# Crisp vs Help Scout

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Help Scout

| Attribute | Crisp | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 59.6 (54% (medium)) | 81.7 (70% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A unified inbox platform that consolidates emails, live chat, SMS, and social media messages from multiple channels, featuring AI-powered chatbots, automated workflows, and team collaboration tools for managing customer support at scale. It is indexed under Customer Support.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"What is Crisp?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Crisp is a paid product; published pricing starts at $10 per agent per month. It is sold across 3 plans (Starter, Team and Enterprise). There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"How much does Crisp cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Crisp supports the web, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"What platforms does Crisp support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Crisp, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"Can Crisp be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 12 integrations for Crisp, including Email, WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Slack and Zapier, plus 4 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","question":"What does Crisp integrate with?","confidence":0.6}]` | `[{"answer":"Customer support software that enables team collaboration and messaging across multiple channels, with AI features to assist with responses and improve service speed and quality. It is indexed under Customer Support.","source":"https://www.helpscout.com","question":"What is Help Scout?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Help Scout offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $25 per user per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.helpscout.com","question":"Is Help Scout free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Help Scout. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.helpscout.com","question":"What platforms does Help Scout support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Help Scout, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.helpscout.com","question":"Can Help Scout be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR for Help Scout. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Help Scout not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.helpscout.com/security","question":"What security certifications does Help Scout have?","confidence":0.7}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A unified platform that enables businesses to manage customer communications through chat and messaging, with APIs and SDKs for web and mobile app integration. | A customer support service that uses artificial intelligence to help businesses manage customer interactions through chat and communication features. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"cloud","ai_agent":true,"sso_scim":false,"free_tier":true,"live_chat":true,"ticketing":true,"api_access":true,"omnichannel":true,"sla_routing":true,"shared_inbox":true,"knowledge_base":true,"voice_telephony":false,"automation_macros":true,"reporting_dashboards":true}` | `{"hosting":"cloud","ai_agent":true,"sso_scim":false,"free_tier":true,"live_chat":true,"ticketing":true,"api_access":false,"omnichannel":true,"sla_routing":false,"shared_inbox":true,"knowledge_base":true,"voice_telephony":false,"automation_macros":true,"reporting_dashboards":true}` |
| integrations.count | 100 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Email"},{"name":"WhatsApp"},{"name":"Messenger"},{"name":"Facebook"},{"name":"Twitter"},{"name":"Instagram"},{"name":"Slack","native":true,"category":"chat","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Zapier","native":true,"category":"automation"},{"name":"n8n","native":true,"category":"automation"},{"name":"Facebook Messenger","native":true,"category":"chat","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"WhatsApp Business","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Viber","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Line","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Telegram","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"bidirectional"}]` | `[{"name":"Shopify"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Starter","features":["Shared inbox","Chat SDKs","E-Commerce integrations"],"description":"For solopreneurs and entrepreneurs starting their first shared inbox","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Team","summary":"$295/mo for 20 agents, $10/mo per additional agent","features":["Omnichannel AI Chatbot","100+ integrations","Custom dashboards","Workflow automation builder"],"minSeats":20,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":295,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"agent","amount":10,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For medium-sized businesses with AI-powered omnichannel customer support","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","features":["Dedicated onboarding","Personalized SLAs","Custom features"],"description":"For large-scale companies with dedicated support and personalized SLAs","contactSales":true}],"summary":"From $295/mo for 20 agents. 14-day free trial. Yearly billing available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-03T17:53:03.939Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":295,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free","features":["1 Inbox","1 Docs site","10 saved replies","10 tags","Snooze","Send later","Customer profiles & history","Custom fields (up to 10)"],"minSeats":5,"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"users":"5","inboxes":"1","contacts":"100/mo","docs_sites":"1"}},{"free":false,"name":"Standard","summary":"$25/user/mo","features":["Multiple Inboxes","Live chat, Instagram, & Messenger","Multiple knowledge bases","One basic SLA policy","Basic workflows","Unlimited tags and saved replies","AI Inbox assistant","WhatsApp messaging","Saved replies","Views","Snooze","Send later"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For growing teams looking to automate more tasks and move beyond email","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"users":"25","inboxes":"2 (additional $10/mo)","contacts":"Unlimited"}},{"free":false,"name":"Plus","summary":"$45/user/mo","features":["Everything in Standard","Advanced workflows","Two advanced SLA policies","Unlimited AI Drafts","Round robin routing","Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot integrations","Internal teams","Group conversations by company"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":45,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For teams managing higher volume and complexity across multiple channels","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"users":"50","inboxes":"5 (additional $10/mo)","light_users":"25"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$75/user/mo","features":["Everything in Plus","Unlimited workflows","Unlimited SLA policies","Multiple routing types","SSO/SAML","HIPAA compliance","Dedicated onboarding specialist","Strategic account manager","Preferred pricing on Aircall"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":75,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For teams that need the highest level of scale and security","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"users":"Unlimited (minimum 10)","inboxes":"10 (additional $10/mo)","light_users":"50"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"AI Answers","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"resolution"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.75,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $25/user/mo (Standard). Free tier includes 5 users, 1 inbox. 3-month free trial for AI Answers add-on.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.helpscout.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T11:46:20.369Z","startingPrice":{"amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | no | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | high | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":295,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.99 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |
| security.pci | - | yes |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.trust_center | - | https://www.helpscout.com/blog/trust-ai-and-customer-service/ |

## Capabilities (Customer Support)

| Capability | Crisp | Help Scout |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Ticket / case management | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Channels** |  |  |
| Live chat | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shared inbox | ✓ | ✓ |
| Omnichannel (email+chat+social+voice) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Voice / telephony | ✗ | ✗ |
| **Self-service** |  |  |
| Self-service knowledge base | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Automation** |  |  |
| SLAs, triggers & routing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automation / macros | ✓ | ✓ |
| **AI** |  |  |
| AI agent / copilot | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Insight** |  |  |
| Reporting & dashboards | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Cloud only |
| **Enterprise** |  |  |
| SSO / SCIM | ✗ | ✗ |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Public API | ✓ | ✗ |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Free tier | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-15T21:19:57.655Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*