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TalkingDot vs Help Scout

TalkingDot vs Help Scout

Looking for a free Help Scout alternative? Here is a fair, side-by-side look at pricing and features — including when Help Scout may be the better choice for you.

Plans checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Help Scout pricing page

TalkingDot

Live chat software with a shared inbox, chatbots, AI, a help center, proactive messages and reports. Free plan with every feature, unlimited teammates and 300 conversations a month (3 months of history). Starter is $19 a month per workspace: unlimited conversations, 3 teammates and light branding. Pro is $29 a month: unlimited conversations and teammates, unlimited of history and no branding.

Price: Every feature, 300 conversations / mo; $19 or $29 / mo per workspace — not per seat
3 agents: $0 on Free (300 conversations/mo) · $19/mo on Starter (unlimited)
Teammates: unlimited
AI: an assistant that reads your website, plus live translation — with your own key
Channels: website chat, hosted chat page, email, WhatsApp and Telegram

HHelp Scout

An email-first shared inbox and help desk with live chat (Beacon), knowledge base and an outcome-priced AI agent, for small and mid-sized support teams.

Free plan: Yes, 5 users (no live chat)
Pricing: Per user, from $25 / mo
3 agents: $90 / $75 / mo
Free trial: 15 days (Standard or Plus), no credit card

Help Scout pricing

Free for up to 5 users with 1 shared email inbox, 1 knowledge base (10 articles), 100 contacts a month and 30-day reporting. No live chat, social channels or AI on Free.

Standard$25 / user / moBilled annually; $30 monthly. Live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS via integration, 2 knowledge bases.

Plus$45 / user / moBilled annually; $54 monthly. AI drafts, customer portal, native SMS, round robin.

Pro$75 / user / moBilled annually; $90 monthly. Minimum 10 users; SSO/SAML, HIPAA, unlimited workflows.

AI & automation: AI Answers chatbot add-on: $0.75 per resolution (Standard and up), with 3 months of free, unlimited resolutions for new accounts and optional spending caps.

Annual billing saves 16%. Extra inboxes $10 / mo ($12 monthly); extra knowledge-base sites $20 / mo ($24 monthly). SSO/SAML and HIPAA add-ons $100 / mo.

Channels: Email on all plans; live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger from Standard; SMS via integration on Standard, native on Plus and Pro; phone via integration (Aircall).

Prices in USD as listed on helpscout.com/pricing/, checked October 2026. Taxes may apply; prices can differ by region and change at any time.

Feature comparison

	TalkingDot	Help Scout
Free plan	Yes — every feature, 300 conversations / mo	Yes — 5 users, email only (no live chat)
Teammates on the free plan	Unlimited	5 users
Paid pricing basis	$19 or $29 / mo per workspace — not per seat	Per user per month, plus $0.75 per AI resolution
Shared inbox, assignment & teams	Yes, with macros, notes, tags, snooze and saved replies	Yes — shared inbox on all plans
Chatbot flows	Yes, included	Workflows from Standard; AI Answers chatbot add-on
AI / automation pricing	Chatbots, answer bot and an AI assistant that reads your website — with your own AI key, so no per-answer fees	AI Answers $0.75 per resolution
Help center / knowledge base	Yes, included	Yes — Free 1 site (10 articles); 2 / 3 / 5 sites on paid plans
Proactive / targeted messages	Yes, plus popups and surveys — included	Messages (targeted in-app/web messages) from Standard
REST API & webhooks	Yes, included	Yes (API rate-limit increase add-on $100 / mo)
Remove "Powered by" branding	Lighter on Starter ($19/mo), removed on Pro ($29/mo)	Chat widget branding removal not stated (unverified)
Channels	Website messenger, hosted chat page, email, WhatsApp and Telegram (your own accounts), REST API	Email on all plans; live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger from Standard; SMS via integration on Standard, native on Plus and Pro; phone via integration (Aircall).
Voice, video & screen sharing	Voice messages; no video calls or screen sharing yet	Phone through integrations (Aircall). No native video or screen sharing listed.
Mobile	Installable web app with push notifications for your team	Help Scout mobile app.
Conversation history	3 months on Free, unlimited on paid plans	Reporting history: Free 30 days, Standard 2 years, Plus and Pro all-time
Lifetime plan	Occasional lifetime deals	No
Self-hosting	Yes (plain PHP + MySQL)	No — cloud service

Sources: helpscout.com/pricing/ · helpscout.com/page-data/pricing/page-data.json

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When TalkingDot is a good fit

You want every feature on a free plan — and one flat price for the whole team when you outgrow it ($19 or $29/mo), not a bill per seat.
You want website chat, email, WhatsApp and Telegram in one shared inbox, with live translation.
You want an AI assistant on your own API key: you pay the provider for what you use, no per-resolution fees.
You want a REST API, webhooks, popups and a help center without upgrading — and the option to self-host.

When Help Scout may suit you better

Your support is mostly email and you want a calm shared inbox with a strong knowledge base.
You want an AI agent billed only when it resolves a conversation ($0.75).

Switching from Help Scout

1
Create a workspace
Sign up free and customize the messenger to match your brand.
2
Import your history
Settings → Import history brings your Help Scout conversations, contacts, tags and ratings across — read-only on the Help Scout side. How it works.
3
Swap the snippet
Replace the old chat snippet with yours. If you used a JavaScript API, see the JavaScript API.