vioscale
Comparison

Help Scout vs Zendesk

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 →Zendesk full profile →
Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
★Help Scout82
Zendesk68
Score
Vioscale score
Help Scout82 / 100medium · 72%
Zendesk68 / 100medium · 73%
Pricing
Free tier
Help Scout✓
Zendesk✓
Model
Help Scoutfreemium
Zendeskfreemium
Price level
Help Scoutlow
Zendesklow
Transparent
Help Scout✓
Zendesk✗
Integrations
Count
Help Scout1
Zendesk1,800
Security
Disclosure policy
Help Scout✓
Zendesk✓
Fedramp
Help Scout–
Zendesk✓
Gdpr
Help Scout✓
Zendesk–
Hipaa
Help Scout✓
Zendesk✓
Iso27001
Help Scout–
Zendesk✓
Pci
Help Scout✓
Zendesk✓
Soc2
Help Scout✓
Zendesk✓
Reliability
Sla pct
Help Scout99.99
Zendesk–
Status page
Help Scout✓
Zendesk✓
Market
Availability
Help ScoutAvailable worldwide
Zendesk–

Capabilities

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

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

What each one is

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

Help Scout

Leader

Help Scout is a customer service platform combining customer insights, team collaboration, and AI to connect support interactions. The platform provides ticketing, live chat, knowledge bases, and AI-powered agents across multiple channels.

Independently observed

Zendesk

A cloud platform that deploys AI agents to handle customer and employee service requests. Agents improve with each interaction, manage high volumes autonomously, and operate across voice and digital channels without requiring technical configuration.

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 ↗

Zendesk

Free tier
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✓
Zendesk✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Help Scout✓
Zendesk✓

Integrations

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

Help Scout

Leader
1 total
  • Shopify
Independently observed

Zendesk

Not documented yet.

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