Softwr

Software · head to head

Help Scout vs Amazon Connect

Help Scout logo

Help Scout

Software

Customer service software that people love

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Amazon Connect logo

Amazon Connect

Software

Cloud contact center from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Help Scout the free plan caps contacts at 100 a month, so it is a volume trial rather than a standing free tier; Amazon Connect telephony is charged separately from the platform, so the $0.038 per minute voice rate is not the whole cost of a call
  • They diverge on capability: Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Amazon Connect covers Voice.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Help Scout and Amazon Connect actually diverge.

Attributes where Help Scout and Amazon Connect differ
AttributeHelp ScoutAmazon Connect
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
Founded20112006

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Help Scout

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

Only in Amazon Connect

  • Voice
  • Chat
  • Tasks
  • ML-powered analytics
  • Contact Lens
  • Outbound campaigns
  • Forecasting
  • ServiceNow

Both cover

  • Salesforce
  • SOC2
  • HIPAA
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Help Scout

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

Amazon Connect

  • Cloud contact centre with no per-seat licencenot Help Scout
  • Voice, chat, email and SMS in one queuenot Help Scout
  • Conversational analytics and agent assistnot Help Scout
  • Outbound campaigns and automated contactnot Help Scout
  • Workforce scheduling for contact centre agentsnot Help Scout

Where each one falls short

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

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

Amazon Connect

  • Telephony is charged separately from the platform, so the $0.038 per minute voice rate is not the whole cost of a call
  • Every channel is metered individually: $0.010 per chat message, $0.080 per email and $0.014 per SMS
  • Rates vary by region and by third-party provider, so a published figure is indicative rather than final
  • Cost tracks contact volume, which makes forecasting hard for a queue with seasonal peaks

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Amazon Connect

Free
  • Pay-as-you-go$0.018/minute
    • Voice minutes
    • Free tier available
    • No upfront costs

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Amazon Connect if

  • You need voice.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want chat.
Amazon Connect review

Questions people ask

Is Help Scout or Amazon Connect better?
Neither clearly leads. Help Scout starts at Free and Amazon Connect at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Help Scout or Amazon Connect?
Help Scout starts at Free and Amazon Connect at Free.
Does Help Scout or Amazon Connect run on more platforms?
Help Scout runs on Web, Ios, Android. Amazon Connect runs on Web.
Can I use Help Scout for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Help Scout best used for?
Help Scout is most often used for shared inbox and help desk for customer support teams, publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat support. Of those, shared inbox and help desk for customer support teams and publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat support are not what Amazon Connect is typically brought in for.
What can Help Scout do that Amazon Connect cannot?
Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Knowledge base, Live chat, Customer profiles. Amazon Connect covers Voice, Chat, Tasks, ML-powered analytics. Both handle Salesforce, SOC2, HIPAA, Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Help Scout

More on Amazon Connect

Keep looking

Other head to heads