Live Chat · alternatives
Alternatives to Kayako
21 live chat tools sit alongside Kayako in this directory. Below is what separates each from Kayako on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 11
- Cheaper to start
- 8
- Kayako starts at
- $30/month
Why people look past Kayako
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Kayako entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Kayako starts at $30/month. Across the 11 live chat tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $20/month.
There is no free tier
The record for Kayako carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 11 of the 21 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
AWS conversational AI service
- Can be used without paying; Kayako cannot.
- Starts $29.996 a per speech request cheaper, at $0.004/per speech request.
- Sold on a usage-based model rather than subscription.
- 2 tiers to Kayako's 3.
Omnichannel messaging and customer engagement platform
Priced and rated the same as Kayako on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Open-source chatbot platform and framework
- Can be used without paying; Kayako cannot.
- Starts $8970 a year dearer, at $9000/year.
- 1 tier to Kayako's 3.
Customer messaging platform for startups and SMBs
- Can be used without paying; Kayako cannot.
- Starts $15 a month dearer, at $45/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 5 tiers to Kayako's 3.
Chatbot and automation platform for Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS
- Can be used without paying; Kayako cannot.
- Starts $15 a month cheaper, at $15/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 2 tiers to Kayako's 3.
No-code chatbot builder for websites, WhatsApp, and lead generation
- Can be used without paying; Kayako cannot.
- Starts $2 a month dearer, at €32/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
Every Kayako alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kayako (this page) | $30/month | Subscription | 3 | |
| Amazon LexAWS conversational AI service | Free, then $0.004/per speech request | Usage-based | 2 | vs Kayako |
| Zendesk Sunshine ConversationsOmnichannel messaging and customer engagement platform | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
| BotpressOpen-source chatbot platform and framework | Free, then $9000/year | Subscription | 1 | vs Kayako |
| CrispCustomer messaging platform for startups and SMBs | Free, then $45/month | Freemium | 5 | vs Kayako |
| ManyChat | Free, then $15/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Kayako |
| Landbot | Free, then €32/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Kayako |
| Conferbot | Free, then $19/month | Freemium | 4 | vs Kayako |
| Jivochat | Free | Subscription | 4 | vs Kayako |
| Ada | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
| Freshchat | Free, then $19/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Kayako |
| Google Dialogflow | Free | Usage-based | 3 | vs Kayako |
| IBM Watson Assistant | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
| Kore.ai | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
| Conversica | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
| LiveChat | $20/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Kayako |
| Comm100 | $29/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
| Bold360 | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
| Capacity | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
| Gorgias | $10/month | Usage-based | 4 | vs Kayako |
| Haptik | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
| Acquire | $50/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Kayako |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Kayako badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (11)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
Cheaper than Kayako (8)
Entry price under Kayako's $30/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
What you would be giving up
Kayako is most often brought in for help desk ticketing with a unified inbox and knowledge base, resolving support tickets automatically with an ai agent. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Kayako is broadly right and the question is cost, the Kayako pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Live Chat category lists everything the directory holds, and best live chat tools ranks them.
Kayako runs on web, ios, android. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Kayako alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Kayako?
- 21 other live chat tools are listed in this directory, led by Amazon Lex, Zendesk Sunshine Conversations, Botpress, Crisp. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Kayako?
- 11 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Amazon Lex, Botpress, Crisp, ManyChat, Landbot.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Kayako?
- Yes. 8 of the alternatives below start under Kayako's $30/month: Amazon Lex at Free, then $0.004/per speech request, ManyChat at Free, then $15/month, Conferbot at Free, then $19/month, Jivochat at Free.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Kayako?
- On the figures on record, 2 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Kayako?
- Kayako is most often brought in for help desk ticketing with a unified inbox and knowledge base, resolving support tickets automatically with an ai agent. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Kayako?
- None of the live chat tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Kayako alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Live Chat, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Kayako against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Kayako covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every live chat tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Live Chat category, 21 tools beside Kayako. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.