Help Scout alternatives

The best Help Scout alternatives

Help Scout is a well-liked shared inbox with Docs alongside. Teams look elsewhere when they want their help centre and AI at the centre of support, a bigger help desk, or a move that keeps every link.

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At a glance

Help Scout first, for reference, then the alternatives.

  • Help Scout

    Small and mid-sized teams who want one shared inbox across email, chat and messaging apps.

    Help centre
    Docs sites: 1 on Free, up to 5 by plan, more at $20 a month each.
    How the AI answers
    AI Answers (an add-on) answers from your website or other sources you add, with your team a click away.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox on every plan; live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger from Standard.
    Starting price
    Free for up to 5 users; paid from $25 per user a month, billed annually.

  • AskBase

    Teams who want a help centre customers can read, an AI that answers from it, and a shared inbox for the rest.

    Help centre
    Published on every plan, on your own domain from $29. Each article is for everyone, the AI only, or your team.
    How the AI answers
    Only from your published articles, linking the ones it used. When they don't cover a question, it says so and offers your team. A person approves every AI draft.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox for support email from $29. No live chat, phone or messaging apps.
    Starting price
    Free; paid plans from $29 a month for the whole team.

  • Freshdesk

    Teams that want a full ticketing help desk with a customer portal and knowledge base.

    Help centre
    Customer portal and knowledge base on every plan.
    How the AI answers
    Freddy AI Agent answers customers; Freddy AI Copilot (an add-on) helps agents reply.
    Inbox and channels
    Ticketing and shared inbox on every plan; multilingual help desk and intelligent routing from Pro.
    Starting price
    From $19 per agent a month, billed annually.

  • Zendesk

    Large support teams that need ticket routing, phone and messaging in one place.

    Help centre
    An AI knowledge base on Suite plans.
    How the AI answers
    AI agents resolve requests or escalate them to a person, with an AI action builder, on Suite plans.
    Inbox and channels
    Email ticketing with routing and automations from Support Team; messaging, live chat and phone on Suite plans.
    Starting price
    From $19 per agent a month, billed annually; AI agents from $55.

  • Intercom

    Teams built around live chat, who want an AI agent that can also carry out workflows.

    Help centre
    A public help center on every plan; private and multilingual from Advanced.
    How the AI answers
    Fin answers customers and can complete workflows (Procedures), handing over to a person when asked.
    Inbox and channels
    Messenger live chat, shared inbox and ticketing on every plan; WhatsApp and SMS charged per use.
    Starting price
    From $29 per seat a month, billed annually, plus $0.99 per Fin outcome.

  • Crisp

    Small businesses whose support happens in live chat and messaging apps.

    Help centre
    From Essentials: your own domain, multiple languages, sitemap and SEO settings.
    How the AI answers
    An AI chatbot built with a no-code workflow builder; an AI agent trained on your data on Plus.
    Inbox and channels
    Live chat and shared inbox on Free; WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Line and Viber from Essentials.
    Starting price
    Free; paid from $45 a month per workspace.

  • Document360

    Documentation teams running several public and private knowledge bases.

    Help centre
    Several projects, public or private, each with its own users, domain and branding.
    How the AI answers
    Eddy AI search and answer in the knowledge base; an AI Chatbot add-on answers from it, websites, files and tickets.
    Inbox and channels
    Integrates with help desks such as Zendesk, Freshdesk and Intercom.
    Starting price
    Not published; quoted for your setup.

From each tool's own pricing page, checked 15 October 2026; each entry below links to its source. Per seat, per user and per agent mean for each person on your team.

Why teams look for a Help Scout alternative

Wanting more from the Docs site

Some teams want the help centre at the centre of support: the AI answering only from its articles, with links, and the questions it couldn't answer turned into drafts to approve.

Moving without losing links

Changing article addresses breaks bookmarks and resets search rankings. Teams want a move that keeps every /article/ address.

A bigger help desk

Growing teams sometimes need skill-based routing, multiple SLA policies or audit logs, which bigger help desks like Freshdesk and Zendesk cover.

AI as an add-on

AI Answers is $0.75 per resolution on top of a per-user plan. Some teams prefer AI that comes with the plan.

The alternatives

We make AskBase, so it's first. The rest are in no particular order. Each says who it suits, what it's good at and what to weigh.

  1. 1

    AskBase

    Teams who want a help centre customers can read, an AI that answers from it, and a shared inbox for the rest.

    Good at

    • A real, published help centre that customers, search engines and the AI all read
    • Answers only from your articles, links its sources, and says “I couldn’t find that” rather than guessing
    • Drafts what's missing from your website, your current help centre or your documents (PDF, Word, Markdown); a person approves every draft
    • Content gaps: the questions it couldn't answer, grouped by meaning and ranked by how often they're asked
    • Import any public help centre by pasting its address; on your domain, every article keeps its address
    • A shared inbox for the questions the AI hands over, with team members and AI answers included in each plan

    Worth weighing

    • No live chat: the chat on your site is the AI, with “Email a person” beside it
    • Email is the only inbox channel: no phone, SMS or messaging apps
    • No SLAs, priorities or automation rules yet
    • The AI answers questions; it doesn't take actions in other systems
    • The Free plan is for one person, without your own domain
    Help centre
    Published on every plan, on your own domain from $29. Each article is for everyone, the AI only, or your team.
    How the AI answers
    Only from your published articles, linking the ones it used. When they don't cover a question, it says so and offers your team. A person approves every AI draft.
    Inbox and channels
    Shared inbox for support email from $29. No live chat, phone or messaging apps.
    Price
    Free, then $29, $79 or $199 a month, with 1, 3, 10 or 25 team members included.
    How the AI is charged
    Included in the plan: 50, 750, 3,000 or 10,000 AI answers a month. No fee per answer or per resolution.

    From the AskBase pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  2. 2

    Freshdesk

    Teams that want a full ticketing help desk with a customer portal and knowledge base.

    Good at

    • Ticketing, shared inbox, customer portal and knowledge base from the first plan
    • Multilingual help desk, intelligent routing and multiple SLA policies on Pro
    • Skill-based routing, sandbox and audit logs on Enterprise

    Worth weighing

    • Priced per agent; AI Agent sessions beyond the first 500 are billed per 100
    • Copilot for agents is a separate add-on
    Help centre
    Customer portal and knowledge base on every plan.
    How the AI answers
    Freddy AI Agent answers customers; Freddy AI Copilot (an add-on) helps agents reply.
    Inbox and channels
    Ticketing and shared inbox on every plan; multilingual help desk and intelligent routing from Pro.
    Price
    Growth $19, Pro $55, Enterprise $89 per agent a month, billed annually (20% less than monthly).
    How the AI is charged
    Freddy AI Agent: first 500 sessions included, then $49 per 100 sessions. Freddy AI Copilot is $29 per agent a month.

    From the Freshdesk pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  3. 3

    Zendesk

    Large support teams that need ticket routing, phone and messaging in one place.

    Good at

    • Email ticketing with routing, triggers and automations
    • Messaging, live chat, telephony and AI agents together on Suite plans
    • An AI knowledge base and an AI action builder on Suite plans
    • Skills-based routing and an IVR call tree on Suite Professional

    Worth weighing

    • AI agents and the AI knowledge base need a Suite plan
    • Priced per agent, with AI resolutions beyond the allowance billed
    Help centre
    An AI knowledge base on Suite plans.
    How the AI answers
    AI agents resolve requests or escalate them to a person, with an AI action builder, on Suite plans.
    Inbox and channels
    Email ticketing with routing and automations from Support Team; messaging, live chat and phone on Suite plans.
    Price
    Support Team $19, Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115 per agent a month, billed annually. Suite Enterprise through sales.
    How the AI is charged
    Billed in automated resolutions: 5 or 10 per agent a month included, depending on plan, then $1.50 each committed or $2.00 pay as you go.

    From the Zendesk pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  4. 4

    Intercom

    Teams built around live chat, who want an AI agent that can also carry out workflows.

    Good at

    • Live chat, shared inbox, ticketing and a help center in one product
    • Fin can carry out workflows (Procedures), not only answer questions
    • Fin also works with other helpdesks, such as Salesforce, HubSpot or Freshdesk
    • Workflow automation and round robin assignment from Advanced; SSO, HIPAA support and SLAs on Expert

    Worth weighing

    • Cost grows with seats and with every Fin outcome
    • Product tours, checklists and surveys are a separate add-on
    Help centre
    A public help center on every plan; private and multilingual from Advanced.
    How the AI answers
    Fin answers customers and can complete workflows (Procedures), handing over to a person when asked.
    Inbox and channels
    Messenger live chat, shared inbox and ticketing on every plan; WhatsApp and SMS charged per use.
    Price
    Essential $29, Advanced $85, Expert $132 per seat a month, billed annually. 14-day free trial.
    How the AI is charged
    Fin AI Agent: $0.99 per outcome, at most once per conversation. No charge if Fin can't answer or the customer asks for a person.

    From the Intercom pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  5. 5

    Crisp

    Small businesses whose support happens in live chat and messaging apps.

    Good at

    • Website live chat and a shared inbox, even on the free plan
    • WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Line and Viber in one inbox from Essentials
    • A no-code workflow builder for chat flows
    • A flat price per workspace, with 4 to 20+ seats included on paid plans

    Worth weighing

    • The help center starts at Essentials
    • AI is measured in credits, estimated in automated conversations
    Help centre
    From Essentials: your own domain, multiple languages, sitemap and SEO settings.
    How the AI answers
    An AI chatbot built with a no-code workflow builder; an AI agent trained on your data on Plus.
    Inbox and channels
    Live chat and shared inbox on Free; WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Line and Viber from Essentials.
    Price
    Free with 2 seats, then Mini $45, Essentials $95, Plus $295 a month per workspace. Extra agents $10 a month.
    How the AI is charged
    AI credits included: $5 on Mini (around 90 automated conversations), $25 on Essentials (around 450), $75 on Plus (around 1,350). None on Free.

    From the Crisp pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

  6. 6

    Document360

    Documentation teams running several public and private knowledge bases.

    Good at

    • Several projects, public or private, each with its own users, domain and branding
    • Revision history, approval and publishing workflows, review reminders and reusable content blocks
    • SSO, SCIM, IP restriction, a choice of datacenter region, SOC 2 Type II
    • Import from Word and Confluence; export to PDF

    Worth weighing

    • No prices on the page: the quote depends on team accounts, workspaces, languages, security and AI usage
    • The AI Chatbot for customers is an add-on
    Help centre
    Several projects, public or private, each with its own users, domain and branding.
    How the AI answers
    Eddy AI search and answer in the knowledge base; an AI Chatbot add-on answers from it, websites, files and tickets.
    Inbox and channels
    Integrates with help desks such as Zendesk, Freshdesk and Intercom.
    Price
    Not published: quoted for your setup, after a 14-day free trial. See their pricing page.
    How the AI is charged
    Eddy AI (writing agent, AI search and answer) comes with plans; the AI Chatbot is an add-on.

    From the Document360 pricing page, checked 15 October 2026.

Moving your Help Scout Docs

AskBase is built to keep every link, and tested on real Help Scout Docs sites.

  • Paste your Docs address and AskBase imports every article it links to
  • Article addresses like /article/12-refunds are kept exactly on your domain
  • Old /category/ pages lead to your help centre's home instead of an error
  • Collections and categories become the sections of your help centre
  • Your Docs site keeps running until you point your domain at AskBase

Which one to choose

  • Your help centre at the centre, with an AI that answers only from it and your Docs moved link for link: AskBase
  • A full ticketing help desk with a customer portal and SLAs: Freshdesk
  • Phone, routing and messaging for a big team: Zendesk
  • Live chat with an AI agent that carries out workflows: Intercom
  • Live chat and messaging apps for a small business: Crisp
  • Several public and private documentation sites with approval workflows: Document360
  • One shared inbox across email, chat, SMS and messaging apps: stay with Help Scout

Questions people ask

What's a good alternative to Help Scout Docs?
AskBase imports a Help Scout Docs site from its address, keeps every article's address on your domain, and puts an AI in front of it that answers only from your articles and says when they don't cover a question. For large documentation projects with many writers, Document360 has more authoring tools.
How do I move from Help Scout Docs without losing links?
Paste your Docs address into AskBase, check the imported articles, then point your domain at AskBase with two DNS records. Article addresses like /article/12-refunds stay exactly the same.
Can AskBase draft articles Help Scout Docs never had?
Yes. It drafts the missing ones from the questions customers ask, from your website, or from documents you upload (PDF, Word or Markdown). Anything it couldn't confirm is marked for you to check, and nothing goes live until a person approves it.
How is Help Scout priced?
Help Scout's pricing page lists a free plan for up to 5 users, then Standard at $25, Plus at $45 and Pro at $75 per user a month, billed annually. AI Answers is $0.75 per resolution. We checked it on 15 October 2026.

More comparisons

Bring your Help Scout Docs across

Paste its address and see every article in AskBase before you change anything.