Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

Help Scout vs Krayin

Help Scout logo

Help Scout

Customer Support

Customer service software that people love

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Krayin logo

Krayin

CRM

Open source Laravel CRM for sales teams that want to own the code

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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; Krayin it is far less mature than EspoCRM, SuiteCRM or Vtiger, with thinner reporting, weaker forecasting and fewer built-in integrations, so evaluations that start from a feature checklist will not favour it.
  • They diverge on capability: Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Krayin covers Lead pipelines.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Help Scout and Krayin actually diverge.

Attributes where Help Scout and Krayin differ
AttributeHelp ScoutKrayin
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Help Scout

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

Only in Krayin

  • Lead pipelines
  • Contacts and organisations
  • Quotes
  • Workflow automation
  • Email integration
  • Custom attributes
  • Roles and permissions
  • Laravel package architecture

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 Krayin
  • Publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat supportnot Krayin

Krayin

  • A PHP or Laravel development shop wants a CRM it can fork and rebrand for clients without paying per seat or negotiating an OEM licence.not Help Scout
  • An organisation under data residency rules needs the customer database physically on its own infrastructure, which rules out every hosted CRM.not Help Scout
  • A small sales team wants an unlimited-user CRM where adding a tenth or fiftieth user costs nothing beyond server capacity.not Help Scout
  • A Bagisto ecommerce store wants a CRM from the same vendor that shares its technology stack and conventions rather than a bridged integration.not 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

Krayin

  • It is far less mature than EspoCRM, SuiteCRM or Vtiger, with thinner reporting, weaker forecasting and fewer built-in integrations, so evaluations that start from a feature checklist will not favour it.
  • Practical functionality such as certain telephony, messaging and marketing connectors sits in paid marketplace extensions from Webkul, so the free CRM plus the extensions you actually need is not free.
  • The roadmap is controlled by a single services company whose revenue depends on selling implementation and extensions, so there is a structural incentive against making the core complete.
  • You are responsible for the whole operational burden: PHP and MySQL hosting, backups, security patching, mail deliverability and upgrades, and a botched upgrade of a customised install is your problem alone.
  • The cloud hosting page does not publish prices, so the managed option that would remove that burden cannot be budgeted without contacting sales, which undercuts the transparency the open licence otherwise offers.

Pricing, plan by plan

Help Scout

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 5 users
    • 1 Inbox
    • 1 Docs site
  • Standard$25/month
    • Multiple inboxes
    • Live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger
    • Multiple knowledge bases
  • Plus$45/month
    • Standard features plus advanced workflows
    • Two advanced SLAs
    • Secure portal
  • Pro$75/month
    • Plus features plus unlimited workflows
    • Unlimited SLAs
    • SSO/SAML

Krayin

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full MIT-licensed source
    • Unlimited users
    • No feature gating
  • Cloud hosting and extensions$undefined/month
    • Starter and Pro managed hosting packs from Webkul
    • Premium extensions sold individually in the Krayin marketplace
    • White label and custom development quoted separately

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 Krayin if

  • You need lead pipelines.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux.
  • You also want contacts and organisations.
Krayin review

Questions people ask

Is Help Scout or Krayin better?
Neither clearly leads. Help Scout starts at Free and Krayin at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Help Scout or Krayin?
Help Scout starts at Free and Krayin at Free.
Does Help Scout or Krayin run on more platforms?
Help Scout runs on Web, Ios, Android. Krayin runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker, Linux.
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 Krayin is typically brought in for.
What can Help Scout do that Krayin cannot?
Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Knowledge base, Live chat, Customer profiles. Krayin covers Lead pipelines, Contacts and organisations, Quotes, Workflow automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Help Scout: How much does Help Scout cost?

Help Scout offers a free plan for up to 5 users. Paid plans start at $25/user/month (Standard), $45/user/month (Plus), and $75/user/month (Pro).

Source
Krayin: Is Krayin really free?

The CRM itself is MIT licensed with no user limit and no enterprise edition. Premium extensions, managed hosting and custom development from Webkul are paid.

Help Scout: What is included in the Pro plan?

Help Scout Pro at $75/user/month includes unlimited workflows, unlimited SLAs, SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance, up to 50 light users, dedicated onboarding, and a strategic account manager.

Source
Krayin: Who maintains it?

Webkul Software of Noida, India, the same company behind the Bagisto open source ecommerce platform.

Help Scout: Does Help Scout offer a free trial?

Yes, Help Scout offers a 15-day free trial for Standard and Plus plans with no credit card required. Pro plan requires booking a demo.

Source
Krayin: What do I need to run it?

A standard LAMP or LEMP stack with PHP, Composer and MySQL or MariaDB. Any host that runs Laravel will run Krayin.

Help Scout: What is the cost of Help Scout's AI Answers add-on?

Help Scout's AI Answers add-on costs $0.75 per resolution with a 3-month free trial included.

Source
Krayin: How does it compare to EspoCRM?

EspoCRM is more mature with deeper reporting and a longer track record. Krayin is easier for a Laravel developer to extend and has a more permissive licence.

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