How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Zendesk is the enterprise-grade Kayako alternative, with the deepest omnichannel ticketing.
- Freshdesk is the value pick for small and mid-market teams that want a capable help desk at $15 per agent.
- Help Scout suits small teams that want email-first support with a personal feel.
- Intercom fits product-led teams that want in-app messaging and AI resolution.
- Zoho Desk is the budget pick inside the Zoho ecosystem, with a free plan for 3 agents.
- Kayako now prices at $79 per seat plus $1 per resolved ticket, so most alternatives here cost less at entry level.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Zendesk | Enterprise omnichannel | $19/agent/month | No |
 Freshdesk | SMB and mid-market value | $15/agent/month | Yes |
 Help Scout | Email-first small teams | $25/user/month | No |
 Intercom | In-app messaging and AI | $39/seat/month | No |
 Zoho Desk | Zoho ecosystem budget | $14/agent/month | Yes |
 LiveAgent | Multichannel on a budget | $9/agent/month | No |
 Front | Collaborative shared inboxes | $19/seat/month | No |
 HubSpot Service Hub | CRM-connected support | $20/month | Yes |
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The best Kayako alternatives
Starting price$19/agent/month
Free planNo
Zendesk is the most capable Kayako alternative for teams that need enterprise-grade ticketing across email, chat, voice, and social channels. Its agent workspace pulls every channel into one queue, and its AI agents can resolve common requests or route complex cases with full context. Triggers, automations, and views give large teams fine control over routing, SLAs, and reporting.
Pricing starts at $19 per agent per month on the Support Team plan with annual billing, though published comparisons list Suite pricing from $55 per agent per month for fuller packages. Advanced AI, quality assurance, and workforce tools each carry their own per-agent fees on top of the Suite, so the total cost grows as teams adopt the features that matter most. Zendesk also demands a trained admin for triggers and automations, and reviewers report steep increases at renewal, so negotiate multi-year terms carefully.
What we like- Deepest omnichannel ticketing
- Strong AI agents and automation
- Huge integration library
- Proven at enterprise scale
Watch out for- AI priced as add-ons
- Needs a trained admin
- Renewal pricing pressure reported by reviewers
- No free plan
#2Freshdesk
Best for: SMB and mid-market value4.4/5 on
G2 (3,809 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit freshdesk.com
Starting price$15/agent/month
Free planYes
Freshdesk is the value pick for small and mid-market teams that want a capable help desk without enterprise cost. Setup is fast, the interface is clear, and the knowledge base, automations, and SLA tools cover standard support work well. It suits teams that mainly handle email and chat tickets and want a tool the whole team can learn in days.
Pricing starts at $15 per agent per month, with a free plan for a small number of agents. The friction points are AI pricing and add-ons: Freddy Copilot costs about $29 per agent per month on top of the plan, the autonomous bot is metered by session, and phone through Freshcaller costs about $15 per agent per month. A high-volume team can add hundreds per month in AI sessions alone, so price the AI layer at your real volume before comparing with Kayako.
What we like- Simple setup
- Good value at entry level
- Freddy AI on paid plans
- Strong knowledge base and automations
Watch out for- AI sold separately on higher plans
- Free plan is small
- Phone costs extra
- Performance lags reported at high volume
#3Help Scout
Best for: Email-first small teams4.4/5 on
G2 (431 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit helpscout.com
Starting price$25/user/month
Free planNo
Help Scout suits small teams that want support to feel personal rather than ticket-like. The workspace reads like a shared inbox, which keeps conversations natural, and Docs lets teams publish a help center without a separate tool. Live chat and AI drafts help small teams reply faster, and the reporting covers the basics without admin overhead.
Pricing starts near $25 per user per month in published comparisons, with some comparisons listing $50 per month for small-team plans. There is no free plan, only a trial, and AI features sit as an add-on on some plans. Help Scout is weaker for complex omnichannel routing than Zendesk, so teams with heavy voice or social volume should test those channels first. Teams that live in email will find it the most pleasant tool on this list.
What we like- Clean email-first workspace
- Shared inbox feel
- Docs and live chat included
- AI drafts and summaries
Watch out for- No free plan
- Weaker for complex omnichannel routing
- AI features are an add-on on some plans
- Smaller ecosystem
#4Intercom
Best for: In-app messaging and AI4.5/5 on
G2 (3,918 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit intercom.com
Starting price$39/seat/month
Free planNo
Intercom fits product-led SaaS teams that support users inside the product rather than through a ticket portal. Its messenger, product tours, and onboarding messages sit alongside support chat, and the Fin AI agent can resolve common questions without an agent touching the conversation. For teams whose users live in the app, that in-product presence is a real advantage over a traditional help desk.
Pricing starts near $39 per seat per month in published comparisons, with some comparisons listing $29 per seat for entry tiers and $74 for fuller plans. Seat pricing adds up fast for larger teams, and AI resolution pricing needs careful modeling at high volumes. Intercom is weaker for email-heavy teams than Zendesk or Freshdesk, so teams whose customers mainly write emails should weigh that before switching.
What we like- Best in-app messaging
- Fin AI agent resolves common questions
- Product tours and onboarding
- Strong for SaaS teams
Watch out for- Expensive at scale
- Seat pricing adds up
- AI resolution pricing needs care
- Weaker for email-heavy teams
#5Zoho Desk
Best for: Zoho ecosystem budget4.4/5 on
G2 (8,002 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit zoho.com
Starting price$14/agent/month
Free planYes
Zoho Desk is the budget pick for teams already running Zoho CRM, Zoho Books, or other Zoho apps. Tickets flow into CRM records without middleware, Zia AI assists with routing and replies, and multichannel support covers email, chat, phone, and social. The free plan covers up to 3 agents, which is enough for a small team to run real support at no seat cost.
Paid plans start at $14 per agent per month, with higher tiers near $40 per agent per month for enterprise features. Outside the Zoho ecosystem the value case weakens, since the interface is functional rather than polished and some integrations need workarounds. Teams already on Zoho get a capable help desk at the lowest paid price on this list, with AI included rather than sold as a separate add-on on every plan.
What we like- Lowest paid entry price here
- Free plan for 3 agents
- Zia AI included
- Deep Zoho CRM integration
- Multichannel support
Watch out for- Best value only inside Zoho
- Interface is functional rather than polished
- AI depth varies by plan
#6LiveAgent
Best for: Multichannel on a budget4.5/5 on
G2 (1,537 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit liveagent.com
Starting price$9/agent/month
Free planNo
LiveAgent is the cheapest paid help desk on this list, starting at $9 per agent per month. It covers email, live chat, phone, and social messages in one queue, with AI reply assist to speed up common answers. For a small team that needs true multichannel support without paying Zendesk prices, it offers the core features at a fraction of the cost.
There is no free plan, only a trial, and the vendor is smaller than Zendesk or Freshworks, so teams should check integration coverage for their specific tools. The design feels dated next to Help Scout or Intercom, and advanced reporting sits on higher tiers. For budget-first teams, though, LiveAgent delivers multichannel ticketing at a price no other tool here matches.
What we like- Lowest paid entry price here
- Email, chat, phone, and social in one queue
- AI reply assist
- 14-day trial
Watch out for- No free plan
- Smaller vendor
- Design feels dated
- Advanced reporting needs higher tiers
#7Front
Best for: Collaborative shared inboxes4.7/5 on
G2 (2,511 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit front.com
Starting price$19/seat/month
Free planNo
Front suits teams that think in inboxes rather than tickets. Support, operations, and sales emails share one workspace with internal comments, assignments, and collision detection, so two agents never reply to the same message. AI compose and summaries help teams draft faster, and the interface is clean enough for non-support teams to adopt.
Pricing starts near $19 per seat per month. There is no free plan, only a trial, and Front offers less help desk structure than Zendesk, with weaker SLA and workflow depth on entry plans. AI features are basic at the starting tier. Teams that run support as shared inboxes across departments will find Front natural, while teams that need strict ticketing workflows should prefer Zendesk or Freshdesk.
What we like- Shared inbox collaboration
- Internal comments and assignments
- AI compose and summaries
- Good for ops teams
Watch out for- No free plan
- Less help desk structure than Zendesk
- AI features are basic on entry plans
- Per-seat pricing adds up
#8HubSpot Service Hub
Best for: CRM-connected support4.4/5 on
G2 (2,922 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit hubspot.com
Starting price$20/month
Free planYes
HubSpot Service Hub fits teams already running HubSpot CRM and marketing tools. Tickets tie directly to contacts, companies, and deals, so agents see the full customer story without switching tools. Free tools cover basic ticketing, and paid plans start near $20 per month, which makes it easy to start small and grow inside one platform.
AI assistants sit on paid plans and stay limited on lower tiers, and costs grow as teams add HubSpot hubs. As a standalone help desk it offers less depth than Zendesk, so teams that do not use HubSpot CRM get less value from it. Teams already on HubSpot, though, get support that shares data with sales and marketing, which removes the sync work that plagues separate tools.
What we like- Free tools included
- Native HubSpot CRM link
- Tickets tied to contacts and deals
- AI assistants on paid plans
Watch out for- AI features limited on lower plans
- Costs grow with HubSpot suite
- Weaker for standalone help desk depth
How we chose
We compared Kayako alternatives on channel coverage, AI approach, pricing, free plans, and fit for team size. Kayako itself now focuses on autonomous support resolution at $79 per seat plus $1 per resolved ticket in published comparisons, with a 90-day pilot, so we weighted predictable pricing and AI inclusion heavily. Prices come from vendor pricing pages and published comparisons from 2026, and they change often, so confirm the current price before purchase.
How to choose the right Kayako alternative
Start with your channel mix and AI goals. Email-first teams should test Help Scout and Zoho Desk, in-app SaaS teams should test Intercom, and enterprise omnichannel teams should test Zendesk. Price the AI layer at your real ticket volume, since metered AI sessions and per-agent copilot fees can dwarf seat prices at scale. Kayako charges per resolved ticket, so compare that model honestly against per-seat pricing at your volume.
Next, run a trial with real tickets, including a complex case that needs internal comments, an escalation, and a knowledge article deflection. Check that customer history appears in one timeline, since fragmented context is a common complaint about older help desks. Finally, confirm migration support for tickets, articles, and automations, and keep Kayako live until the new help desk proves itself with real customers.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kayako?
Kayako is a customer support platform focused on autonomous support resolution, using AI to resolve common requests and route complex cases, with pricing at $79 per seat plus $1 per resolved ticket in published comparisons.
Is there a free Kayako alternative?
Zoho Desk offers a free plan for up to 3 agents, and HubSpot Service Hub offers free ticketing tools. Freshdesk offers a free plan for a small number of agents, though it is smaller than in past years.
Which Kayako alternative is cheapest?
LiveAgent has the lowest paid entry price here at $9 per agent per month. Zoho Desk at $14 per agent per month is the cheapest option with a free plan for small teams.
Does Zendesk replace Kayako?
Zendesk replaces Kayako for enterprise omnichannel ticketing, with deeper channel coverage and a larger integration library. Teams that want Kayako-style autonomous resolution should compare AI pricing carefully, since Zendesk sells advanced AI as add-ons.
Is Intercom good for email support?
Intercom handles email, but it is built for in-app messaging and chat first. Email-heavy teams usually get better value from Zendesk, Freshdesk, or Help Scout.
Can I migrate tickets from Kayako?
Most tools here support CSV import, API migration, or partner-led migration for tickets, knowledge articles, and customer data. Test the import with a sample of real tickets before cutover.
Sources we checked (0)
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.