Simple Chat vs Help Scout
App comparison
Simple Chat vs Help Scout
Help Scout is a shared inbox that behaves like email, plus a knowledge base, and teams that run support through email tend to like it for exactly that restraint. The Shopify app shows order details beside each conversation and can edit, duplicate, cancel, and refund orders from inside Help Scout, per the listing. AI features start on paid plans; the free plan includes none.
Modeled at 1,000 AI-resolved tickets / month: Simple Chat $290 vs Help Scout $75+ on published list prices.
Checked against public Shopify App Store listings and vendor pricing pages. List prices change; confirm with the vendor before you buy.
Who each one is for
Help Scout suits teams that want a calm, email-shaped inbox with a knowledge base, where AI stays optional. Simple Chat is for stores that want the AI doing the closing, in chat and email, priced by the ticket instead of the seat.
Pricing
Four tiers on the App Store: Free, then Standard at $30/month, Plus at $54, and Pro at $90, falling to $25, $45, and $75 on annual billing. Those annual numbers line up with Help Scout’s usual per-user rates. The listing also notes that external charges may be billed by Help Scout separately from your Shopify invoice.
| Line item | Help Scout | Simple Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 1 shared inbox, 1 knowledge base, no AI | Development stores free; production usage billing |
| Published paid start | $30/user/month Standard, or $25 on annual billing | $0.29 per AI resolution |
| 3 Standard users (annual) | $75/mo | $0 |
| AI | None on Free; AI Inbox assistant on Standard; unlimited AI Drafts on Plus | $0.29 per closed AI conversation |
| Modeled monthly floor | $75 for 3 Standard seats, before any usage AI product | $290 |
Three Standard seats at the App Store’s $25 annual rate make the floor. The listing gives no per-resolution AI price, so no 1,000-resolution AI total is modeled here; read the comparison as seats versus usage.
Features
Capabilities below are for a typical Shopify store. Plan, channel, and add-on limits apply. Help Scout features come from its App Store listing and public docs, not from a paid trial of every SKU.
| Feature | Simple Chat | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | ||
| Shopify Admin embedded app | YesShopify Admin app home | —External product + Shopify app |
| Shopify App Store listing | Yes | Yes |
| Built primarily for Shopify support | Yes | Yes |
| No per-seat platform fee | YesNo per-seat fee | —Seat or user pricing |
| Shopify usage billing | Yes$0.29 per AI resolution | — |
| Channels | ||
| Email shared inbox | YesSame inbox as chat | Yes |
| Live chat | Yes | YesStandard+ |
| Instagram / Messenger | — | YesStandard+ |
| — | YesPlus+ | |
| Knowledge base | PartialFAQs and policies | Yes |
| AI and Shopify work | ||
| AI inbox assistant / drafts | Yes | PartialPaid plans; Free has no AI |
| Edit, cancel, refund Shopify orders | PartialEscalate or via Shopify | YesListing: from Help Scout |
| AI address validation before changes | YesValidate, then modify | — |
| Shopify Payments chargebacks | YesAI representment drafts | — |
| Product subscriptions | YesSelling plans included | — |
| Back-in-stock alerts | YesWaitlists and restock email | — |
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Simple Chat vs Help Scout. Updated August 17, 2026.
Does Help Scout include AI on the free plan?
No. The listing’s free plan says “No AI tools included.” AI starts with the paid tiers: an AI Inbox assistant on Standard, unlimited AI Drafts on Plus. Simple Chat comes at it from the other direction. AI answering is the product, on by default in production, and the bill is per closed conversation.
What am I paying for with each product?
With Help Scout, seats: $25 per user per month on annual billing keeps the Standard inbox open whether or not anyone writes in. With Simple Chat, outcomes: $0.29 per AI-closed conversation, billed as Shopify usage, with no platform or per-seat fee, and $0 in a month where the AI closes nothing. Rates on both sides drift, so read the current listings before deciding.
Does Help Scout run inside Shopify?
It runs in its own tab; the Shopify app brings order context and actions (edit, duplicate, cancel, refund, per the listing) into each conversation. An integration can carry a lot of weight without making the product an Admin app. Simple Chat sits on the other side of that line, embedded in Shopify Admin where the orders already live.
Do chargebacks show up in either inbox?
In Simple Chat’s. Shopify Payments chargebacks are monitored, and each becomes a merchant-inbox thread with representment evidence drafted in text and PDF, waiting for review before you respond through Shopify Admin’s dispute tools. The Help Scout listing and the public docs behind this page do not describe chargeback features.
Sources and other comparisons
- Help Scout on the Shopify App Store (3.5 from 18 reviews, free plan available)
- All Simple Chat vs pages
- Three-way feature chart vs Gorgias and Intercom
- Three-way pricing chart vs Gorgias and Intercom
- Simple Chat vs Gorgias
- Simple Chat vs Tidio
- Simple Chat vs Zendesk
- Simple Chat vs Re:amaze
- Simple Chat vs Intercom
- Simple Chat vs Richpanel
Help Scout is a trademark of its owner. Simple Chat is not affiliated with Help Scout. Shopify is a trademark of Shopify Inc. Simple Chat is a third-party Shopify App Store app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Shopify. These pages compare independent App Store products and do not recommend uninstalling Shopify products such as Shopify Inbox. See shopify.com. List prices and review counts verified .