Why businesses are switching from HelpScout
-
High pricesExpensive for both early-stage startups and growing businesses -
Locked featuresMany useful features are only available on the highest-tier plans -
Hidden costsMany channels need paid integrations -
Hard to navigateFinding the right settings and options requires too much time -
Support challengesGetting help can require more time and follow-up than expected -
Registration issuesTrial account signup requires contacting support for approval
— Knowledge Base → Request;
— All Channels;
— Only Email;
— Only Messengers.
Additionally, User Identification is available as a modal widget that generates a unique code for identifying customers across your systems.
Focus modes help agents concentrate by showing only their own open cases and active chats. Automatic distribution respects limits you set on open cases and active chats, allowing agents to do their work with quality and peace of mind.
Redistributed cases prioritize customers who have been waiting the longest, improving response times.
In HelpScout, you must pay for administrator accounts even if they don't need access to cases.
Plans differ only in the guaranteed reaction time of our support, limits, and the ability to order paid reworks.
An agent can be added for half a day or for half a year, and the prepaid period is adjusted immediately upon adding or removing the agent.
This approach is more fair and cost-efficient than monthly or daily charges.
By using AND/OR logical operators between blocks, you can automate complex processes without the need to create numerous separate rules, making automation flexible and efficient.
For more advanced use cases, the search supports:
— Exact match using quotation marks "..."
— Partial word search with the asterisk *
— Multiple phrase search using **
— Alternative options (OR logic) using |
Results are clearly organized into separate tabs — All in one, Cases, Users, and Companies — making navigation fast and intuitive.
By clicking the gear icon, you can customize columns and reorder them with drag-and-drop, so the most important information is always front and center.
This powerful feature saves time and reduces the chance of errors during routine operations.
Majority of them connect directly to Deskie (via official APIs) and are already included in the price. If a channel implies integration with a third-party service (for example, telephony or WhatsApp), then integration on our side is free, but you have to pay for the third-party service separately.
Main Features Comparison
The key features that are most important to helpdesk users
Deskie offers a full set of channels included in the price, while in HelpScout, channel availability depends on the chosen plan and may require additional payments
✅ All channels available on any plan.
✅ Telegram connects through a Telegram bot.
✅ Custom channel connection is available on all plans.
❌ Some channels are available only on higher-tier plans.
❌ HelpScout has no direct native Telegram integration.
❌ No custom channels. Cases can be created via predefined channels only.
Deskie and HelpScout have different rule structures, which determine their capabilities
✅ The rule structure allows adding up to 5 blocks (ALL /ANY) with AND/OR operators between them.
✅ Up to 100 conditions per rule.
✅ Rules for existing cases run every 30 minutes.
❌ Rules for existing cases process cases with replies/notes in the last 30 days.
✅ Limits depend on the number of active agents and the pricing plan.
❌ Rule structure allows you to add multiple blocks with AND operators between them and OR operators within a block.
❌ Up to 30 conditions per rule.
❌ No rules for existing cases.
✅ Automations run instantly and process matched previous cases.
✅ Limits vary by plan (150 for Standard, 500 for Plus, unlimited for Pro).
Unlike HelpScout, Deskie allows setting custom agents access rights regardless of the selected pricing plan
✅ Individual agent permissions available on all plans.
✅ Create custom roles with different access levels and permissions, available on all plans.
✅ Admins who only handle setup without tickets access are free.
✅ You can add a Light Agent (€10 each) without reply permissions.
❌ Individual agent permissions on Plus and Pro plans.
❌ Teams on Plus and Pro plans restrict access only to inboxes; detailed permissions are set per user.
❌ You must pay for admin accounts even if they don’t need access to tickets.
✅ Free Light users are available on Plus and Pro plans only.
Light Agents in Help Scout have more limited functionality than in Deskie
✅ Ability to edit all case properties
✅ Ability to add or edit private notes and tag agents
✅ Ability to forward tickets
✅ Ability to export correspondence, cases/users lists
❌ No permission to create cases/users from the agent account
✅ Ability to edit users properties
✅ Ability to create and edit companies
✅ Ability to set individual access
❌ No ability to edit all case properties
✅ Ability to add or edit private notes and tag agents
✅ Ability to forward tickets
❌ No permission to export data
❌ No permission to create cases/users from the agent account
❌ No permission to edit users properties
❌ No permission to create and edit companies
✅ Ability to set individual access
Deskie and HelpScout allow managing your team's availability through agent statuses in real time, independently of working hours
✅ Ability to restrict agent access to sync/async channels.
✅ Ability to create custom statuses independently of pricing plan.
✅ Ability to limit daily time spent in statuses.
✅ Ability to restrict agent access to sync/async channels.
✅ Ability to create custom statuses independently of pricing plan.
❌ There is no option to set up time limits for statuses.
Both Deskie (Focus Modes) and HelpScout (Balanced Routing) offer functionality to limit the number of cases assigned to agents
✅ Available on all plans.
❌ Unassigned cases redistribution every 2 minutes.
✅ Set assignment limits.
❌ Available only on Pro plan.
✅ Instant automatic reassignment of unassigned tickets.
✅ Set assignment limits.
A Help Center is automatically provided when you register with Deskie and HelpScout
✅ Help center customization is available on all pricing plans.
❌ One knowledge base per account.
✅ Three-level knowledge base structure.
✅ Private knowledge base available on all plans.
✅ Ideas Channel in the Help Center.
✅ Help center customization is available on all pricing plans.
✅ Multiple knowledge bases.
✅ Three-level knowledge base structure.
❌ Private knowledge base available for Plus+.
❌ No ideas channel.
Deskie gives you the ability to set flexible working hours for your team, while HelpScout only provides a single schedule
✅ Separate schedules for groups or individual agents on all plans.
✅ Ability to set time zone.
❌ No ability to create separate schedules.
✅ Ability to set time zone.
Deskie and HelpScout implement artificial intelligence differently, but their overall capabilities are similar
✅ Available on all plans.
✅ Integration-based. No Deskie fee, direct payment to AI provider.
❌ Training the assistant requires developer involvement.
❌ Feature availability depends on the plan.
❌ Build-in feature. AI Answers chatbot: $0.75 per resolution.
✅ No need to involve developers. Learns automatically.
Full Features Comparison
Deskie and HelpScout have many features useful for helpdesk users. Let’s take a look at the differences.
Pricing Plan
per agent per month paid annually
per agent per month paid annually
min 2 agents — max 10 agents
min 1 agent — max 25 agents
min 5 agents — no upper limit
min 1 agent — max 50 agents
min 10 agents — no upper limit
min 10 agents — no upper limit
Basic
Minimum 2 agents — Maximum 10 agents
€12
€25
Standard
Minimum 5 agents — No upper limit
€20
€45
Pro
Minimum 10 agents — No upper limit
€32
€75
✅ 14-day free trial period
✅ Automatic recalculation of the paid period
✅ Pay-as-you-go service — no cancellation fees
✅ All features included in all pricing plans
✅ Remove agents any time without losing money
✅ Unlimited Light agents — €10 each
✅ 15-day free trial period
❌ No recalculation of the paid period
✅ Anytime cancellation — no extra fees
❌ Not all features are available on all plans
❌ No cost recalculation when removing agents mid-month
✅ Free Light agents can be added on Plus and pro
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