Freshdesk vs Help Scout
Freshdesk and Help Scout, side by side across AI, pricing, channels, security, and seven more categories. We pull every figure from public sources and don’t pick a winner.
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Freshdesk
Omnichannel customer service platform with built-in AI.
Best for SMB to enterprise ticketing; strong for ecommerce.
2010 · San Mateo, USA
Help Scout
The most intuitive customer support platform.
Best for SMB and mid-market across SaaS, ecommerce, education, and healthcare.
2011 · Boston, MA (fully remote).
Claimed: from the vendor, not independently verified.
3rd-party: sourced elsewhere, not on the vendor's site.
Everything else: from the vendor's own pages and verifiable.
Pricing
List prices, seat rules, trials, and pricing transparency.
- Pricing model
- FreshdeskPer agent/month. AI billed separately.
- Help ScoutPer seat monthly; AI Answers billed separately per resolution.
- Free plan
- FreshdeskFree tier for up to 2 agents
- Help ScoutYes. Up to 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site.
- Free trial / guarantee
- Freshdesk14 days, no card
- Help Scout15-day (Standard and Plus); 3-month unlimited AI Answers for new accounts.
- Price
- Freshdesk$19/agent/mo (Growth); $29 Omni · $55/agent/mo (Pro); $79 Omni · $89/agent/mo (Enterprise); $119 Omni
- Help ScoutStandard $25/user/mo (monthly); about $21 annual. · Plus $45/user/mo; about $38 annual. · Pro $75/user/mo; about $63 annual.
- Seat minimum
- FreshdeskNone stated
- Help ScoutPro: 10 users minimum; others none beyond Free's 5.
- Unlimited agents
- FreshdeskNo. Priced per agent.
- Help ScoutYes. Pro (10-seat minimum).
- Implementation fee
- FreshdeskNot disclosed
- Help ScoutNot disclosed; onboarding specialist is a paid add-on; Pro incl. account manager.
- Transparency
- FreshdeskHigh for plans; services not disclosed
- Help ScoutHigh. All prices public.
- Pricing last verified
- Freshdesk2026-06-02
- Help Scout2026-06-02
Channels
Where each tool can talk to customers.
- FreshdeskNative
- Help ScoutNative
- Live chat
- FreshdeskNative (Freshchat, Omni plans)
- Help ScoutNative (Beacon)
- In-app messenger
- FreshdeskNative (Freshchat widget)(claimed)source
- Help ScoutNative (Beacon iOS and Android SDK)
- Voice
- FreshdeskAdd-on (Freshcaller, a separate product)
- Help ScoutVia integration (Aircall, CloudTalk, JustCall, Talkdesk, Ringover)
- SMS
- FreshdeskVia integration (Twilio and others)
- Help ScoutVia integration (Aircall)
- FreshdeskNative on Omni; integration otherwise
- Help ScoutNative (added Mar 2026; Plus and Pro)
- Social
- FreshdeskNative (Facebook, Instagram, X)
- Help ScoutNative (Instagram confirmed; others implied)
Voice & Telephony
Native voice vs telephony integrations.
- Native vs via integration
- FreshdeskAdd-on. Freshcaller is a separate product.
- Help ScoutVia integration only. No native telephony.
- Voice AI / transcription
- FreshdeskYes. Transcription and summaries (via Freshcaller).
- Help ScoutNot offered natively (depends on partner).
- Telephony billed separately
- FreshdeskYes. Freshcaller is billed separately.
- Help ScoutYes. Billed by the integration partner.
AI & Automation
Autonomous resolution, agentic actions, models, and how AI is priced.
- Autonomous AI agent
- FreshdeskYes. Freddy AI Agent resolves tickets end to end.(claimed)source
- Help ScoutYes. AI Answers resolves in Beacon and escalates to a human.
- Copilot / Assist mode
- FreshdeskYes. Freddy Copilot drafts replies, summarizes, and translates.(claimed)source
- Help ScoutYes. AI Assist (tone, grammar, translate), AI Drafts, and AI Summarize.
- Claimed automation rate
- FreshdeskUp to 80% of queries(claimed)source
- Help Scout73.19% average resolution with AI Answers.(claimed)source
- AI channel coverage
- FreshdeskEmail, chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram(claimed)source
- Help ScoutBeacon (web and mobile chat); AI Drafts and Assist in email, chat, and Docs.
- Agentic actions (API) vs answer-only
- FreshdeskTakes actions like refunds and order updates(claimed)source
- Help ScoutAnswer and resolution only. No external API actions.
- Knowledge sources
- FreshdeskHelp articles, web pages, uploaded files, custom Q&A. Not past tickets.
- Help ScoutDocs sites, public URLs, PDF, Word, Excel, Google Docs and Sheets, and Improvements snippets.
- Underlying model
- FreshdeskAzure OpenAI (GPT-3.5 and GPT-4)
- Help ScoutOpenAI API (version undisclosed); does not train its own model.
- Trains on past tickets
- FreshdeskNo. On the roadmap.
- Help ScoutNo. Never uses your data to train models.
- Pre-deploy simulation / sandbox
- FreshdeskNot disclosed
- Help ScoutYes. Run AI Answers through any scenario.(claimed)source
- Multilingual
- FreshdeskYes. 60+ languages.(claimed)source
- Help ScoutYes. AI Answers in 50+ languages; AI Assist translates 13.
- Runs on your existing helpdesk vs native-only
- FreshdeskNative to Freshdesk only
- Help ScoutNative only.
- AI pricing model
- FreshdeskPer session for the AI Agent (a 72-hour window). Copilot is a per-agent add-on.
- Help ScoutPay-per-resolution add-on ($0.75); Assist, Drafts, and Summarize on Plus and Pro; 3-month free trial.
- AI unit price
- FreshdeskFirst 500 sessions free, then $49 per 100
- Help Scout$0.75 per AI resolution; prepay for up to 33% savings.
- Copilot / Assist price
- Freshdesk~$29/agent/mo(3rd-party)source
- Help ScoutIncluded on Plus and Pro (not Standard or Free).
How Open.cx compares
Open.cx runs on top of Freshdesk or Help Scoutas an AI layer, or works as its own helpdesk. Here's where it lands on the same questions.
- Runs on your existing helpdesk vs native-only
- Both. Add it on top of the helpdesk you already run, or use it as your own inbox. Works with Zendesk, Intercom, Front, Freshdesk, Gorgias, Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, Twilio Flex, and Creatio.
- Autonomous AI agent
- Yes. Autopilot resolves tickets end to end on its own, across every channel.
- AI pricing model
- Per resolution, so you pay for outcomes. Escalations to a human are free.
- Claimed automation rate
- 77% average automation; up to 80% (Trunkrs)(claimed)source
Security & Compliance
Certifications, data residency, and access controls.
- SOC 2 Type II
- FreshdeskYes. SOC 2 Type II.
- Help ScoutSOC 2 Type 2.
- GDPR
- FreshdeskYes. EU-US DPF certified.
- Help ScoutYes. EU and UK GDPR, Swiss FADP; DPA; DPF participant.
- HIPAA / PCI
- FreshdeskYes. BAA, on Enterprise.
- Help ScoutYes. Pro plan; BAA required.
- SSO / SAML
- FreshdeskYes. SAML SSO.
- Help ScoutYes. SAML SSO (Pro).
- Data residency
- FreshdeskYes. US, EU, UAE, India, Australia.
- Help ScoutNo. AWS US only; no EU or regional hosting.
Integrations
Marketplace breadth, APIs, and developer tooling.
- Marketplace / integrations (approx.)
- Freshdesk1,000+ apps in the marketplace
- Help Scout100+ apps.
- Shopify depth
- FreshdeskFree Shopify app. Orders, refunds, cancellations, multi-store.
- Help ScoutNative. Order status, refunds, and order management in the inbox; Shopify App Store.
- Open / public API
- FreshdeskYes. REST API.
- Help ScoutYes. Inbox API, Docs API, Chat API, and Webhooks.
- Developer SDK / MCP
- FreshdeskYes. Serverless SDK.
- Help ScoutCustom Apps framework; Beacon iOS and Android SDK; no server-side SDK.
Automation & Workflows
Builders, triggers, routing, and SLAs.
- Workflow builder
- FreshdeskYes. Low-code rule builder.
- Help ScoutYes. If/then workflow builder.
- Triggers / automations
- FreshdeskYes. Time and event triggers.
- Help ScoutYes. Condition-triggered workflows (run once per conversation).
- Routing
- FreshdeskYes. Skill-based, round-robin, load-balanced.
- Help ScoutYes. Auto-assign via workflow rules.
- Macros / canned responses
- FreshdeskYes. Canned responses and templates.
- Help ScoutYes. Saved Replies.
- SLA management
- FreshdeskYes. Multiple SLA policies.
- Help ScoutYes. 1 policy on Standard, 2 on Plus, unlimited on Pro; NRT tracking.
Collaboration
How support teams work a queue together.
- Internal notes
- FreshdeskYes
- Help ScoutYes. @Mentions.
- Collision detection
- FreshdeskYes (Growth+). $5/agent/mo add-on.
- Help ScoutYes. Built in on all plans (yellow and red indicators).
- Side conversations
- FreshdeskYes. Threads, plus external collaborators on Pro+.
- Help ScoutNot offered (notes and splits instead).
- Shared inbox
- FreshdeskYes
- Help ScoutYes. Core product.
Self-Service & Knowledge
Knowledge base, help center, and deflection.
- Knowledge base
- FreshdeskYes. Multilingual.
- Help ScoutYes. Docs; 1 site on Free and Standard, extra at $20/mo.
- Help center
- FreshdeskYes. Customer portal.
- Help ScoutYes. Docs, embeddable in Beacon.
- Community forum
- FreshdeskYes
- Help ScoutNot offered.
- AI answers from knowledge base
- FreshdeskYes. Freddy suggests and writes articles.(claimed)source
- Help ScoutYes. AI Answers from Docs; tracks search gaps.
Reporting & Analytics
Dashboards, custom reports, and CSAT.
- Dashboards
- FreshdeskYes. Prebuilt and custom.
- Help ScoutYes. 7 built-in reports.
- Custom reports
- FreshdeskYes. Custom reports.
- Help ScoutNo. Not native; raw data via Inbox API.
- Included in lowest tier
- FreshdeskPrebuilt from Free; custom from Pro.
- Help ScoutReporting on all paid plans, including Standard.
- CSAT surveys
- FreshdeskYes. CSAT plus AI impact metrics.
- Help ScoutYes. Happiness report (post-conversation surveys).
Onboarding & Support
Implementation, CSM tiers, and partners.
- Onboarding
- Freshdesk5 paid onboarding tiers, plus advisory.
- Help ScoutSelf-serve; onboarding specialist (paid add-on); Pro incl. dedicated onboarding.
- Support channels
- Freshdesk24/7 email; 24/5 phone and chat(claimed)source
- Help ScoutEmail on all paid plans (priority); no customer phone support.
- Dedicated CSM
- FreshdeskOn Enterprise/Premium.
- Help ScoutStrategic account manager on Pro.
- Implementation partners
- FreshdeskYes. Solution partner program.
- Help ScoutNot disclosed. No partner directory.