Help Scout is a friendly email inbox, but its AI charges per answer and the servers are in the US. askVela is live chat plus AI that resolves shop cases on its own — with a fair flat rate.
Fair flat rate · unlimited agents & AI · EU-hosted · free migration
For simple email replies, Help Scout is charming. For a growing DACH shop, it quickly gets messy — and expensive.
AI Answers costs per resolution, AI Drafts per conversation. The better the AI performs, the higher the bill — that’s not predictable.
Help Scout is a US provider. For GDPR-compliant DACH shops, that means more effort and uncertainty around data protection.
The AI writes replies and drafts. Order status, cancellations, refunds, or upsells? It doesn’t handle them — your team still has to.
Both handle email replies well. The difference is the pricing model, EU data protection, and whether the AI truly resolves shop cases.
| Feature | askVela | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Fair flat rate | Per user (formerly per contact) |
| Predictable costs | ||
| AI replies included | Unlimited | Per resolution / per conversation |
| Unlimited team members | Only in the old contact model | |
| AI handles order status & cancellations on its own | ||
| AI negotiates fair partial refunds | ||
| Product recommendations in chat (upsell) | ||
| Replies with source citations (no hallucinations) | ||
| Knowledge gap queue → 1-click article | ||
| Live chat for your shop | ||
| Clean email inbox | ||
| EU hosting / GDPR / DPA | ||
| Native German AI | ||
| Self-hosting available | ||
| Free migration |
Help Scout stops at drafting text. askVela resolves the case, protects your margin, and keeps your data in the EU.
With source citations — no hallucinations. Finds knowledge gaps and suggests ready-to-use articles.
Recommends relevant products in chat and negotiates a fair partial refund before money leaves your account.
Native German AI, self-hosting available. Your customer data stays in the EU.
We’ll migrate your entire Help Center for free and build you a ready-to-use demo. Don’t like it at all? We’ll send you 100 € for your time.
Switch nowYou don’t have to move anything yourself. We migrate your docs and Help Center for free, build a ready-to-use demo with your content, and only go live once you’re happy. Your email inbox stays just as clean as you’re used to.
Yes. askVela is fully EU-hosted, the DPA is included, and the AI speaks native German. Help Scout is a US provider, which makes data protection more complex for DACH shops. Self-hosting is even available on request.
Yes. AI Answers is billed per successful resolution, and AI Drafts per conversation with a draft — on top of your user plan or former contact-based plan. The more the AI works, the higher the bill. With askVela, all AI replies are included in the flat rate.
askVela is a fair flat rate: unlimited agents and unlimited AI replies at one predictable price. No billing per seat, per conversation, per AI resolution, or per contact. What your AI resolves doesn’t cost extra — unlike Help Scout’s usage-based model.