Is Cardel an alternative to BookBub or Help Scout?

Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace BookBub or Help Scout when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where BookBub and Help Scout are marked.

Can I use Cardel with BookBub or Help Scout?

Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep BookBub or Help Scout for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.

How much does Cardel cost compared with BookBub and Help Scout?

You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. BookBub and Help Scout set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.

How do I switch from BookBub or Help Scout to Cardel?

Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.

Compare

BookBubvsHelp Scout

BookBub Author Websites builds a book-first site and simple newsletter for authors. Help Scout is a human-feeling help desk: shared inbox, Docs, Beacon chat, and AI drafts.

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How BookBub and Help Scout compare

BookBub Author Websites is made for writers who would rather be writing. Import an ebook from Amazon or BookBub and its cover, description, and retailer links fill in, and each book gets its own page that you update in one place. Templates are designed around genres, the Author Bio, Blog, and Contact pages are ready on day one, and a built-in newsletter pulls your book details into every email. Pro adds series pages, a press kit and events, and reader magnets that trade a free download for a signup, and the Free plan has no time limit.

Help Scout is support that feels like email from a person. A shared inbox with assignments and saved replies, Docs for a knowledge base, Beacon for chat and self-service, customer profiles, workflows, reports, and AI drafts and summaries help small teams deliver warm, organized support. Nothing about it feels like a ticket number.

Where they are different

BookBub

BookBub's book pages send readers to Amazon, Apple Books, and other retailers, with no checkout on the site.
BookBub's newsletter sends 1,000 emails a month on Free and 10,000 on Pro, from a no-reply address on your domain on Pro, and replies go to your personal email.
BookBub's blog has an RSS feed but no comments, and its only automation is a welcome email.
BookBub's Events page lists your appearances.

Help Scout

Help Scout is the support tool beside your site.
Help Scout handles email and Beacon chat for anyone.
Help Scout has no marketing email.

Choose BookBub when your books sell through retailers, you want a polished author site in an afternoon, and a simple monthly newsletter is all the email you need.

Choose Help Scout when a small team needs a warm, organized help desk with a knowledge base.

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What's on BookBub and Help Scout

A check means that capability is available. BookBub and Help Scout are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.

Site and brand

Workspace site
BookBub: Included
Help Scout: Not included

Public content

Blog
BookBub: Included
Help Scout: Not included

Audience and email

Audience
BookBub: Included
Help Scout: Included
Email on your domain
BookBub: Not included
Help Scout: Included
Marketing emails
BookBub: Included
Help Scout: Not included

Messaging

Messaging Center
BookBub: Not included
Help Scout: Included

Team

AI Assistant
BookBub: Not included
Help Scout: Included

Feature comparison for BookBub and Help Scout
Feature	BookBub	Help Scout
Site and brand
Workspace site	Included	Not included
Public content
Blog	Included	Not included
Audience and email
Audience	Included	Included
Email on your domain	Not included	Included
Marketing emails	Included	Not included
Messaging
Messaging Center	Not included	Included
Team
AI Assistant	Not included	Included

* Note: This table does not capture every feature of BookBub or Help Scout, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but BookBub or Help Scout may add or remove features that are not shown here.