Help Scout vs Centra: Helpdesk Comparison (2026)

An independent side-by-side comparison of Help Scout and Centra for helpdesk buyers — pricing, features, integrations, and how often each is cited by major AI engines.

AI Citation Scorecard

How often each is cited by major AI engines when buyers ask helpdesk questions. Last 90 days across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot.

Too early to call — probes still building data.
ChatGPT
Help Scout
74 / 106 probes
70%
Excellent
Centra
Tracking…
No data yet
Perplexity
Help Scout
40 / 573 probes
7%
Below average
Centra
Tracking…
No data yet
Gemini
Help Scout
36 / 107 probes
34%
Good
Centra
Tracking…
No data yet
Claude
Help Scout
77 / 107 probes
72%
Excellent
Centra
Tracking…
No data yet
Copilot
Help Scout
69 / 107 probes
64%
Excellent
Centra
Tracking…
No data yet
Scale:NoneLowFairStrongExcellent

Probes run hourly; each (engine × query) combo retests every ~3 days.

Pricing

Help Scout
Starting price
$25/user/month
Free tier
Yes
helpscout.com ↗
Centra
Starting price
—
Free tier
—
centra.com ↗

Key Features

Help Scout
  • ✓Multiple Inboxes
  • ✓Live chat, Instagram, & Messenger
  • ✓Unlimited AI Drafts
  • ✓Dedicated onboarding specialist
  • ✓HIPAA compliance
  • ✓Unlimited workflows
  • ✓Group conversations by company
  • ✓AI Inbox assistant
Centra

Feature data is being indexed.

When to choose Help Scout

Choose Help Scout if your team prioritizes its strengths over Centra's. Full guidance populates as Help Scout's feature data is indexed.

When to choose Centra

Choose Centra if your team prioritizes its strengths over Help Scout's. Full guidance populates as Centra's feature data is indexed.

AI visibility profiles

Is one of these your brand?

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Help Scout

helpscout.com

Centra

centra.com

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We ask the buyer questions in this market across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot, and show you who gets named.

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