Free helpdesk software plans: what each free tier includes
Evidence checked from to
Of the 11 helpdesk products we cover, 3 record a free plan: Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub and Zoho Desk. The other 8 do not list a free plan among the plans we record: eDesk, Freshdesk, Front, Gorgias, HelpDesk, Intercom, LiveAgent and Zendesk Suite. Every status, limit and price below comes from the vendor's own pricing page and help articles, with the check date shown.
Free plans side by side
| Criterion | Help Scout Free | HubSpot Service Hub Free | Zoho Desk Free |
|---|---|---|---|
| User limit | Up to 5 users. | Up to 2 users. | Up to 3 users. |
| SLA policies | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Automatic assignment | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Custom agent roles | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| SAML single sign-on | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Public knowledge base | Included | Not listed | Not listed |
| Custom reports | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Manually assign a support ticket to an agent | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Add private internal notes to a support ticket | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reuse saved replies in support emails | Included | Included | Not listed |
- Included:
- the vendor's own page names this plan for the feature.
- Not listed:
- the vendor's pricing and help pages we checked don't mention it for this plan. That doesn't mean it's missing.
What each free plan includes
Help Scout Free
Limits and seats
- User limit: Up to 5 users.
- Allowance: Up to 100 contacts a month; at the limit you can't reply until the next cycle or an upgrade.
- Allowance: 1 inbox.
- Light seats: Not available. Light users are only available on Plus and Pro.
Features the checker covers
- Included: Public knowledge base
- Not listed: SLA policies, Automatic assignment, Custom agent roles, SAML single sign-on, Custom reports
Common workflow capabilities
- Included: Reuse saved replies in support emails
- Not listed: Manually assign a support ticket to an agent, Add private internal notes to a support ticket
Limits on what is documented
- Public knowledge base: Free is limited to 1 Docs site and 10 articles.
- Public knowledge base: Private (Users-only) content is also supported; public content is the default.
- Reuse saved replies in support emails: Free is capped at 10 saved replies; Standard, Plus and Pro show Unlimited.
Worth knowing
- Docs sites: Free 1, Standard 2, Plus 3, Pro 5; Standard, Plus and Pro add sites at $20/mo.
- Free includes 5 users, 1 Inbox and 1 Docs site.
HubSpot Service Hub Free
Limits and seats
- User limit: Up to 2 users.
- Allowances: none stated on the pages we checked
- Light seats: Not stated. No View-only Seat allowance is stated for Free.
Features the checker covers
- Not listed: SLA policies, Automatic assignment, Custom agent roles, SAML single sign-on, Public knowledge base, Custom reports
Common workflow capabilities
- Included: Reuse saved replies in support emails
- Not listed: Manually assign a support ticket to an agent, Add private internal notes to a support ticket
Limits on what is documented
- Reuse saved replies in support emails: Free allows up to 3 snippets per account.
Worth knowing
- Free includes up to 2 users.
Zoho Desk Free
Limits and seats
- User limit: Up to 3 users.
- Allowances: none stated on the pages we checked
- Light seats: Not available. Light agents are not available on Free.
Features the checker covers
- Not listed: SLA policies, Automatic assignment, Custom agent roles, SAML single sign-on, Public knowledge base, Custom reports
Common workflow capabilities
- Not listed: Manually assign a support ticket to an agent, Add private internal notes to a support ticket, Reuse saved replies in support emails
Worth knowing
- Free includes three user licenses.
When you need more
The first paid plan on each pricing page, with the prices the vendor lists for it.
- Help Scout: Standard is the first paid plan on the pricing page. Billed annually: $25 per user per month. Billed monthly: $30 per user per month.
- HubSpot Service Hub: Starter is the first paid plan on the pricing page. Billed annually or monthly: price not recorded (HubSpot's Starter price card is for the Starter Customer Platform: $7 a seat a month billed annually and $10 billed monthly, discounted from $20, with no stated discount duration).
- Zoho Desk: Express is the first paid plan on the pricing page. Billed annually: $7 per user per month. Billed monthly: $9 per user per month.
Keep going
- Help Scout plans, prices and documented features
- HubSpot Service Hub plans, prices and documented features
- Zoho Desk plans, prices and documented features
- Check your own must-haves across all products
- Costs beyond the seat price: add-ons, allowances and billing rules
Sources
Help Scout
Sources · checked 8 Oct 2026
Create and manage service level agreements (SLAs) · Help Scout · checked
Help Scout pricing page · Help Scout · checked
Use routing to automatically assign conversations · Help Scout · checked
User roles and permissions · Help Scout · checked
Enable SSO in your account · Help Scout · checked
Help Scout Docs · Help Scout · checked
Reporting views · Help Scout · checked
Help Scout conversation assignment guide · Help Scout · checked
Help Scout conversation reply and note guide · Help Scout · checked
Help Scout saved email response guide · Help Scout · checked
Help Scout Free Plan · Help Scout · checked
About Light Users · Help Scout · checked
HubSpot Service Hub
Sources · checked 12 Oct 2026
HubSpot Service Hub pricing · HubSpot · checked
Set up help desk · HubSpot · checked
Set SLA goals in help desk · HubSpot · checked
Set up routing rules in the conversations inbox · HubSpot · checked
Assign and manage seats · HubSpot · checked
HubSpot Product and Services Catalog · HubSpot · checked
Route tickets in help desk · HubSpot · checked
Create and assign permission sets · HubSpot · checked
Set up single sign-on (SSO) · HubSpot · checked
Create a knowledge base · HubSpot · checked
Create and customize knowledge base articles · HubSpot · checked
Create reports with the custom report builder · HubSpot · checked
Collaborate with your team in the conversations inbox · HubSpot · checked
Overview of the conversations inbox · HubSpot · checked
Create, edit and manage notes in help desk · HubSpot · checked
Create and use snippets · HubSpot · checked
Create and use macros in help desk · HubSpot · checked
HubSpot Service Hub pricing (monthly billing view) · HubSpot · checked
HubSpot Service Hub pricing (annual billing view) · HubSpot · checked
Zoho Desk
Sources · checked 8 Oct 2026
Zoho Desk SLAs and escalations feature page · Zoho · checked
Zoho Desk plan comparison page · Zoho · checked
Zoho Desk pricing page · Zoho · checked
Zoho Desk help desk security feature page · Zoho · checked
Configure Help Center SAML · Zoho · checked
Zoho Desk knowledge base feature page · Zoho · checked
Zoho Desk reports feature page · Zoho · checked
Assign Tickets Manually · Zoho · checked
Private and Public Comments in Tickets · Zoho · checked
Zoho Desk reply editor feature page · Zoho · checked
Vendor links
Help Scout
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HubSpot Service Hub
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Zoho Desk
Direct link. We earn no commission.