Why We Moved Our Support from HelpScout to FreeScout – and What It Says About Reversibility in SaaS business

Back in 2010, handling customer support at Piwigo was simple: one inbox, one operator (Pierrick), and fully manual management. In 2014, we adopted HelpScout, a SaaS ticketing solution that did the job well at the time.

But over the years, we saw HelpScout raise its prices, degrade its user experience, and pile on “sexy” but unnecessary features—without addressing users’ real needs.

So we decided to switch to FreeScout, an open source alternative that we now host ourselves. And this transition reinforced one of our core beliefs: reversibility isn’t a detail. It’s a fundamental issue.

When Software Becomes Too Expensive for What It Offers

HelpScout originally charged $15/month/agent, then bumped that up to $20. With three agents (Damien, Hannah, and Pierrick), our bill was $60/month. But adding more agents—even for occasional needs—would have pushed costs through the roof.

Then came their new ticket-based pricing model. The result? We would have landed in the $150 to $250/month range. That’s a ridiculous price for… a shared inbox.

At Piwigo.com, we take a different approach. Yes, our prices evolve over time, but we respect our long-time customers: they keep their original rates, and we never force them to switch to new plans. In 15 years, we’ve only raised prices once on our legacy “Individual” plan (+10% in 2023 to account for inflation).

When the Interface Evolves… in the Wrong Direction

In the beginning, HelpScout was smooth and efficient. But when they tried to modernize the UI, everything started to fall apart:

• Repeated bugs (losing messages when clicking “Reply”)
• Frequent slowdowns and crashes
• A clear drop in usability

The most frustrating part? During all this, they rolled out AI-powered reply suggestions… while their core interface became painful to use.

It reminded us of Piwigo: we’ve steadily improved our interface over the years (from version 2.10 to 15), always prioritizing user experience. A good-looking UI is nice. But a stable, intuitive, and smooth one is better. Before adding anything flashy, we make sure the foundation is rock solid.

Reversibility: A Core Principle in Software

We’re very familiar with the concept of vendor lock-in—when a SaaS tool makes it hard for you to switch to something else. It’s always been against our values. But this migration has made us realize just how rare and valuable our approach at Piwigo is.

When we tried to leave HelpScout, we hit roadblock after roadblock:

• No proper export options from HelpScout
• FreeScout has no native import tool
• The only option: pay a third party $1,100 to run an “automated” script

In other words, HelpScout locks your data in, and FreeScout (despite claiming to be an alternative) doesn’t make switching easy. It’s a perfect case study on why reversibility matters.

At Piwigo.com, we’ve chosen the exact opposite path:

• Our customers can export their data at any time and host it elsewhere
• With a custom domain, the switch can be completely transparent for their users
• We don’t lock anyone in. Ever.

That’s what real reversibility looks like. The user owns their data, free to stay or leave—and that changes everything.

Moving to FreeScout: More Stable, Faster, Cheaper

After some testing, FreeScout turned out to be more performant than HelpScout. We host it on an OVH server for less than €5/month, with unlimited agents and no extra fees.

And surprise: some basic features that HelpScout had long refused to implement—like the ability to reply without including the full message history—were already there by default. Proof that it was possible all along.

What This Story Tells Us About SaaS software

Our migration highlights three worrying trends in the SaaS world:

• Unjustified price hikes
• Updates that harm user experience
• Data lock-in that makes switching tools difficult

At Piwigo, we’re betting on the opposite approach:

• Even as our pricing has evolved to meet the needs of businesses and public institutions, we’ve always allowed existing customers to keep their original rates;
• Our interface evolves with and for our users;
• Our customers have full freedom to self-host the software, and they can export all their data at any time—no charge.

This experience has only reinforced our convictions. Reversibility isn’t optional. It’s a commitment.

• Category: Ecosystem
• Tag: opensource, reversibility, saas