The short answer
- Choose Help Scout if you want one of the most polished email-first helpdesks, with AI drafting already included. It is a good product.
- Choose CollieDesk if you want a price that never depends on headcount or contacts, your data in a database you control, and code you can read and fork. CollieDesk is pre-alpha; read the status table first.
Price, side by side
Help Scout prices are per user per month as shown on the pricing page on 14 October 2026. The page has a monthly/annual toggle; we could not confirm which billing cycle the shown price uses.
| Help Scout | CollieDesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free $0 (5 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts per month), Standard $25, Plus $45, Pro $75 (minimum 10 users) | $10 per workspace per month, or $100 per year. No per-agent fees. Founding customers: $100 per year, locked for life. |
| AI | AI Answers $0.75 per resolution; AI Assist, Drafts and Summarize included | Included (coming v0.3). LLM cost +30% on our key, or bring your own key. |
| API | Not on the Free plan | Same API on every install (OpenAPI contract in the repo) |
| Source code | Proprietary | Open source, AGPL-3.0. Self-host or use Cloud. |
What five agents pay
| Team | Help Scout Standard | Help Scout Plus | CollieDesk Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 agents | 5 × $25 = $125 per month + $0.75 per AI resolution | 5 × $45 = $225 per month + $0.75 per AI resolution | $10 per month + AI usage |
Trust and pricing changes
In 2025 Help Scout moved to contact-based pricing and then reversed it after customer pushback (Michael Tsai, 30 April 2025). We publish our pricing in the open and the code is AGPL-3.0: if we ever change course in a way you dislike, you can self-host the same software or fork it.
Leaving: what Help Scout gives you
- No bulk export button. Reports export without conversation threads.
- The account owner can request a CSV of customer names and emails, without history.
- The Mailbox API returns conversations with threads (pass
status=all; the default is active only). The Free plan has no API.
Your data lives in PostgreSQL. Self-hosted, you can take a database dump at any time. A Help Scout importer is on the roadmap for later.
What CollieDesk does today
| Capability | CollieDesk |
|---|---|
| Shared inbox: replies, private notes, status, priority, assignee, tags, search | Shipped v0.1 |
| Passwordless sign-in, revocable sessions, isolated workspaces | Shipped v0.1 |
| Email channel (inbound and outbound, threading) | Coming v0.2 |
| Freshdesk importer with reconcile report | Coming v0.2 |
| One-command install and published container image | Shipped |
| CollieDesk Cloud for founding customers | Coming v0.2 |
| AI draft replies, triage, auto-answer with a human in the loop | Coming v0.3 |
| Knowledge base and public help center | Coming v0.3 |
| Automations, macros, SLA, business hours, time tracking | Coming v0.4 |
| CSAT and reports | Coming v0.5 |
| Zendesk and Help Scout importers, live chat widget, MCP server | Coming later |
Sources
Read on 14 October 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before you decide.
- Help Scout pricing: helpscout.com/pricing
- Data export: docs.helpscout.com article 466
- Mailbox API and plan access: docs.helpscout.com article 1140
- 2025 pricing change: mjtsai.com (third-party account)
Questions people ask
What is a good Help Scout alternative with flat pricing?
CollieDesk Cloud is $10 per workspace per month with no per-user fees, and the open-source code (AGPL-3.0) is free to self-host. CollieDesk is pre-alpha; email arrives in v0.2.
Can I export my Help Scout conversations?
Help Scout has no full export in the app. Reports export without thread contents, and the account owner can request a CSV of customer names and emails. The Mailbox API is the only way to get conversations and threads out, and the Free plan has no API access.
How does Help Scout charge for AI?
On the pricing page read on 14 October 2026: AI Answers costs $0.75 per resolution on paid plans. AI Assist, Drafts and Summarize are listed as included.
Does CollieDesk import from Help Scout?
Not yet. The first importer is Freshdesk (coming v0.2); a Help Scout importer is on the roadmap for later.