What is the difference between Help Scout and Chatwoot?

Help Scout is best for Teams that want email-like support conversations, while Chatwoot is best for Teams wanting open-source customer engagement. Help Scout starts at $20/user/mo and Chatwoot starts at Free.

Is Help Scout or Chatwoot cheaper?

Help Scout starts at $20/user/mo. Chatwoot starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Help Scout?

Yes, Chatwoot offers a free tier.

Help Scout vs Chatwoot

Help Scout is help desk that feels like email — shared inboxes, knowledge base, and live chat without the ticket numbers, while Chatwoot is open-source customer engagement platform with live chat, email, social channels, and chatbots. The biggest difference up front: Chatwoot is free, while Help Scout starts at $20/user/mo. Help Scout is built for teams that want email-like support conversations, whereas Chatwoot targets teams wanting open-source customer engagement.

At a glance

	Help Scout	Chatwoot
Best for	Teams that want email-like support conversations	Teams wanting open-source customer engagement
Starting price	$20/user/mo	Free
Free tier	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Beacon	✓	—
Chatbots	—	✓
Knowledge Base	✓	—
Live Chat	—	✓
Omnichannel	—	✓
Reports	✓	—
Self-Hosted	—	✓
Shared Inbox	✓	—

Help Scout

Strengths

Includes Shared Inbox as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Includes Knowledge Base as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Pricing starts at $20/user/mo, which includes the full customer support feature set
Established product with 15+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Starts at $20/user/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Help Scout → Full review

Chatwoot

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes Live Chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Self-hosting requires Linux admin skills and ongoing server maintenance
Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation

Try Chatwoot → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Chatwoot is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Help Scout starts at $20/user/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Help Scout offers Beacon, Knowledge Base and Reports that Chatwoot lacks. Chatwoot brings Chatbots, Live Chat and Omnichannel that Help Scout does not have.

Team fit: Both tools target small teams teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Open source: Chatwoot is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Help Scout is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Help Scout's biggest strengths are: includes shared inbox as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. includes knowledge base as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. Chatwoot's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows.

Watch out for: With Help Scout, users commonly note that starts at $20/user/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users. With Chatwoot, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Help Scout if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams that want email-like support conversations
You specifically need Beacon and Knowledge Base
You care about includes knowledge base as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows

Choose Chatwoot if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting open-source customer engagement
Budget is a hard constraint — Chatwoot is free, Help Scout is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Chatbots and Live Chat
You care about includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows