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Customer Support · head to head

Help Scout vs Playvox

Help Scout logo

Help Scout

Customer Support

Customer service software that people love

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Playvox logo

Playvox

Customer Support

Contact centre quality management, coaching and workforce management, now sold by NiCE

From
On request
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; Playvox niCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.
  • They diverge on capability: Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Playvox covers Quality management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Help Scout and Playvox differ
AttributeHelp ScoutPlayvox
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
Founded2011Unknown

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

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

Only in Playvox

  • Quality management
  • Agent coaching
  • Workforce management
  • Performance management
  • Agent motivation
  • Helpdesk connectors
  • Interaction analytics

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

Playvox

  • A 200-agent support team on Zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platformnot Help Scout
  • A CX operations group running chat, email and voice queues that needs one forecasting model across all three rather than a voice-only rota toolnot Help Scout
  • A BPO that must evidence quality scores per client and needs calibration workflows to prove reviewers score consistentlynot Help Scout
  • A support organisation with high first-year attrition that wants coaching assignments tied directly to the criteria an agent failednot 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

Playvox

  • NiCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.
  • Playvox WFM carries a minimum agent commitment reported around 35 seats, so a team of 20 either pays for agents it does not have or cannot buy the module at all.
  • The suite is modular and priced modularly, so the quality, performance, coaching, WFM and analytics pieces each carry a line item and the advertised mid-market saving disappears once you licence three or four of them.
  • Forecasting was built around digital and omnichannel volume, and teams with complex voice requirements such as skills-based routing with heavy shrinkage rules routinely find the scheduling engine less precise than dedicated voice WFM tools.
  • Because it sits on top of another vendor helpdesk rather than owning the interaction data, scoring depends on connector fidelity, and when a source platform changes its API or its recording retention the scorecards go stale before anyone notices.

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

Playvox

On request
  • Playvox by NiCE Workforce Engagement Management$undefined/year
    • Quality management and scorecards
    • Coaching workflows
    • Performance dashboards

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 Playvox if

  • You need quality management.
  • You also want agent coaching.
Playvox review

Questions people ask

Is Help Scout or Playvox better?
Neither clearly leads. Help Scout starts at Free and Playvox at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Help Scout or Playvox?
Help Scout has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Help Scout and On request for Playvox.
Does Help Scout or Playvox run on more platforms?
Help Scout runs on Web, Ios, Android. Playvox runs on Web.
Can I use Help Scout for free?
Yes. Help Scout has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Playvox starts at On request.
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 Playvox is typically brought in for.
What can Help Scout do that Playvox cannot?
Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Knowledge base, Live chat, Customer profiles. Playvox covers Quality management, Agent coaching, Workforce management, Performance management.

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
Playvox: Is Playvox still sold as its own product?

Yes, as Playvox by NiCE. It is a distinct SKU beneath NiCE CXone, not a discontinued brand, but it is sold by NiCE sales rather than an independent company.

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
Playvox: Do I need NiCE CXone to use it?

No. Playvox connects to Zendesk, Salesforce, Freshdesk, Genesys and others. Running it against a competitor platform is supported, though it is not where the vendor makes the most money.

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
Playvox: What does it actually cost?

Nothing is published. Full-suite list pricing reported by buyers sits around 70 to 120 US dollars per agent per month, with WFM alone around 30 to 60, before volume discounting.

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
Playvox: Can a 15-agent team buy it?

Not realistically for WFM, which carries a minimum seat commitment. Quality management alone is more accessible but still sold on an annual quoted contract.

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