Overview

Inbox brings email, SMS, social, chat, and voice into one workspace, while Docs lets teams publish searchable, branded help centers. Ticket automation, SLA management, a customer portal, and API access extend the product beyond a shared mailbox, making it relevant to teams handling both direct support and self-service.

A mobile app supports customer service away from a desk, and Help Scout connects with more than 100 tools or apps. HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliance, SSO, and permissions configurable at company, team, or user level are useful for organizations that need tighter control over access. The breadth is appealing, though teams should compare plan limits before relying on it for multiple queues or large help libraries.

Key features

Multichannel Inbox: Keeping email, SMS, social, chat, and voice in one place can simplify support across channels. Inbox counts vary by plan, from one on Free to unlimited on Pro, so teams with several distinct queues may need a paid tier.
Docs: Searchable, branded knowledge bases give customers a self-service route to answers. Free includes one Docs site and 10 articles; larger collections require a plan with more sites and article capacity.
Automation and SLAs: Workflows and SLA policies help structure service operations. Standard includes 150 basic workflows and one basic SLA policy; Plus increases that to 500 advanced workflows and two advanced policies, while Pro removes the stated SLA-policy cap.
Customer access and integrations: A customer portal and API access support self-service and connections to other systems. More than 100 integrations and a mobile app add flexibility for teams working across tools or away from their desks.
Permissions and security: Advanced access controls can be set at company, team, or user level. HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliance and SSO make Help Scout a stronger fit for organizations with security requirements than a basic shared inbox alone.

Pricing

Help Scout uses a freemium model. The Free plan costs $0.00 per free and includes five users, one Inbox, one Docs site, 100 contacts per month, 10 saved replies, and 10 tags. That is enough to establish a small support operation, but a 100-contact monthly ceiling and single queue make it a constrained long-term option as volume or team structure grows.

Standard — $25 per user per month: For growing teams, with up to 25 users, two Inboxes, two Docs sites, one basic SLA policy, 150 basic workflows, and 30-day report history. It is the least expensive paid tier and a reasonable step up for teams needing more than one queue, but its basic controls and short reporting window may limit teams with more mature service processes. Annual pricing is shown as 16% lower than monthly pricing.
Plus — $45 per user per month: Includes up to 50 users, five Inboxes, three Docs sites, two advanced SLA policies, 500 advanced workflows, and two-year report history. It suits teams that need more queues and stronger service automation without Pro's minimum seat commitment.
Pro — $75 per user per month: Includes unlimited users, 10 Inboxes, five Docs sites, unlimited SLA policies, and all-time report history, with a minimum of 10 users. Its scale and security positioning may fit larger operations, but the 10-seat minimum makes it a costly starting point for smaller teams.
AI Answers Add-on — $0.75 per resolution: Billed per resolution monthly, with a three-month free trial and prepaid discounts available. New accounts receive three months of free, unlimited AI Answers resolutions.

Standard and Plus offer 15-day trials without requiring a credit card. The stated 15-day trial does not extend to Pro in the plan terms provided, so teams considering Pro should weigh its minimum commitment carefully.

Platforms

The supported platform is API. Help Scout also offers a mobile app, which is useful for customer support away from a desktop.

Who it's for

Help Scout is a good fit for teams that want multichannel support, customer-facing documentation, and operational controls in one product. Free can suit a small team with modest contact volume; Standard and Plus are better matches as queues, workflows, and reporting needs expand. Organizations with compliance or granular access needs may value its security and permissions features, while smaller teams needing Pro-level scale should account for the 10-user minimum.

Pros and cons

Pros: Inbox consolidates five named channels, reducing the need to manage each in a separate support workspace.
Pros: Docs, a customer portal, automation, and SLA tools cover self-service and managed support in addition to conversation handling.
Pros: HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliance, SSO, and tiered permissions support organizations with security and access-control needs.
Cons: Free is limited to one Inbox, one Docs site, and 100 contacts per month, which restricts its usefulness once support volume or channel complexity increases.
Cons: Pro costs $75 per user per month and requires at least 10 users, making its higher-scale feature set a poor fit for a small operation.
Cons: The published platform coverage is API, despite the mobile app, so teams choosing software primarily by named desktop or mobile platform support may want to compare alternatives.

Alternatives

Zoho TeamInbox is worth considering for teams that want a freemium shared-inbox option with Android, iOS, and web support; its Starter plan includes three shared incoming channels, 25 rules, 10 shared outgoing email channels, and internal discussions and draft sharing.

Trengo is a paid alternative with Android, iOS, web, macOS, Windows, and API platform coverage; its Boost plan is €299.00 per month billed annually for 10 users and 6,000 conversations per year.

Drag may suit teams that want shared inboxes inside Gmail with Kanban, list, and preview board views; its Starter plan is $16.00 per month billed monthly.

Loop Email is another paid alternative, with a Starter plan at $18.75 per month billed monthly.

Gmelius offers an annually billed Meli plan at $19.00 per month for up to five users and 5,000 email conversations per month, a possible fit for teams whose needs center on those limits.

Helpwise has a Standard plan at $15.00 per month billed monthly, with a two-user minimum, up to 10 users, three shared inboxes, and email, live chat, and Facebook support.

Shared Inbox by Canary is a paid alternative whose Starter plan is $10.00 per month billed monthly and includes a shared inbox, internal chat and mentions, and an AI chatbot with up to 100 training materials and 100 responses.

Keeping is another paid option, with an Essentials plan at $14.00 per user per month billed annually, or $19 billed monthly, and a two-user minimum.

For category browsing, see Shared Inbox Software, Customer Self-Service Software, Help desk software, and Knowledge base software.

Verdict

Choose Help Scout if your team wants shared multichannel support, searchable customer help content, and growing service controls together, especially when compliance and access management matter. Its free tier makes it easy to start, but the 100-contact cap and one-Inbox ceiling are real constraints; teams needing more room should budget for per-user pricing, while smaller teams may find Pro's 10-seat minimum reason enough to look elsewhere.

	Help Scout	Unibox
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$25/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api	Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	25 /user/mo	—
Shared mailboxes	—	1
Internal comments	—	Yes
Assignment automation	—	Yes
Mail platforms	—	gmail

Help Scout vs Unibox

Help Scout

Unibox