Relay vs Help Scout
Email-first shared inbox with a knowledge base and chat.
Prices checked . Written by the Relay team, so check the sources below.
The short answer
Help Scout is an email-first inbox with a free plan for up to 5 users, then $25 per user per month, and AI Answers at $0.75 per resolution. Relay is chat-first, at $19 a month for 3 seats or $49 for unlimited seats, with AI included. Choose Relay if chat and a feedback board matter most and you want a flat price. Choose Help Scout if email is your main channel, or if you want a free plan, multiple inboxes or workflows.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Relay if…
- Your support is mostly website chat, with email as a second channel.
- You want one flat price, with AI answers and a feedback board included.
- You want to hear what to build next from a public board.
Choose Help Scout if…
- Email is your main support channel and you want an email-first workflow.
- You want a free plan for up to 5 users.
- You need multiple inboxes, workflows or a customer portal.
Pricing
What a team of three pays
Relay Pro
$19 /month
3 seats, flat. AI answers, the email channel and the feedback board are included.
Help Scout
$75 /month
3 × $25 Standard users. AI Answers are billed on top at $0.75 per resolution.
List prices in US dollars. Relay costs $19 a month for Pro (3 seats) or $49 a month for Team (unlimited seats), with AI answers, the email channel and the feedback board in both plans. Paying yearly gets 2 months free.
Help Scout pricing in detail
- Free: $0, up to 5 users, with 1 inbox and 1 Docs site. No AI Answers.
- Standard: $25 per user per month, up to 25 users, with multiple inboxes, live chat, SMS and basic workflows.
- Plus: $45 per user per month, up to 50 users, with advanced workflows, a secure customer portal and unlimited AI Drafts.
- Pro: $75 per user per month, unlimited users with a minimum of 10, with unlimited workflows and HIPAA compliance.
- AI Answers: $0.75 per resolution, with a 3-month free trial for new accounts. Annual billing is 16% cheaper.
Features
Relay and Help Scout, side by side
Help Scout is an email-first shared inbox with a Docs knowledge base, a Beacon widget for chat and help search, and an AI Answers add-on. It charges per user.
| Feature | Relay | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Price for a 3-person team | $19 a month, flat | $75 a month (3 × $25), before AI fees |
| How you are charged | Per plan | Per user, plus per AI resolution |
| Free plan | No free plan or trial | Up to 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site |
| AI answers | Claude answers from your help center, with citations. Included in the plan price | AI Answers, $0.75 per resolution |
| Email inbox | ||
| Live chat widget | Standard plan and up | |
| Knowledge base | Public help center, all plans | Docs, including on the free plan |
| Public feedback board | Not listed on its pricing page | |
| Multiple inboxes and workflows | Not yet | Standard plan and up |
Questions
Relay vs Help Scout: common questions
- Is Relay cheaper than Help Scout?
- For a small team, yes at list price: a 3-person team pays $19 a month on Relay Pro against $75 a month for three Help Scout Standard users, plus $0.75 per AI resolution. Help Scout's free plan for up to 5 users has no AI Answers, and Relay has no free plan. Prices checked 2026-10-02.
- Is Relay or Help Scout better for email support?
- Help Scout is built around email and has more mature email features, including multiple inboxes and workflows. Relay supports email as a channel: customer emails become conversations, replies are threaded, and unread chat replies are emailed. If email is your main channel, Help Scout is the stronger fit.
- Does Help Scout have a public feedback board?
- A public feedback board is not listed on Help Scout's pricing page. Relay includes one, with voting, comments and statuses, in both plans.
- Does Relay have a knowledge base like Help Scout Docs?
- Yes. Relay includes a public help center with search and categories on every plan, and its AI answers are drawn from those articles with citations.
- Can I sign up for Relay today?
- Yes. Create an account, name your workspace, pick a plan and pay to switch it on, then paste one script tag into your app. You can also try the live demo first, without signing up.
Sources and how we compare
Prices checked . Figures come from each vendor's own public pages, listed below, and are list prices that can change. Where a vendor's page doesn't mention a feature we write “not listed” rather than “no”. Relay is made by the team that wrote this page. If something here is out of date, tell us on the feedback board and we'll correct it.