Comparison
FirstReply vs. Help Scout
Help Scout is the shared inbox that many small teams grow up with: email, live chat via Beacon, a Docs knowledge base and, more recently, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, with AI drafts included and AI Answers billed per resolution. FirstReply is an AI-first inbox for the same size of team, with auto replies, classification and translation included in a flat workspace price.
At a glance
Help Scout is hard to beat if you want a free plan, a public Docs site and live chat on your website. FirstReply pulls ahead when AI should do real work on every conversation, when LinkedIn and app store reviews matter, and when you would rather not pay per user and per resolution.
| Feature | FirstReply | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per workspace, flat monthly price | Per user per month |
| Starting price | $39 per month | Free for 5 users; Standard $25 per user |
| AI included | All AI features included, no usage fees | AI drafts included; AI Answers $0.75 per resolution |
| Free plan or trial | 14-day free trial | Free plan (5 users, 1 inbox) and 15-day trial |
| Best for | Small teams that want AI replies across email and social inboxes at a flat price | Teams that want a friendly email inbox with Docs and live chat |
Feature by feature
Taken from the public product and pricing pages on September 6, 2026.
| Feature | FirstReply | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Channels | ||
| Included | Included | |
| Website chat widget | Included | Included |
| Included | Included | |
| Included | Included | |
| Facebook Messenger | Included | Included |
| Included | Not included | |
| App Store and Google Play reviews | Included | Not included |
| Phone and SMS | Not included | SMS included, phone via integration |
| Slack, Teams or Discord | Not included | Slack via integration |
| AI | ||
| AI drafts and replies | Included in every plan | AI drafts included from Standard |
| Autonomous AI agent | Auto replies above a confidence threshold, no usage fee | AI Answers add-on, $0.75 per resolution |
| Automatic categorization and priority | Included | Via workflows |
| Sentiment detection | Included | Not listed |
| Translation | Built in (DeepL) | AI assist translation |
| Extra AI usage fees | None | $0.75 per AI Answers resolution |
| Knowledge base | ||
| Knowledge base for the AI | Included | Included |
| Knowledge sources synced | Notion, GitHub, GitBook, ClickUp, Monday, help desks, websites | Docs sites and website content for AI Answers |
| Public help center | Not included | Included |
| Team and workflow | ||
| Shared inbox with assignment | Included | Included |
| Internal notes | Included | Included |
| Reply templates | Included | Saved replies |
| Custom contact fields | Included | Included |
| Reporting | Included | Included |
| API and webhooks | REST API, webhooks, MCP server | REST API and webhooks, rate limits per plan |
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Per workspace, flat monthly price | Per user per month |
| Starting price | $39 per month (1 inbox, 5 team members) | Free for 5 users; Standard $25, Plus $45, Pro $75 per user |
| Seats | 5 to 25 team members included | Every user is a paid seat on paid plans |
| Free plan or trial | 14-day free trial | Free plan (5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site) and 15-day trial |
| Billing | Monthly or annual (2 months free) | Monthly or annual (annual 16% lower) |
Prices and features of Help Scout were taken from its public pricing and product pages on September 6, 2026, in USD, and may have changed since. Help Scout is a trademark of its owner; FirstReply is not affiliated with it. Spotted a mistake? Write to support@firstreply.ai. Help Scout pricing page · FirstReply pricing
Where Help Scout is strong
- A genuinely free plan for five users with one inbox and one Docs site.
- Docs, a public help center that also grounds AI Answers.
- Beacon live chat on your website, plus SMS out of the box.
- A clean, approachable interface with a long track record in small-business support.
Where FirstReply is strong
- AI auto replies above a confidence threshold, categorization, sentiment, priority and translation are included; there is no $0.75 per resolution meter.
- LinkedIn and App Store or Google Play reviews in the same inbox as email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
- Flat pricing: $39 per month for five team members instead of $125 for five Standard users.
- Knowledge sync from Notion, GitHub, GitBook, ClickUp, Monday, help desks and websites.
- Hosted in the EU with a GDPR data processing agreement included.
Which one should you choose?
Help Scout is the better fit if
You need a public help center and a website chat widget, or you are a tiny team that fits into the free plan.
FirstReply is the better fit if
You want AI to answer and sort conversations for you across email and social channels, and you prefer one workspace price to per-user seats.
Frequently asked questions
- Help Scout has a free plan. Why pay for FirstReply?
- Help Scout's free plan covers five users, one inbox and one Docs site without AI Answers. FirstReply starts at $39 per month and includes AI auto replies, drafts, categorization and translation on every conversation, so it pays for itself when AI saves the team a few hours a month.
- Does FirstReply have a public knowledge base like Docs?
- No. FirstReply keeps an internal knowledge base that feeds the AI and can sync from Notion, GitHub, GitBook, ClickUp, Monday, help desks and websites, but it does not publish a customer-facing help center.
- How do the AI features compare?
- Help Scout includes AI drafts and summaries on its paid plans and sells AI Answers, its self-service agent, at $0.75 per resolution. FirstReply includes auto replies, drafts, summaries, categorization, sentiment, priority and translation in every plan.
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