# Help Scout vs Salesforce Service Cloud

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Help Scout

| Attribute | Help Scout | Salesforce Service Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 81.7 (72% (medium)) | 45.7 (63% (medium)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | Salesforce offers integrated tools for protecting sensitive data, automating compliance obligations, and monitoring security across cloud-based systems. Features include encryption, audit trails, privacy request automation, and AI-powered threat detection to help organizations maintain regulatory compliance and reduce data risk. |
| features.capabilities | `{"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}` | `{"hosting":"cloud","ai_agent":true,"free_tier":false,"api_access":true,"reporting_dashboards":true}` |
| integrations.count | 1 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Shopify"}]` | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US","EU","GB","AU","JP","SE"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"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"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Salesforce Starter","summary":"$25/user/month, billed monthly or annually. Transaction fees apply.","features":["Lead, Account, Contact, and Opportunity Management","Dynamic Email Marketing and Analytics","Built-in Sales Flows and Lead Routing","Connected Slack Conversations"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"user","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Basic CRM suite with marketing, sales, service, and commerce","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Marketing Cloud Next Growth Edition","summary":"$1,500/month billed annually","features":["Agentforce Campaign Creation","Multi-Channel Journeys","Forms and Landing Pages"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1500,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Agentic marketing automation capabilities","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Marketing Cloud Next Advanced Edition","summary":"$3,250/month billed annually","features":["Agentforce Campaign Creation","Path Experimentation","Two-Way Conversations for SMS and WhatsApp"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":3250,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Advanced agentic marketing automation","contactSales":false}],"addOns":[{"name":"Salesforce Personalization","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":8000,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Marketing Intelligence","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":10000,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Loyalty Management","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":20000,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Account Engagement+","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1250,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Engagement+","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":2000,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Intelligence+","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":11000,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $25/user/month for Starter. Marketing Cloud editions from $1,500/month. Multiple add-ons available. Billed monthly or annually.","currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://www.salesforce.com/marketing/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-16T20:54:03.585Z","startingPrice":{"amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | freemium | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | low | mid |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.99 | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | yes |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |

## Capabilities (Customer Support)

| Capability | Help Scout | Salesforce Service Cloud |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:48:58.228Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*