Help Scout and Front at a glance
| Help Scout | Front | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest paid plan (yearly) | Standard, $25 per user a month | Starter, $25 per seat a month |
| Paid plans | Standard, Plus, Pro | Starter, Professional, Enterprise |
| Free plan | Free for up to 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site and 100 contacts helped a month, with no AI tools. | None |
| Free trial | 15 days on Standard or Plus, no card needed. | 14 days with Professional features, no card needed. No free plan. |
| Your email address | Forwards your address into their inbox | Connects your mailbox, syncs it to their cloud |
| Mac app | Web only. The mobile apps are iPhone and Android. | An Electron desktop app for Mac and Windows: the web interface in a window. |
The last two rows separate them more than price does. Front connects the mailbox you already have and syncs it to its cloud; Help Scout has you forward your address into its own inbox. Front runs as a desktop app for Mac and Windows, built with Electron; Help Scout runs in the browser, with mobile apps for iPhone and Android.
What each costs per year
| Plan, per year | 1 person | 3 people | 10 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Help Scout Standard | $300 | $900 | $3,000 |
| Front Starter | $300 | $900 | $3,000 |
| Help Scout Plus | $540 | $1,620 | $5,400 |
| Front Professional | $780 | $2,340 | $7,800 |
| Help Scout Pro | Not offered | Not offered | $9,000 |
| Front Enterprise | $1,260 | $3,780 | $12,600 |
Read the rows in pairs. Help Scout Standard and Front Starter are the ways in, at the same $25 per seat on yearly billing, though billed monthly they part: $30 against $35. The caps are what differ. Starter caps the team at 10 seats and one channel type, and leaves out macros, advanced analytics, extra workspaces and SSO. A Front team that grows past 10 moves to Professional at $65; a Help Scout team on Standard can reach 25 before it has to move to Plus.
The middle tiers are further apart: at 3 people, Help Scout Plus is $1,620 a year against $2,340 for Front Professional. Help Scout Pro is sold with a minimum of 10 users, which is why it shows as not offered below that. If you have seen Front at other prices, this is why. Front replaced its Starter $19, Growth $59 and Scale $99 line-up with Starter, Professional and Enterprise in 2026.
Every plan, side by side
Help Scout
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $25 | $30 | Up to 25 users, 2 inboxes, basic workflows. |
| Plus | $45 | $54 | Up to 50 users, 5 inboxes, AI drafts and summaries, advanced workflows, round robin, Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot. |
| Pro | $75 | $90 | Unlimited users with a minimum of 10, sold through a demo. |
Front
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $25 | $35 | Up to 10 seats, one channel type, 1 workspace, up to 10 rules. |
| Professional | $65 | $85 | Up to 50 seats, omnichannel, macros and 20 rules, 5 workspaces, SSO. |
| Enterprise | $105 | Yearly only | Unlimited rules and custom roles, with Copilot, Smart QA and Smart CSAT included. Annual billing only. |
Prices are in US dollars per seat per month, read from Help Scout’s and Front’s pricing pages on 27 September 2026.
AI charges
Both sell AI by use, so the bill grows with your volume. Front prices it in more pieces.
- Help Scout: AI Answers: $0.75 per resolution, with a monthly spending cap available. AI drafts and summaries for your own replies are included from Plus.
- Front: Autopilot, charged per conversation: $0.05 to triage, $0.39 per handoff, $0.89 per resolution. Copilot $20 per seat a month; Smart QA $20; Smart CSAT $10. Enterprise includes Copilot, Smart QA and Smart CSAT.
Front’s Autopilot bills a triage and a handoff as well as a resolution; Help Scout’s AI Answers is priced per resolution. Estimate both at your own volume before comparing the unit prices.
Which one fits which team
- Choose Help Scout if you want a free plan to start on, room for more than 10 people on the entry plan, and AI drafting included from the middle tier, and you are happy working in a browser. A shared inbox for support teams who want their replies to look like ordinary email rather than tickets.
- Choose Front if you want your existing mailbox connected rather than forwarded, and would rather work in a desktop app than a browser tab. A collaborative inbox where a team drafts, comments on and assigns replies together in real time.
- Choose neither if the support team is you. Both are priced per seat for a team working the same inbox, and one person pays for the collaboration with nobody to collaborate with.
That last case is the one Moorline is built for, and the page on a Front alternative for one person sets it out without the sales voice.
Questions people ask
Is Help Scout cheaper than Front?
On yearly billing, Help Scout Standard and Front Starter cost the same $25 per seat a month. Billed monthly, Help Scout Standard is $30 and Front Starter $35. One tier up, Help Scout Plus is $45 against $65 for Front Professional. Help Scout also has a free plan; Front does not.
What is the difference between Help Scout and Front?
Both are built around email and both charge per seat. Help Scout is a shared inbox you forward your support address into, built so replies look like ordinary email rather than tickets. Front connects the mailbox you already have and is built for a team drafting, commenting on and assigning replies together in real time. Front has a desktop app for Mac and Windows; Help Scout is web only.
Does Help Scout or Front have a free plan?
Help Scout does. Free for up to 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site and 100 contacts helped a month, with no AI tools. Front has no free plan; it offers a free trial with Professional features and no card needed instead.
Do Help Scout and Front have a desktop app?
Front does: an Electron app for Mac and Windows that puts the web interface in a window. Help Scout is web only, with mobile apps for iPhone and Android. Neither is a native Mac app.
How do Help Scout and Front charge for AI?
Both by use. AI Answers: $0.75 per resolution, with a monthly spending cap available. Help Scout includes AI drafts and summaries from the Plus plan. Front sells AI per seat and per conversation. Copilot $20 per seat a month; Smart QA $20; Smart CSAT $10. Autopilot, charged per conversation: $0.05 to triage, $0.39 per handoff, $0.89 per resolution. Front Enterprise includes Copilot, Smart QA and Smart CSAT.