Help ScoutAgileCRMHelp Scout vs AgileCRM

Help Scout vs AgileCRM: five seats for $125 or $150

A shared inbox and help desk against an all-in-one CRM with a help desk: Help Scout is $25 a month cheaper for five people. The six differences, what five people pay on each, and a third option.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick Help Scout if email is your main channel and you want the calmest inbox your agents will ever use. Pick AgileCRM if you want sales, marketing and a help desk in one cheap CRM. For five people, Help Scout is $25 a month cheaper than AgileCRM ($125 a month on Help Scout against $150 on AgileCRM), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $80 under Help Scout. Help Scout and AgileCRM both include email in the price; only Help Scout has website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Help Scout nor AgileCRM includes Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Help Scout and AgileCRM sell here at one price.

At a glanceHelp ScoutHelp ScoutAgileCRMAgileCRM
Built aroundA calm email inbox · Beacon adds chatThe CRM record · help desk is one module
Entry plan$25/user/mo · Standard: 2 inboxes$8.99/user/mo · Starter, two-year billing
Chat in the price$25/user/mo · Beacon on every planNone · no chat widget
AI agent$0.75 per resolution · AI AnswersNone · no AI agent
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI inbox assistantNone
Free planYes · 5 users, 100 contacts a monthYes · 10 users, 1,000 contacts

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    As a conversation in a shared inbox, assigned and tagged; it is email first, with Beacon chat beside it. AgileCRM raises a ticket where Help Scout keeps a conversation.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    As a help desk ticket attached to a CRM contact, beside the deals and campaigns. Help Scout has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    $25 buys two inboxes on Standard. More inboxes are $10 a month each; Pro has a ten-user minimum. $125 for five people, against $150 on AgileCRM.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    $8.99 buys sales and marketing on Starter; the help desk module starts on Regular at $29.99. $150 for five people, against $125 on Help Scout.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    AI Answers, the chatbot, is $0.75 per resolution. The AI inbox assistant is included. AgileCRM has no AI to bill (none) instead.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    No AI agent and no copilot; automation is rule-based campaign workflows. Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Email, Beacon chat, Messenger and SMS; no WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram in the inbox. website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram are here and not on AgileCRM.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    Email tickets and telephony; no live chat widget, WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram. Help Scout adds website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram, which AgileCRM lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Docs, the knowledge base, and customer profiles with properties; no contact center or campaigns. AgileCRM is an all-in-one CRM with a help desk instead.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    Sales pipeline, marketing automation, landing pages and email campaigns in one CRM. Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    An afternoon: forward the support address, add Beacon, invite the team. AgileCRM is a day.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    A day: import contacts, connect the mailbox, set up groups and canned responses. Help Scout is an afternoon.

Sources: Help Scout pricing · AgileCRM pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The Help Scout inbox: a conversation list, the email thread and the customer sidebar
Help ScoutHelp Scout. The Help Scout inbox: a conversation list, the email thread and the customer sidebar
The AgileCRM help desk: the ticket list beside the contact record
AgileCRMAgileCRM. The AgileCRM help desk: the ticket list beside the contact record

What your team would pay

Move the sliders. Yearly-billing rates from each vendor’s pricing page, next to Sellio’s plan for the same number of seats.

5 people who answer customers

50

300 AI Answers resolutions on Help Scout, AI conversations on AgileCRM

3000+
Help ScoutHelp Scout

$350/mo

Two inboxes, Beacon chat, Docs.

5 × $25 seats
$125
300 AI Answers resolutions × $0.75
$225

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. $0.75 per resolution by AI Answers, as printed. Rates recorded on 2026-09-06.

AgileCRMAgileCRM

$150/mo

Help desk, groups, canned responses.

5 × $29.99 seats
$150
300 AI conversations × $0
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. AgileCRM has no AI agent; the AI line stays at zero. Rates recorded on 2026-09-13.

Sellio · Mini

$55/mo

One price for the workspace: 3 channels, 2 AI agents, $5 AI credit a month.

Workspace, 5 of 5 seats
$45
AI past 100 included conversations
$10
Copilot for agents
Included

About $0.05 per AI conversation past the credit, with a daily and monthly cap you set. Yearly billing takes 20% off. See every plan.

Pricing references: Help Scout pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); AgileCRM pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Calculator uses yearly-billing rates. Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

5 people, website chat plus 2 more channels, 2 AI agents: $45 a month. Start free, no card.

Start freeSee every plan

Help Scout, AgileCRM and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureHelp ScoutHelp ScoutAgileCRMAgileCRMSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per user; extra inboxes $10; AI per resolution.
Per user; lowest price needs two-year billing
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
5 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts a month.
10 users, 1,000 contacts
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Beacon.
No chat widget
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
The core of the product.
Help desk on Regular and up
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Included on paid plans.
Not offered
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Included on paid plans.
Not offered
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not a channel.
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack notifications.
Not offered
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
AI Answers, trained on Docs.
None
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
$0.75 per resolution.
No AI to bill
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Hands to the inbox.
No AI to hand off from
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with status; no separate ticket object.
Groups, labels, canned responses
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Workflows; rule lists with counts per plan.
Campaign workflows and triggers
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and Happiness ratings.
Basic reports
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile apps.
Browser only
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Help Scout if

  • Email is your main channel and you want the calmest inbox your agents will ever use.
  • You want a mature knowledge base in the same product.
  • Five people cost $25 a month less than on AgileCRM ($125 against $150), before AI.
  • You need website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which AgileCRM does not include outright.

Pick AgileCRM if

  • You want sales, marketing and a help desk in one cheap CRM.
  • Support is email tickets and phone, without a chat widget.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Help Scout does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is a day here and an afternoon on Help Scout.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Help Scout or AgileCRM who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $125 a month on Help Scout against $150 on AgileCRM for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats, AgileCRM has no AI to bill (none); Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Help Scout nor AgileCRM includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Help Scout on Standard: $50, $125 and $250 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. AgileCRM on Regular: $60, $150 and $300 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $80 less than Help Scout and $105 less than AgileCRM for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $155 under Help Scout and $205 under AgileCRM.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox; AgileCRM is an all-in-one CRM with a help desk built around the CRM record. Both have a free plan: Help Scout's is 5 users, 100 contacts a month, AgileCRM's is 10 users, 1,000 contacts. Help Scout and AgileCRM both include email in the price; only Help Scout has website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Help Scout nor AgileCRM includes Telegram outright. Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats; AgileCRM has no AI to bill (none). AgileCRM has tickets and Help Scout does not, and neither Help Scout nor AgileCRM ships a desktop app. Help Scout is an afternoon; AgileCRM is a day.

What each price leaves out

Help Scout: AI Inbox assistant included; AI Answers (the chatbot) $0.75 per resolution. AgileCRM: No AI agent or copilot. Beside Help Scout's $0.75 per resolution and AgileCRM's none, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    Help ScoutHelp Scout$0.75$360
    AgileCRMAgileCRMAssumed $0$0
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    Help ScoutHelp Scout · 15 days, no card
    AgileCRMAgileCRM · Free plan, no card
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

Help Scout vs AgileCRM: the questions people ask

Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox; AgileCRM is an all-in-one CRM with a help desk built around the CRM record.

  • Entry plan: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Standard: 2 inboxes); AgileCRM $8.99/user/mo (Starter, two-year billing).
  • Chat in the price: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Beacon on every plan); AgileCRM None (no chat widget).
  • Sellio: Telegram, which neither Help Scout nor AgileCRM has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Help Scout and AgileCRM rows is on the shared inbox page.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

Get startedRead the docs

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