Help Scout Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Help Scout alternatives: FreeScout, Chatwoot, Zammad, Zoho Desk and 2 more. Prices and licenses checked October 22, 2026.
•3 min read•Customer Support & Help Desk
Verdict:Help Scout is the friendliest of the big help desks, and it has a real free plan: five users, one inbox and one Docs site. If you are inside those limits, leaving does not save money. The case for moving starts when you need a second inbox or more seats: the Standard plan is $25 per user per month (the page shows a 16 percent discount for annual billing), which gets expensive for a team of ten. FreeScout is the nearest like-for-like swap. Its own site calls it a free self-hosted Help Scout alternative, it is AGPL-3.0, and it keeps the shared-mailbox feel, so agents adapt quickly. The cost is that you maintain the server, backups and mail connection. Chatwoot is better when chat and social messages matter, Zammad is better when you want structured tickets, and Zoho Desk or HubSpot Service Hub are the no-hosting free routes for tiny teams. Zendesk is on the list for the opposite situation, a team heading toward enterprise features, and its entry paid plan is cheaper per seat than Help Scout Standard. The main loss in moving is Help Scout's simplicity and its support: open-source tools rely on community help unless you pay. Test any switch by importing a month of conversations first.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreeScout | Free (free self-hosted core; you pay for your own server) | Web browser, Self-hosted | Teams that want Help Scout's feel without the seat price | Docs only |
| Chatwoot | Free (Hacker plan: 2 agents, 500 conversations/month, live chat only, 30 days retention); paid from $19 per agent/month, billed monthly (Startups) | Web browser, Self-hosted | Teams adding chat to email support | Docs only |
| Zammad | Free (open-source code is free to self-host; hosted plans have a 30-day trial); paid from EUR 7 per agent/month, billed annually (hosted Starter v2; EUR 9 monthly) | Web browser, Self-hosted | Teams needing queues and ticket states | Docs only |
| Zoho Desk | Free (3 users) | Web browser | Teams that already use Zoho apps | Docs only |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Free (free for up to 2 users, HubSpot-branded live chat and email); paid from $7 per seat/month (Starter) | Web browser | Teams wanting CRM context in support | Docs only |
| Zendesk | Paid from $19 per agent/month, billed annually (Support Team) | Web browser | Teams that expect to grow into enterprise support | Docs only |
| Freshdesk | Paid from $19 per agent/month, billed annually (Growth) | Web browser | Help Desk | Docs only |
| Front | Paid from $25 per seat/month, billed annually (Starter, up to 10 seats) | Web browser | Shared Inbox / Help Desk | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You want a free self-hosted shared inbox (FreeScout is the pick)
- Customers reach you through chat and social apps (Chatwoot is the pick)
- You need structured tickets and queues (Zammad is the pick)
- You want CRM context beside tickets (HubSpot Service Hub is the pick)
- You expect to scale into enterprise support (Zendesk is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Help Scout features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Help Scout today: Free (5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site); paid from $25 per user/month (Standard, billed monthly; annual toggle shows a discount) (Help Scout pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Why people look for Help Scout alternatives
Help Scout's Free plan allows 5 users and 100 contacts a month on one inbox. Standard is $25 per user per month, capped at 25 users and 2 inboxes, with extra inboxes at $10. Advanced workflows, a secure customer portal, round-robin routing and the Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot integrations start at Plus ($45); SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance and unlimited workflows are Pro ($75, minimum 10 users). The AI Answers add-on is metered at $0.75 per resolution.
FreeScout
Compared with Help Scout: Its own site pitches it as a free self-hosted Help Scout alternative. AGPL-3.0, shared mailbox model. You lose Help Scout's hosted polish and support, and gain no seat fees, but you run the server.
Price: Free (free self-hosted core; you pay for your own server) (FreeScout pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 4.6k GitHub stars · latest release 1.8.248 (Oct 17, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Best for: Teams that want Help Scout's feel without the seat price.
Chatwoot
Compared with Help Scout: MIT-licensed, with live chat and social channels beyond Help Scout's email focus. Less email-centric and a busier interface, but free hosted for 2 agents and self-hostable.
Price: Free (Hacker plan: 2 agents, 500 conversations/month, live chat only, 30 days retention); paid from $19 per agent/month, billed monthly (Startups) (Chatwoot pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted. MIT (repo also contains an enterprise folder) (open source).
Project activity: 38.4k GitHub stars · latest release v4.19.1 (Oct 24, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Teams adding chat to email support.
Zammad
Compared with Help Scout: AGPL-3.0 ticket system with more structure than Help Scout's inbox. Hosted from EUR 7 per agent monthly on annual billing; less simple to learn, but more ticket control and open code.
Price: Free (open-source code is free to self-host; hosted plans have a 30-day trial); paid from EUR 7 per agent/month, billed annually (hosted Starter v2; EUR 9 monthly) (Zammad pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 6k GitHub stars · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Teams needing queues and ticket states.
Worth knowing: Zammad's own self-hosted packages start at EUR 2,999 per year (Business), which buy support, not the software.
Zoho Desk
Compared with Help Scout: Free for 3 users, while Help Scout's free plan allows 5. You get a more traditional ticket system but a busier interface, so check the pricing page for paid prices in USD.
Price: Free (3 users) (Zoho Desk pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Teams that already use Zoho apps.
HubSpot Service Hub
Compared with Help Scout: Free for 2 users with HubSpot-branded chat and email, so smaller than Help Scout's free plan. In return you get a free CRM behind it, and Starter is listed at $7 per seat.
Price: Free (free for up to 2 users, HubSpot-branded live chat and email); paid from $7 per seat/month (Starter) (HubSpot Service Hub pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Teams wanting CRM context in support.
Zendesk
Compared with Help Scout: No free plan and Support Team starts at $19 per agent monthly on annual billing, lower than Help Scout's $25 Standard. You get larger app marketplace and more admin depth, but a heavier tool.
Price: Paid from $19 per agent/month, billed annually (Support Team) (Zendesk pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Teams that expect to grow into enterprise support.
Worth knowing: 14-day free trial; monthly billing is $25 per agent.
Other popular options (paid)
Freshdesk
Compared with Help Scout: Growth is $19 per agent per month billed annually, below Help Scout Standard's $25 per user, but there is no permanent free plan, only a 14-day trial, whereas Help Scout's Free covers 5 users.
Price: Paid from $19 per agent/month, billed annually (Growth) (Freshdesk pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Front
Compared with Help Scout: Starter is $25 per seat per month billed annually for up to 10 seats, the same list price as Help Scout Standard, with no free plan and a 14-day trial instead.
Price: Paid from $25 per seat/month, billed annually (Starter, up to 10 seats) (Front pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Which one to pick
- You want a free self-hosted shared inbox: FreeScout
- Customers reach you through chat and social apps: Chatwoot
- You need structured tickets and queues: Zammad
- You want CRM context beside tickets: HubSpot Service Hub
- You expect to scale into enterprise support: Zendesk
Limits of this review
Docs-only for FreeScout, Chatwoot, Zammad, Zoho Desk, HubSpot Service Hub, Zendesk: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Help Scout. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
More in Customer Support & Help Desk
All Customer Support & Help Desk alternatives →Sources
Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked 2026-10-22: Help Scout, FreeScout, Chatwoot, Zammad, Zoho Desk, HubSpot Service Hub, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Front. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.