TL;DR
- Help Scout:
- $22-65/user/mo. Per-user monthly.
- FairDesk:
- $0.50-2.00/ticket. No subscription. Full features from day one.
A Help Scout alternative that charges what it costs.
Help Scout charges $22-65/user/mo. The infrastructure to run helpdesk & support — servers, APIs, storage, delivery — costs roughly $0.05/ticket. FairDesk charges $0.50-2.00/ticket. No subscription. No seat limits. No annual contract.
Why people leave Help Scout
Still per-user pricing
Limited automation on lower plans
Reporting could be more powerful
FairDesk vs Help Scout
| FairDesk | Help Scout | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Pay per use | Per-user monthly |
| Price | $0.50-2.00/ticket | $22-65/user/mo |
| Free tier | Free actions included | 15-day trial |
| Contract | None | Monthly available |
| Zero-usage month | $0 | Still charged |
| Feature gating | All features included | Some features gated |
| Infrastructure cost | $0.05/ticket | Not disclosed |
What it actually costs to run
The infrastructure cost for helpdesk & support — servers, APIs, storage, delivery — is roughly $0.05/ticket. Help Scout charges $22-65/user/mo.
Fair charges $0.50-2.00/ticket — cost plus a small margin.
When to choose which
Choose Help Scout if
Small teams wanting a simple, human-first support tool
Choose FairDesk if
You want helpdesk & support without a subscription. FairDesk charges $0.50-2.00/ticket. Use a lot? Pay a little more. Use nothing? Pay nothing. All features included from the first use.
Where Help Scout gets expensive
- Per-user model remains the industry norm
- Less feature-rich than Zendesk/Intercom
Switch from Help Scout. Keep the features. Lose the subscription.
FairDesk — $0.50-2.00/ticket. No subscription. No seat pricing. No annual contract. Your first actions are free.
Related comparisons
Fair is the anti-subscription. 13 tools, one account, pay for what you use.