Comparison

Help Scout vs ThriveDesk

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Help Scout

Manage customer support requests efficiently from your mobile device. This app allows you to access mailboxes, handle conversations, and reply to customers with saved responses. Stay connected with your team and improve customer relationships on the go.

Highlights
  • Access all mailboxes
  • Handle assigned conversations
  • Reply with saved replies
  • Apply tags to conversations
  • Add notes to conversations
  • Change conversation status
  • Assign conversations (Plus Plan)
Features
Read full description

Help Scout's iOS app gives you powerful customer support software in your pocket so you can quickly assist customers from wherever you are. Keep your finger (literally) on the pulse of what's happening with your customers, collaborate remotely, and put the life back into work-life balance — all without compromising your customers’ experience. Build stronger customer relationships through fast, personalized email support — simply log in and get to work! With the Help Scout app, you’ll be able to: • Navigate to any Help Scout mailbox with a tap • Access all conversations and handle those assigned to you • Reply to customers quickly with saved replies - you’ll look like a genius without even trying • Apply tags to categorize conversations or trigger automations like magic • Add notes to conversations to keep everyone in the loop, even in the remote-est location • Change conversation status with a single swipe • Keep conversations moving by assigning them to a team member or teams (Plus Plan only) • Apply custom fields to keep reporting data pristine (Plus Plan only)

About

ThriveDesk

Manage customer support and sales inquiries on the go with a shared inbox. Features include instant replies, conversation tagging, and internal notes for seamless team collaboration. Improve response times and customer experience directly from your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Shared Inbox for team access
  • Instant saved replies (canned responses)
  • Conversation tagging and assignment
  • Internal notes for team collaboration
  • Live chat integration
  • Spam filtering and auto BCC
Features
Read full description

ThriveDesk’s help desk iOS app lets your customer support team to collaborate together in a Shared Inbox and give customer support straight out of your phones On The Go and close sales deals without having to switch to another platform. ThriveDesk is designed to make conversations with your customers smooth as butter. With features like instant save replies, answer to customer queries from previously saved replies with a tap. Prioritise the conversation with Tags, Assign conversations and drop an internal note for the team members. Customer support becomes Better, Faster & Efficient Letting your Customer support agents to have the birds eye view while you sit in the crown of your very own Helpdesk, controlling the permissions and parameters and collaborating together with your team in a shared inbox. - Organize conversations through Tags - Store answers to common questions with Saved Replies - Customer purchase details right inside inbox - Move conversation from one inbox to another - Add Private notes on conversation which is visible only internally. Mention each other and leave a note for faster collaboration. Key features: Shared Inbox - receive all your support and sales queries on the respective shared inbox, where all you agents can have access and view the queries. You can assign tasks to an agent for reply or you can reply yourself. Accessibility - View queries that are closed, pending or afresh and assign agents to reply queries, use tags, leave internal messages. Live Chat - receive messages sent by your lead from your website and reply to them on the fly, never miss any queries and be on time with your replies. ThriveDesk’s shared inbox comes with many other features, such as- - Canned Replies - Spam Filtering - Auto BCC - Default Status update - Snooze - Reply Undo - Powerful Search - Keyboard Shortcuts - Conversation, Company, Happiness & Performance report. - Contact History Who should use this customer support app? It is suitable for anyone with an eCommerce businesses requiring accessibility and communication at all times for the betterment of the business. The app was designed by an eCommerce business itself and with the intention to cater to its daily needs; and the ability to communicate with the customers in a fashioned and diligent manner will help improved customer experience with your business brand and boost your business and growth. Never leave a customer bouncing back or leaving them in your Helpdesk languishing! Customer support doesn't always needs to be given by a dreamy team of agents who doesn't sleep, eat and speaks all the languages in the world. It is designed to ensure flawless customer service through increasing sales by delivering great experiences because ThriveDesk never shows a Live chat window unless someone is available to help. - Remove clutter by automatically directing spam messages to a spam folder. - Automatically send a copy of all outgoing conversations to a specified email address. - Get real-time app notifications ThriveDesk is super easy to set up, Live chat widget can be designed and coloured with your brand, ticketing and many more. Making your business Thrive.ThriveDesk have deep integration with WP eCommerce plugins such as WooCommerce, Easy Digitals, Fluent CRM and many more; these features allows you view the purchase history, order details and customer history right on the go. You are always one step ahead of your customers.

Screenshots

Help Scout4 screens
ThriveDesk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Help Scout at 4.2 against ThriveDesk's 3.0. Help Scout also leads on ratings volume (306 vs 2). ThriveDesk's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and review sentiment (50% vs 35%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Help Scout holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Help Scout has 306 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 35% of Help Scout's written reviews are positive against 50% of ThriveDesk's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Help Scout ships an update fortnightly, ThriveDesk every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Help Scout versus ThriveDesk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelp ScoutThriveDesk
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (306 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews35.3% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings306 — better2
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size95 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHelp Scout PBCTHEME EXPERT

Customer experience

Help Scout

All ratings306 ratings
Positive76.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative17.3%
Written reviews116 reviews
Positive35.3%
Neutral18.1%
Negative46.6%

ThriveDesk

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Help Scout

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Login issues and sign-outs
  • Unassigned inbox not loading
  • Formatting issues with saved replies
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to view and manage customer profiles
  • Support for live chat
  • Improved notification system
  • Customizable inbox views
  • Integration with other tools

ThriveDesk

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Help Scout

No in-app purchases

None

ThriveDesk

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Help Scout free?
Help Scout is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ThriveDesk free?
ThriveDesk is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Help Scout or ThriveDesk?
Help Scout is rated higher. Help Scout averages 4.2 out of 5 from 306 ratings, while ThriveDesk averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Help Scout or ThriveDesk have ads?
Neither Help Scout nor ThriveDesk shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Help Scout or ThriveDesk?
Help Scout ships an update fortnightly, and ThriveDesk every 3 weeks. Most recently, Help Scout was updated on September 21, 2026 and ThriveDesk on September 9, 2026.

Other comparisons