Freshdesk vs Help Scout, and the all-in-one option
Freshdesk and Help Scout are help desks priced per seat: Freshdesk Growth is $19 per agent a month billed annually and Help Scout Standard $25 per user, and neither includes a CRM. Laureo is one plan for the CRM, campaigns, quotes and invoices, with the help desk and live chat on Business and Ultra.
Which is better, Freshdesk or Help Scout?
Freshdesk is the cheaper paid start, $19 per agent a month billed annually against $25 per user for Help Scout Standard, and it has a separate CRM in Freshsales, while Help Scout reads customer details from Salesforce or HubSpot through integrations on Plus. If the same few people also sell, Laureo fits better, with the help desk and SLA targets on Business and Ultra beside the pipeline, campaigns and invoices.
One support and sales workflow, step by step, on each:
| Step | Freshdesk | Help Scout | Laureo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answer email tickets | Growth, $19 an agent | Standard, $25 a user | Tickets & Help Desk (Business and Ultra) |
| Hold SLA targets | Multiple SLA policies from Pro | One basic policy on Standard | SLA targets per priority (Business and Ultra) |
| Let customers see their tickets | A customer portal | A secure customer portal from Plus | Customer ticket portal (Business and Ultra) |
| Track the deal | Freshsales, from $9 a user | Salesforce or HubSpot, through Plus integrations | CRM & Pipeline (every plan) |
| Send the quote and invoice | Not on its pricing page | Not on its pricing page | Quotes & Invoices (every plan) |
Is Help Scout cheaper than Freshdesk?
Only above the entry paid plan: Help Scout Standard is $25 per user a month billed annually against $19 for Freshdesk Growth, while Help Scout Plus at $45 and Pro at $75 cost less than Freshdesk Pro at $55 and Enterprise at $89, though Help Scout Pro needs at least 10 users. Help Scout also sells extra Inboxes at $10 and extra Docs sites at $20 a month each when paid annually, once a plan's allowance is used.
Laureo puts 2 full seats in the plan price, Business from $166.66/mo billed annually with the help desk and the help center included, and each added full seat is $83.33 a month billed annually.
| Plan rung | Freshdesk, per agent | Help Scout, per user |
|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan | $19 (Growth) | $25 (Standard) |
| Middle | $55 (Pro) | $45 (Plus) |
| Top | $89 (Enterprise) | $75 (Pro, 10 users minimum) |
How do Freshdesk and Help Scout charge for AI?
Freshdesk includes 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions once per account, then charges $49 per 100 sessions, and Help Scout charges $0.75 for each Envoy resolution, at most once per conversation. For agents, Freddy AI Copilot is $29 per agent a month on Pro and Enterprise, and Help Scout includes AI Assist on paid plans and AI Drafts on Plus and Pro.
Laureo includes monthly AI credits on every plan. Its resolution agent, which drafts and auto-resolves support replies under your control, is on Ultra and included with fair-use limits.
Freshdesk vs Help Scout, criterion by criterion
Each row puts Freshdesk, Help Scout and Laureo on the same question. The Freshdesk and Help Scout cells come from their own pages, and the date at the top of this page says when we last checked them.
| Criterion | Freshdesk | Help Scout | Laureo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price per seat | Growth, $19 an agent a month billed annually | Standard, $25 a user a month billed annually | Business from $166.66/mo billed annually, with 2 full seats |
| Seat rules | Every paid plan is charged per agent | Every plan is billed per user, and Pro needs at least 10 | No seat minimum on any plan |
| SLA targets | Multiple SLA policies from Pro, $55 an agent | One basic policy on Standard, two advanced on Plus, unlimited on Pro | SLA targets per priority on Business and Ultra |
| Customer portal | A customer portal and a knowledge base | A secure customer portal from Plus, $45 a user | Customer ticket portal and Public Help Center on Business and Ultra |
| AI that answers customers | 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions once per account, then $49 per 100 | Envoy, $0.75 per resolution, billed monthly | Resolution agent on Ultra, included with fair-use limits; the AI Customer Support Agent is a paid Ultra add-on |
| AI help for agents | Freddy AI Copilot, $29 an agent a month on Pro and Enterprise | AI Assist on paid plans; AI Drafts on Plus and Pro | AI email drafting on every plan; support reply drafts on Ultra |
| Sales pipeline | Freshsales, a separate product from $9 to $59 a user | No built-in CRM; Salesforce or HubSpot data through Plus integrations | CRM & Pipeline on every plan, with unlimited contacts |
| Campaigns, quotes and invoices | Not on its pricing page | Not on its pricing page | Campaigns and Quotes & Invoices on every plan |
| Your data and the AI | Some Freddy AI features fine-tune on your own service data | Its terms allow de-identified training datasets unless you opt out by email | The AI never trains on your data |
Every tool in Laureo
The table covers the criteria that matter between Freshdesk and Help Scout. Here is the whole Laureo toolset, by name. The pricing page shows which plans include each one.
Marketing & Communication
Deals & Revenue
- Quotes & Invoices
- Booking Pages
- Deal Rooms
Customer Support
- Tickets & Help Desk
- Knowledge Base
- Public Help Center
- Feedback
- Live Chat
- AI Customer Support Agent (add-on)
Automation
Freshdesk, Help Scout, or the all-in-one option
Choose Laureo over Freshdesk and Help Scout if your support people also close deals: every plan carries the CRM, campaigns, quotes and invoices, Business and Ultra bring tickets, SLA targets and live chat with a second full seat and no seat minimum, and on Ultra the resolution agent comes included with fair-use limits instead of session packs or a fee per resolution.
- One plan and one bill cover your CRM, inbox, email campaigns, booking pages, and quotes and invoices, so you stop paying for separate tools.
- Business and Ultra include a second full seat in the plan price, and no plan has a seat minimum.
- Every plan includes monthly AI credits for the assistant, the agents and email drafting.
- The AI never trains on your data, and every AI request goes only to providers that keep none of it.
Related Resources
- ComparisonLaureo vs FreshdeskAn email-first help desk charged per agent, with chat on its Omni edition and the CRM sold as Freshsales.
- ComparisonLaureo vs Help ScoutA support inbox priced per user, with live chat on Standard and the customer data pulled in from Salesforce or HubSpot on Plus.
- ComparisonFreshdesk vs Intercom, and the all-in-one optionFreshdesk vs Intercom: chat from $29 a seat in Freshdesk Omni or on any Intercom plan ($19 for new Intercom customers), Fin at $0.99 an outcome, next to Laureo.
- ComparisonZendesk vs Intercom, and the all-in-one optionZendesk vs Intercom: $19 an agent or $29 a seat ($19 for new customers), AI billed per resolution or per Fin outcome, SLAs on the top plans, next to Laureo.
- ComparisonInstantly vs Smartlead, and the all-in-one optionInstantly vs Smartlead: send and contact caps, a separate CRM plan against CRM access from Pro, next to Laureo Ultra with cold outreach inside the CRM.
- ComparisonFreshdesk pricingHow much does Freshdesk cost? Growth, Pro and Enterprise per agent, Freshdesk Omni for chat, Freddy AI sessions and Copilot, dated, then one team on Laureo.
- AlternativeFreshdesk alternativeA Freshdesk alternative with the CRM, campaigns and invoices on every plan, and tickets, live chat and a help center on Business and Ultra.
- ComparisonHelp Scout pricingHow much does Help Scout cost? Free, Standard, Plus and Pro per user, the Pro minimum and Envoy per resolution, dated, and what the plans leave out.
- ComparisonBrowse every CRM comparisonSee how Laureo stacks up against the other CRMs you are weighing.
- PricingEvery plan, what is included, and the monthly AI credits.
Freshdesk vs Help Scout FAQs
Common questions about choosing between Freshdesk, Help Scout and Laureo
Try the all-in-one option.
Weighing Freshdesk against Help Scout? Bring your data into Laureo and judge the all-in-one option on your own pipeline.
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