Kayako
Zoho Desk
| Feature | Kayako | Zoho Desk |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $30/mo | Free / from $14/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 3.9 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | ecommerce, saas-companies, support-teams, mid-size-companies | small-businesses, zoho-users, support-teams, startups |
| Founded | 2001 | 2016 |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ticketing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Customer Journey | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Service | ✓ | ✓ |
| Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sla Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Assistant | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Channel | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Kayako Pros
- Unified customer view
- Good live chat
- Journey tracking
- Multichannel
✗ Kayako Cons
- Dated interface
- Limited integrations
- Slow development pace
✓ Zoho Desk Pros
- Affordable
- Zoho ecosystem integration
- AI assistant Zia
- Good free plan
✗ Zoho Desk Cons
- UI can feel cluttered
- Limited third-party integrations
- Documentation gaps
The Verdict
Kayako is built for ecommerce and saas companies, with a focus on live-chat and ticketing. Zoho Desk targets small businesses and zoho users and leads with ticketing and ai-assistant.
On pricing, Zoho Desk is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $14/mo compared to $30/mo for Kayako. That $16/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Zoho Desk has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Kayako requires a paid subscription from day one.
Zoho Desk 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.
Both tools are a solid fit for support teams — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Zoho Desk has a slight overall edge — but if unified customer view matters most to you, Kayako may still be the right call.