Trusted by over 465,000 businesses globally
When to choose Zoho SalesIQ
You want to convert more website visitors into customers
Instead of waiting for customers to reach out, use SalesIQ’s behavior-based triggers to start conversations at the right moment to boost conversions and reduce bounce rates.
You need automation to scale your support
Use chatbots and workflows to answer FAQ, qualify leads, and route chats to reduce manual effort while improving response time.
You care about sales and support working together
Unlike Help Scout, which focuses only on support, SalesIQ gives both teams what they need—context, automation, and CRM integration.
You support users inside your product
With mobile SDKs and in-app chat, you can guide users contextually during onboarding, feature adoption, or renewal without leaving your app.
You need visibility across your funnel
Track every visitor—where they came from, what they’re viewing, and how engaged they are. SalesIQ helps you take action while they’re still on your site.
You’re scaling across teams, brands, or regions
SalesIQ supports multi-brand widgets, multilingual chat, department-level routing, and enterprise controls so your setup grows with you.
Overview: Zoho SalesIQ vs. Help Scout
SalesIQ is not just a chat tool. It’s a full engagement suite that helps you convert leads, support customers, and automate conversations—all while integrating tightly with your CRM, Desk, and marketing tools.
Help Scout was built for email support—and it does that well. If your team lives in a shared inbox, it feels familiar. But modern customer engagement needs more than reactive emails. You need to see who’s on your site, engage proactively, automate with bots, and move quickly across web and mobile interfaces.
That’s where Zoho SalesIQ stands apart.
Use case comparison
While both tools aim to improve customer communication, they serve different goals. Help Scout is primarily built for reactive, email-first customer support. SalesIQ, on the other hand, helps you go beyond support—into proactive sales, marketing, and onboarding.
- Use case
- Lead generationEngage website visitors with bots, proactive messages, and track visitors in real timeNo tools for visitor engagement or lead capture
- Sales engagementQualify leads with bots, route to sales teams, CRM integrationNot built for sales teams
- Real-time customer supportMulti-channel chat, voice calls, bot handover, and proactive helpEmail and ticket-based support
- User onboardingPersonalized chat + bot journeys for new usersNot designed for real-time onboarding
- Multi-brand supportHandle chats for multiple brands and websitesNot ideal for multi-brand environments
- Mobile app supportChat + bot SDKs for in-app engagementBasic mobile apps for email management
- Internal team useDepartmental chat routing, CRM context, notesLimited visibility
Feature comparison: Zoho SalesIQ vs. Help Scout
- Category
- Live chat Advanced live chat with visitor insights, CRM data, routing, and chat history Live chat add-on via Beacon; limited targeting or control
- Visitor tracking Real-time visitor tracking with filters, lead scoring, and company info Not available
- Lead scoring Automatically scores leads based on behavior and rules Not available
- Chatbots Both codeless (flow) and script-based bots with bot templates No built-in bot framework
- Proactive messaging Trigger-based messages based on visitor behavior No proactive messaging
- Email ticketing Integrated via Zoho Desk; not native Built-in email ticketing system with collision detection
- Knowledge base Built-in knowledge base with FAQs, articles, small talks, etc. Built-in docs feature with customizable help center
- Mobile SDK & In-app chat iOS & Android SDK for in-app chat and bot integration with push notifications No mobile SDK or in-app chat
- WhatsApp & Instagram support Native support for WhatsApp and Instagram integrations; multi-WABA, broadcast messaging and more. Requires third-party tools
- CRM integration Native with Zoho CRM, plus REST API and custom function support Integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce (basic); limited native features
- Automation rules Triggers, routing, alerts, lead qualification, chat hand-offs, and advanced workflows No chat automation or advanced workflows
- Multilingual support Auto-translation of chat, multilingual bots with multilingual resources support Limited language support
- Custom branding Extensive widget customization, themes, logos, forms Light branding customization for Beacon and emails
- Chat routing Intelligent operator routing with departments and rules Email conversations can be assigned to teammates manually
- Team collaboration Operator-to-operator chat, team transfers, internal notes Private notes, @mentions, assignments
- Analytics & reports Real-time dashboards with advanced reports, custom dashboards, and visitor funnels Email/ticket metrics; lacks real-time site data
- Integrations Deep with Zoho ecosystem (CRM, Desk, Campaigns), REST API for custom tools and third-party apps Mostly email-support focused integrations
- Security & privacy GDPR-ready, role-based access, visitor privacy controls, and HIPAA-compliant HIPAA-compliant (on certain plans), GDPR-ready
- Multi-brand support Multiple widgets, departments, and language rules Multiple mailboxes, docs sites—limited branding separation
- Trial/Freemium Free forever plan + 15-day full-feature trial No free plan; 15-day trial only
- Pricing Competitive, modular pricing starting with a free plan; no per-agent surprises Higher starting price with per-user cost; features gated by tiers
Pros & cons
Pros
Real-time engagement: Identify and engage high-intent visitors instantly through live chat and proactive triggers.
No-code & advanced bots: Build powerful chatbots for lead qualification, support, onboarding, and more—no developer required. For teams that want deeper customization, developers can extend bots with advanced scripting and integrations.
Complete customer context: See where users came from, what pages they viewed, and their CRM details before you respond.
In-app messaging: Offer contextual support inside your website and mobile apps via SDKs.
Seamless integrations: Native support with Zoho CRM, Desk, Campaigns, and external platforms through REST APIs.
AI-powered customer support: Integrate OpenAI/Zia into Answer Bot for advanced responses. Example: A SaaS company uses AI to answer 70% of tier-1 queries automatically, while SalesIQ bots handle lead capture and routing seamlessly. Help Scout cannot do this natively.
Cross-platform bot deployment: Teams can build bots on other platforms (Dialogflow, Azure, or Haptik) and deploy them in SalesIQ for web, mobile, or messaging channels. Help Scout has no native bot support.
Omnichannel social support: SalesIQ allows agents to handle WhatsApp, Instagram DMs/Stories, Messenger, Telegram, etc., in one dashboard. Help Scout supports only limited Instagram messages; WhatsApp and other channels are missing.
Cons
No out-of-the-box email inbox: For email workflows or knowledge bases, integration with Zoho Desk or any other ticketing system is needed.
Pros
Easy email support: Shared inbox with collision detection, private notes, and assignments makes email collaboration effortless.
Clean knowledge base: Create self-serve help articles with versioning, search, and article performance tracking.
Low learning curve: Simple UI and a minimal setup make it ideal for small teams starting with customer support.
Human-centric: Focuses on making support personal, especially over email.
Cons
No live visitor insights: You can’t see who’s on your site, what they’re doing, or target them in real time.
No bots or automation: Lacks proactive engagement, chat automation, and lead qualification tools.
Limited channel coverage: No mobile SDK or in-app messaging support, making it harder to support modern apps or SaaS platforms.
Not built for sales use cases: No lead scoring, routing, or integrations designed for sales teams.
FAQ
What makes SalesIQ a better Help Scout alternative?
SalesIQ gives you live chat, bots, automation, CRM integrations, and visitor insights all in one. Help Scout focuses only on email support.
Can I use bots in Help Scout?
No. Help Scout doesn’t support bots or conversation automation. SalesIQ offers both flow and script-based bots.
Which tool is more scalable for a growing team?
SalesIQ. It combines engagement, automation, CRM, and in-app chat, giving teams the ability to scale sales and support together.
Is there a free plan in SalesIQ?
Yes! SalesIQ offers a free plan with all core features. Help Scout starts with paid plans only.