Kayako
ServiceNow
| Feature | Kayako | ServiceNow |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $30/mo | Contact sales |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 3.9 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | ecommerce, saas-companies, support-teams, mid-size-companies | enterprise, it-departments, large-organizations, government |
| Founded | 2001 | 2004 |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ticketing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Customer Journey | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Service | ✓ | ✗ |
| Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sla Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Itsm | ✗ | ✓ |
| Itom | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflow Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cmdb | ✗ | ✓ |
| Service Portal | ✗ | ✓ |
| Virtual Agent | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Kayako Pros
- Unified customer view
- Good live chat
- Journey tracking
- Multichannel
✗ Kayako Cons
- Dated interface
- Limited integrations
- Slow development pace
✓ ServiceNow Pros
- Industry leader in ITSM
- Highly customizable
- Powerful workflows
- AI integration
✗ ServiceNow Cons
- Very expensive
- Complex implementation
- Requires dedicated admin
The Verdict
Kayako is built for ecommerce and saas companies, with a focus on live-chat and ticketing. ServiceNow targets enterprise and it departments and leads with itsm and itom.
ServiceNow uses custom enterprise pricing, while Kayako starts at $30/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
ServiceNow edges out on user ratings (4.3 vs 3.9). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: ServiceNow has a slight overall edge — but if unified customer view matters most to you, Kayako may still be the right call.