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Help Scout vs Maxdesk (2026)

Side-by-side comparison of Help Scout vs Maxdesk: pricing, capabilities, integrations, deployment complexity, and ratings. Built from The AI Agent Index's verified listing data. Help Scout last verified September 29, 2026.

Data sourced from The AI Agent Index

Help Scout logo

Help Scout

by Help Scout

Shared-inbox help desk with live chat, a knowledge base and Compass, an AI agent billed at $0.75 per resolution. Free plan, paid plans from $25/user/mo billed annually.

freemiumSmall business
Visit Help Scout →
Maxdesk logo

Maxdesk

by MXG Infotech Pvt Ltd

Help desk with unlimited agents on every plan and two AI agents on Elite that triage email tickets and send confident replies. Free, then $20 or $99 per workspace per month (USD).

freemiumSmall business
Visit Maxdesk →
Help Scout
Maxdesk
Pricing model
freemium
freemium
Starting price
$25/mo, billed annually
$20/mo
Pricing transparency
public
mostly public
Contract type
both
both
Customer segment
Small business
Small business
Deployment
web, api
web
Setup difficulty
easy
—
Avg setup time
—
—
Editorial rating
4.1 / 5
On Our Radar
G2 rating
4.4/5 (431 reviews)
No G2 listing
MCP
Server
No
GitHub stars
N/A
N/A
Data training
Not Trained
Not Trained
Human in loop
optional
optional
Security certs
SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HIPAA
None confirmed

Capabilities

Help Scout

ticket-resolutionemail-optimizationcrm-syncreportingworkflow-builderomnichannelknowledge-basemcp-server

Maxdesk

ticket-resolutionautonomousno-codeknowledge-basereportingmultilingual

Pros & Limitations

Editorial assessment

Help Scout

Pros

  • ✓Compass answers customers on web and in-app from a team's own help content, hands off with full context, and is charged only for conversations it resolves, with a monthly spending cap.
  • ✓Every plan price is published, there is a free plan, and Standard and Plus can be tried for 15 days with no credit card.
  • ✓An official MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor read conversations, customers and Docs content with each user's own permissions.

Limitations

  • –The MCP server is read-only, so AI tools can look up support data but cannot reply to or update conversations.
  • –Compass does not answer email yet, and answering from past conversations and connected apps is listed as coming soon.
  • –Phone and SMS come through the Aircall integration rather than a built-in phone system, and SSO and HIPAA need the Pro plan.

Maxdesk

Frequently asked questions

How does pricing compare between Help Scout vs Maxdesk?

Help Scout uses a freemium model, starting at $25 per month on an annual commitment (month-to-month costs more). Maxdesk uses a freemium model, starting at $20 per month.

View full Help Scout profile

Pricing, reviews, integrations →

View full Maxdesk profile

Pricing, reviews, integrations →

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