Help Scout and Zendesk at a glance
| Help Scout | Zendesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest paid plan (yearly) | Standard, $25 per user a month | Support Team, $19 per agent a month |
| Paid plans | Standard, Plus, Pro | Support Team, Suite Team, Suite Professional, Suite 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 of Suite Professional with Copilot. No free plan. |
| Your email address | Forwards your address into their inbox | Forwards your address into their inbox |
| Mac app | Web only. The mobile apps are iPhone and Android. | Web only. |
What each costs per year
| Plan, per year | 1 person | 3 people | 10 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Support Team | $228 | $684 | $2,280 |
| Help Scout Standard | $300 | $900 | $3,000 |
| Help Scout Plus | $540 | $1,620 | $5,400 |
| Zendesk Suite Team | $660 | $1,980 | $6,600 |
| Help Scout Pro | Not offered | Not offered | $9,000 |
| Zendesk Suite Professional | $1,380 | $4,140 | $13,800 |
Read the rows in pairs rather than the columns. Help Scout Standard and Zendesk Support Team are both the cheap way in, but Standard is a full shared inbox while Support Team is ticketing only. The fair match for Help Scout Plus is Zendesk Suite Team, and at 3 people that is $1,620 against $1,980 a year.
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. |
Zendesk
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support Team | $19 | $25 | Email ticketing only, 5 AI resolutions per agent a month. No messaging or live chat. |
| Suite Team | $55 | $69 | Messaging and live chat, AI agents, telephony and omnichannel routing. |
| Suite Professional | $115 | $149 | SLAs, skills-based routing, IVR, AI writing tools, 10 AI resolutions per agent a month. |
| Suite Enterprise | Sales only | Sales only | Sold through sales, with Copilot included. No public price. |
Prices are in US dollars per seat per month, read from Help Scout’s and Zendesk’s pricing pages on 27 September 2026.
AI charges
Both charge for AI by use, so the bill grows with your volume.
- 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.
- Zendesk: AI resolutions past the included ones: $1.50 each committed, $2.00 pay as you go. Copilot: $50 per agent a month on annual billing, Suite Professional and up only.
Which one fits which team
- Choose Help Scout if support is mostly email, you want customers to feel they are writing to a person rather than opening a ticket, and you want to be set up in an afternoon. A shared inbox for support teams who want their replies to look like ordinary email rather than tickets.
- Choose the Zendesk Suite if you need chat, phone and messaging in one place, SLAs and skills-based routing, or workforce tools for a large support operation. A full customer-service platform: ticketing, routing, SLAs, reporting, voice, and a workforce to run it.
- Choose neither if the support team is you. Both are priced for coordinating people, and one person pays for that coordination with nobody.
That last case is the one Moorline is built for, and the Help Scout alternative page sets it out without the sales voice.
Questions people ask
Is Help Scout cheaper than Zendesk?
It depends which Zendesk. Zendesk Support Team ($19 per agent) is cheaper than Help Scout Standard ($25), but it is email ticketing only. Against the Zendesk Suite most people mean ($55 per agent), Help Scout Standard and Plus ($45) are both cheaper.
What is the main difference between Help Scout and Zendesk?
Help Scout is built around a shared inbox where replies look like ordinary email. Zendesk is built around tickets, and its Suite adds messaging, telephony and routing for larger support operations. Help Scout is usually quicker to set up; Zendesk goes further once a team needs channels, SLAs and workforce tools.
Does Help Scout or Zendesk 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. Zendesk: 14 days of Suite Professional with Copilot. No free plan.
How do Help Scout and Zendesk charge for AI?
Help Scout charges per resolution for the AI that answers customers on its own. AI Answers: $0.75 per resolution, with a monthly spending cap available. AI drafts and summaries are included from the Plus plan. Zendesk includes a few AI resolutions per agent each month and charges for the rest. AI resolutions past the included ones: $1.50 each committed, $2.00 pay as you go. Copilot: $50 per agent a month on annual billing, Suite Professional and up only.
Which is better for a small business?
For a small team answering mostly email, Help Scout is usually the easier fit, and the free plan covers the smallest ones. For a team that needs live chat, phone and formal SLAs, the Zendesk Suite is the more complete platform. For one person answering their own customers, neither is priced for you.