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Customer Support · head to head

BMC Helix vs Scratchpad

BMC Helix logo

BMC Helix

Customer Support

AI-driven IT service management for the modern enterprise

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Scratchpad logo

Scratchpad

CRM

Faster workspace over Salesforce for sales reps to update pipeline, take notes and manage deals

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Scratchpad has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BMC Helix no pricing is listed on the site; buyers must submit a Request Pricing form or Contact Sales to speak with a rep, per helixops.ai (BMC Helix product page), August 2026; Scratchpad scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BMC Helix and Scratchpad actually diverge.

Attributes where BMC Helix and Scratchpad differ
AttributeBMC HelixScratchpad
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Chrome extension
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM

Identical on both: 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 BMC Helix

Nothing recorded that Scratchpad does not also cover.

Only in Scratchpad

  • Spreadsheet pipeline views
  • Call recorder and notetaker
  • AI field updates
  • Deal and account agent
  • Hygiene monitor
  • Notes linked to records
  • Custom prompts
  • Kanban and forecast views

What people use each for

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

BMC Helix

  • Self-service IT support with agentic AI assistance and conversational searchnot Scratchpad
  • Predictive issue prevention and root cause analysis automationnot Scratchpad
  • Incident correlation connecting related alerts and eventsnot Scratchpad
  • Infrastructure asset discovery and service dependency visibilitynot Scratchpad
  • AIOps automation for root cause analysis and remediationnot Scratchpad

Scratchpad

  • A 60-rep Salesforce team whose forecast is unreliable because opportunity fields are updated once a week in a panic before the pipeline callnot BMC Helix
  • A rep who wants to update twenty opportunities in a grid rather than opening twenty Salesforce recordsnot BMC Helix
  • A sales manager wanting stale and incomplete pipeline records flagged automatically instead of chased by emailnot BMC Helix
  • A revenue operations lead trialling AI notetaking that writes back to CRM fields before committing budget, using the free tiernot BMC Helix

Where each one falls short

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

BMC Helix

  • No pricing is listed on the site; buyers must submit a Request Pricing form or Contact Sales to speak with a rep, per helixops.ai (BMC Helix product page), August 2026

Scratchpad

  • Scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • AI credits are metered per user per month at 400 on Solo and 800 on Team, which means heavy notetaking use pushes teams towards Enterprise for capacity rather than for features.
  • There is no proper native mobile application, so representatives who wanted to update records from a car park between meetings are back in a mobile browser.
  • Sync with Salesforce and call processing can lag, and a pipeline view showing yesterday state during a forecast call undermines the exact meeting the tool was bought to improve.
  • It creates a second notes surface alongside native Salesforce notes, so organisations end up with deal history split across two places unless they explicitly ban one of them.

Pricing, plan by plan

BMC Helix

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the BMC Helix review.

Scratchpad

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Workspace limited to 3 views
    • 10 hours a month of call recording and notetaking
    • AI field updates
  • Solo$19/month
    • Unlimited views with sheets and notes
    • Call recorder and notetaker
    • AI field updates
  • Team$49/month
    • Everything in Solo
    • 800 AI credits per user per month
    • Gong integration
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited AI credits
    • White-glove agent services included
    • Enterprise security and administration

Which should you pick?

Choose BMC Helix if

Nothing in the data separates BMC Helix from Scratchpad on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

BMC Helix review

Choose Scratchpad if

  • You need spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Chrome extension.
  • You also want call recorder and notetaker.
Scratchpad review

Questions people ask

Is BMC Helix or Scratchpad better?
Neither clearly leads. BMC Helix starts at On request and Scratchpad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BMC Helix or Scratchpad?
Scratchpad has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for BMC Helix and Free for Scratchpad.
Does BMC Helix or Scratchpad run on more platforms?
BMC Helix runs on Web. Scratchpad runs on Web, Chrome extension.
Can I use Scratchpad for free?
Yes. Scratchpad has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BMC Helix starts at On request.
What is BMC Helix best used for?
BMC Helix is most often used for self-service it support with agentic ai assistance and conversational search, predictive issue prevention and root cause analysis automation, incident correlation connecting related alerts and events, infrastructure asset discovery and service dependency visibility. Of those, self-service it support with agentic ai assistance and conversational search and predictive issue prevention and root cause analysis automation are not what Scratchpad is typically brought in for.
What can BMC Helix do that Scratchpad cannot?
Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views, Call recorder and notetaker, AI field updates, Deal and account agent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BMC Helix: How is BMC Helix priced?

BMC Helix does not publish specific pricing details publicly. Pricing is available through the 'Request Pricing' link or by contacting a BMC sales representative directly.

Source
Scratchpad: Does Scratchpad work with HubSpot?

No. It is Salesforce-only.

Scratchpad: Is the free plan usable in production?

Yes for an individual: full workspace with three views, 10 hours of recording and 100 AI credits a month. Teams outgrow it on views and credits.

Scratchpad: Does it replace Salesforce licences?

No. Every user still needs their own Salesforce licence; Scratchpad is an interface on top.

Scratchpad: What are AI credits spent on?

Notetaking, summarisation, field update suggestions and agent queries. Enterprise removes the cap.

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