vioscaleAI
Comparison

Help Scout vs Intercom

On the evidence we track, Help Scout leads this comparison with a composite score of 82/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Help Scout full profile →Intercom full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Help Scout82
Intercom74
Score
vioscaleAI score
Help Scout82 / 100medium · 70%
Intercom74 / 100medium · 72%
Pricing
Free tier
Help Scout✓
Intercom✓
Model
Help Scoutfreemium
Intercomfreemium
Price level
Help Scoutlow
Intercomhigh
Starting price
Help Scout–
Intercom$85
Transparent
Help Scout✓
Intercom✓
Integrations
Count
Help Scout1
Intercom450
Security
Disclosure policy
Help Scout✓
Intercom✓
Gdpr
Help Scout✓
Intercom✓
Hipaa
Help Scout✓
Intercom✓
Iso27001
Help Scout–
Intercom✓
Pci
Help Scout✓
Intercom–
Soc2
Help Scout✓
Intercom✓
Trust center
Reliability
Sla pct
Help Scout99.99
Intercom–
Status page
Help Scout✓
Intercom✓
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Help Scout5 items
Intercom7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for customer support. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

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

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Help Scout

Leader

A customer support service that uses artificial intelligence to help businesses manage customer interactions through chat and communication features.

Independently observed

Intercom

A unified customer service platform integrating AI agents and human support teams with omnichannel communication. Provides shared inboxing, AI-assisted ticketing, live chat, email, phone, SMS, and social messaging, all accessible from a single workspace.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Help Scout

Leader
from $25/moSubscriptionFree tier

From $25/user/mo (Standard). Free tier includes 5 users, 1 inbox. 3-month free trial for AI Answers add-on.

  • FreeFree
    • 1 Inbox
    • 1 Docs site
    • 10 saved replies
    • 10 tags
    • Snooze
    • +3 more
  • Standard$25/user/mo
    • Multiple Inboxes
    • Live chat, Instagram, & Messenger
    • Multiple knowledge bases
    • One basic SLA policy
    • Basic workflows
    • +7 more
  • Plus$45/user/mo
    • Everything in Standard
    • Advanced workflows
    • Two advanced SLA policies
    • Unlimited AI Drafts
    • Round robin routing
    • +3 more
  • ProContact sales
    • Everything in Plus
    • Unlimited workflows
    • Unlimited SLA policies
    • Multiple routing types
    • SSO/SAML
    • +4 more
as of verify ↗

Intercom

from $85/seat/moSubscriptionFree tier14-day trial

From $85/seat/month. 14-day free trial. Fin priced per outcome (minimum 50/month).

  • EssentialPer seat/month (price not specified in text)
    • Fin for service, sales & ecommerce
    • Messenger
    • Shared inbox and ticketing system
    • Pre-built reports
    • Public help center
  • Advanced$85/seat/month
    • All Essential features
    • Multiple team inboxes
    • Workflows automation builder
    • Round robin assignment
    • Private and multilingual Help Center
    • +1 more
  • Expert$132/seat/month
    • All Advanced features
    • SSO & identity management
    • HIPAA support
    • Service level agreements (SLAs)
    • Multibrand Messenger / Help Center
    • +1 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Help Scout✓
Intercom✓
iOS
Help Scout✗
Intercom✓
Android
Help Scout✗
Intercom✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Help Scout✓
Intercom✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (1)
  • Shopify

Help Scout

Leader
1 total - 0 not shared
  • Shopify
Independently observed

Intercom

33 total - 32 not shared
  • Freshdesk
  • Freshchat
  • Salesforce Service Cloud
  • HubSpot Service Hub
  • Slack
  • Salesforce
  • Jira
  • GitHub
  • WhatsApp
  • SMS
  • Phone
  • HubSpot
  • Stripe
  • Linear
  • Asana
  • Guru
  • Glean
  • Sentry
  • PostHog
  • Pendo
  • Fullstory
  • Attio
  • Fullview
  • Statuspage
  • +8 more
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Help Scout or Intercom: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.