# Free alternatives to Help Scout

> Help Scout (Standard) costs $300 a year. Free alternatives: FreeScout, Chatwoot and Zammad. Data checked 2026-10-17.

- Page: https://stoprenting.dev/apps/help-scout/
- Category: Customer Support (https://stoprenting.dev/categories/customer-support/)
- Vendor: Help Scout
- Plan: Standard
- Price: $25/month, $300/year
- Billing: per user per month, Annual toggle selected (-16%)
- Price quote from the vendor's page: "Standard $ 25 per user/mo For growing teams looking to automate more tasks and move beyond email."
- Price source: https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/ (checked 2026-10-17)

## Alternatives

### FreeScout

- Website: https://freescout.net
- Repository: https://github.com/freescout-help-desk/freescout (4,604 stars, last push 2026-10-17)
- License: AGPL-3.0
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: server app
- Linux: self-hosted server; web UI
- Self-hostable: yes
- Note: The shared inbox is free, but saved replies, reports, knowledge base and live chat are paid add-on modules.
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/freescout/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

### Chatwoot

- Website: https://www.chatwoot.com
- Repository: https://github.com/chatwoot/chatwoot (37,652 stars, last push 2026-10-17)
- License: MIT (enterprise/ proprietary)
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: server app
- Linux: self-hosted server; web UI
- Self-hostable: yes
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/chatwoot/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

### Zammad

- Website: https://zammad.org
- Repository: https://github.com/zammad/zammad (5,993 stars, last push 2026-10-16)
- License: AGPL-3.0
- Open source: yes, OSI-approved license
- Type: server app
- Linux: self-hosted server; web UI
- Self-hostable: yes
- More: https://stoprenting.dev/alternatives/zammad/
- Checked: 2026-10-17

## FAQ

### Is there a free alternative to Help Scout?

Yes. The 3 free alternatives are FreeScout (open source, AGPL-3.0), Chatwoot (open source, MIT) and Zammad (open source, AGPL-3.0).

### How much does Help Scout cost?

Help Scout's Standard plan costs $25 a month, which is $300 a year (per user per month, Annual toggle selected (-16%)). Source: the official pricing page at helpscout.com, checked Oct 17, 2026.

### Which Help Scout alternatives run on Linux?

FreeScout (self-hosted server; web UI), Chatwoot (self-hosted server; web UI) and Zammad (self-hosted server; web UI).

### Can you self-host a Help Scout alternative?

Yes. FreeScout, Chatwoot and Zammad run on your own server.

### Are these Help Scout alternatives open source?

Yes. All 3 use OSI-approved open-source licenses: FreeScout (AGPL-3.0), Chatwoot (MIT) and Zammad (AGPL-3.0).

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Source: Stop Renting (https://stoprenting.dev). Methodology: https://stoprenting.dev/methodology/