Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

Help Scout vs SupportBee

Help Scout logo

Help Scout

Customer Support

Customer service software that people love

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SupportBee logo

SupportBee

Customer Support

Simple email ticketing for small teams

From
$13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Help Scout has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; SupportBee email-only ticketing, no live chat, phone support, chatbots, or AI features
  • They diverge on capability: Help Scout covers Live chat, SupportBee covers Email ticketing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Help Scout and SupportBee differ
AttributeHelp ScoutSupportBee
Starting priceFree$13/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Mobile Browser
Founded20112010

Identical on both: 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 Help Scout

  • Live chat
  • Customer profiles
  • Workflows
  • Reporting
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Jira
  • Shopify

Only in SupportBee

  • Email ticketing
  • Snippets
  • Customer portal
  • Reports
  • Trello
  • Asana
  • Pipedrive
  • Zapier

Both cover

  • Shared inbox
  • Knowledge base
  • Slack
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android 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 SupportBee
  • Publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat supportnot SupportBee

SupportBee

  • Email supportnot Help Scout
  • Ticket managementnot Help Scout
  • Team 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

SupportBee

  • Email-only ticketing, no live chat, phone support, chatbots, or AI features
  • Basic reporting and analytics, lacking advanced dashboards and customizable metrics
  • No SLA management capabilities
  • Limited workflow customization compared to enterprise platforms
  • No dedicated mobile app (web interface only)
  • Confusing navigation and UI issues reported by some users
  • Cannot select and snooze multiple emails at once
  • Occasional performance delays

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

SupportBee

$13/month
  • Startup$13/month
    • Unlimited tickets and inboxes
    • Team inbox with ticket assignment
    • Knowledge base integration (KBee)
  • Enterprise$17/month
    • All Startup features
    • Advanced integrations
    • Custom roles and permissions

Which should you pick?

Choose Help Scout if

  • You need live chat.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want customer profiles.
Help Scout review

Choose SupportBee if

  • You need email ticketing.
  • You work on Web, Mobile Browser.
  • You also want snippets.
SupportBee review

Questions people ask

Is Help Scout or SupportBee better?
Neither clearly leads. Help Scout starts at Free and SupportBee at $13/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Help Scout or SupportBee?
Help Scout has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Help Scout and $13/month for SupportBee.
Does Help Scout or SupportBee run on more platforms?
Help Scout runs on Web, Ios, Android. SupportBee runs on Web, Mobile Browser.
Can I use Help Scout for free?
Yes. Help Scout has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SupportBee starts at $13/month.
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 SupportBee is typically brought in for.
What can Help Scout do that SupportBee cannot?
Help Scout covers Live chat, Customer profiles, Workflows, Reporting. SupportBee covers Email ticketing, Snippets, Customer portal, Reports. Both handle Shared inbox, Knowledge base, Slack, Web support.

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
SupportBee: How much does SupportBee cost?

SupportBee offers Startup plan at $13/user/month and Enterprise at $17/user/month, both with unlimited tickets and inboxes. No per-ticket charges. A 14-day free trial is available with no credit card required.

Source
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
SupportBee: Does SupportBee offer live chat or phone support?

No. SupportBee focuses on email ticketing and does not include native live chat, phone support, chatbots, or AI features. It is designed for email-based customer support.

Source
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
SupportBee: What platforms can SupportBee run on?

SupportBee is a web-based platform accessible on desktop and mobile browsers. It does not offer a dedicated desktop or mobile app, but the web interface is responsive and works on phones. Integration with email clients is available.

Source
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
SupportBee: Does SupportBee integrate with Slack?

Yes. SupportBee integrates with Slack to send real-time notifications for new tickets, replies, assignments, and internal comments. Teams can configure which events trigger alerts and organize notifications into dedicated channels.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Help Scout

More on SupportBee

Keep looking

Other head to heads