contextual support tools, advanced ticketing capabilities for personalized service, self-service options to deflect FAQs.

They have AI-powered automations to optimize workflows. It facilitates collaboration among teams for hybrid work environments and offers proactive insights through analytics.

Freshdesk’s unified solution includes bots, ticketing, and conversations.

Key Features

• Advanced Ticketing
• Self-Service Capabilities
• AI-Powered Automations
• Collaboration Tools
• Analytics and Insights

Pricing

The Growth plan offers scalable support at an accessible price point, starting at $15/agent per month. Upgrade to the Pro plan at $49/agent/mo for enhanced features and capabilities. And, Enterprise plan, starting at $79/agent per month.

Pros

• Friendly support interface
• Personalized ticket management
• Self-service automation

Cons

• Limited pricing scalability
• Learning curves

8) Zendesk

Zendesk offers an AI-driven customer service suite that elevates customer experiences. It has personalized interactions and efficient support. Zendesk offers features like AI-powered bots, workforce engagement management, and customizable service solutions.

Zendesk empowers businesses to deliver exceptional support that drives customer loyalty and operational excellence.

Key Features

• AI-powered bots
• Workforce engagement management
• Customizable service solutions
• Advanced ticketing system
• Self-service automation
• Proactive customer insights
• Omnichannel support

Pricing

Zendesk Suite provides flexible plans starting from $19 per month for basic features like ticketing and help center. And, up to $169 per month for enterprise-level capabilities. These plans cater to businesses of all sizes.

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Extensive customization options
• Powerful AI capabilities
• Comprehensive analytics and reporting
• Seamless omnichannel support
• Scalable for businesses of all sizes

Cons

• Higher pricing for full feature set
• Limited customization
• Requires ongoing training for optimal use

9) Hiver

Hiver is an email management and collaboration tool. It is designed to streamline email workflows and support operations directly from your inbox. With Hiver, teams can assign emails as tasks, summarize messages with AI, collaborate seamlessly using notes.

This platform automates repetitive tasks. It provides insights into team performance and customer support quality and enable businesses to focus on what truly matters.

Key Features

• Email task assignment
• Multi-channel help desk support
• Collaboration with notes & @mentions
• Automation and AI capabilities
• Team performance and support metrics tracking

Pricing

Hiver offers three pricing plans tailored to different business needs. Lite at $15/user/month for easy starters. Pro at $49/user/month for rapid growth, and Elite at $79/user/month for high-volume operations. Each plan includes essential features and integrations, with a 7-day free trial and 24/7 support.

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Seamless integration with Google Workspace
• Effective email collaboration and task management
• Robust automation features

Cons

• Dependency on email-based workflows
• Complexity in managing large volumes of emails
• Integration limitations with non-Google platforms

10) Gorgias

Gorgias is an AI-powered customer experience platform. It can automate 60%+ of customer support with personalized responses. You can consolidate all customer conversations into one helpdesk for increased efficiency.

With this tool, you can convert shoppers into repeat customers with proactive engagement.

Key Features

• AI-Powered Automation
• Unified Helpdesk
• Proactive Engagement
• Integration with 100+ Apps
• Cross-Team Collaboration
• Personalized Customer Interactions

Pricing

Gorgias provides flexible pricing plans tailored to businesses, starting from $50/month for Basic up to $750/month for Advanced (billed annually).

Pros

• Efficient Customer Support
• Improved Customer Engagement
• Seamless Integration
• Cross-Team Collaboration
• Personalized Interactions

Cons

• Dependency on Integrations
• Initial Setup
• Cost Consideration

Use weDocs’ Live Chat as a HelpScout Alternative

weDocs offers an AI-powered ChatBot solution that serves as an alternative to Help Scout’s Live Chat. This ChatBot is equipped with ChatGPT technology to deliver responsive and accurate.

This powerful solution utilizes ChatGPT technology to deliver instant, accurate responses by analyzing your organization’s documentation. The chatbot efficiently gathers data from your documents, understands user queries, and provides fast, relevant answers.

With weDocs AI ChatBot, you can enhance customer support efficiency and engagement.

Try weDocs Now

Final Thoughts

We have explored alternatives to Help Scout. It shows that businesses should look beyond familiar options to find platforms that meet their specific needs and expectations.

The article provides insights into various customer service tools. We have also highlighted key features, pros, and cons to help you make informed decisions. Ultimately, the goal is to optimize customer support, streamline communication, and deliver exceptional experiences by selecting the best-suited software solution.