HubSpot Service HubHelpshiftHubSpot Service Hub vs Helpshift

HubSpot Service Hub vs Helpshift: CRM-based help desk or in-app support

A CRM-based help desk against an in-app support for games and apps: one prints a price and one quotes. What decides between HubSpot Service Hub and Helpshift, 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 HubSpot Service Hub if your sales and marketing already live in HubSpot and support should share the CRM. Pick Helpshift if you ship a mobile game or app and want support inside it with device data attached. For five people it is $75 a month on HubSpot Service Hub, and a quote on Helpshift, before AI; Sellio Mini is $45 for the workspace. HubSpot Service Hub and Helpshift both include website chat and email in the price; only Helpshift has WhatsApp. Neither HubSpot Service Hub nor Helpshift includes Instagram and Telegram outright. A team of two to ten choosing between HubSpot Service Hub and Helpshift for chat and tickets at one price has a third option below.

At a glanceHubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service HubHelpshiftHelpshift
Built aroundThe CRM record · help desk on top of HubSpotIn-app support for games · SDK first
Entry plan$15/seat/mo · Starter, yearlyQuote · priced by interaction volume
Chat in the price$0 · Free tools: chat with HubSpot brandingQuote · in-app and web
AI agent$9 per 1,000 credits · 50 credits per resolutionIn the quote · AI agents by volume
Copilot for agentsBreeze · in the plansIn the quote
Free planYes · 2 users, branded chatNone · request pricing

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    As a ticket on the CRM contact, with every marketing and sales touch beside it. Helpshift raises tickets too, from in-app support for games.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    As an issue raised inside the game or app through the SDK, with device and player data attached. HubSpot Service Hub raises tickets too, from the CRM record.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    Starter is $15 a seat; Professional is $90 with a $1,500 onboarding fee, and that is where routing and SLAs start. $75 for five people; Helpshift prints no figure to set beside it.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    There is no seat price; the quote is built from interaction volume, solutions and regions. No figure for five people here; HubSpot Service Hub prints $75.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    Customer Agent costs 50 credits per resolved conversation, and credits are $9 per 1,000, so about $0.45 a resolution. Helpshift meters AI (in the quote) above the seats as well.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    AI agents are part of the modular quote, priced by the volume they handle. HubSpot Service Hub meters AI ($9 per 1,000 credits) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    Chat, email and Messenger on the lower plans; WhatsApp and calling on Professional; no Telegram. Helpshift adds WhatsApp, which HubSpot Service Hub lacks.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    In-app, web, email, WhatsApp and Discord; no Instagram or Telegram. WhatsApp is here and not on HubSpot Service Hub.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    The rest of HubSpot: marketing, sales, CMS and the shared CRM. Helpshift is an in-app support for games and apps instead.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    Player engagement, trust and safety, community, and outsourced human support. HubSpot Service Hub is a CRM-based help desk instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    An afternoon on Starter; Professional comes with a paid onboarding. Helpshift is a sales cycle, then an SDK integration by your developers.

    HelpshiftHelpshift

    A sales cycle, then an SDK integration by your developers. HubSpot Service Hub is an afternoon on Starter.

Sources: HubSpot Service Hub pricing · Helpshift 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 HubSpot help desk workspace: the ticket with the CRM contact and its timeline
HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub. The HubSpot help desk workspace: the ticket with the CRM contact and its timeline
The Helpshift agent dashboard: an in-app issue with the player's device and session data
HelpshiftHelpshift. The Helpshift agent dashboard: an in-app issue with the player's device and session data

Pricing references: HubSpot Service Hub pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13); Helpshift pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

HubSpot Service Hub, Helpshift 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.

FeatureHubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service HubHelpshiftHelpshiftSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; onboarding fees; AI by credits
Quote by interaction volume
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
2 users, HubSpot branding
None
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
All plans
In-app and web
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
Included
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Professional and up
Included
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Messenger only
Not offered
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not offered
Discord instead
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack and Teams notifications
Discord as a customer channel
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Customer Agent
AI agents in the quote
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
50 credits per resolution, $9 per 1,000
By volume, quoted
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Creates a ticket
Hands to an agent
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
On the CRM record
Issues with states
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Professional and up
Automations and bots
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports; advanced on Professional
Reporting
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

Pick HubSpot Service Hub if

  • Your sales and marketing already live in HubSpot and support should share the CRM.
  • You want an AI agent priced per resolution at under a dollar.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Helpshift offers no trial.
  • It prints its price ($75 a month for five) where Helpshift quotes.

Pick Helpshift if

  • You ship a mobile game or app and want support inside it with device data attached.
  • Discord and WhatsApp are where players write.
  • You need WhatsApp in the price, which HubSpot Service Hub does not include outright.
  • Time to the first reply is a sales cycle, then an SDK integration by your developers here and an afternoon on Starter on HubSpot Service Hub.

The third option: Sellio

  • Two to ten of you answer chat, messaging and email. Compare Sellio's workspace plans with $75 a month on HubSpot Service Hub, and a quote on Helpshift for five people, including each product's limits.
  • The AI invoice should be known in advance: HubSpot Service Hub meters AI ($9 per 1,000 credits) above the seats and Helpshift meters AI (in the quote) above the seats, where Sellio's credit is included and capped by you.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither HubSpot Service Hub nor Helpshift includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

HubSpot Service Hub on Starter: $30, $75 and $150 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Helpshift quotes per team, so two, five and ten people are three conversations with sales. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $30 less than HubSpot Service Hub and against a quote on Helpshift for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $55 under HubSpot Service Hub.

Where the two agree, and where they split

HubSpot Service Hub is a CRM-based help desk built around the CRM record; Helpshift is an in-app support for games and apps built around in-app support for games. Only HubSpot Service Hub has a free plan (2 users, branded chat); Helpshift offers no trial. HubSpot Service Hub and Helpshift both include website chat and email in the price; only Helpshift has WhatsApp. Neither HubSpot Service Hub nor Helpshift includes Instagram and Telegram outright. HubSpot Service Hub ($9 per 1,000 credits) and Helpshift (in the quote) both meter AI above the seats. HubSpot Service Hub and Helpshift both raise tickets, and neither HubSpot Service Hub nor Helpshift ships a desktop app. HubSpot Service Hub is an afternoon on Starter; Helpshift is a sales cycle, then an SDK integration by your developers.

What each price leaves out

HubSpot Service Hub: HubSpot Credits at $9 per 1,000; Customer Agent uses 50 credits per resolved conversation. Helpshift: AI agents are part of the modular quote. Beside HubSpot Service Hub's $9 per 1,000 credits and Helpshift's in the quote, 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
    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub$0.45$212
    HelpshiftHelpshiftSee 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.

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub · Free tools, no trial clock
    HelpshiftHelpshift · None; request pricing
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

HubSpot Service Hub vs Helpshift: the questions people ask

HubSpot Service Hub is a CRM-based help desk built around the CRM record; Helpshift is an in-app support for games and apps built around in-app support for games.

  • Entry plan: HubSpot Service Hub $15/seat/mo (Starter, yearly); Helpshift Quote (priced by interaction volume).
  • Chat in the price: HubSpot Service Hub $0 (Free tools: chat with HubSpot branding); Helpshift Quote (in-app and web).
  • Sellio: Instagram and Telegram, which neither HubSpot Service Hub nor Helpshift has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the HubSpot Service Hub and Helpshift 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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