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Kayako vs Klaus

Kayako logo

Kayako

Live Chat

Effortless customer service

From
$30/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Klaus logo

Klaus

Customer Support

AI-powered quality management for support teams

From
$50/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kayako the AI agent is billed at $1 per resolved ticket, so support cost scales with ticket volume rather than being a fixed subscription; Klaus no longer available as standalone product after Zendesk acquisition
  • They diverge on capability: Kayako covers Unified inbox, Klaus covers AI-powered QA.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kayako and Klaus actually diverge.

Attributes where Kayako and Klaus differ
AttributeKayakoKlaus
Starting price$30/month$50/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
CategoryLive ChatCustomer Support
Founded20012017

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Kayako

  • Unified inbox
  • Live chat
  • Help center
  • Customer journey
  • Automation
  • Reporting
  • Slack
  • Zapier

Only in Klaus

  • AI-powered QA
  • Conversation reviews
  • Scorecards
  • Coaching
  • Performance analytics
  • Calibration
  • Zendesk
  • Intercom

Both cover

  • Salesforce
  • SOC2
  • GDPR
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Kayako

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

Klaus

  • Quality assurancenot Kayako
  • Agent coachingnot Kayako
  • Performance trackingnot Kayako

Where each one falls short

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

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

Klaus

  • No longer available as standalone product after Zendesk acquisition
  • Requires separate Zendesk subscription (not included in base plan)
  • Cannot be used with non-Zendesk help desk systems

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Klaus

$50/month
  • Workforce Engagement Bundle$50/month
    • Includes Zendesk QA (formerly Klaus)
    • Requires base Zendesk Support or Suite plan
    • 100% conversation review with AI

Which should you pick?

Choose Kayako if

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

Choose Klaus if

  • You need ai-powered qa.
  • You also want conversation reviews.
Klaus review

Questions people ask

Is Kayako or Klaus better?
Neither clearly leads. Kayako starts at $30/month and Klaus at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kayako or Klaus?
Kayako starts at $30/month and Klaus at $50/month.
Does Kayako or Klaus run on more platforms?
Kayako runs on Web, Ios, Android. Klaus runs on Web.
What is Kayako best used for?
Kayako is most often used for help desk ticketing with a unified inbox and knowledge base, resolving support tickets automatically with an ai agent. Of those, help desk ticketing with a unified inbox and knowledge base and resolving support tickets automatically with an ai agent are not what Klaus is typically brought in for.
What can Kayako do that Klaus cannot?
Kayako covers Unified inbox, Live chat, Help center, Customer journey. Klaus covers AI-powered QA, Conversation reviews, Scorecards, Coaching. Both handle Salesforce, SOC2, GDPR, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Klaus: Is Klaus still available as a standalone product?

No. Klaus was acquired by Zendesk in February 2024 and is now integrated into Zendesk as Zendesk QA, requiring a paid Zendesk plan as the base.

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
Klaus: What QA features does Klaus provide?

Klaus automatically reviews 100% of customer interactions using AI, provides immediate performance insights, reduces QA time by 80%, and improves CSAT scores through targeted coaching.

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
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