# A Help Scout alternative for small teams A small support team can care about every reply. If you're considering Help Scout because that matters to you, put Pipp on your shortlist too. We're building a focused shared email inbox for founders and small teams, with clear writing, careful design, and AI assistance. **The non-AI core is free forever. AI is free during beta and paid afterward.** Reserve your spot on the waitlist for our email-first beta. We're working toward welcoming as many teams as we can, with internal testing before invitations. [Join the waitlist](https://pipp.so/#waitlist) ## The short answer Help Scout is one of the closest alternatives to Pipp. Its established shared inbox serves small support teams, and its Free plan may already cover what you need. Paid plans add more workflows, reporting, channels, and AI tools. [See Help Scout's current plans][hs-pricing]. We're building for teams drawn to a more focused product: fewer decisions between opening the inbox and helping a customer, with care put into the words and screens you use every day. The non-AI core will stay free forever; AI is free during beta and paid afterward. Help Scout's published Free limits and broader tools may suit you well. If a calmer email-first approach sounds like your team, reserve a spot to try ours. ## Pipp and Help Scout at a glance | Question | Pipp | Help Scout | |---|---|---| | What is it for? | A simple shared email inbox for founders and small teams, with AI assistance | An established customer support platform built around a shared inbox | | Can I use it today? | No. We're at the waitlist stage, followed by internal testing and an invited beta | Yes. Help Scout has free and paid plans | | What channels does it cover? | Email only in v1 | Email on every plan, with broader chat and social channel support across its current offer | | How does team email work? | Our v1 scope includes shared inboxes, assignment, internal notes and team roles. We're not publicly available yet | One shared inbox for up to five users on Free; paid plans add more inboxes and deeper workflows | | What about AI? | AI assistance is part of the product direction. The first beta may open before AI is enabled | AI Inbox assistant starts on Standard, AI Drafts start on Plus, and AI Answers is available at a per-resolution price | | What does free mean? | Non-AI core free forever; AI free during beta, paid afterward. Free doesn't mean unlimited usage | Free includes five users, one inbox, one Docs site, and help for up to 100 contacts per month, plus other published limits | | What is planned next? | Chat is among the first planned features after launch, alongside broader AI assistance. No dates are promised | The wider product is already available and includes knowledge, reporting, automation, integrations, and additional channels | ## Shared email support Help Scout Free includes a shared inbox, saved replies, tags, send later, snooze, a Docs knowledge base, and reporting. Paid plans add capacity and more advanced workflows. Its [Free-plan guide][hs-free] and [plan comparison][hs-pricing] explain which tools are included. We start with the same job: helping a small team read and reply to customer emails together. Our priority is making that daily work feel clear and manageable. Our v1 scope includes assignment, internal notes and team roles. Evaluate our beta against the specific tools your team relies on. ## Pricing and limits Both products offer a free option. Help Scout publishes its plan limits today; we've committed to a free non-AI core, with AI free during beta and paid afterward. ### Help Scout pricing Help Scout's Free plan includes: - Up to five users - One shared inbox - One Docs site with up to 10 articles - Help for up to 100 contacts in each monthly cycle - Up to 10 tags and 10 saved replies - 30 days of reporting history The contact limit has a practical consequence. After a free account reaches 100 helped contacts in a monthly cycle, the team can still receive email but cannot reply until the next cycle or until it upgrades. Help Scout also adds its branding to outgoing email on the Free plan. [Source: Help Scout Free plan][hs-free]. Help Scout lists these paid monthly rates in US dollars: | Plan | Price | Published team limit | |---|---:|---:| | Standard | $25 per user per month | Up to 25 users | | Plus | $45 per user per month | Up to 50 users | | Pro | $75 per user per month | Minimum 10 users | Help Scout says annual prepayment reduces the per-user price by 16%. Extra inboxes cost $12 per month with monthly billing or $10 per month with annual prepayment. Extra Docs sites cost $24 per month with monthly billing or $20 per month with annual prepayment. [Sources: pricing][hs-pricing] and [billing guide][hs-billing]. For a three-person team on Standard, the displayed monthly rate works out to $75 per month before add-ons or AI Answers. This is an example, not a full cost estimate. The Free plan may be enough if its contact and feature limits fit. AI Answers has a three-month free trial, then costs $0.75 for each resolution. [See Help Scout AI Answers pricing][hs-pricing]. ### Pipp pricing Our non-AI core is free forever. AI is free during beta and paid afterward. We haven't set our post-beta AI price or billing model yet. Free forever doesn't mean unlimited usage. Help Scout Free may be enough for your team. Compare its published limits with your needs, and evaluate Pipp once the beta and its allowances are available. Until we've set our paid AI terms, we can't give you an all-in savings figure. ## Built around the person replying When you are building a company and answering its support email, every extra decision competes for your attention. We design for that day: a calm inbox, useful words, and a clear next step. You already have enough tabs open. We want Pipp to feel considered, from the first screen to the reply you send. AI assistance belongs in that experience, helping you give customers thoughtful answers while staying close to the conversation. That is the product we are building, and the beta is where you will be able to judge it for yourself. ## Who should consider Pipp? Pipp may fit if: - You are a solo founder or small team handling support yourselves. - Email is enough for your first support workflow. - You value a focused product with a free non-AI core and optional paid AI after beta. - You'd like to join the waitlist and judge the inbox with your own team if invited to beta. ## Who should choose or keep Help Scout? Help Scout is the better choice if: - Its Free plan fits your team and monthly contact volume. - You rely on assignments, saved replies, tags, knowledge content, reports, workflows, integrations, or formal support policies. - You need chat or social support now rather than a roadmap. - You want published plan limits and an established product before routing customer conversations through it. ## What we plan after email We're starting with email. Chat is among the first features planned after launch, alongside broader AI assistance. We have not set release dates for those additions. We're building AI assistance into Pipp. The first beta may open before AI is enabled. Any AI offered during beta will be free; after beta, AI will be paid. The non-AI core will stay free. ## Can you switch from Help Scout today? We don't yet offer a verified Help Scout importer or supported migration process. Keep Help Scout running while you evaluate the beta. Help Scout offers report exports, while fuller conversation and Docs exports use its APIs. [Its export guide explains the distinction][hs-export]. We still need to test and document what we can import and how to move open conversations before you plan a switch. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Pipp better than Help Scout? Help Scout is a strong choice when its Free limits or broader support tools fit your team. Consider Pipp if you want a focused email-first product built for founders and small teams. Reserve a spot to evaluate the beta when invitations begin. Our non-AI core is free forever; AI is free during beta and paid afterward. ### Does Help Scout have a free plan? Yes. Help Scout Free supports up to five users, one shared inbox, one Docs site, and up to 100 helped contacts per monthly cycle. It also has limits of 10 tags, 10 saved replies, 10 Docs articles, and 30 days of reporting history. When the contact limit is reached, the account can still receive email but cannot reply until the next cycle or an upgrade. ### Is Pipp free forever? Our non-AI core is free forever. AI features are free during beta and paid afterward. We haven't set our post-beta AI price yet. Free doesn't mean unlimited usage. ### Does Pipp support chat? Not in v1. We're starting with email. Chat is among the first planned features after launch, but there is no release date. Help Scout's existing chat may suit a team that relies on it. ### How does AI pricing compare? We haven't set our post-beta AI price yet. Any AI we offer during beta will be free, then paid afterward. Help Scout includes different AI inbox features on paid plans and prices AI Answers separately at $0.75 per resolution after a three-month free trial. We can't compare total costs until we've set our paid AI terms. ### Can I migrate my Help Scout inbox to Pipp? Not yet. We haven't verified an importer or a supported migration process. Keep Help Scout running while evaluating Pipp, and wait for documented migration coverage before moving live support. ### When can I try Pipp? We're at the waitlist stage. We'll test it internally before inviting beta users, and there is no confirmed invitation date. The first beta may open before AI is enabled. ## A smaller support inbox, on purpose We're building for small teams that want to care for customers without building a support operation around a large tool. Reserve a spot on the waitlist if you'd like to consider the email-first beta. The non-AI core is free forever, and AI is free during beta and paid afterward. [Join the waitlist](https://pipp.so/#waitlist) We will invite beta users after internal testing. There is no confirmed invitation date. ## Sources We publish this comparison. Pipp is a product of Telesoft AG. Product and pricing sources checked on 23 September 2026. Plans and prices can change; consult the linked sources for current terms. - [Help Scout pricing](https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/): paid plan prices and limits, channels, AI feature placement, AI Answers pricing and trial, add-on pricing, and annual discount - [Help Scout Free plan](https://docs.helpscout.com/article/1597-free-plan): free-plan features, 100-contact monthly limit, reply behavior at the limit, and email branding - [Help Scout billing and plans guide](https://docs.helpscout.com/article/596-billing-and-plans-guide): USD billing, per-user terms, monthly and annual billing, and extra inbox pricing - [Help Scout data export options](https://docs.helpscout.com/article/466-data-export-options): report exports, omitted thread contents, APIs, and customer-list export We publish this comparison. It is not an independent review, and Help Scout does not sponsor or endorse it. [hs-pricing]: https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/ [hs-free]: https://docs.helpscout.com/article/1597-free-plan [hs-billing]: https://docs.helpscout.com/article/596-billing-and-plans-guide [hs-export]: https://docs.helpscout.com/article/466-data-export-options