Customer Support · head to head
Front vs Help Scout
Front
Customer Support
Where teams collaborate on customer communication
- From
- $25/month per seat
- Rated
- -
Help Scout
Customer Support
Customer service software that people love
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Help Scout has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Front starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier; 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: Front covers Email collaboration, Help Scout covers Knowledge base.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Front and Help Scout actually diverge.
| Attribute | Front | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $25/month per seat | Free |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Cloud-based SaaS | Web, Ios, Android |
| Founded | 2013 | 2011 |
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Customer Support).
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 Front
- Email collaboration
- Omnichannel messaging
- Analytics
- Integrations
- Asana
- SSO
- Desktop support
Only in Help Scout
- Knowledge base
- Live chat
- Customer profiles
- Reporting
- Shopify
- HIPAA
Both cover
- Shared inbox
- Workflows
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Slack
- Jira
- SOC2
- GDPR
- Web support
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Front
- Multi-team customer support across email, chat, SMS channelsnot Help Scout
- Enterprises using AI to resolve complex multi-step customer requestsnot Help Scout
Help Scout
- Shared inbox and help desk for customer support teamsnot Front
- Publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat supportnot Front
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Front
- Starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier
- AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT are included only in Enterprise tier ($105/seat/month); available as add-ons at higher cost in lower tiers
- Starter tier limited to 10 automation rules; Professional tier allows 20; unlimited rules only in Enterprise
- Advanced analytics excluded from Starter tier
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
Front
$25/month per seatNo published plan breakdown. See the Front review.
Help Scout
Free- Standard$20/month
- 2 mailboxes
- 1 Docs site
- Email & live chat
- Plus$40/month
- 5 mailboxes
- Custom fields
- Advanced permissions
- Pro$65/month
- 25 mailboxes
- Enterprise security
- HIPAA compliance
Which should you pick?
Choose Front if
- You need email collaboration.
- You work on Cloud-based SaaS.
- You also want omnichannel messaging.
Choose Help Scout if
- You need knowledge base.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want live chat.
Questions people ask
- Is Front or Help Scout better?
- Neither clearly leads. Front starts at $25/month per seat and Help Scout at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Front or Help Scout?
- Help Scout has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month per seat for Front and Free for Help Scout.
- Does Front or Help Scout run on more platforms?
- Front runs on Cloud-based SaaS. 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. Front starts at $25/month per seat.
- What is Front best used for?
- Front is most often used for multi-team customer support across email, chat, sms channels, enterprises using ai to resolve complex multi-step customer requests. Of those, multi-team customer support across email, chat, sms channels and enterprises using ai to resolve complex multi-step customer requests are not what Help Scout is typically brought in for.
- What can Front do that Help Scout cannot?
- Front covers Email collaboration, Omnichannel messaging, Analytics, Integrations. Help Scout covers Knowledge base, Live chat, Customer profiles, Reporting. Both handle Shared inbox, Workflows, Salesforce, HubSpot.