# Help Scout vs Zendesk

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Help Scout

| Attribute | Help Scout | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 81.7 (72% (medium)) | 67.6 (73% (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. | 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. |
| 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":true,"ticketing":true,"omnichannel":true,"knowledge_base":true,"voice_telephony":true,"deployment_model":"cloud_managed_saas","automation_macros":true,"reporting_dashboards":true}` |
| integrations.count | 1 | 1,800 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Shopify"}]` | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"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"]}` | `{"freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.zendesk.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T16:47:54.531Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.99 | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.pci | yes | yes |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |

## Capabilities (Customer Support)

| Capability | Help Scout | Zendesk |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **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 2026-09-01T15:18:22.753Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*