Help Scout vs LiveAgent

Last Updated:

Our analysts compared Help Scout vs LiveAgent based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Help Desk Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Help Scout's help desk software offers a streamlined solution for businesses seeking to enhance their customer support capabilities. It's particularly well-suited for small to medium-sized teams that prioritize efficient and personalized communication. Help Scout centralizes all customer interactions, including email, live chat, and social media, into a unified inbox, enabling teams to respond promptly and effectively.

Key benefits of Help Scout include its intuitive interface, customizable automation, and reporting features. Popular features encompass shared inboxes for collaborative support, pre-built templates for faster responses, and detailed analytics for performance monitoring. Compared to other help desk software, Help Scout is known for its user-friendliness and excellent customer support. Its pricing ranges from $20 to $65 per user per month, billed annually.

read more...
LiveAgent is an online communication platform that supports personalized, multilingual customer service. It provides in-suite and standalone offerings for live chat, online self-service portals, ticket management, change and license management, and more. It offers all-in-one helpdesk support by combining all communication channels, including email, live chat, phone calls and social media, in a single company inbox.

LiveAgent offers additional services through third-party companies to provide CRM, including sales and marketing automation. Users can analyze helpdesk performance and generate multiple reports to reward high-performing support agents and track customer satisfaction.
read more...
$20 Monthly
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
$9/Agent, Monthly
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
Small 
i
Medium 
i
Large 
i
Small 
i
Medium 
i
Large 
i
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Easy Collaboration: Send private notes to teammates and discuss problems to find solutions together before replying to customers. Create a searchable library of frequently asked questions and insert them into replies in two clicks.  
  • Deliver Instant Answers: Allow customers to access knowledge base articles from anywhere on the website with Beacon (virtual agent). Embed the knowledge base content on any web page, so customers don’t waste time searching. 
  • All Time Availability: Work on any device including, desktop, mobile or tablet. Include SSL support on every site for free and offer peace of mind to customers. Allow customers to take advantage of configurable options and auto-generated sitemap for each article in knowledge base software. 
  • Easy Escalation: Allow customers to start a live chat from where they accessed the knowledge base. Direct customer support request to email queue when live chat isn’t available. Offer choice to reach out from any mode of communication that works best for them.  
read more...
  • Make Better Decisions: A range of insightful and data-driven reports summarize business aspects like accounting, inventory, employee activity and sales for performance overview and informed decision-making. 
  • Drive Profits: Improve user experience and boost retention to create fresh revenue channels with customer marketing strategies. 
  • Save Time: Improve customer support quality with over 180 features, like automated ticket distribution and callback, call routing, email notifications and IVR. Automate agent workflows using SLA rules, time and action. 
  • Respond Quickly: Improve customer engagement by reaching out faster to customer queries, with an average response time close to 30 minutes. 
read more...
  • Collision Detection: See who replies or views comments in real time. Allow users to collaborate internally via notes and @mentions. Use tagging to trigger automation and categorize conversations. Use saved answers for most common queries through two-click access. Automate all actions, create custom folders and send bulk replies.  
  • Reports and Analytics: Measure team performance, monitor customer satisfaction rates and identify issues clearly to prevent complexities and issues without opening an Excel spreadsheet. Integrate the help desk platform with services such as Snap Engage and Olarkto. Store every chat automatically in the customer's profile.  
  • Shared Inbox: Manage all support requests in a shared inbox. Get all the collaboration features such as multichannel support, notification, advanced search, mobile apps, satisfaction ratings and developer tools to stay productive and deliver world-class support. 
  • Knowledge Base: Reduce support volume by 20% and encourage fewer conversations and happier customers with easy-to-add text, hyperlinks, images, tables, and videos to articles. Customize SEO details by selecting categories and adding related units.  
  • Messages: Offer proactive support, engage leads and onboard new customers with trigger-based messages. Send SMS from any blog, website, store, or Beacon-installed app. 
  • Customer Management: List customer data, app activity and previous conversations alongside every request to deliver more personalized and faster support.  
  • Live Chat: Help customers find help center content or chat with agents easily from the same tool. Recommend resources depending on the pages clients view, so they don't waste time looking for answers. 
read more...
  • Ticketing System: Provide customer service with a centralized response system. Address inquiries from one inbox, update ticket status, gather customer data to identify and solve problems and distribute cases automatically to ensure fast resolution of queries. 
  • Call Center: Organize sales and provide support by managing customer calls on a unified platform. Connect devices, add agent phone numbers, place a call button on the website and make calls from the computer. Automate responses with IVR, route conversations to skip unnecessary waiting times, track missed calls using the callback feature and record talks without size limitations. 
  • Analytics and Reports: Get insights into the team performance, agent rankings, usage statistics, customer satisfaction ratings, SLA metrics, support channels and other key benchmarks to improve business practices, products and services. Access tag, SLA compliance, channel, department time reports. 
  • Data Protection: Enhance safety standards with help desk features to protect customer data and company practices. Ban IP addresses to limit irrelevant inquiries, enable secure login with 2-step verification, protect data between the browser and software using HTTPS encryption and store information in the data center for effective management. 
  • Gamification: Take advantage of innovative elements to increase engagement and customer retention. Use customizable badges based on the worker’s performance and benchmarks and leaderboards to showcase achievements. 
  • Customer Portal: Create product and brand-specific categories to help customers with self-service content and onboarding. Build knowledge bases using articles, guides, screenshots, videos, search widgets, suggestion forums and other problem-solving information to provide 24/7 customer support and boost website traffic. 
  • Automated Replies: Create automation rules to manage the high volume of tickets with predefined actions. Transfer tickets to departments, add tags, mark and resolve tickets with system actions and minimal guided intervention. Manage rules to organize tickets effectively, improve response time and reduce support costs. 
read more...

Product Ranking

#20

among all
Help Desk Software

#53

among all
Help Desk Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

75
83
62
83
50
66
75
67
Show More Show More
Integrations and Extensibility
Platform Security
Team Collaboration
Platform Security
Ticket Management
Integrations and Extensibility

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Help Scout
LiveAgent
+ Add Product + Add Product
Agent Productivity Call Center Management Dashboards And Reporting Email Management Live Chat Management Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Team Collaboration Ticket Management 62 50 75 66 74 83 73 85 63 83 66 67 84 84 75 82 82 94 0 25 50 75 100
50%
17%
33%
83%
0%
17%
0%
0%
100%
67%
0%
33%
67%
0%
33%
67%
0%
33%
71%
0%
29%
86%
0%
14%
64%
0%
36%
82%
0%
18%
80%
0%
20%
60%
0%
40%
71%
0%
29%
71%
4%
25%
67%
0%
33%
83%
0%
17%
53%
6%
41%
94%
0%
6%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

100%
0%
0%
84%
0%
16%
89%
0%
11%
89%
11%
0%

User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 654 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 3716 reviews
90%
of users recommend this product

Help Scout has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 90% when considering 654 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

93%
of users recommend this product

LiveAgent has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 93% when considering 3716 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

n/a
5.0 (172)
4.3 (260)
4.5 (1313)
4.67 (183)
4.68 (1174)
4.7 (168)
4.7 (995)
4.0 (43)
4.7 (62)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Help Scout and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Integrations and Extensibility. Help Scout stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award
Integrations and Extensibility Award

LiveAgent stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Intuitive Interface: User-friendly design simplifies navigation and ticket management, making it easy for support teams to get up to speed quickly.
Shared Inbox: Collaborative workspace allows multiple agents to manage tickets efficiently, ensuring seamless handoffs and faster resolution times.
Automated Workflows: Customizable automation rules streamline repetitive tasks, freeing up agents' time for more complex issues.
Powerful Search: Robust search capabilities make it easy to find specific tickets, customer information, and knowledge base articles, reducing time spent on manual searches.
Excellent Customer Support: Responsive and knowledgeable support team provides prompt assistance, ensuring a positive user experience.
Show more
Usability: 77% of users who reviewed this aspect said the software is easy to use and navigate.
Pricing: According to 82% of reviews on this element, the software offers many features at a great price.
Customer Service: The customer support channels are responsive and useful, according to 91% of users reviewing support.
Integration: 86% of users who mentioned this aspect said that the software offers multiple integrations.
Show more
Limited Customization: Help Scout offers limited customization options, which can restrict businesses from tailoring the software to their specific needs and branding.
Lack of Automation: Compared to other Help Desk Software, Help Scout lacks robust automation features, such as automated ticket assignment and escalation rules, which can hinder efficiency.
Pricing Structure: Help Scout's pricing plans can be perceived as expensive for businesses with a large number of agents or high ticket volume.
Limited Reporting Capabilities: Some users have reported that Help Scout's reporting capabilities are not as comprehensive as they would like, making it challenging to extract valuable insights and track performance.
Mobile App Limitations: The Help Scout mobile app has been criticized for its limited functionality compared to the desktop version, making it less convenient for remote or on-the-go support teams.
Show more
Mobile Application: 84% of users who reviewed the mobile app stated that the notifications, features and design could be improved.
Show more

Help Scout, a popular help desk software, has received consistent praise from users in the last year. Many users emphasize its user-friendly interface, which makes it easy to set up and use, even for those new to help desk software. The software's intuitive design and customizable features allow users to tailor it to their specific needs, making it a versatile option for businesses of all sizes. When comparing Help Scout to similar products, users often highlight its superior customer support and documentation. Help Scout's dedicated support team is highly responsive and knowledgeable, providing valuable assistance to users. Additionally, the software's comprehensive documentation and tutorials make it easy for users to find answers to their questions and troubleshoot any issues they encounter. One of the key differentiating factors of Help Scout is its focus on email support. The software seamlessly integrates with email, allowing users to manage all their customer interactions from a single platform. This streamlines communication and improves efficiency, particularly for businesses that rely heavily on email support. Overall, Help Scout is highly recommended for businesses looking for a user-friendly, customizable, and reliable help desk software. Its strengths in customer support, email integration, and intuitive design make it an excellent choice for companies of all sizes that prioritize efficient and effective customer service.

Show more

LiveAgent offers live chat and helpdesk capabilities, including advanced ticketing. Users can access and update all aspects of a given customer account. Interactive tools, automated behavior reply terminology, live queries management and intuitive onboarding are some aspects of the software that users appreciate. However, some users noted that the software is pricey and the UI is dated. They also reported issues with the payment gateway, mobile app design, service experience feedback and somewhat limited integration options, in terms of other social media and chat platforms. All things considered, LiveAgent is a decent live chat software suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Show more

Screenshots

Top Alternatives in Help Desk Software


Freshdesk

Front

Gorgias

HappyFox

HubSpot Service Hub

Intercom

Jira

Jitbit

Kayako

LiveAgent

LiveChat

Salesforce Service Cloud

ServiceNow

TeamSupport

Teamwork Desk

Vision Helpdesk

Zendesk

Zoho Desk

Related Categories

Head-to-Head Comparison

WE DISTILL IT INTO REAL REQUIREMENTS, COMPARISON REPORTS, PRICE GUIDES and more...

Compare products
Comparison Report
Just drag this link to the bookmark bar.
?
Table settings