Software · head to head
Help Scout vs Hiver
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; Hiver hiver tiers as captured 28 December 2023: Lite at $15/user/month capped at 2 shared inboxes (up to 10 users each), Pro at $39/user/month capped at 5 shared inboxes and 50 shared labels, Elite at $59/user/month, all annual pricing with higher month-to-month rates of $19/$49/$69
- They diverge on capability: Help Scout covers Knowledge base, Hiver covers Email assignment.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Help Scout and Hiver actually diverge.
| Attribute | Help Scout | Hiver |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android | Web, Chrome-extension |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (subscription), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), 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 Help Scout
- Knowledge base
- Live chat
- Customer profiles
- Workflows
- Reporting
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Shopify
Only in Hiver
- Email assignment
- Collision detection
- Email notes
- Templates
- Analytics
- Gmail
- Google Workspace
- Asana
Both cover
- Shared inbox
- Slack
- Jira
- SOC2
- GDPR
- 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 Hiver
- Publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat supportnot Hiver
Hiver
- Shared inbox managementnot Help Scout
- Customer support via Gmailnot Help Scout
- Team email collaborationnot 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
Hiver
- Hiver tiers as captured 28 December 2023: Lite at $15/user/month capped at 2 shared inboxes (up to 10 users each), Pro at $39/user/month capped at 5 shared inboxes and 50 shared labels, Elite at $59/user/month, all annual pricing with higher month-to-month rates of $19/$49/$69
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
Hiver
Free- FreeFree
- 2 users
- Email management
- Basic analytics
- Lite$19/month
- Unlimited users
- Email templates
- Notes & @mentions
- Pro$49/month
- CSAT surveys
- SLA management
- Custom reports
- Elite$69/month
- Round-robin
- Skill-based routing
- Okta SSO
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose Hiver if
- You need email assignment.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Chrome-extension.
- You also want collision detection.
Questions people ask
- Is Help Scout or Hiver better?
- Neither clearly leads. Help Scout starts at Free and Hiver at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Help Scout or Hiver?
- Help Scout starts at Free and Hiver at Free.
- Does Help Scout or Hiver run on more platforms?
- Help Scout runs on Web, Ios, Android. Hiver runs on Web, Chrome-extension.
- 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 Hiver is typically brought in for.
- What can Help Scout do that Hiver cannot?
- Help Scout covers Knowledge base, Live chat, Customer profiles, Workflows. Hiver covers Email assignment, Collision detection, Email notes, Templates. Both handle Shared inbox, Slack, Jira, SOC2.