Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

Help Scout vs Woodpecker

Help Scout logo

Help Scout

Customer Support

Customer service software that people love

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Woodpecker logo

Woodpecker

CRM

Cold email and LinkedIn outreach automation platform with pay-per-use pricing

From
$7/month
Free plan
No
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; Woodpecker linkedIn outreach, extra warm-ups and API access are all separate paid add-ons rather than bundled features.
  • They diverge on capability: Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Woodpecker covers Cold email sequencing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Help Scout and Woodpecker differ
AttributeHelp ScoutWoodpecker
Starting priceFree$7/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Androidweb, api
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM
Founded20112015

Identical on both: 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 Woodpecker

  • Cold email sequencing
  • Email verification
  • Deliverability warm-up
  • Lead Finder
  • Agency panel
  • API and integrations

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

Woodpecker

  • Running personalized one-to-one cold email campaignsnot Help Scout
  • Agencies managing outreach across multiple client accountsnot Help Scout
  • Verifying catch-all email addresses before sendingnot Help Scout
  • Adding LinkedIn outreach on top of an existing email campaignnot 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

Woodpecker

  • LinkedIn outreach, extra warm-ups and API access are all separate paid add-ons rather than bundled features.
  • Pay-per-contacted-prospect pricing can be harder to predict than flat per-seat plans at high volume.
  • Exceeding the contacted-prospect limit halts new sends until the plan is topped up.
  • Lacks the built-in calling/SMS channels that some multichannel competitors offer.

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

Woodpecker

$7/month
  • Pay-per-use$7/month
    • $7 per 100 contacted prospects
    • Unlimited team members and email accounts
    • 4 warm-ups monthly

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 Woodpecker if

  • You need cold email sequencing.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want email verification.
Woodpecker review

Questions people ask

Is Help Scout or Woodpecker better?
Neither clearly leads. Help Scout starts at Free and Woodpecker at $7/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Help Scout or Woodpecker?
Help Scout has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Help Scout and $7/month for Woodpecker.
Does Help Scout or Woodpecker run on more platforms?
Help Scout runs on Web, Ios, Android. Woodpecker runs on web, api.
Can I use Help Scout for free?
Yes. Help Scout has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Woodpecker starts at $7/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 Woodpecker is typically brought in for.
What can Help Scout do that Woodpecker cannot?
Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Knowledge base, Live chat, Customer profiles. Woodpecker covers Cold email sequencing, Email verification, Deliverability warm-up, Lead Finder.

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
Woodpecker: What does Woodpecker cost?

Woodpecker charges $7 per 100 contacted prospects per month (discounted heavily on annual billing), with add-ons like LinkedIn outreach at $29/month per account and extra warm-ups at $5/month each.

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
Woodpecker: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Woodpecker offers a 14-day free trial with full features, capped at 14 days or 100 emails sent, whichever comes first; the trial can be extended by contacting 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
Woodpecker: How is usage metered?

Usage is metered by the number of prospects contacted per month; exceeding the plan's contacted-prospect limit halts new email sends, and exceeding the stored prospect limit prevents adding new leads.

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
Woodpecker: What does Woodpecker integrate with?

Woodpecker integrates with Pipedrive, HubSpot, Zoho, Calendly, Zapier, Google Sheets, and offers an API, CLI, webhooks and an MCP server for custom workflows.

Source
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