Head-to-head · helpdesks · facts checked 13 Sept 2026
Gorgias vs Help Scout
Help Scout scores 7.8 to Gorgias's 7.6 among the helpdesks we rate, and is the better pick for 1 of the 4 kinds of buyer below.
The verdict
Help Scout wins, 7.8 to 7.6
Help Scout has a free plan for up to 100 contacts a month; Gorgias has none, starting instead at $10 a month for 50 tickets. Gorgias's AI answers in 80 languages against Help Scout's 50, and reaches more channels, including voice and SMS, which Help Scout does not offer. Help Scout counters on privacy: its AI does not absorb account data into the model, while Gorgias's own AI learns across every brand's data with no opt out. Both are SOC 2 audited and HIPAA compliant.
Pick Gorgias if you want more AI languages and voice support.
Pick Help Scout if you want to start free and keep AI off your data.
Best for
Who each one suits, decided on the criteria that matter to that buyer and the checked facts where the two differ.
Small teams on a budget
Help Scout
Gorgias 7.5 · Help Scout 8.8 on pricing
- Free plan: Help Scout yes, Gorgias no
- But Gorgias leads on monthly price, cheapest paid plan: $10 against $30
Answering customers with AI
Too close to call
Gorgias 7.2 · Help Scout 7.2 on ai that answers your customers
- Languages the AI answers in: Gorgias 80 languages, Help Scout 50 languages
Support teams on many channels
Too close to call
Gorgias 8.8 · Help Scout 8.8 on channels and running a support team
- Channels it works in: Gorgias Email, live_chat, voice, sms, whatsapp, messenger, instagram, Help Scout Email, live_chat, sms, whatsapp, instagram, messenger
Regulated industries
Gorgias
Gorgias 7.8 · Help Scout 6.5 on security and privacy
- Audit log: Gorgias yes, Help Scout no
- Choice of data region: Us, eu against Us
- But Help Scout leads on does not train AI on your data: Help Scout yes, Gorgias no
Section 01
How they score
Both are scored the same way, against the other helpdesks we rate, from facts on each vendor's own pages. Help Scout leads on 2 of 7 criteria.
AI that answers your customers25% of the score
Gorgias7.2
Help Scout7.2
Pricing20% of the score
Gorgias7.5
Help Scout8.8
Channels15% of the score
Gorgias8.0
Help Scout8.0
Security and privacy15% of the score
Gorgias7.8
Help Scout6.5
Running a support team10% of the score
Gorgias10.0
Help Scout10.0
Integrations10% of the score
Gorgias7.5
Help Scout7.5
Support and branding5% of the score
Gorgias3.8
Help Scout6.2
Section 02
Where they differ
Every point where the two vendors' published facts disagree, with a link to where each fact was read. "Not published" means the vendor does not say either way.
Audit log
Gorgias
Help Scout
No
Remove the vendor's branding
Help Scout
Gorgias
No
Published by only one of them
Free trial
Help Scout
Does not apply
Channels it works in
ISO 27001
Gorgias
Not published
Help Scout
No
Where they match (10)
What the AI learns from
Section 03
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
Gorgias
Starter
$10/mo · N/A
~50 tickets/mo helpdesk base; AI Agent add-on pay-per-resolution; unlimited agents
Starter (with ai agent)
$40/mo · N/A
~50 tickets/mo helpdesk base; AI Agent add-on pay-per-resolution; unlimited agents
Basic
$60/mo · $600/yr
~300 tickets/mo; core helpdesk + AI Agent pay-per-resolution; unlimited agents
Basic (with ai agent)
$90/mo · $924/yr
~300 tickets/mo; core helpdesk + AI Agent pay-per-resolution; unlimited agents
Pro
$360/mo · $3,600/yr
~2,000 tickets/mo; advanced automation, revenue reporting; unlimited agents
Pro (with ai agent)
$550/mo · $5,652/yr
~2,000 tickets/mo; advanced automation, revenue reporting; unlimited agents
Advanced
$900/mo · $9,000/yr
~5,000 tickets/mo; full feature set, priority support; unlimited agents
Advanced (with ai agent)
$1,430/mo · $14,724/yr
~5,000 tickets/mo; full feature set, priority support; unlimited agents
Enterprise
Custom
5,000+ tickets/mo; custom contract, dedicated support, SLA guarantees
Help Scout
Free
Free
Up to 5 users, 1 Inbox, 1 Docs site, 100 contacts/mo, 10 saved replies, 10 tags
Standard
$30/user/mo · $300/user/yr
Up to 25 users, 20 Inboxes, unlimited contacts, basic workflows, 1 SLA policy, AI Inbox assistant
Plus
$54/user/mo · $540/user/yr
Up to 50 users, 50 Inboxes, advanced workflows, 2 advanced SLA policies, unlimited AI Drafts, round robin routing, Salesforce/Jira/HubSpot
Pro
$90/user/mo · $900/user/yr
Unlimited users (min 10), unlimited Inboxes, unlimited workflows, SSO/SAML, HIPAA compliance, up to 50 light users, dedicated onboarding, strategic account manager
AI Answers
$0.75/resolution · Pre-paid discounts available
Add-on autonomous AI agent that resolves customer questions; 3-month free trial included
Section 04
Pros and cons
From each tool's full review, written from the same checked facts.
Gorgias
Pros
- Native one-click Shopify integration pulls order data, customer history, and product catalog directly into the conversation view.
- Agents can issue refunds, apply discounts, cancel orders, and initiate upsells without leaving the ticket interface.
- AI Agent 3.0 is built on an OpenAI partnership and trained on over a billion support conversations, fine-tuned specifically for ecommerce.
- The AI is positioned to drive revenue through pre-sale guidance and upsells, not just ticket deflection.
- Shopify invested directly in Gorgias, explaining the exceptional depth of the native integration.
- Serves over 17,000 ecommerce brands with a claimed 40% market share among Shopify stores.
- Omnichannel inbox consolidates support across channels with an AI layer built on top for automation.
Cons
- For non-Shopify ecommerce brands, the value proposition becomes significantly more complicated and less compelling.
- The product is narrowly purpose-built for ecommerce, making it a poor fit for general-purpose helpdesk use cases.
- The research is based on third-party reviews and vendor documentation rather than direct hands-on product testing.
- Pricing complexity may emerge at scale, as suggested by 'the math gets complicated fast' for non-Shopify users.
- Heavy reliance on AI automation may not suit brands that prefer high-touch, human-led customer support workflows.
- Peak season ticket backlogs remain a recurring complaint among operators in Shopify forums and G2 threads.
Help Scout
Pros
- The shared inbox is mature and feature-rich, including assignment, tagging, SLAs, snooze, saved replies, and workflow automation that requires no developer involvement.
- AI features are genuinely integrated rather than bolted on, with AI Answers acting as an autonomous agent inside Beacon and inbox AI handling drafting, editing, and translating.
- Help Scout has been profitable and largely bootstrapped for over a decade, resulting in deliberate, careful product decisions rather than trend-chasing.
- The platform is purpose-built for small to mid-sized support teams who need structure without the complexity of a full enterprise ticketing system.
- Custom AI training pulls from your own website or defined sources, giving teams control over the knowledge base powering automated responses.
- The Beacon chat widget, Docs knowledge base, and AI layer all sit cohesively on top of a single core inbox product, keeping the experience unified.
- With 12,000 companies using it and a founding date of 2011, Help Scout has a proven, stable track record rarely seen at this market segment.
Cons
- Help Scout is not designed for enterprise teams or solo operators, leaving those outside the small-to-mid-sized sweet spot underserved.
- AI features arrived later than at competing platforms, meaning early adopters looking for cutting-edge AI tooling may have already moved elsewhere.
- The platform deliberately avoids Zendesk-level complexity, which means teams that eventually need advanced ticketing features may outgrow it.
- The positioning as 'human-first' may translate to slower feature velocity compared to competitors more aggressively shipping new capabilities.
- The knowledge base and chat widget are add-ons layered over the inbox rather than standalone best-in-class products, which may limit flexibility.
- Being bootstrapped and independent, while a strength, can also mean fewer resources for rapid scaling or deep enterprise integrations.
Section 05
Gorgias vs Help Scout: common questions
Which is better, Gorgias or Help Scout?
Help Scout scores 7.8 and Gorgias 7.6 out of 10 among the helpdesks we rate. Help Scout is ahead on pricing and support and branding. Gorgias is ahead on security and privacy.
Is Gorgias or Help Scout cheaper?
Gorgias's cheapest paid plan is $10/mo and Help Scout's is $30/user/mo. Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
Do Gorgias and Help Scout have a free plan?
Help Scout does and Gorgias does not.
What can Gorgias do that Help Scout cannot?
On the facts both vendors publish: audit log.
What can Help Scout do that Gorgias cannot?
On the facts both vendors publish: free plan and does not train AI on your data.
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