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Customer Support · head to head

Freshservice vs Kayako

Freshservice logo

Freshservice

Customer Support

Modern IT service management

From
$19/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Kayako logo

Kayako

Live Chat

Effortless customer service

From
$30/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Freshservice change, problem and release management require the Pro plan at $99 per agent per month, so core ITIL processes sit two tiers up; Kayako the AI agent is billed at $1 per resolved ticket, so support cost scales with ticket volume rather than being a fixed subscription
  • They diverge on capability: Freshservice covers Incident management, Kayako covers Unified inbox.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Freshservice and Kayako actually diverge.

Attributes where Freshservice and Kayako differ
AttributeFreshserviceKayako
Starting price$19/month$30/month
CategoryCustomer SupportLive Chat
Founded20102001

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Freshservice

  • Incident management
  • Asset management
  • Change management
  • Knowledge base
  • Microsoft Teams
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • G Suite

Only in Kayako

  • Unified inbox
  • Live chat
  • Help center
  • Customer journey
  • Salesforce
  • Zapier
  • Stripe
  • Shopify

Both cover

  • Automation
  • Reporting
  • Slack
  • SOC2
  • GDPR
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Freshservice

  • IT service management and internal help desk ticketingnot Kayako
  • Asset management and change control for IT teamsnot Kayako

Kayako

  • Help desk ticketing with a unified inbox and knowledge basenot Freshservice
  • Resolving support tickets automatically with an AI agentnot Freshservice

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Freshservice

  • Change, problem and release management require the Pro plan at $99 per agent per month, so core ITIL processes sit two tiers up
  • Every plan includes only 100 ITAM asset units, with more sold separately regardless of tier
  • Orchestration transactions are metered monthly, from 1,000 on Starter to 20,000 on Enterprise, with extra packs at $250 per 1,000
  • The Freddy AI copilot is a $29 per agent per month add on on top of Pro or Enterprise
  • Sandbox and audit logs are Enterprise only, which carries no published price

Kayako

  • The AI agent is billed at $1 per resolved ticket, so support cost scales with ticket volume rather than being a fixed subscription
  • A resolution counts when the AI solves the issue without human involvement, so the definition of a billable event is set by the vendor's own system
  • No per agent monthly price is published for the full Kayako One platform
  • Full platform pricing requires talking to an expert

Pricing, plan by plan

Freshservice

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • Incident management
    • Knowledge base
    • Self-service portal
  • Growth$49/month
    • Asset management
    • Approval workflows
    • SLA management
  • Pro$95/month
    • Problem management
    • Change management
    • Release management
  • Enterprise$119/month
    • Freddy AI
    • Audit logs
    • Custom SSL

Kayako

$30/month
  • Inbox$30/month
    • Email & live chat
    • Help center
    • Basic automation
  • Growth$60/month
    • Everything in Inbox
    • Customer journey
    • SLA management
  • Scale$100/month
    • Everything in Growth
    • Advanced reporting
    • Custom roles

Which should you pick?

Choose Freshservice if

  • You need incident management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want asset management.
Freshservice review

Choose Kayako if

  • You need unified inbox.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want live chat.
Kayako review

Questions people ask

Is Freshservice or Kayako better?
Neither clearly leads. Freshservice starts at $19/month and Kayako at $30/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Freshservice or Kayako?
Freshservice starts at $19/month and Kayako at $30/month.
Does Freshservice or Kayako run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Freshservice best used for?
Freshservice is most often used for it service management and internal help desk ticketing, asset management and change control for it teams. Of those, it service management and internal help desk ticketing and asset management and change control for it teams are not what Kayako is typically brought in for.
What can Freshservice do that Kayako cannot?
Freshservice covers Incident management, Asset management, Change management, Knowledge base. Kayako covers Unified inbox, Live chat, Help center, Customer journey. Both handle Automation, Reporting, Slack, SOC2.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Freshservice: How much does Freshservice cost?

Freshservice is priced per agent per month on annual billing: Starter at $19, Growth at $49 and Pro at $99. Enterprise is quoted by sales. Freshworks states annual billing is 20% cheaper than monthly.

Source
Kayako: How much does Kayako charge?

Kayako uses results-based pricing where customers pay $1 per resolved ticket when Kay AI Agent solves the issue without human intervention. There are no seat fees or setup fees. Kayako One helpdesk platform pricing requires contacting sales.

Source
Freshservice: Does Freshservice have a free trial?

Yes. Freshworks states you get free unrestricted access to all features available in Freshservice for 14 days after sign up, plus 3 free Day Passes for occasional agents.

Source
Kayako: What counts as a resolved ticket for Kayako pricing?

A resolution occurs when Kay solves the customer's issue without human agent involvement, whether by taking action or providing an answer the customer confirms solves their problem. Escalations to humans and simple deflections do not count.

Source
Freshservice: Which Freshservice plan includes change management?

Problem management, change management, major incident management and release management all start on the Pro plan at $99 per agent per month. The Growth plan at $49 covers service catalog, SLA and on-call management.

Source
Kayako: What is Kayako's AI resolution rate?

Kayako reports a 68 percent AI resolution rate for Kay AI Agent. The platform claims a cost advantage of $1 per resolution versus $4.60 for competitors, with reported CSAT improvement of 14 points.

Source
Freshservice: How much does Freddy AI cost on Freshservice?

Freddy AI Copilot is an optional add-on at $29 per agent per month on the Pro plan. The Freddy AI Agent in its Classic form is included on the Enterprise plan.

Source
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