Help Scout vs Zoho Desk

Help Scout is customer support software that brings email, SMS, social, chat, and voice into a shared Inbox. It also provides ticket automation, SLA management, a customer portal, and Docs sites for searchable, branded help centers or knowledge bases. Teams can manage visibility and access with permissions at company, team, or user level, and connect the service to more than 100 tools or apps. Help Scout offers API access and a mobile app. Its Free plan costs nothing and includes five users, one Inbox, and one Docs site, with 100 contacts per month, 10 saved replies, and 10 tags. Paid plans start at $25 per user per month; annual pricing is shown as 16% lower than monthly pricing. Standard and Plus plans offer 15-day trials without a credit card. New accounts receive three months of unlimited AI Answers resolutions. Help Scout states that it is HIPAA and SOC 2 Type II compliant. Support options include email, onboarding, customer success management, and priority support on paid plans.

Zoho Desk is customer support software with a shared inbox, customer portal, and help center. Its listed tools also include SLA management, ticket automation, and API access, giving teams ways to organize support conversations and service workflows. The Free plan includes three users and is listed at free. Paid plans are billed annually: Express is ₹420 a month for 5 users; Standard is ₹800 a month for unlimited users; Professional is ₹1,400 a month for unlimited users; and Enterprise is ₹2,400 a month for unlimited users. The pricing note lists a 15-day trial and paid access from ₹420/user/mo (annual). Zoho Desk is freemium, with an API listed as its platform. The maker is identified as Zoho Desk, and 1996 is listed as its founding year.