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CRM · head to head

Affinity vs Help Scout

Affinity logo

Affinity

CRM

Relationship intelligence platform for professionals

From
$2000/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Help Scout logo

Help Scout

Customer Support

Customer service software that people love

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Help Scout has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Affinity enterprise tier requires custom quote, pricing not transparent; Help Scout the free plan caps contacts at 100 a month, so it is a volume trial rather than a standing free tier
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity covers Contact management, Help Scout covers Shared inbox.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity and Help Scout actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity and Help Scout differ
AttributeAffinityHelp Scout
Starting price$2000/yearFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryCRMCustomer Support
Founded20132011

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Affinity

  • Contact management
  • Deal tracking
  • Intelligence engine
  • Relationship mapping
  • Integration aggregation
  • Gmail
  • Outlook
  • LinkedIn

Only in Help Scout

  • Shared inbox
  • Knowledge base
  • Live chat
  • Customer profiles
  • Workflows
  • Reporting
  • Slack
  • Salesforce

Both cover

  • SOC2
  • GDPR
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Affinity

  • Deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equitynot Help Scout
  • Automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship recordsnot Help Scout
  • Finding warm introductions through existing relationship networksnot Help Scout
  • Investor relations and fundraising trackingnot Help Scout
  • Portfolio company support and reportingnot Help Scout

Help Scout

  • Shared inbox and help desk for customer support teamsnot Affinity
  • Publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat supportnot Affinity

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Affinity

  • Enterprise tier requires custom quote, pricing not transparent
  • Scale tier API calls capped at 100000 per month
  • All plans charge per user annually

Help Scout

  • The free plan caps contacts at 100 a month, so it is a volume trial rather than a standing free tier
  • Inboxes are rationed by plan, at 1 on free, 5 on Plus and 10 on Pro
  • Each plan also caps users, at 25 on Standard and 50 on Plus
  • The Pro plan at $75 per user per month carries a 10 user minimum, so the entry cost is $750 a month
  • SSO, SAML and HIPAA compliance are Pro only
  • AI Answers is billed separately at $0.75 per resolution on top of the seat price

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity

$2000/year
  • Essential$2000/year
    • Activity capture (email and calendar)
    • Relationship scoring and interaction history
    • Deal pipeline tracking
  • Scale$2300/year
    • Automatic meeting capture (Notetaker)
    • AI Chat conversational access
    • Affinity Ascend agent platform
  • Advanced$2700/year
    • Third-party data enrichment (PitchBook, Dealroom, Crunchbase)
    • Company growth insights
    • Packaged integrations (Slack, Salesforce, Box)
  • Enterprise$null/year
    • Fund-level permissions
    • Enterprise SSO
    • Custom data retention

Help Scout

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 5 users
    • 1 Inbox
    • 1 Docs site
  • Standard$25/month
    • Multiple inboxes
    • Live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger
    • Multiple knowledge bases
  • Plus$45/month
    • Standard features plus advanced workflows
    • Two advanced SLAs
    • Secure portal
  • Pro$75/month
    • Plus features plus unlimited workflows
    • Unlimited SLAs
    • SSO/SAML

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity if

  • You need contact management.
  • You also want deal tracking.
Affinity review

Choose Help Scout if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want knowledge base.
Help Scout review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity or Help Scout better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity starts at $2000/year and Help Scout at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity or Help Scout?
Help Scout has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2000/year for Affinity and Free for Help Scout.
Does Affinity or Help Scout run on more platforms?
Affinity runs on Web. Help Scout runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Help Scout for free?
Yes. Help Scout has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Affinity starts at $2000/year.
What is Affinity best used for?
Affinity is most often used for deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equity, automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship records, finding warm introductions through existing relationship networks, investor relations and fundraising tracking. Of those, deal sourcing and pipeline management for venture capital and private equity and automatic capture of email and meeting activity into relationship records are not what Help Scout is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity do that Help Scout cannot?
Affinity covers Contact management, Deal tracking, Intelligence engine, Relationship mapping. Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Knowledge base, Live chat, Customer profiles. Both handle SOC2, GDPR, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Affinity: How much does Affinity CRM cost per user?

Affinity CRM pricing starts at 2000 USD per user per year for the Essential plan, 2300 USD for Scale, and 2700 USD for Advanced. Enterprise tier requires custom pricing.

Source
Help Scout: How much does Help Scout cost?

Help Scout offers a free plan for up to 5 users. Paid plans start at $25/user/month (Standard), $45/user/month (Plus), and $75/user/month (Pro).

Source
Affinity: What is the API call limit on Affinity's Scale tier?

The Scale and Advanced tiers provide 100000 API calls per month. Enterprise tier customers receive unlimited API access.

Source
Help Scout: What is included in the Pro plan?

Help Scout Pro at $75/user/month includes unlimited workflows, unlimited SLAs, SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance, up to 50 light users, dedicated onboarding, and a strategic account manager.

Source
Affinity: Which Affinity tier includes Notetaker and MCP integration?

The Scale tier (2300 USD per user per year) includes automatic meeting capture via Notetaker and Model Context Protocol server integration for AI tool connections.

Source
Help Scout: Does Help Scout offer a free trial?

Yes, Help Scout offers a 15-day free trial for Standard and Plus plans with no credit card required. Pro plan requires booking a demo.

Source
Affinity: When does Affinity offer Enterprise SSO capabilities?

Enterprise SSO (single sign-on) capability is included only in the Enterprise tier, which requires custom pricing and is designed for established firms with multi-fund complexity.

Source
Help Scout: What is the cost of Help Scout's AI Answers add-on?

Help Scout's AI Answers add-on costs $0.75 per resolution with a 3-month free trial included.

Source
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