Front
Kayako
| Feature | Front | Kayako |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $19/mo | From $30/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 3.9 / 5 |
| Best For | customer-facing-teams, operations-teams, logistics-companies, professional-services | ecommerce, saas-companies, support-teams, mid-size-companies |
| Founded | 2013 | 2001 |
| Shared Inboxes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sla Management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Internal Comments | ✓ | ✗ |
| Omnichannel | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ticketing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Customer Journey | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Service | ✗ | ✓ |
| Collaboration | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Front Pros
- Unified inbox combining email, chat, SMS, social
- Excellent team collaboration with internal comments
- Powerful automation rules and SLA management
- Familiar email-like interface (low learning curve)
✗ Front Cons
- Expensive per-seat pricing especially at scale
- No free plan for small teams to try
- Can be overwhelming with high email volumes
✓ Kayako Pros
- Unified customer view
- Good live chat
- Journey tracking
- Multichannel
✗ Kayako Cons
- Dated interface
- Limited integrations
- Slow development pace
The Verdict
Front is built for customer facing teams and operations teams, with a focus on shared-inboxes and workflow-automation. Kayako targets ecommerce and saas companies and leads with live-chat and ticketing.
On pricing, Front is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $19/mo compared to $30/mo for Kayako. That $11/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.
Front edges out on user ratings (4.5 vs 3.9). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Front offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Kayako takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Front has a slight overall edge — but if unified customer view matters most to you, Kayako may still be the right call.