Drift
Kayako
| Feature | Drift | Kayako |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $2500/mo | From $30/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 3.9 / 5 |
| Best For | b2b-companies, enterprise, sales-teams, marketing-teams | ecommerce, saas-companies, support-teams, mid-size-companies |
| Founded | 2015 | 2001 |
| Chatbots | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✓ |
| Meeting Scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Messaging | ✓ | ✗ |
| Revenue Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Engagement | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ticketing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Customer Journey | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Service | ✗ | ✓ |
| Collaboration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sla Management | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Drift Pros
- Powerful chatbot builder
- Revenue attribution
- Good integrations
- AI-powered routing
✗ Drift Cons
- Very expensive
- Complex setup
- Steep learning curve
✓ Kayako Pros
- Unified customer view
- Good live chat
- Journey tracking
- Multichannel
✗ Kayako Cons
- Dated interface
- Limited integrations
- Slow development pace
The Verdict
Drift is built for b2b companies and enterprise, with a focus on chatbots and live-chat. Kayako targets ecommerce and saas companies and leads with live-chat and ticketing.
On pricing, Kayako is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $30/mo compared to $2500/mo for Drift. That $2470/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
Drift edges out on user ratings (4.2 vs 3.9). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: Drift has a slight overall edge — but if unified customer view matters most to you, Kayako may still be the right call.