Help ScoutUserlikeHelp Scout vs Userlike

Help Scout vs Userlike: $350 apart for five people

A shared inbox and help desk against a customer messaging platform: Help Scout is $350 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 Userlike if you are in Europe and want a German-hosted messenger with WhatsApp campaigns. For five people, Help Scout is $350 a month cheaper than Userlike ($125 a month on Help Scout against $475 on Userlike), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $80 under Help Scout. Help Scout and Userlike both include website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price; only Help Scout has email; only Userlike has Telegram. Between them Help Scout and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Help Scout and Userlike sell here at one price.

At a glanceHelp ScoutHelp ScoutUserlikeUserlike
Built aroundA calm email inbox · Beacon adds chatThe website messenger · now Lime Connect
Entry plan$25/user/mo · Standard: 2 inboxes$0 · Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations
Chat in the price$25/user/mo · Beacon on every planAbout $95/seat/mo · Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly
AI agent$0.75 per resolution · AI AnswersFrom about $108/mo · AI Agent, 100 conversations
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI inbox assistantAbout $21/seat/mo · AI Copilot
Free planYes · 5 users, 100 contacts a monthYes · 1 seat, website only

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. Userlike has no ticket queue either.

    UserlikeUserlike

    As a message in the website messenger, or from WhatsApp, in one message center. 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 $475 on Userlike.

    UserlikeUserlike

    The free plan is one seat on the website; Pro is priced per seat in euros (about $95) with a three-seat minimum. $475 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. Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats as well.

    UserlikeUserlike

    The AI Agent starts around $108 a month for 100 conversations; the AI Copilot is about $21 per seat. Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Email, Beacon chat, Messenger and SMS; no WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram in the inbox. email is here and not on Userlike.

    UserlikeUserlike

    Website messenger, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, SMS and email on Pro. Telegram is here and not on Help Scout.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    Help ScoutHelp Scout

    Docs, the knowledge base, and customer profiles with properties; no contact center or campaigns. Userlike is a customer messaging platform instead.

    UserlikeUserlike

    Live translation, video calls and WhatsApp campaigns; a German company under Lime Technologies. 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. Userlike is an hour.

    UserlikeUserlike

    An hour: paste the messenger, connect WhatsApp through their onboarding. Help Scout is an afternoon.

Sources: Help Scout pricing · Userlike 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 Userlike message center: the conversation list with channel badges and the chat
UserlikeUserlike. The Userlike message center: the conversation list with channel badges and the chat

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

Help Scout, Userlike 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 ScoutUserlikeUserlikeSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per user; extra inboxes $10; AI per resolution.
Per seat in euros; three-seat minimum
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
5 users, 1 inbox, 100 contacts a month.
1 seat, 200 conversations
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Beacon.
All plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
The core of the product.
Pro
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Included on paid plans.
Pro
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Included on paid plans.
Pro
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not a channel.
Pro
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.
AI Agent add-on
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
$0.75 per resolution.
From about $108 a month
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Hands to the inbox.
Hands to an agent
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with status; no separate ticket object.
Conversations only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Workflows; rule lists with counts per plan.
Workflows add-on
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and Happiness ratings.
Analytics on Pro
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.
  • Five people cost $350 a month less than on Userlike ($125 against $475), before AI.
  • You need email in the price, which Userlike does not include outright.

Pick Userlike if

  • You are in Europe and want a German-hosted messenger with WhatsApp campaigns.
  • Telegram and Instagram must be in the same inbox.
  • You need Telegram in the price, which Help Scout does not include outright.
  • Time to the first reply is an hour here and an afternoon on Help Scout.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Help Scout or Userlike who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $125 a month on Help Scout against $475 on Userlike for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Help Scout meters AI ($0.75 per resolution) above the seats, Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need native Windows and macOS apps and tickets raised from a chat, which neither Help Scout nor Userlike 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. Userlike: $475 a month for five (5 seats × about $95, billed yearly); 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 $430 less than Userlike 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; Userlike is a customer messaging platform built around the website messenger. Both have a free plan: Help Scout's is 5 users, 100 contacts a month, Userlike's is 1 seat, website only. Help Scout and Userlike both include website chat, WhatsApp and Instagram in the price; only Help Scout has email; only Userlike has Telegram. Between them Help Scout and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. Help Scout ($0.75 per resolution) and Userlike (from about $108/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Neither Help Scout nor Userlike has a ticket queue, and neither Help Scout nor Userlike ships a desktop app. Help Scout is an afternoon; Userlike is an hour.

What each price leaves out

Help Scout: AI Inbox assistant included; AI Answers (the chatbot) $0.75 per resolution. Userlike: AI Agent from about $108 a month for 100 conversations; AI Copilot about $21 per seat. Beside Help Scout's $0.75 per resolution and Userlike's from about $108/mo, 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
    UserlikeUserlikeSee 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
    UserlikeUserlike · 14-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 Userlike: the questions people ask

Help Scout is a shared inbox and help desk built around a calm email inbox; Userlike is a customer messaging platform built around the website messenger. Neither Help Scout nor Userlike has a ticket queue, and neither Help Scout nor Userlike ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Standard: 2 inboxes); Userlike $0 (Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations).
  • Chat in the price: Help Scout $25/user/mo (Beacon on every plan); Userlike About $95/seat/mo (Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly).
  • Sellio: all five channels on every paid plan, where Help Scout and Userlike each include only some.

Sellio's side of the Help Scout and Userlike 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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