Help ScoutShopify InboxHelp Scout vs Shopify Inbox

Help Scout vs Shopify Inbox: $125 against $0 a month

A shared inbox and help desk against a free chat for Shopify stores: Shopify Inbox is $125 a month cheaper for five people. Where Help Scout and Shopify Inbox split, and a third option for small teams.

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 Shopify Inbox if you run a Shopify store and want free chat with the cart in view. For five people, Shopify Inbox is $125 a month cheaper than Help Scout ($125 a month on Help Scout against $0 on Shopify Inbox), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only Shopify Inbox's figure comes under. Help Scout and Shopify Inbox both include website chat in the price; only Help Scout has email, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Help Scout nor Shopify Inbox includes Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Help Scout against Shopify Inbox, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceHelp ScoutHelp ScoutShopify InboxShopify Inbox
Built aroundA calm email inbox · Beacon adds chatThe storefront chat · free with a Shopify plan
Entry plan$25/user/mo · Standard: 2 inboxes$0 · with any Shopify plan
Chat in the price$25/user/mo · Beacon on every plan$0 · storefront and Shop app
AI agent$0.75 per resolution · AI AnswersIncluded · AI chat from the catalog and policies
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI inbox assistantIncluded · suggested replies
Free planYes · 5 users, 100 contacts a monthYes · the app is free

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. Shopify Inbox has no ticket queue either.

    Shopify InboxShopify Inbox

    As a chat on the storefront or in the Shop app, with the cart and orders beside it. 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 $0 on Shopify Inbox.

    Shopify InboxShopify Inbox

    There is no seat price; staff are limited by the Shopify plan's staff accounts. $0 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. Shopify Inbox folds AI (included) into the plan instead.

    Shopify InboxShopify Inbox

    The AI chat learns the catalog and policies and is included; there is nothing to meter. 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 Shopify Inbox.

    Shopify InboxShopify Inbox

    Storefront chat and the Shop app; no email, WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram in the inbox. Help Scout adds email, WhatsApp and Instagram, which Shopify Inbox lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Docs, the knowledge base, and customer profiles with properties; no contact center or campaigns. Shopify Inbox is a free chat for Shopify stores instead.

    Shopify InboxShopify Inbox

    Product recommendations, discount codes and order updates inside the chat. 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. Shopify Inbox is minutes.

    Shopify InboxShopify Inbox

    Minutes: install the app from the Shopify admin. Help Scout is an afternoon.

Sources: Help Scout pricing · Shopify Inbox 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 Shopify Inbox conversation: the chat with the customer's cart and orders on the side
Shopify InboxShopify Inbox. The Shopify Inbox conversation: the chat with the customer's cart and orders on the side

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

Help Scout, Shopify Inbox 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 ScoutShopify InboxShopify InboxSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per user; extra inboxes $10; AI per resolution.
Free with Shopify
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
5 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts a month.
The whole app
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Beacon.
Storefront and Shop app
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.
No longer connected
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.
Learns the catalog
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
$0.75 per resolution.
Included
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Hands to the inbox.
Hands to staff
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.
Instant answers, greetings
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and Happiness ratings.
Assisted orders
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile apps.
Admin 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 Shopify Inbox does not include outright.
  • Time to the first reply is an afternoon here and minutes on Shopify Inbox.

Pick Shopify Inbox if

  • You run a Shopify store and want free chat with the cart in view.
  • One channel is enough and you do not need tickets.
  • Five people cost $125 a month less than on Help Scout ($0 against $125), before AI.
  • You want the AI in the seat price (included) rather than Help Scout's meter at $0.75 per resolution.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $125 a month on Help Scout against $0 on Shopify Inbox for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats, Shopify Inbox folds AI (included) into the plan, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Help Scout nor Shopify Inbox 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. Shopify Inbox: $0 a month for five (free; five staff need the Shopify plan that allows them); 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 more than Shopify Inbox's $0 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; Shopify Inbox is a free chat for Shopify stores built around the storefront chat. Both have a free plan: Help Scout's is 5 users, 100 contacts a month, Shopify Inbox's is the app is free. Help Scout and Shopify Inbox both include website chat in the price; only Help Scout has email, WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Help Scout nor Shopify Inbox includes Telegram outright. Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats; Shopify Inbox folds AI (included) into the plan. Neither Help Scout nor Shopify Inbox has a ticket queue, and neither Help Scout nor Shopify Inbox ships a desktop app. Help Scout is an afternoon; Shopify Inbox is minutes.

What each price leaves out

Help Scout: AI Inbox assistant included; AI Answers (the chatbot) $0.75 per resolution. Shopify Inbox: AI chat and suggested replies included. Beside Help Scout's $0.75 per resolution and Shopify Inbox's included, 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
    Shopify InboxShopify InboxSee 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
    Shopify InboxShopify Inbox · Not applicable; free
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Help Scout vs Shopify Inbox: the questions people ask

Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox; Shopify Inbox is a free chat for Shopify stores built around the storefront chat.

  • Entry plan: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Standard: 2 inboxes); Shopify Inbox $0 (with any Shopify plan).
  • Chat in the price: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Beacon on every plan); Shopify Inbox $0 (storefront and Shop app).
  • Sellio's inbox: Telegram, which neither Help Scout nor Shopify Inbox has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Help Scout and Shopify Inbox on the same rows.

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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