Zendesk is built to scale across departments, channels, and compliance requirements. Help Scout is built to get a small team answering email well without a steep price tag. One has native phone support and a huge app marketplace; the other has a free plan and a lower paid floor.
Zendesk and Help Scout both show up when teams search for a shared inbox or ticketing system, but they’re built for different scales of support operation. Zendesk adds phone, omnichannel routing, and a huge app marketplace at a $55/agent/month floor. Help Scout keeps things simpler, with a genuine free plan and a $25/user/month paid entry price, but skips native phone support entirely.
Zendesk‘s Suite Team plan is $55/agent/month paid yearly with no free plan. Help Scout‘s Standard plan is $25/user/month, and its free plan covers up to 5 users.
| Feature | Zendesk Suite | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Entry paid price | $55/mo (Suite Team) | $25/mo (Standard) |
| Free plan | ✗ (trial only) | ✓ 5 users, 1 inbox |
| Native phone/voice support | ✓ Included from Suite Team | ✗ |
| AI pricing model | Copilot add-on, $50/agent/mo flat | AI Answers, $0.75/resolution |
| Third-party app marketplace | ✓ 1,800+ apps | Deep native HubSpot CRM integration |
| Max users on entry paid tier | Priced per agent, no cap stated | Up to 25 users (Standard) |
| Our overall score | 4.5/5 | 4.6/5 |
Pricing: a free plan vs. a trial-only floor
The gap starts before either team even reaches for a credit card.
Bottom line: Help Scout offers a genuine free plan for up to 5 users, 1 shared inbox, 1 docs site, and 100 contacts per month, enough for a small team to run real support before paying anything. Zendesk has no equivalent; its Suite Team plan starts at $55/agent/month paid yearly with no free tier, only a trial. Help Scout's paid ladder also stays well under Zendesk's: Standard is $25/user/month, Plus is $45/user/month, and Pro is $75/user/month, against Zendesk's $55 to $115/agent/month range before Enterprise pricing requires a sales call.
The channel Help Scout doesn’t have: phone
A real limitation for teams that take support calls.
Bottom line: Zendesk includes native phone and voice support as part of its Suite Team plan, letting agents handle calls in the same workspace as email and chat tickets. Help Scout has no native phone channel at all. For a team that only handles email, chat, and a help center, that gap won't matter. But for any team fielding customer phone calls, Help Scout requires bolting on a separate phone tool, while Zendesk handles it natively from its entry Suite tier.
If phone support is part of your support mix today or on your roadmap, confirm how you'd handle it on Help Scout before committing, since there is no native voice channel to fall back on.
AI deflection: flat add-on vs. pay per resolution
Both charge for AI separately, but on different terms.
Bottom line: Help Scout's AI Answers feature is billed at $0.75 per resolution, a usage-based cost that scales directly with how much it actually deflects. Zendesk's Copilot add-on is a flat $50/agent/month regardless of usage, though Suite Team and Professional plans include a set allotment of automated resolutions per agent per month before extra per-resolution charges apply. A smaller team with lighter ticket volume is likely to find Help Scout's per-resolution pricing cheaper in practice than Zendesk's flat add-on fee.
Should I choose Zendesk or Help Scout?
Bottom line: Help Scout suits smaller teams that want a free plan and don't need native phone support; Zendesk suits larger or omnichannel teams that need voice support and the widest app marketplace.
- You need native phone or voice support bundled with ticketing
- You want the widest third-party app marketplace available
- Your support org spans multiple departments or brands
- You prefer a flat, predictable AI add-on fee
- You don't need a free plan to get started
- You want a genuine free plan to start with up to 5 users
- You run support purely on email, chat, and a help center
- You already use HubSpot CRM and want deep native integration
- You'd rather pay per AI resolution than a flat monthly add-on
- You want the higher-rated platform at 4.6/5
For most small to mid-size support teams, Help Scout is the stronger default, scoring 4.6/5 against Zendesk's 4.5/5, with a genuine free plan and a $25/user/month paid floor less than half of Zendesk's.
But Zendesk is the right call for teams that need native phone support or the widest possible app marketplace, neither of which Help Scout tries to match.
Before choosing Help Scout, confirm your support mix doesn't depend on a phone channel, since that's the one gap no plan tier closes.
The most common questions teams ask when choosing between Zendesk and Help Scout Help Scout scores slightly higher in our testing at 4.6/5 versus Zendesk's 4.5/5, helped by a free plan and a $25/user/month paid entry price well below Zendesk's $55/agent/month floor. Zendesk's case rests on channel breadth: native phone support and a 1,800+ app marketplace that Help Scout does not try to match. Zendesk's Suite Team plan is $55/agent/month paid yearly, with no free plan available. Help Scout's Standard plan is $25/user/month for up to 25 users, and Help Scout also offers a free plan for up to 5 users with 1 inbox and 100 contacts per month. Yes. Help Scout's free plan supports up to 5 users, 1 shared inbox, 1 docs site, and 100 contacts per month. Zendesk does not offer an equivalent free tier; it is trial-only. Zendesk includes telephony as part of its Suite plans starting at the Team tier. Help Scout has no native phone support; teams that need voice channels alongside Help Scout typically connect a separate phone tool. Help Scout's AI Answers feature is billed at $0.75 per resolution, a usage-based model. Zendesk's Copilot add-on costs a flat $50/agent/month regardless of usage, though Suite Team and Professional plans include a set number of automated resolutions per agent per month before extra usage charges apply.Frequently asked questions: Zendesk vs Help Scout
Is Zendesk or Help Scout better?
How much does Zendesk cost vs Help Scout?
Does Help Scout have a free plan?
Does Zendesk or Help Scout support phone or voice tickets natively?
How does Help Scout's AI Answers pricing compare to Zendesk Copilot?
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