Help Scout vs LiveAgent

Help Scout and LiveAgent are both established customer support platforms with different strengths. Help Scout ($0-$75/user, G2 4.4) focuses on email-centric support with excellent team collaboration, while LiveAgent ($0-$69/agent, G2 4.5) is a traditional helpdesk offering comprehensive multi-channel support including phone, chat, and ticketing.

Both platforms serve businesses of all sizes, but Help Scout emphasizes simplicity and email workflows, while LiveAgent provides a more feature-rich, all-in-one solution with built-in phone support and live chat.

Help Scout excels in email management with features like collision detection, customer context, and seamless team collaboration through @mentions and private notes. Its interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy for teams to adopt. The platform offers solid automation and integrates well with popular business tools.

LiveAgent provides a more comprehensive feature set including built-in VoIP phone system, live chat, ticketing, and social media integration. It offers advanced automation rules, SLA management, and detailed reporting. The platform includes a customer portal and knowledge base, making it a complete helpdesk solution.

Help Scout's strength lies in its simplicity and email focus, while LiveAgent offers more channels and features out of the box, though with a steeper learning curve.

Help Scout pricing starts free for 1 user, then $20/user/month (Standard) to $75/user/month (Pro). The pricing is transparent and scales linearly with team size, but can become expensive for larger teams.

LiveAgent offers more pricing flexibility with plans from free (1 agent) to $69/agent/month (All-Inclusive). The mid-tier plans ($15-$39/agent/month) provide good value with most essential features included. LiveAgent often provides better value for teams needing phone support, as Help Scout requires third-party integrations.

For teams under 10 agents, both platforms are competitively priced. For larger teams or those needing phone support, LiveAgent typically offers better value.

Choose Help Scout if you prefer a clean, email-focused interface with excellent team collaboration and don't need built-in phone support. Choose LiveAgent if you want a comprehensive helpdesk with built-in phone system, live chat, and more traditional ticketing features.

Choose Help Scout if: You prioritize email support with clean interface, excellent team collaboration, and don't need built-in phone capabilities. It's ideal for teams that value simplicity and primarily handle email-based support.

Choose LiveAgent if: You need a comprehensive helpdesk with built-in phone system, live chat, and traditional ticketing features. It's better for teams that handle multiple support channels and want everything in one platform.

Consider Converge ($49/month flat rate, up to 15 agents) as a cost-effective alternative that eliminates per-agent pricing while providing robust multi-channel support, potentially saving thousands compared to both Help Scout and LiveAgent for growing teams.