Help ScoutPure ChatHelp Scout vs Pure Chat

Help Scout vs Pure Chat: $73 apart for five people

A shared inbox and help desk against a live chat software: Pure Chat is $73 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 Pure Chat if you want cheap chat for a small team on one site with no AI. For five people, Pure Chat is $73 a month cheaper than Help Scout ($125 a month on Help Scout against $52 on Pure Chat), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $7 under Pure Chat. Help Scout and Pure Chat both include website chat in the price; only Help Scout has email, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Help Scout nor Pure Chat includes Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Help Scout and Pure Chat sell here at one price.

At a glanceHelp ScoutHelp ScoutPure ChatPure Chat
Built aroundA calm email inbox · Beacon adds chatA chat widget for small sites · operators in packs
Entry plan$25/user/mo · Standard: 2 inboxes$39/mo · Growth: 4 operators, 1 site
Chat in the price$25/user/mo · Beacon on every plan$39/mo · the whole product is chat
AI agent$0.75 per resolution · AI AnswersNone · no AI agent
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI inbox assistantNone
Free planYes · 5 users, 100 contacts a monthNone · 30-day trial of PRO

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. Pure Chat has no ticket queue either.

    Pure ChatPure Chat

    As a chat in the widget, with the visitor's page and history in the operator dashboard. Help Scout has no ticket queue either.

  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 $52 on Pure Chat.

    Pure ChatPure Chat

    $39 buys four operators on one site; PRO at $79 buys ten operators on unlimited sites, extras $8 to $13 each. $52 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. Pure Chat has no AI to bill (none) instead.

    Pure ChatPure Chat

    No AI agent or copilot; canned responses and triggers only. 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. email, WhatsApp and Instagram are here and not on Pure Chat.

    Pure ChatPure Chat

    Website chat only; no email, WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram. Help Scout adds email, WhatsApp and Instagram, which Pure Chat lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Docs, the knowledge base, and customer profiles with properties; no contact center or campaigns. Pure Chat is a live chat software instead.

    Pure ChatPure Chat

    Visitor tracking, transcripts and mobile apps. 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. Pure Chat is minutes.

    Pure ChatPure Chat

    Minutes: paste the widget. Help Scout is an afternoon.

Sources: Help Scout pricing · Pure Chat 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 Pure Chat dashboard: the visitor list and an open chat
Pure ChatPure Chat. The Pure Chat dashboard: the visitor list and an open chat

Pricing references: Help Scout pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Pure Chat pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Help Scout, Pure Chat 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 ScoutPure ChatPure ChatSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per user; extra inboxes $10; AI per resolution.
Per month with operator packs
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
5 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts a month.
None; 30-day trial
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Beacon.
The whole product
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
The core of the product.
Not offered
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.
Chats only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Workflows; rule lists with counts per plan.
Triggers only
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and Happiness ratings.
Chat reports
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile apps.
Browser and mobile
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.
  • You need email, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which Pure Chat does not include outright.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Pure Chat offers a 30-day trial of PRO.

Pick Pure Chat if

  • You want cheap chat for a small team on one site with no AI.
  • Operator packs suit you better than per-agent pricing.
  • Five people cost $73 a month less than on Help Scout ($52 against $125), before AI.
  • Time to the first reply is minutes here and an afternoon on Help Scout.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Help Scout or Pure Chat who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $125 a month on Help Scout against $52 on Pure Chat for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats, Pure Chat 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 Pure Chat 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. Pure Chat: $52 a month for five ($39 for 4 operators plus $13 for the fifth); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $80 less than Help Scout and $7 less than Pure Chat for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $155 under Help Scout.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox; Pure Chat is a live chat software built around a chat widget for small sites. Only Help Scout has a free plan (5 users, 100 contacts a month); Pure Chat offers a 30-day trial of PRO. Help Scout and Pure Chat both include website chat in the price; only Help Scout has email, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Help Scout nor Pure Chat includes Telegram outright. Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats; Pure Chat has no AI to bill (none). Neither Help Scout nor Pure Chat has a ticket queue, and neither Help Scout nor Pure Chat ships a desktop app. Help Scout is an afternoon; Pure Chat is minutes.

What each price leaves out

Help Scout: AI Inbox assistant included; AI Answers (the chatbot) $0.75 per resolution. Pure Chat: No AI agent. Beside Help Scout's $0.75 per resolution and Pure Chat'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
    Pure ChatPure ChatSee vendorNot quoted
    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
    Pure ChatPure Chat · 30-day trial of PRO
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Help Scout vs Pure Chat: the questions people ask

Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox; Pure Chat is a live chat software built around a chat widget for small sites.

  • Entry plan: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Standard: 2 inboxes); Pure Chat $39/mo (Growth: 4 operators, 1 site).
  • Chat in the price: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Beacon on every plan); Pure Chat $39/mo (the whole product is chat).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: Telegram, which neither Help Scout nor Pure Chat has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Help Scout and Pure Chat 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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