Customer Support · head to head
Groove vs Help Scout
Groove
Customer Support
Simple, powerful support for growing businesses
- From
- $12/month
- 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: Groove billed per ticket at $1 rather than per agent, so support cost scales with how many customers get in touch; 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: Groove covers Automation rules, Help Scout covers Customer profiles.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Groove and Help Scout actually diverge.
| Attribute | Groove | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $12/month | Free |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Customer Support), founded (2011).
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 Groove
- Automation rules
- Collision detection
- Zapier
- Trello
- SSL
- 2FA
Only in Help Scout
- Customer profiles
- Workflows
- HubSpot
- Shopify
- SOC2
- HIPAA
Both cover
- Shared inbox
- Knowledge base
- Live chat
- Reporting
- Slack
- Salesforce
- Jira
- GDPR
- Web support
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Groove
- Shared inbox and help desk ticketing for small support teamsnot Help Scout
- Handling email, chat and messaging support in one queuenot Help Scout
Help Scout
- Shared inbox and help desk for customer support teamsnot Groove
- Publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat supportnot Groove
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Groove
- Billed per ticket at $1 rather than per agent, so support cost scales with how many customers get in touch
- A minimum of 250 tickets a month applies, which is a $3,000 annual commitment before any usage
- A quiet month still pays the 250 ticket floor
- No mailbox limit is published
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
Groove
$12/month- Standard$12/month
- 1 mailbox
- Knowledge base
- Live chat
- Plus$20/month
- 5 mailboxes
- Full reporting
- Rules
- Pro$35/month
- 25 mailboxes
- Salesforce
- Enterprise SSO
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 Groove if
- You need automation rules.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want collision detection.
Choose Help Scout if
- You need customer profiles.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want workflows.
Questions people ask
- Is Groove or Help Scout better?
- Neither clearly leads. Groove starts at $12/month and Help Scout at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Groove or Help Scout?
- Help Scout has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $12/month for Groove and Free for Help Scout.
- Does Groove or Help Scout run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Help Scout for free?
- Yes. Help Scout has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Groove starts at $12/month.
- What is Groove best used for?
- Groove is most often used for shared inbox and help desk ticketing for small support teams, handling email, chat and messaging support in one queue. Of those, shared inbox and help desk ticketing for small support teams and handling email, chat and messaging support in one queue are not what Help Scout is typically brought in for.
- What can Groove do that Help Scout cannot?
- Groove covers Automation rules, Collision detection, Zapier, Trello. Help Scout covers Customer profiles, Workflows, HubSpot, Shopify. Both handle Shared inbox, Knowledge base, Live chat, Reporting.