CM.com vs Help Scout
Converge Team
Side-by-side comparison for 2026
| Feature | CM.com | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | From $83/seat/mo | From $45/seat/mo |
| Best For | Large enterprises and developers needing comprehensive CPaaS solutions with extensive API capabilities | Small-medium businesses wanting simple, email-focused support |
| Standout Feature | Comprehensive Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) with enterprise-grade infrastructure and extensive API capabilities | Clean, intuitive interface with excellent knowledge base |
| Free Plan | ✗ | ✓ |
| G2 Rating | 4.7/5 | 4.4/5 |
CM.com and Help Scout represent different approaches to customer communication. CM.com (Free-Custom pricing, G2 4.7) is a comprehensive CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) offering messaging, voice, and payment solutions, while Help Scout ($0-$75/user, G2 4.4) specializes in email-focused customer support with excellent team collaboration.
The choice depends on whether you need a broad communications platform or focused customer support excellence.
Feature Comparison
CM.com provides a comprehensive communications platform including SMS messaging, voice calls, WhatsApp Business, email, push notifications, and payment processing. It's designed for businesses that need to build custom communication workflows and integrate messaging into their applications.
Help Scout focuses specifically on customer support with email management, shared inboxes, customer context, collision detection, and team collaboration tools. It excels in creating efficient support workflows for teams handling customer inquiries.
The fundamental difference is scope: CM.com is a platform for building communication solutions, while Help Scout is a ready-to-use customer support application.
Pricing Comparison
CM.com offers flexible pricing starting free with pay-as-you-use models for messages, calls, and transactions. This can be cost-effective for businesses with variable communication needs but requires careful monitoring to control costs.
Help Scout uses straightforward per-user pricing from free to $75/user/month, making costs predictable and easy to budget. All features are included in the plans without usage-based charges.
CM.com is better for businesses needing flexible, scalable communication infrastructure, while Help Scout provides predictable costs for dedicated support teams.
CM.com
Pros
- ✓ Extensive channel coverage including voice and SMS
- ✓ Robust API-first architecture for developers
- ✓ Enterprise-grade infrastructure with high uptime
Cons
- ✗ Complex pricing structure with multiple add-on costs
- ✗ Steep learning curve for smaller teams
- ✗ Limited transparency in pricing details
Help Scout
Pros
- ✓ Clean, intuitive interface
- ✓ Excellent for email-based support
- ✓ Strong knowledge base features
Cons
- ✗ No native WhatsApp or Telegram
- ✗ Live chat (Beacon) is basic
- ✗ Limited automation capabilities
Verdict
Choose CM.com if you need comprehensive communications infrastructure including SMS, voice, payments, and multi-channel messaging at scale. Choose Help Scout if you prioritize email-focused customer support with excellent user experience and team collaboration.
Choose CM.com if: You need comprehensive communications infrastructure, want to build custom messaging workflows, require SMS/voice capabilities, need payment processing integration, or have developers to implement solutions.
Choose Help Scout if: You need focused customer support functionality, want excellent email management, prefer ready-to-use solutions, need team collaboration features, or want predictable per-user pricing.
For teams seeking customer support functionality without the complexity of building custom solutions, Converge at $49/month offers up to 15 agents with comprehensive support features at a simple flat rate.
Looking for more options? Browse all 750+ platform comparisons, or see all CM.com comparisons and all Help Scout comparisons.