HelpLayerCompare / Help Scout
HelpLayer vs Help Scout
Help Scout is a support platform: a shared inbox, live chat, its Docs knowledge base and an AI agent paid per resolution. HelpLayer is the help center that keeps itself up to date: when your product changes, it writes the update to the article and its video, for you to approve.
Free plan · no card needed
CHOOSE HELP SCOUT IF
You want a shared inbox, live chat and a help center in one tool, and you're happy to pay per user plus $0.75 for each question the AI resolves.
CHOOSE HELPLAYER IF
Your product changes often and your articles fall behind. You want articles, narrated videos and click-through demos that update themselves, with AI answers in one flat price.
FEATURE BY FEATURE
Where they differ
| Feature | HelpLayer | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Help center with AI answers | Free plan, then $29 a month flat (3 team members). AI answers included. | $25 per user a month (Standard, billed yearly) + $0.75 per AI resolution |
| Free plan | Yes: 1 help center, 25 articles | Yes: 5 users, 10 articles, 100 contacts a month; AI answers only in the 3-month trial |
| Keeps articles up to date | Watches GitHub and web pages, writes the update, you approve it | No: AI helps rewrite text you select, and failed searches show what's missing |
| Narrated video tutorials | Made from the article's steps, made again when they change | Embed a video |
| Click-through demos | Made from the article's steps | No |
| AI answers in your app | Widget, included | Beacon widget, $0.75 per resolution |
| Inbox, tickets, live chat | No: questions it can't answer go to your support email | Yes |
| AI assistants can read it | llms.txt and an MCP server, built in | An MCP server for your own team; no llms.txt |
| Moving your articles | From a CSV file | Zendesk articles on request; others through its API |
| Custom domain | Yes | Yes, a subdomain, at no extra charge |
WHAT IT COSTS
A team of 3, answering 1,000 questions a month
Help Scout Standard
$450 a month
3 users × $25 = $75+ 500 AI resolutions × $0.75 = $375(if the AI resolves half of them)
Includes the inbox, live chat and Beacon. AI answers are free for the first 3 months.
HelpLayer Pro
$29 a month
3 team members, 3 help centersAI answers includedvideos and demos included
No inbox: questions it can't answer go to your support email.
Help Scout prices from helpscout.com/pricing, billed yearly ($30 per user billed monthly), October 5, 2026. A resolution is a conversation the AI answers without the customer asking for more help.
WHERE HELP SCOUT IS AHEAD
- A shared inbox, live chat and channels like WhatsApp and Instagram, which HelpLayer doesn't do.
- Beacon puts the help center, AI answers, a contact form and live chat in one widget.
- Predictable AI pricing with spending caps, and three free months of AI answers.
- Mature compliance: SOC 2 Type 2, HIPAA on Pro, SSO.
WHERE HELPLAYER IS AHEAD
- Watches your code and pages, and writes the article update itself; you approve it.
- Makes the narrated video and the click-through demo from each article.
- One flat price: no per-user fee and no charge per AI answer.
- llms.txt and a public MCP server, so ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor can read your help center.
QUESTIONS
HelpLayer vs Help Scout: questions
Can HelpLayer replace Help Scout?
It can replace Help Scout's Docs and the AI answers on it. It doesn't replace the shared inbox or live chat: when HelpLayer can't answer, the question goes to your support email, which can be your Help Scout mailbox.
Can I use HelpLayer and Help Scout together?
Yes. Keep Help Scout for conversations and use HelpLayer as the help center: set its contact email to your Help Scout mailbox, and questions the AI can't answer arrive there.
How does HelpLayer know an article is out of date?
You connect an article to its sources: a GitHub repository or a web page, like your pricing page or changelog. When they change, HelpLayer works out which articles the change touches, writes the update to the text and the video, and waits for your approval.
How do I move my Help Scout articles?
Get them out with Help Scout's Docs API into a CSV file, and import the file into HelpLayer (Articles → Import CSV). Then connect your sources so they stay up to date.
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Sources, checked October 5, 2026: Help Scout pricing · Free plan · AI Answers · Custom domains · Importing · MCP. Help Scout and Beacon are trademarks of their owner. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.