Does Help Scout charge per user?

Standard, Plus, and Pro are listed per user/mo billed annually on https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/ as of October 2026. Monthly billing is higher on their toggle.

Does Xupport charge per user?

No. Workspace plans include a seat count.

Is there a Help Scout importer?

No. Forward email, paste the widget, publish articles.

Xupport has a live chat widget and a help center. It is not Beacon.

What about AI Answers vs Xupport AI?

Help Scout lists AI Answers at $0.75 per resolution. Xupport includes replies in the plan until the cap, then pauses.

Alternative

A Help Scout alternative priced per workspace

Help Scout’s public pricing is per user — Standard is $25/user/mo billed annually as of October 2026. Xupport is a workspace bill. Beacon is not a Xupport product; the widget plus help center is what exists here.

Last updated 2026-10-09.

Start a 5-day trial See pricing

Xupport inbox with numbered tickets for chat and email in one list. — The Xupport inbox. Widget, email, and form land in this list.

TL;DR

Help Scout Standard is $25 per user/mo billed annually on their public page. Xupport is not billed per user.
Help Scout’s Free plan lists 5 users, 1 Inbox, and 1 Docs site.
Ten Help Scout Standard users: 10 × US$25 = US$250/mo billed annually. Xupport Growth is US$129/mo for ten seats.

Side-by-side comparison
Topic	Xupport	Help Scout
How you pay	Workspace price. Seats included in the plan.	Per user/mo billed annually on Standard, Plus, and Pro. Free plan caps users and inboxes.
Published list price	Starter US$49/mo · Growth US$129/mo · Scale US$399/mo. Yearly is ten months at the monthly rate (US$490/yr / US$1,290/yr / US$3,990/yr).	Free (5 users, 1 Inbox, 1 Docs site) · Standard $25/user/mo billed annually · Plus $45/user/mo billed annually · Pro $75/user/mo billed annually. AI Answers $0.75/resolution.
What that buys at 10 people	Growth is US$129/mo for 10 seats and 15,000 AI replies.	Standard at 10 users is $250/mo billed annually (10 × $25), before AI Answers resolutions.
Live chat	Widget on your site. The chat is a numbered ticket in the inbox.	Live chat is listed on Standard and up.
Tickets	Every conversation is a ticket: number, status, assignee, tags, snooze, merge.	Shared inbox on their public pricing.
Email	Inbound address on every plan. Agent replies can go back out.	Email is a core channel.
Help Center	Markdown articles, categories, optional hostname, customer ticket link.	Docs sites included by plan; extra sites are billed on their page.
Slack	Several Slack channels on Growth and Scale. Settings install. Not on Starter.	Not the headline channel on their pricing page.
AI	Cites published articles or declines. 2,000 / 15,000 / 60,000 replies included. Then it pauses. No extra charge per answer.	AI Assist on paid plans; AI Answers chatbot at $0.75 per resolution.
Trial	Five days, then public channels pause until the owner subscribes.	15-day trial of Standard or Plus, no card required (their current offer).

Last verified: October 2026. Other products’ figures are their published list prices; check their sites for current terms.

Where Xupport fits as a Help Scout alternative

Move to Xupport if every widget chat should be a numbered ticket, AI is cite-or-decline with a monthly reply cap instead of per-resolution charges, and Slack is on Growth and Scale. A custom help-center hostname is in Settings, not an extra Docs site SKU.

Where Help Scout may fit better

Keep Help Scout if you want their Docs product, Beacon, or workflows as they sell them, or you already run email-first there. WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger are listed on their Standard plan; Xupport does not ship those channels.

Cost example at 10 seats (list prices only)

Help Scout Standard is listed at US$25 per user per month billed annually. Ten users: 10 × US$25 = US$250/mo at that annual list price, before AI Answers at US$0.75 per resolution. Plus is US$45/user billed annually (10 × US$45 = US$450). Pro is US$75/user billed annually (10 × US$75 = US$750).

Xupport Growth is US$129/mo for ten seats and 15,000 AI replies included.

Help Scout also lists a Free plan with 5 users. Xupport has a five-day trial, not a free forever plan.

Last verified: October 2026. Source for Help Scout: https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/. Other products’ figures are their published list prices; check their sites for current terms.

How cite-or-decline AI works

On Xupport the assistant cites published help articles or uses your handoff line. Workspace owners and admins choose whether visitors see an assistant label. Staff can see which replies the assistant wrote. Help Scout on their public pricing: AI Assist on paid plans; AI Answers chatbot at $0.75 per resolution.

Switching from Help Scout

Forward the Help Scout inbox to slug@inbound.xupport.io. Beacon does not map one-to-one; use the widget and the help center.

Create a workspace and use the five-day trial.
Forward Help Scout mail to the inbound address.
Paste the Xupport widget if you used Beacon or another chat.
Publish articles, then turn the assistant on.
Connect Slack from Settings on Growth or Scale.
There is no Help Scout importer. Recreate leftovers with the API if you must.

Questions

Common questions

Does Help Scout charge per user?: Standard, Plus, and Pro are listed per user/mo billed annually on https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/ as of October 2026. Monthly billing is higher on their toggle.
Does Xupport charge per user?: No. Workspace plans include a seat count.
Is there a Help Scout importer?: No. Forward email, paste the widget, publish articles.
Do you have Beacon?: Xupport has a live chat widget and a help center. It is not Beacon.
What about AI Answers vs Xupport AI?: Help Scout lists AI Answers at $0.75 per resolution. Xupport includes replies in the plan until the cap, then pauses.
Which plan for ten people?: Xupport Growth, US$129/mo.

Start a 5-day trial

Inbox, live chat widget, help center, and form. Public channels pause after five days until the owner subscribes.