Help Scout vs Zendesk Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Help Scout | Zendesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $25/mo | $19/mo |
| Number of plans | 4 | 4 |
| Free plan | — | |
| Free trial | — | |
| Pricing model | hybrid | per-seat |
Price is one row. To weigh the features too, use our feature comparison template →
Standard
- Multiple Inboxes
- Live chat and SMS
- WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger
- Multiple knowledge bases
- One basic SLA policy
- Basic workflows
- Unlimited tags and saved replies
- AI Inbox assistant
Plus
Popular- Advanced workflows
- Two advanced SLA policies
- Secure customer portal
- Unlimited AI Drafts
- Round robin routing
- Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot
- Internal teams
- Group conversations by company
Pro
- Unlimited workflows
- Unlimited SLA policies
- Multiple routing types
- SSO/SAML
- HIPAA compliance
- Up to 50 light users
- Dedicated onboarding specialist
- Strategic account manager
- Preferred pricing on Aircall
AI Answers
- No dead ends
- Easy setup
- 3-month free trial
Support Team
- Email and ticketing system
- Ticket routing
- Prebuilt analytics dashboards
- Pre-written responses
- Customer context
- Automations and triggers
Suite Team
- AI Agents
- Knowledge Base
- Action Builder
- Omnichannel routing
- Messaging and live chat
- Telephony
Suite Professional
Popular- Admin Copilot
- App Builder
- Writing Tools
- Quick Reports
- Skills-based routing
- IVR phone tree
Suite Enterprise + Copilot
- Intelligent Triage
- Auto Assist
- Generative AI for Voice
- Approval workflows
- Sandbox environment
- Custom agent roles
Help Scout vs Zendesk FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Zendesk is the cheaper option, starting at $19/mo vs $25/mo for Help Scout.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Help Scout has a free plan. Zendesk doesn't — you'll need to pay from day one.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Help Scout uses hybrid pricing, while Zendesk goes with per-seat. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Help Scout: At $25-$75/seat, Help Scout sits mid-market — pricier than bare-bones tools like Groove but cheaper than enterprise-heavy platforms like Zendesk or Intercom's higher tiers. They're clearly courting growing SMBs who've outgrown a shared email inbox but don't want Zendesk's complexity or price tag. Zendesk: Zendesk sits mid-to-premium in the helpdesk market — pricier than lean tools like Freshdesk or Help Scout at the entry level, but positioned to compete with Salesforce Service Cloud at the top. They're not chasing budget shoppers; they're banking on brand trust and ecosystem depth to win mid-market and enterprise teams willing to pay more for polish.
Still deciding? See the best Help Scout alternatives or the best Zendesk alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
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