Help Scout
HubSpot
| Feature | Help Scout | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $25/mo | Free / from $20/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | small-businesses, saas-companies, remote-teams, customer-focused-brands | growing-businesses, marketing-teams, sales-teams, b2b-companies |
| Founded | 2011 | 2006 |
| Shared Inbox | ✓ | ✗ |
| Knowledge Base | ✓ | ✗ |
| Beacon | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workflows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Customer Profiles | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reporting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Crm | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Marketing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sales Pipeline | ✗ | ✓ |
| Landing Pages | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Help Scout Pros
- Feels like email to customers (no ticket numbers)
- Excellent knowledge base (Docs)
- Beacon widget for contextual help
- Simple and fast — minimal training needed
✗ Help Scout Cons
- Limited automation compared to Zendesk
- No built-in phone or video support
- Reporting less advanced on lower plans
✓ HubSpot Pros
- CRM is completely free forever
- All-in-one marketing + sales + service
- Excellent onboarding and academy
- Massive integration ecosystem
✗ HubSpot Cons
- Paid hubs are very expensive
- Contracts are annual
- Can be overkill for small teams
The Verdict
Help Scout is built for small businesses and saas companies, with a focus on shared-inbox and knowledge-base. HubSpot targets growing businesses and marketing teams and leads with crm and email-marketing.
On pricing, HubSpot is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $20/mo compared to $25/mo for Help Scout. That $5/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
