Building a conversational relationship with leads & customers is becoming a norm in 2019. Since 2011, Helpscout is helping companies to improve their customers experience, let's have a look at what they've built and why Crisp is a good alternative to HelpScout.

Why should you use a platform like Crisp or Helpscout?

HelpScout & Crisp come from different background. At the beginning, Helpscout was "just" a system for tracking, prioritizing, and solving customer support tickets through customer email management.

Then, in 2013, stepped into the knowledge game by releasing a knowledge base software called Docs.

At the beginning, Crisp was initially just a live chat.

From then these two platforms have grown differently.They are now almost equivalent regarding their proposition value: A multichannel customer messaging platform.

Nevertheless, their different origin reflects profound differences when looking at the product. Especially the messaging part. With HelpScout, you'll have much less conversations with your customers than Crisp.

Why? Because HelpScout beacon pushes first knowledge articles rather than showing the conversation thread.

HelpScout is dedicated to help companies to deliver a great customer service with an all-in-one platform.

HelpScout is targeting the mid-upper market.

Crisp is dedicated at helping companies to humanize customers' relationship through an all-in-one customer messaging platform.

Crisp is targeting the low-mid market.

So regarding Crisp or Helpscout, you can use them for :

Gathering customers or leads data
Exchange messages on multiple channels
Support users through a knowledge base
Automate marketing & sales process
Segment user base

Globally, these applications are very useful, they allow to unload teams from inefficient actions and offer an all-in-one solution for customer success!

Through this guide, we will cover the analysis of the live chat features, the knowledge base features, and the shared inbox features. We will also explain why Crisp is a good alternative to HelpScout.

Crisp Vs Helpscout: Features comparison

First, let's have a basic look at features regarding Crisp & HelpScout. At first hand, they seem to offer some identical features.

Live Chat Software Comparison

Customization: The ability to modify the look of the chatbox regarding colors, messages and so on.
Triggers: The ability to send targeted messages from the chatbox based on user behavior regarding your website.
Saved replies: The ability to reuse templated answer to increase first response time.
Javascript API: The ability to improve customers' experience using Javascript.
Co-Browsing: The ability to assist the user while browsing your website.
Live Translate: The ability to translate automatically messages regarding customers language.
Availability: The ability to set availability regarding operators and customer support.
Chat ratings: The ability to get ratings following a conversation
Ask for email: The ability to ask for users email after the conversation has started.
Audio & Video call: The ability to start an audio or a video call from the browser without any additional plugin.
Chatbots: The ability to create chatbot scenarios with a visual chatbot builder.

Knowledge base software comparison

As mentioned earlier, Crisp and HelpScout offer a knowledge base to strengthen their customer service.

If you want to understand how we compare with other competitors, you can look at:

You can find beneath the main features Crisp and HelpScout can offer for a knowledge base:

Multilingual helpdesk: The ability to build articles and helpdesk in multilingual mode
Helpdesk feedback: The ability to get feedback and comments regarding helpdesk articles
Customizable Helpdesk: The ability to modify the helpdesk's design and attach it to a proper domain name.
WYSIWYG Editor: The ability to edit the helpdesk's articles with an enriched text editor
Categories: The ability to link articles to categories.
Statistics: The ability to have statistics upon knowledge base visits
Related articles: The ability to have related articles next to the one the users are reading
Search bar: The ability to use a search bar to look for the content that is needed

Shared inbox software comparison

Social media inbox: The ability to connect your shared inbox to multiple social media to receive and reply to messages.
Routing rules: The ability to create rules that will route conversations towards the right team.
Private Note: The ability to collaborate internally on customers' conversation
Mentions: The ability to define the availability schedule of the chatbot.
Filters: The ability to create filters to display conversations based on specific data or operators.
Knowledge base shortcuts: The ability to use specific shortcuts to send messages from the chatbox, displaying links to the knowledge base.
User details: The ability to quickly access user details inside the shared inbox.
Reminders: The ability to set reminders in each conversations.

Crisp Vs Helpscout: Price comparison

Contrary to Crisp, Helpscout doesn't offer any free plan. They price based on the number of operators that you have in your team.

But, if you want to go deeper, prices increase very fast and can be pretty much equivalent at Intercom as they bill per operator.

Helpscout pricing

For the full Helpscout suite that we reviewed, which is the equivalent of what Crisp offer, it would start at 80$/months for one agent.

That means if you want to bring your whole team, you have to add another 40$/months.

Crisp pricing

Regarding Crisp features, it would cost you 95$ / months to get an unlimited number of operators or messages or contacts.

Still wondering why you should move from HelpScout? Ask us a demo!

Crisp Vs Helpscout - Features and pricing comparison