7 Best Groove Alternatives in 2026 (After the Helply Rebrand)

Groove built its name on being the simple help desk: a shared inbox that looks like email, a knowledge base, and not much else to learn. On 29 May 2026 the company made Helply its master brand. The original product continues as Groove Classic, with the same accounts, logins and seat-based prices, and the company says it has no plans to shut it down.

Nothing forces you to move. But a rebrand like this is a natural moment to check whether the tool still fits, especially if you want AI. Groove Classic's AI features sit on its Plus and Pro plans, Copilot costs extra, and the new AI-first product, Helply, is sold only to B2B software companies with credit-based pricing.

The best Groove alternatives in 2026 are Quackback, Help Scout, Front, Hiver, Freshdesk, Zoho Desk and Helply itself. Help Scout is the closest match to Groove's simple, email-like inbox. Hiver keeps support inside Gmail. Quackback is the open-source option, with chat, email and a help center at a flat workspace price, plus product feedback.

1. Quackback — Open source. Inbox for chat and email, help center, feedback boards and Quackback AI, seats included.
2. Help Scout — The classic simple help desk. Free for 5 users.
3. Front — Shared inbox for email-heavy teams. From $25 per seat a month billed annually.
4. Hiver — Help desk inside Gmail. From $25 per user a month.
5. Freshdesk — Ticketing with deep automation. From $19 per agent a month billed annually.
6. Zoho Desk — Low-cost ticketing, free for 3 agents.
7. Helply — Groove's own AI-first platform, for B2B software teams. Credits from $49/mo.

Pricing last verified November 2026. Vendors may change plans and pricing without notice. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest figures.

Why Groove users are looking around

• Direction. New product work and the main website now point to Helply. Groove Classic keeps a dedicated team, but it is no longer the headline product.
• Per-user pricing. Groove Classic is $28, $44 or $64 per user a month billed annually, or $35, $55 or $80 monthly. Standard includes 2 channels; extra channels are $10 each a month.
• AI costs more. AI assist, summaries, sentiment and tag suggestions are on Plus and Pro only. Copilot is $79 a month per account for new customers.
• Helply is not for everyone. It is offered only to B2B software companies, and its credit-based pricing is a different budgeting model from seats.
• No chat-to-product loop. Groove handles conversations but has no feedback board or roadmap.

If you are happy on Groove Classic, its pricing has not changed and your data stays put. Prepaid annual plans run to the end of their term.

1. Quackback

Quackback is open-source (AGPL-3.0) software for customer support and product feedback. Like Groove, it keeps support in one calm shared inbox. Unlike Groove, that inbox takes live chat from Messenger, the in-app widget, alongside email and GitHub issues.

The inbox sits next to a help center, feedback boards, a roadmap and a changelog. When a customer emails a feature request, your team turns it into a post or a vote. When it ships, the changelog emails everyone who asked.

Quackback AI is part of the plan rather than a separate charge. Copilot drafts replies and answers your team's questions on every plan. The agent that answers customers starts on Pro. The MCP server lets tools like Claude search and act on your conversations and feedback, from Pro.

Key features:

• Shared inbox for live chat, email and GitHub issues, with tickets, macros and office hours
• Help center with Ask AI, and a status page
• Feedback boards, voting, a roadmap and a changelog that emails voters
• Quackback AI: Copilot on every plan, the customer agent from Pro
• Workflows, SLA policies, routing and integrations on Business and up

Pricing: A Free Cloud plan with 1 seat, and every signup starts with a 14-day Pro trial. Pro is $29/mo billed annually with 5 seats, Business $59/mo with 20 seats. For 5 users that is $29 a month against $140 on Groove Classic Standard. Self-hosting is free with every feature. See help desk pricing for more comparisons.

Pros:

• Flat workspace price with seats and AI usage included
• Live chat and product feedback in the same tool
• Open source, so the product's future does not depend on one vendor's strategy; self-host any time

Cons:

• No help-desk importer, so Groove conversation history stays behind
• No native mobile app, and no social or SMS channels
• Smaller community and integration catalogue than Help Scout or Freshdesk

Best for: Small teams who liked Groove's simplicity and want chat, AI and feedback on a flat workspace price with seats included.

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Try Quackback — every signup starts with a 14-day Pro trial, then keeps a Free plan if you don't upgrade. Or self-host it with every feature. Start free trial | Self-host with Docker | View on GitHub

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2. Help Scout

Help Scout is the tool Groove has always been compared with, and the most natural landing spot. Its inbox reads like email, its knowledge base (Docs) is clean, and its Beacon widget adds chat.

Pricing: Free for 5 users with 1 inbox and 100 contacts a month. Standard $25 and Plus $45 per user a month billed annually. AI Answers are $0.75 per resolution.

Pros: The closest feel to Groove. A real free plan. Mature integrations.

Cons: Per-user pricing, and AI resolutions billed on top.

Best for: Groove users who want the same experience from a company focused on it. See Quackback vs Help Scout.

3. Front

Front turns shared email into a collaborative inbox, with assignment, comments and rules. It suits teams where support, sales and operations all work from email.

Pricing: Starter $25 per seat a month (up to 10 seats), Professional $65 and Enterprise $105, billed annually. Copilot is $20 per seat, and Autopilot starts at $0.39 per conversation.

Pros: Excellent email collaboration across teams.

Cons: Costly past Starter. AI priced per seat and per conversation.

Best for: Email-heavy teams beyond just support.

4. Hiver

Hiver runs inside Gmail, so your team never leaves the inbox they know. It adds assignment, collision detection, SLAs and AI on top of shared mailboxes.

Pricing: Growth $25, Pro $55 and Elite $85 per user a month on the lower billing rate, or $35, $65 and $95 on the higher one. A 2-seat minimum and a 7-day trial; no free plan.

Pros: Almost no learning curve for Gmail users. AI Copilot from Growth.

Cons: Tied to Google Workspace. Per-user pricing.

Best for: Small teams on Gmail who found even Groove too much.

5. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a full ticketing system with automation, SLAs and a large marketplace. Choose it if you are leaving Groove because you have outgrown it.

Pricing: No free plan. Growth $19, Pro $55 and Enterprise $89 per agent a month billed annually. See Freshdesk pricing.

Pros: Deep automation and reporting. Low entry price.

Cons: More complex than Groove. Key features and AI sit on higher plans.

Best for: Growing teams that need more structure.

6. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk offers solid ticketing at a low price, with a free plan for 3 agents.

Pricing: Free for 3 agents. Paid plans per agent; check Zoho's pricing page for your currency.

Pros: Cheapest paid ticketing here. Fits the Zoho suite.

Cons: A busier interface than Groove.

Best for: Budget-conscious teams, especially Zoho users.

7. Helply

Helply is the new AI-first platform from the team behind Groove. It combines ticketing, messaging, a knowledge base and AI agents, priced by AI work instead of seats.

Pricing: Credits from $49 a month with unlimited users; 7,000 credits are $399 a month. Annual billing is 15% off. Sold to B2B software companies only.

Pros: No per-user fees. Same company, so moving may be easier.

Cons: Credit-based pricing is harder to predict. Not available outside B2B software.

Best for: B2B SaaS teams on Groove that want an AI-first product without switching vendors.

Comparison table

How to choose

You want Groove as it was: Help Scout, or stay on Groove Classic.

You live in Gmail: Hiver.

You have outgrown Groove: Freshdesk or Front.

You want open source, chat and product feedback: Quackback.

You are a B2B SaaS team curious about AI-first support: try Helply before you switch vendors.

Frequently asked questions

Is Groove shutting down?

No. Groove became Groove Classic under the Helply brand on 29 May 2026. The company says it will keep the product running with a dedicated team. Accounts, data, logins and pricing are unchanged, and no migration is required.

What is the difference between Groove Classic and Helply?

Groove Classic is the original seat-priced help desk. Helply is a separate AI-first support platform from the same company, priced by AI credits with unlimited users, and offered only to B2B software companies.

What is the closest alternative to Groove?

Help Scout is the closest match: an email-like shared inbox, a knowledge base and a chat widget, with a free plan for 5 users. Hiver is closer still if your team works in Gmail.

Can I move from Groove to Quackback?

Yes, but past conversations stay in Groove because Quackback has no help-desk importer. Most teams start new conversations in Quackback, keep Groove read-only for a while, and rebuild help articles in the Quackback help center.