Help Scout vs. Freshdesk: Choosing the Best Customer Service Software

In today’s competitive market, providing exceptional customer service is paramount. Two prominent customer service software solutions, Help Scout and Freshdesk, stand out as top contenders. This article offers a comprehensive comparison to help you determine which platform aligns best with your business needs.

Key Differences: Help Scout vs. Freshdesk

Both Help Scout and Freshdesk provide core customer service functionalities, such as shared inboxes, omnichannel support, and automation. However, their strengths lie in different areas.

• Help Scout: Emphasizes simplicity and streamlined customer service. It’s ideal for businesses seeking an intuitive, user-friendly software.
• Freshdesk: Focuses on omnichannel capabilities, offering robust features for managing customer interactions across various channels.

Pricing: Help Scout and Freshdesk Plans

Understanding the pricing structures of both software solutions is essential for making an informed decision.

Help Scout Pricing

• Standard: $20/user/month, includes 3 mailboxes, live chat, reporting, and automation. Suitable for smaller businesses.
• Plus: $35/user/month, offers 10 mailboxes, custom fields, integrations with Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot, and HIPAA compliance.
• Company: Enterprise-level pricing with unlimited mailboxes, dedicated account management, and customized solutions. Contact Help Scout for details.

Freshdesk Pricing

• Free: $0 for unlimited agents, featuring email and social ticketing, knowledge base, and basic features.
• Growth: $15/agent/month, includes custom email server, custom SSL, and expanded automation capabilities.
• Pro: $49/agent/month, offers custom roles, segments, multilingual knowledge bases, and up to 5,000 collaborators.
• Enterprise: $79/agent/month, adds email bot, Freddy assist bot, and advanced features for larger businesses.

Freshdesk's free plan provides a good starting point, while Help Scout's lower tiers offer more affordable solutions for small teams. As your business scales, Freshdesk's pricing becomes more competitive with its robust feature set.

Feature Comparison: Help Scout vs. Freshdesk

To compare the feature sets directly, we've selected comparable pricing tiers: Help Scout's Plus plan ($35/month) and Freshdesk's Pro plan ($49/month).

Help Scout Plus Features:

• Live chat
• APIs and integrations
• Customer messaging
• Up to 10 mailboxes
• SSO/SAML authentication
• Reporting
• Customer profiles and properties
• Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot apps
• HIPAA compliance

Freshdesk Pro Features:

• Email and social ticketing
• Knowledge base
• Team collaboration
• Automation
• Collision detection
• Custom ticket views
• Custom SSL
• Ticket fields and status
• Custom reports and dashboards
• Up to 5,000 collaborators
• Extended API limits
• Multilingual knowledge base

Freshdesk appears to offer more comprehensive features at this price point. Help Scout requires climbing up the pricing tiers for features like extensive integrations and broader support capabilities.

Gaps in Help Scout and Freshdesk:

While both platforms are strong contenders, they have limitations.

• Help Scout: API limitations and omnichannel challenges with social media replies.
• Freshdesk: Tedious email editing, inconsistent customer support experiences, and longer wait times.

Customer Support: Help Scout vs. Freshdesk

Exceptional customer support is critical, especially when onboarding new software. Help Scout consistently receives positive reviews for its customer support, while Freshdesk has experienced issues with responsiveness and problem resolution.

G2 and Capterra Ratings:

Both software solutions receive high ratings on popular review platforms:

Help Scout:

• G2: 4.5 out of 5 stars
• Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 stars

Freshdesk:

• G2: 4.3 out of 5 stars
• Capterra: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Support Capacity:

Support capacity refers to how many users or tickets a software can effectively manage.

• Help Scout: Lower tiers have limited mailboxes, requiring higher tiers for larger teams.
• Freshdesk: Offers robust support capacity with thousands of collaborators included in higher tiers.

Plan Flexibility:

Help Scout offers greater flexibility with its enterprise plan, providing unlimited capacity for larger businesses. Freshdesk's pricing tiers are more standardized, potentially limiting scalability. The choice depends on your preference: flexibility or predictable pricing.

Choosing the Best Customer Service Software:

Ultimately, the decision between Help Scout and Freshdesk depends on your specific business needs, budget, and priorities. Consider the following factors:

• Team size: Help Scout's lower tiers are ideal for small teams, while Freshdesk's Pro plan accommodates larger teams.
• Features: Freshdesk offers a broader range of features, while Help Scout emphasizes simplicity.
• Pricing: Help Scout is generally more affordable for smaller teams, but Freshdesk's pricing becomes more competitive for larger businesses.
• Customer support: Help Scout has consistently better customer support reviews than Freshdesk.
• Omnichannel needs: Freshdesk excels in omnichannel support, while Help Scout might require additional tools.

By carefully evaluating these factors, you can choose the customer service software that best empowers your business to provide exceptional customer experiences.