Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

Groove vs Kayako

Groove logo

Groove

Customer Support

Simple, powerful support for growing businesses

From
$12/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: Groove billed per ticket at $1 rather than per agent, so support cost scales with how many customers get in touch; 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: Groove covers Shared inbox, Kayako covers Unified inbox.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Groove and Kayako actually diverge.

Attributes where Groove and Kayako differ
AttributeGrooveKayako
Starting price$12/month$30/month
CategoryCustomer SupportLive Chat
Founded20112001

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 Groove

  • Shared inbox
  • Knowledge base
  • Automation rules
  • Collision detection
  • Trello
  • Jira
  • 2FA

Only in Kayako

  • Unified inbox
  • Help center
  • Customer journey
  • Automation
  • Stripe
  • Shopify
  • SOC2

Both cover

  • Live chat
  • Reporting
  • Slack
  • Salesforce
  • Zapier
  • SSL
  • GDPR
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Groove

  • Shared inbox and help desk ticketing for small support teamsnot Kayako
  • Handling email, chat and messaging support in one queuenot Kayako

Kayako

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

Where each one falls short

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

Groove

  • Billed per ticket at $1 rather than per agent, so support cost scales with how many customers get in touch
  • A minimum of 250 tickets a month applies, which is a $3,000 annual commitment before any usage
  • A quiet month still pays the 250 ticket floor
  • No mailbox limit is published

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

Groove

$12/month
  • Standard$12/month
    • 1 mailbox
    • Knowledge base
    • Live chat
  • Plus$20/month
    • 5 mailboxes
    • Full reporting
    • Rules
  • Pro$35/month
    • 25 mailboxes
    • Salesforce
    • Enterprise SSO

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 Groove if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want knowledge base.
Groove review

Choose Kayako if

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

Questions people ask

Is Groove or Kayako better?
Neither clearly leads. Groove starts at $12/month and Kayako at $30/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Groove or Kayako?
Groove starts at $12/month and Kayako at $30/month.
Does Groove or Kayako run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Groove best used for?
Groove is most often used for shared inbox and help desk ticketing for small support teams, handling email, chat and messaging support in one queue. Of those, shared inbox and help desk ticketing for small support teams and handling email, chat and messaging support in one queue are not what Kayako is typically brought in for.
What can Groove do that Kayako cannot?
Groove covers Shared inbox, Knowledge base, Automation rules, Collision detection. Kayako covers Unified inbox, Help center, Customer journey, Automation. Both handle Live chat, Reporting, Slack, Salesforce.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Groove: How is Helply priced?

Helply uses per-ticket pricing at 1 dollar per ticket. This single price covers all features including resolutions, drafts, churn alerts, upsell flags, feature requests, and documentation.

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
Groove: Do I need to pay per team member for Helply?

No, Helply charges per ticket, not per seat. You can bring your entire team, AEs, PMs, and integrations without additional per-person charges.

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
Groove: What's included in Helply's per-ticket price?

The per-ticket price of 1 dollar includes resolutions, drafts, churn alerts, upsell flags, feature requests, documentation, and all AI capabilities with no separate add-on charges.

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
Groove: Is there a free trial for Helply?

Helply offers a free 12-minute demo walkthrough. Enterprise plans are also available for larger organizations.

Source
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