Front vs. Help Scout

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Front
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Front is a communication hub that helps businesses keep the human touch in every interaction.
$29
per month per user
Help Scout
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Help Scout is help desk software. The vendor’s value proposition is that that their solution reduces time spent on training users because Help Scout is simple to use and set up and scales like any enterprise product. This solution includes multiple mailboxes to support as many email addresses as needed in order to work collaboratively across teams, and manage several products or brands from one account. Reports on conversation trends, team performance, productivity, and customer happiness are…
$30
per month starts with 100 contacts
Pricing
FrontHelp Scout
Editions & Modules
Starter
$29
per month per user
Growth
$79
per month per user
Scale
$99
per month (billed annually) per user
Premier
$229
per month (billed annually) per seat (50 seat minimum)
Standard
$30
per month starts with 100 contacts
Plus
$90
per month starts with 200 contacts
Company
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FrontHelp Scout
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscount for annual pricing on Starter and Growth plans. Scale and Premier plans are annual price only.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
FrontHelp Scout
Considered Both Products
Front
Chose Front
Front is cleaner from an email communication standpoint. Less details are sometimes better. Hubspot is more of a CRM and that focus is key. While Front is more of a communication channel.
Chose Front
Front was easier to have shared inbox. It also gave us more flexibility in tagging, both tagging users and tagging the emails to triage. It was also quick to set up and get users on boarded and trained. We found it was just a more intuitive and flexible system for us.
Chose Front
We switched to Front because of how simple it looked, then we realized we could tailor it to the type of business we have. I don't see us using any other tool to manage emails besides Front.

Chose Front
I have only used Gmail in the past and Front is any day better than Gmail in terms of the interface and ease of usage. The ability to send scheduling links and comments between the email threads makes it better than Gmail. The shared inbox also makes it easier for the entire …
Chose Front
Front's UX/UI is more intuitive. The work seems to flow better in their app.
Chose Front
A few features are very good in Front that are not in Outlook, like sharing draft content with teammates, commenting, read receipts, etc., which made us choose Front.
Chose Front
The tagging feature stands out. Their tagging can be quite deep and effective if it's set up properly. For example, I can pull out all the clients who [have] an issue with billing. Or better yet valued clients who [have] a specific MRR that has an issue with billing that needed …
Chose Front
Front is honestly an amazing blend of an email server and slack, as it allows for nimble, efficient, and immediate communication between team members without needing to forward a single email back-and-forth before finally responding to a client. Front also saves time when …
Chose Front
This is something I am not familiar but it seems like it is [available] in Gmail. Thus I cannot give any feedback about it. What I am sure about is Front works for our team and I see Zoom using the service in the Customer Success Organization in a long run.
Chose Front
Thanks to Front, it has allowed us to have smooth and effective internal communication between departments, attaching projects, problems, and endless files without any problem. It is allowing us to have practical and soft customer support.
Chose Front
Front is better than any other tool. It is a great app to use also because of its multipurpose features. Anyone can also use this app for your customized business needs and manage your work accordingly. I feel that Front is easy to use and it is also very user-friendly due to …
Chose Front
I love how scalable the software is. Also, Front comprises many good features that are needed for helping teams work efficiently and effectively for sales and support.
Chose Front
Front has been simple to implement and operate on our team. It is not possible to lose an email; it is impressive how it adapts better while being used daily. We can have excellent communication between colleagues, the percentage of evaluations, and changes in planned tasks …
Chose Front
Front is always getting the newest capabilities of the industry [and] is never behind. Instead, it provides you with features that [you] would not even think exist. Also, it is faster than other apps [and] takes just a moment for you to get started in your daily tasks.
Chose Front
Front was not designed as a ticketing system and doesn't have great reporting tools, but the commenting and draft features were important and other platforms' versions of these features were weak or unintuitive.

It should be noted that we ended up developing our own messaging …
Chose Front
It offered newer features and more ways to control user communication inflow, as well as team roster management. The Front app also had a presence on the app, mobile web, and web, which was helpful for on-the-go email queue management. In short, at the time we made this …
Chose Front
We have used Yesware. It's a really good lead prospecting tool, but doesn't have the shared inbox, or collaborative capabilities of Front.
Chose Front
Zendesk is by far the market leader here and offers a tremendous solution. It is, of course, very expensive -- especially if you require multi-brand support. Many of the other solutions (except Groove) offer some flavor of multi-brand support but they are not as good as …
Chose Front
We had all our leads going to a gmail account before front. Front solved so many problems that Gmail had. It was much more user friendly for somethings and it was a much more flexible software that we were able to use to meet our needs. It also has a reporting feature that …
Chose Front
Front is a flexible and quickly growing tool that integrates with almost every system we use. Front have been our go-to support system since we started and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
Help Scout
Chose Help Scout
DevRev, Fin by Intercom and HelpCrunch
Chose Help Scout
Help Scout is better for emails while Intercom is better for chats from what we found
Chose Help Scout
I also have used Zendesk previously, which is much more complicated; however, it can offer much more possibilities for customizing.
Chose Help Scout
Only have minimal experience with G-Suite for a much smaller company. This worked well for that organization but did not have similar specialization functions that suite our larger organization very well. Help Scout's pricing makes sense, and continues to service our needs …
Chose Help Scout
We primarily chose HelpScout because they were an affordable, moderately robust, HIPAA compliant solution. All the other options (e.g. Zendesk, Freshdesk, Kayako, etc.) were out of our price range or did not provide the necessary features that our team has come to rely on.
Chose Help Scout
Help Scout is a way better looking product. In the last two years they have stepped up their game. I hope to use their live chat soon. Zendesk is clunky and the user interface is terrible.
Chose Help Scout
This is tricky because there's helpdesk apps and chat apps (now Help Scout offers both).

We first used just an email inbox (of course not scalable but we were very small), then we turned to Freshdesk, which was painful to use. It had some cool features but in general it was …
Chose Help Scout
Help Scout easily plugs into Gmail and allows us to create reports based on our tagging. We found its price point for us as a nonprofit was a good fit. Customer service was also supportive. It also allows us to have an external help desk for our common questions from clients.
Chose Help Scout
We liked Help Scout better because of the help center integration and ability to split out multiple inboxes.
Chose Help Scout
They all had their positives and negatives. For us, it came down to signing a BAA (Zendesk wanted $28,000 to sign one). We enjoy working with vendors who can support healthcare initiates such as we are building.
Chose Help Scout
I've tried almost every single other live chat support tool. Most of them are easy to plug and play into the HTML page layout, but in terms of usefulness and cost, a smaller startup will always choose Help Scout no matter what. It's easily the best option for a bootstrapped …
Chose Help Scout
We did test out several other support desk tools before finally deciding to go with Help Scout. The main tipping point was the fact that Help Scout almost appeared invisible to the end user (our customer). To them, it just feels as if they are reaching someone via email, not …
Chose Help Scout
It has been an ongong debate about whether or not we should switch to Zendesk. They are all about prioritizing customers, delaying response time, and treating the customer like cattle. I'm sure we will switch someday because key heads in the company used to use it, but the …
Chose Help Scout
My team used Zendesk for years and then we switched to a lighter solution.
Features
FrontHelp Scout
Incident and problem management
Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Product A and Product B
Front
7.7
Ratings
6% below category average
Help Scout
8.6
Ratings
5% above category average
Organize and prioritize service tickets8.30 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Subscription-based notifications6.80 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Ticket creation and submission7.80 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Ticket response7.80 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Self Help Community
Comparison of Self Help Community features of Product A and Product B
Front
7.1
Ratings
12% below category average
Help Scout
8.4
Ratings
5% above category average
External knowledge base7.10 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Internal knowledge base00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Multi-Channel Help
Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Product A and Product B
Front
8.8
Ratings
10% above category average
Help Scout
8.4
Ratings
5% above category average
Customer portal8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Social integration9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Email support9.20 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Help Desk CRM integration8.40 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Best Alternatives
FrontHelp Scout
Small Businesses
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
SysAid
SysAid
Score 8.9 out of 10
SysAid
SysAid
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
FrontHelp Scout
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(0 ratings)
9.4
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
FrontHelp Scout
Likelihood to Recommend
I think Front is very useful for every company with multiple teams working together on different emails from clients. Not so useful if a lot of different teams need to work on a request at the same time, because when an email is sitting in multiple shared inboxes things can get messy. Also would not recommend for teams that work is individualized, as team work is the main point of Front.
Read full review
Small businesses that want a conversational type of customer support experience. Nothing wrong with support tickets, but it does make you feel like a number. Also, we needed to get up and running quickly so the "inbox" feel of the dashboard was already familiar with the team so they could adopt the new software quickly.
Read full review
Pros
  • I call them "sticky notes" but Front calls them Comments. It's a way to collaboratively make comments on messages sent to joint inboxes for folks to coordinate a response before it goes back to the sender.
  • When exchanging with someone using the Comments feature, someone can create a draft reply and then share it before it goes out. It also includes the typing indicator letting you know they are not just replying, but specifically working on a draft reply. These things are really great for individuals, or teams, that don't sit next to each other.
  • Tagging. It's a fairly simple concept, but very useful for classifying notes and being able to manage, what could be, a messy inbox. Additionally, the ability to have your own personal tags really allows the user to manage their own messages in a way that works best for them.
Read full review
  • Extremely simple to use and understand as a user - treats communications like human beings and provides a much more personal feel to communication (as opposed to making people feel like numbers).
  • The email newsletter.
  • They are super responsive. They are pretty rad and transparent: if something goes wrong on their end they are not afraid of admitting fault. Which leads me to trust them because I can believe them. I know that tells you very little about the product, but as leadership, that's something that I really need
  • Help Scout does exactly what it needs to (facilitate organized, efficient conversations between customers and support people) without getting in the way.
Read full review
Cons
  • Zoom Meeting Integration as there are some clients who want to have a call immediately.
  • Tagging can be improved - looks scattered.
  • Calendly Integration, they have their own calendar appointment but it would be good if I don't need to leave the front to set up [calendar] appointments.
Read full review
  • It is a bit slow sometimes, but not very often.
  • I've noticed more network errors with their server in the past year.
  • Small annoyance - they use a lot of lightbox popups and if you click outside the box all of your work is lost.
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Likelihood to Renew
We are very happy with Front and don't anticipate changing
Read full review
We are receiving feedback from the organizational level that they may want us to transition to a different solution to provide consistency across the company.
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Usability
It's very easy to understand and use by new customer support agents as well. Be it a technology, product, or marketing person, we have trained most of the company folks to read and respond to customer conversations in their free time with the help of the Front app. It is also easy to set up for an admin and manage his/her team with communication rules.
Read full review
Help Scout is a great solution for support teams. There are many articles and webinars to help you learn how to use Help Scout. There are also many features to help make your workflows easier and more efficient. I would readily recommend Help Scout to any small or medium-growing support teams.
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Support Rating
The support is good, and it's definitely prompt, but still lags when it comes to technical requirements, as I guess they are slow in developing newer features fast. So no complaints in terms of responsiveness, but yeah, at times it's not very helpful when you need certain features or are blocked on things which can't be unblocked.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
This is something I am not familiar but it seems like it is [available] in Gmail. Thus I cannot give any feedback about it. What I am sure about is Front works for our team and I see Zoom using the service in the Customer Success Organization in a long run.
Read full review
This is tricky because there's helpdesk apps and chat apps (now Help Scout offers both). We first used just an email inbox (of course not scalable but we were very small), then we turned to Freshdesk, which was painful to use. It had some cool features but in general it was ugly, slow, using the interface was very non-intuitive and the prioritization was hard. I have to say this was more than a year ago, so probably they have changed, but anyway. Zendesk is very expensive considering the features are almost the same AND the chat app needs to be paid separately. As chat we used Tawk.to, it was functional but metrics were not that good and it was buggy at times. Comparing Help Scout with their competitors, at least for us, made it a no-brainer to hire them. The price was very attractive considering the amount of features, the great support and the quality of the app. I don't regret my decision at all because Help Scout, unlike other helpdesk companies, tries to have their app "smart" and not a big, corporate thing piled with features. It does what it needs, it's easy to use and helps you achieve your goals regarding support for your customers.
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Return on Investment
  • Quality- with all the benefits given, in just matter of time, all your organization will find it familiar and less effort is needed when composing emails.
  • Effectiveness- no one wants to miss an email, or never respond to a possible customer. Front will help you that. If you do not want to send that email now, you can set a timer and Front will send it for you later on.
  • Simplicity- Front is not the most difficult app to handle, indeed, it is too easy to learn. From the first moment you will have a guided tour and will learn all the good things that it has for you.
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  • We are able to retain our customer base due to the outstanding customer service our Customer Experience department provides. Without an organized tool like Help Scout, this would not be possible. We pride ourselves in quick response times to customers and are able to do so by effectively routing tickets to the right agents.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Front Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of

Help Scout Screenshots

Screenshot of Build better relationships with your customers, and work together better as a teamScreenshot of Tools designed specifically for team collaboration on customer supportScreenshot of Docs Knowledge Base provides self-service that sets your customers up for successScreenshot of The conversation report can change the conversation with your customers from problems to praise by pinpointing what they write in about and when.Screenshot of Productivity Reports track your team's customer-helping velocity and identify sticking points to push through with even greater momentum.Screenshot of Happiness Reports are the closest you can get to your customer's true feelings without hiring a telepath.