Fe/male Switch: Your Startup Facilitator & Incubator for Women

Top 10 Free Alternatives to Help Scout in 2025

As businesses continue to prioritize efficient customer support, 2025 offers a variety of powerful and free alternatives to Help Scout. Whether you are a small business or an enterprise, this article explores the top 10 free Help Scout alternatives, comparing them on key data points like pricing, features, and ideal use cases.

Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.

We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.

👉 Get featured now!

1. Zoho Desk

Free Plan: Yes, it offers a free plan for up to 3 agents.
Key Features:
Email ticketing
Knowledge management (basic)
Multilingual help desk
Canned email templates
Multi-channel support (email, web, social media)
Ideal For: Small to mid-sized businesses needing a customizable helpdesk that scales with growth.
Data Points: Free for 3 agents, multi-channel support, knowledge base, customizable helpdesk, good for growing businesses. Learn more about Zoho Desk

2. HubSpot Service Hub

Free Plan: Yes, offers a free version with limited features.
Key Features:
Ticketing system
Live chat
Basic knowledge base
Reporting and dashboards
CRM integration (part of HubSpot ecosystem)
Ideal For: Businesses already using HubSpot's CRM or those seeking tight integration between sales, marketing, and customer service.
Data Points: Free plan, CRM integrated, ticketing, live chat, knowledge base. Explore HubSpot Service Hub

Get your FREE Landing Page Analysis!

Insert your landing page link and get a super useful analysis and easy fixes to get more clicks!

👉 Get Your Analysis Here!

3. Freshdesk by Freshworks

Free Plan: Yes, offers a free plan with limited features.
Key Features:
Email ticketing
Social media integration
Knowledge base
Basic reporting
Ticket automation
Ideal For: Small to medium-sized businesses seeking a user-friendly and affordable help desk solution with essential features.
Data Points: Free plan, email ticketing, knowledge base, social media integration, suitable for SMBs. Learn more about Freshdesk

4. osTicket

Free Plan: Yes, it's a free, open-source tool.
Key Features:
Email support
Customizable queues and columns
Agent collision detection
Customer portal
Self-hosted
Ideal For: Organizations that prefer self-hosting and have the technical ability to manage an open-source system, and need a focus on email support.
Data Points: Free & open source, self-hosted, email support, customizable queues, agent collision detection. Discover osTicket

5. Hiver

Free Plan: While not entirely free, they offer a free trial and are highlighted as having a competitive pricing structure.
Key Features (Free Trial/Plan):
Email management
Live chat
Internal collaboration
Slack integration
Knowledge base
Ideal For: Teams using Gmail or Outlook who want to integrate customer support into their inbox.
Data Points: Email focused, integrates with Gmail & Outlook, offers live chat, internal collaboration features, and a knowledge base. Learn more about Hiver

Validate your startup idea with the unique borrowed authority approach: we publish articles about your product in our blog and you get traffic and testers for your MVP

Prove Market Demand: See real organic traffic and waitlist conversions

Unlock High-Potential Keywords: Receive a curated list of top-performing keywords directly from Google Search Console data.

Estimate Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Gain financial foresight with an estimated CAC based on real keyword performance data.

🔗 Start validating your startup now

6. Spiceworks

Free Plan: Yes, it is entirely free.
Key Features:
Ticketing system
Customer portal
Knowledge base
Basic workflows
Canned responses
Ideal For: Small IT teams managing internal requests, and who need a free solution.
Data Points: Free, ideal for IT teams, offers ticketing, a customer portal, knowledge base, and basic workflows. Explore Spiceworks

7. Tidio

Free Plan: Yes, offers a free plan.
Key Features:
Live chat
Ticketing system
Email Integration
Basic Analytics
Chatbots
Ideal For: Businesses needing a free, easy-to-use live chat and ticketing solution, suitable for small teams and startups.
Data Points: Free plan, live chat and ticketing, email integrations, chatbot features, best for small teams. Discover Tidio

8. Jira Service Management

Free Plan: Yes, offers a free plan for up to 3 agents.
Key Features:
Unlimited goals, projects, tasks, and forms
Reports and dashboards
Automation features
SLA management
Atlassian Community Support
Ideal For: IT teams that need deep integration with other Atlassian products and need project management with their help desk.
Data Points: Free for 3 agents, project management, reporting, automation, community support. Learn more about Jira Service Management

9. Hesk

Free Plan: Yes, it is a free self-hosted solution.
Key Features:
Shared inbox
Prioritize and categorize tickets
Saved replies
Customizable email templates
Knowledge base
Ideal For: Organizations looking for a self-hosted, basic help desk software solution, and have a focus on security.
Data Points: Free, self-hosted, shared inbox, saved replies, customizable emails, also includes knowledge base. Explore Hesk

10. UVdesk

Free Plan: Yes, open-source and free to use.
Key Features:
Knowledge base
Web widget
Email support
Custom email templates
No article limit for knowledge base
Ideal For: Businesses looking for a free, self-hosted solution with a good knowledge base feature.
Data Points: Open-source & free, knowledge base with no article limits, email support, customizable web widget and emails. Discover UVdesk

Important Considerations:

Limitations: Free plans often have limitations on the number of users, tickets, or features. Be sure to check the specific details for each tool.
Scalability: As your business grows, you may need to upgrade to a paid plan to accommodate your needs.
Self-hosted vs. Cloud-Based: Open-source options like osTicket and Hesk require you to handle hosting and maintenance, whereas others are cloud-based.
Specific Needs: Consider your specific requirements and prioritize the features that are most important to your team.

This list provides a strong starting point for finding a free Help Scout alternative in 2025. Be sure to explore each option in more detail to determine which best fits your business requirements.

Join ElonaHunt (like ProductHunt but for women) and explore the coolest women-focused startups out there!

Discover your next big inspiration and connect with like-minded female entrepreneurs!

👉 Join the Hunt Here

FAQ

1. Is there a Help Scout alternative that integrates well with a CRM?

Yes, HubSpot Service Hub offers a free version with tight integration with HubSpot's CRM, including live chat, ticketing, and a basic knowledge base. Explore HubSpot Service Hub

2. Which Help Scout alternative is best for self-hosted solutions?

osTicket is a free, open-source tool that allows you to self-host and manage your own help desk. It includes email support, customizable queues, and a customer portal. Discover osTicket

3. What free Help Scout alternative supports multilingual help desks?

Zoho Desk offers a free plan for up to 3 agents and includes multilingual help desk capabilities along with email ticketing and knowledge management. Learn more about Zoho Desk

4. Are there any Help Scout alternatives specifically designed for small IT teams?

Spiceworks is entirely free and ideal for small IT teams, offering a ticketing system, customer portal, knowledge base, basic workflows, and canned responses. Check out Spiceworks

5. Which alternative to Help Scout provides free live chat and chatbot functionality?

Tidio offers a free plan that includes live chat, ticketing system, email integration, basic analytics, and chatbots. Explore Tidio

6. What is the best Help Scout alternative with a focus on Gmail or Outlook integration?

Hiver offers features like email management, live chat, internal collaboration, and Slack integration, with a focus on integrating customer support into Gmail or Outlook. Discover Hiver

7. Which Help Scout alternative is best for project management integration?

Jira Service Management offers a free plan for up to 3 agents and includes features like project management, automation, SLA management, and integration with other Atlassian products. Learn more about Jira Service Management

8. Are there any open-source Help Scout alternatives with extensive customization?

UVdesk is an open-source and free solution with a knowledge base, web widget, email support, and customizable email templates, making it ideal for businesses looking for extensive customization. Explore UVdesk

9. What is a good Help Scout alternative for businesses needing email support and customizable workflows?

Hesk is a free, self-hosted solution offering a shared inbox, prioritized and categorized tickets, saved replies, customizable email templates, and a knowledge base. Discover Hesk

10. Is there a free Help Scout alternative that supports automation and ticketing system?

Freshdesk by Freshworks offers a free plan with email ticketing, social media integration, knowledge base, basic reporting, and ticket automation, suitable for small to medium-sized businesses. Check out Freshdesk

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.

Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).

She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.

For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.

About the Publication

Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.

Mission and Purpose

Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.

Key Features

The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:

Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials

Impact and Growth

Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:

3,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
100+ startup tools built
5,000+ pieces of articles and news written

Partnerships

Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.

Recognition

Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.

Violetta Bonenkamp

2025-08-03 16:04 Top Alternatives