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Switch to Cove from Help Scout
Your customers write on the site. Switch to a widget that looks like the product — glass, radius, your mark — then one desk for chat, help, and team workflows, not a shared mailbox that added chat later.
Why switch
Switch if the site messenger is the conversation and you still want docs plus a portal on the same desk.
Email-native versus chat-first
Switch if the site messenger is the conversation, you care how it looks, and you want docs plus a portal in the same workspace. Paste the snippet. Publish a first article. Share the portal link with customers who prefer email.
Matrix
Help Scout and Cove, side by side — what actually ships
Public list prices checked 29 Aug 2026 where we cite a number. Feature rows for Cove are what ships today.
| Help Scout | Cove | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Connect a mailbox. Beacon is a separate embed for the site. | One script. The messenger is the channel that ships. |
| Customization | Beacon can be branded. The wedge is a calm email desk, not glass radius. | Theme, glass, radius, launcher, copy — theme, glass, radius, launcher, and copy you control. |
| Inbox | Excellent collision detection, saved replies, simple views. Email-first. | Website threads with assign, notes, macros, snooze, resolve. Typing is visible. Email inbound when you connect it. |
| Help center | Docs: public knowledge base, multiple sites on paid plans. | One public help host per workspace ({slug}.coveinbox.co or a verified custom domain). Same pages in the messenger. |
| Translation | Not the reason you buy Help Scout. | Translation under the original on the thread. |
| Price shape | Per-user Standard and up (their public vs pages list Standard from $25/user). | Per workspace. Mini $39/mo includes seats. Extra seats $6. Unlimited conversations. |
Where Cove wins
Where Cove is the better fit
Setup
Chat is not an add-on. Paste the snippet and the queue is the inbox.
Customization
More messenger control than a default Beacon color.
Inbox
Built for the widget thread, including resolve then CSAT.
Help center
Articles in the panel so people do not leave the page.
Translation
Locale on the contact, original kept.
How Cove covers the usual objections
What you get when you switch
Email + portal
Inbound mail via the Cove receive address. Customers open tickets from /portal/{workspace}.
Docs
One help URL and the messenger tab — enough for most product FAQs, on the same desk as chat.
Workspace billing
Think in desks, not seats. Extra seats are a line item, not the whole bill.
Drafts
Plus drafts from your articles. A person still sends.
How to migrate to Cove
Switch if the site messenger is the conversation, you care how it looks, and you want docs plus a portal in the same workspace. Paste the snippet. Publish a first article. Share the portal link with customers who prefer email.
Switch guide — snippet swap, what maps, CSV and markdown import
Other comparisons
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Mailbox vs messenger, Docs vs one help URL.
The live channel is the website messenger. Inbound email is a Cove receive address you forward to — replies land in the same inbox. Public replies send via Resend. Customers also use the portal.
One public site per workspace on {slug}.coveinbox.co, plus an optional verified custom host. Same articles in the messenger. See helpdesk.