What is the best alternative to Help Scout?

Zendesk is the top pick here for large support teams that need a wide app marketplace and enterprise-grade reporting (no free plan, only a 14-day free trial; paid Support Team from about $19 per agent per month billed annually, Suite plans from about $55 per agent per month). Compare the full shortlist below for other help desk software.

Do any Help Scout alternatives have a free plan?

Free-plan options here include none of the alternatives compared here. Compare limits before committing.

Best Help Scout alternatives (2026)

Alternatives to Help Scout include Zendesk (large support teams that need a wide app marketplace and enterprise-grade reporting), Freshdesk (small support teams wanting the Freshworks ecosystem at a lower entry price than Zendesk), Intercom (product-led companies wanting live chat, in-app messaging and an AI agent in one platform), among 3 help desk software compared here on pricing and features.

Pricing and features verified against each vendor's published information on 2026-09-17. Sources linked below.

At a glance

Tool	Free plan	Pricing from	Best for	Platforms
Zendesk	No	No free plan, only a 14-day free trial; paid Support Team from about $19 per agent per month billed annually, Suite plans from about $55 per agent per month	large support teams that need a wide app marketplace and enterprise-grade reporting	Web, iOS, Android
Freshdesk	No	No lasting free plan: the Free program now covers only 2 agents for 6 months, down from a previous 10-agent forever-free tier; paid Growth from about $19 per agent per month billed annually ($22 monthly)	small support teams wanting the Freshworks ecosystem at a lower entry price than Zendesk	Web, iOS, Android
Intercom	No	No free plan; paid Essential from about $29 per seat per month billed annually ($39 monthly), Advanced from about $85 per seat per month	product-led companies wanting live chat, in-app messaging and an AI agent in one platform	Web, iOS, Android

See the full comparison

Help Scout vs Zendesk

FAQ

What is the best alternative to Help Scout?: Zendesk is the top pick here for large support teams that need a wide app marketplace and enterprise-grade reporting (no free plan, only a 14-day free trial; paid Support Team from about $19 per agent per month billed annually, Suite plans from about $55 per agent per month). Compare the full shortlist below for other help desk software.
Do any Help Scout alternatives have a free plan?: Free-plan options here include none of the alternatives compared here. Compare limits before committing.