# CollieDesk vs Help Scout

> Help Scout has some of the best email UX in the category. CollieDesk is younger, open source and flat-priced. Here is where each one fits, with sources.

Source: https://colliedesk.com/vs/help-scout
Updated: 2026-10-14

## 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](https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/04/30/whither-help-scout)). 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](https://colliedesk.com/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](https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/)
- Data export: [docs.helpscout.com article 466](https://docs.helpscout.com/article/466-data-export)
- Mailbox API and plan access: [docs.helpscout.com article 1140](https://docs.helpscout.com/article/1140-mailbox-api)
- 2025 pricing change: [mjtsai.com](https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/04/30/whither-help-scout) (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.