---
title: "HelpDesk vs Kayako - 2026 Comparison - Software Advice"
description: "HelpDesk vs Kayako - See how these products stack up against each other with real user reviews, product feature comparisons and screenshots. Find out which one is best for your organization."
source_url: "https://www.softwareadvice.com/issue-tracking/helpdesk-profile/vs/kayako/"
page_type: "comparison"
language: "en"
publication_date: "2026-10-22"
---

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HelpDesk vs Kayako

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Updated October 22, 2026

# HelpDesk vs. Kayako: 2026 Comparison

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Updated October 22, 2026

# HelpDesk vs. Kayako: 2026 Comparison

Skip hours of research. Get your top 5 matches from an expert in 15 minutes, 100% free.

Free Expert Guidance

Real Human Advice

1M + Businesses Helped

Product comparison

Compare up to 3 products side-by-side

+

Add product

[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/issue-tracking/helpdesk-profile/)

[HelpDesk](https://www.softwareadvice.com/issue-tracking/helpdesk-profile/)

4.6

[(184)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/issue-tracking/helpdesk-profile/reviews/)

Starting Price

$29.00per month

Free trial: Available

Free version: Not available

Pros:

-   Ease of use
-   Customer support

Cons:

-   Lack of advanced features
-   No mobile app

Who uses HelpDesk

Based on 184 reviews

-   Popular among: Small businesses
-   Most common industries: Retail, Consumer Goods & Services (17%), IT & Software Development (15%) and Professional Services (10%)
-   Top use case: Customer Service (58%)

76% of users recommend this product

[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/help-desk/kayako-profile/)

[Kayako](https://www.softwareadvice.com/help-desk/kayako-profile/)

4.0

[(176)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/help-desk/kayako-profile/reviews/)

Starting Price

Not provided by vendor

Free trial: Available

Free version: Available

Pros:

Not enough reviews

Cons:

Not enough reviews

Who uses Kayako

Based on 176 reviews

-   Popular among: Small businesses
-   Most common industry: IT & Software Development (36%)
-   Top use cases: Customer Support (9%), Customer Service (5%) and Help Desk (5%)

54% of users recommend this product

[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/issue-tracking/helpdesk-profile/)

HelpDesk

4.6

[(184)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/issue-tracking/helpdesk-profile/reviews/)

[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/help-desk/kayako-profile/)

Kayako

4.0

[(176)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/help-desk/kayako-profile/reviews/)

+

Add product

Add product

## HelpDesk vs Kayako: At a glance

* * *

Product ratings at a glance
|  | HelpDesk | Kayako |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Overall rating | 4.6<br>184 reviews | 4.0<br>176 reviews |
| Ease of use | 4.7 | 3.9 |
| Value for money | 4.4 | 3.8 |
| Functionality | 4.4 | 3.8 |
| Customer support | 4.5 | 3.9 |
| Ease of deployment | 4.5 | 4.1 |

Best in comparison

Looking for better functionality? Ask an advisor for high-rated alternatives

Looking for better functionality? Ask an advisor for high-rated alternatives

Looking for better functionality? Ask an advisor for high-rated alternatives

## User interface

* * *

## Key features

Features selected based on 360 reviews from Customer Service

* * *

Alerts/Escalation

4.4

Automated Routing

4.3

Call Center Management

5.0

Conversation Intelligence

4.5

CRM

2.5

Email Management

N/A

-   Real-Time Chat: 4.9
-   Support Ticket Tracking: 4.9
-   Multi-Channel Communication: 4.8
-   Prioritization: 4.7
-   Real-Time Monitoring: 4.6
-   Live Chat: 4.6
-   Key Performance Indicators: 4.6
-   Support Ticket Management: 4.6
-   Self Service Portal: 4.5
-   Task Management: 4.5
-   Conversation Intelligence: 4.5
-   Language Detection: 4.4
-   Chat/Messaging: 4.4
-   Complaint Monitoring: 4.4
-   Surveys & Feedback: 4.4
-   Ticket Management: 4.4
-   Chatbot: 4.4
-   Email Management: 4.4
-   Alerts/Escalation: 4.4
-   AI Copilot: 4.4
-   Assignment Management: 4.3
-   Automated Routing: 4.3
-   Feedback Management: 4.2
-   Dashboard: 4.2
-   Reporting/Analytics: 4.2
-   Reporting & Statistics: 4.2
-   Activity Dashboard: 4.2
-   Customer Database: 4.1
-   Autoresponders: 4.1
-   Alerts/Notifications: 4.1
-   Performance Metrics: 4.1
-   Customizable Branding: 4.0
-   Macros/Templated Responses: 4.0
-   Collaboration Tools: 4.0
-   Knowledge Base Management: 3.9

Alerts/Escalation

N/A

Automated Routing

N/A

Call Center Management

N/A

Conversation Intelligence

N/A

CRM

5.0

Email Management

4.0

-   Multi-Channel Communication: 4.7
-   Support Ticket Management: 4.6
-   Customer Database: 4.4
-   Email Management: 4.0
-   Ticket Management: 3.9
-   Knowledge Base Management: 3.8
-   Reporting/Analytics: 3.5

### Wondering if these products fit your needs?

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## Integrations

* * *

[

LiveChatNot enough reviews

](https://www.softwareadvice.com/help-desk/livechat-profile/)[

ZapierNot enough reviews

](https://www.softwareadvice.com/cloud-management/zapier-profile/)[

JiraNot enough reviews

](https://www.softwareadvice.com/project-management/atlassian-jira-profile/)

-   GitHub
-   Shopify
-   Chatbot
-   HubSpot CRM
-   Webflow
-   WordPress
-   Slack
-   OpenWidget

[

ActiveCampaignNot enough reviews

](https://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/activecampaign-profile/)[

ChargebeeNot enough reviews

](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/chargebee-profile/)[

Google Analytics 360Not enough reviews

](https://www.softwareadvice.com/bi/google-analytics-profile/)

-   Microsoft Outlook
-   Slack
-   Teamwork.com
-   Zuora
-   Zoho CRM
-   Hubstaff
-   Keap
-   PagerDuty
-   QuickBooks Online
-   SurveyMonkey
-   WordPress
-   Campaign Monitor by Marigold
-   Eventbrite
-   Geckoboard
-   Hootsuite
-   Marketo Engage
-   Stripe Payments
-   Alchemer Survey
-   ValueOps
-   Meta for Business
-   Twitter/X
-   123FormBuilder
-   Basecamp
-   GetResponse
-   GitHub
-   HubSpot CRM
-   Joomla
-   Wufoo
-   Xero
-   QuickBooks Online Advanced
-   BigCommerce
-   Constant Contact
-   Dropbox
-   InsightSquared
-   Pipedrive
-   WooCommerce
-   Drupal
-   Adobe Commerce
-   Salesforce Sales Cloud
-   Trello
-   Microsoft Viva Engage
-   Nicereply
-   Google Calendar
-   FreshBooks
-   Nimble
-   PayPal Payments
-   Typeform
-   Google Workspace
-   LinkedIn for Business
-   Jira
-   Podio
-   Recurly
-   Shopify
-   Zapier

## Reviews

* * *

Positive review:

Noman Z.

CEO

Marketing and Advertising, 2-10 employees

"For my own agency and brands, it's working seamlessly and making it easier for me to turn engage traffic."

Aug 19, 2026

Negative review:

CG

Cindy G.

Customer Service Supervisor

Medical Devices, 2-10 employees

"I don't like that this function is separate from LiveChat, I don't like having to toggle between the two to see if there are any new messages."

Jan 15, 2026

Positive review:

MV

Ma.Theresa V.

Analyst

Computer & Network Security, 11-50 employees

"The Help Desk provides reliable and supportive assistance, ensuring most issues are resolved in a timely and professional manner. While there are areas that could be improved, such as proactive follow-ups and broader technical knowledge, the overall experience is positive and contributes significantly to smooth operations."

Sep 18, 2025

Negative review:

VN

Violetta N.

VIP Customer support

Gambling & Casinos, 51-200 employees

"Sometimes when I paste a copied message and space all the paragraphs correctly, it doesn't look the same after sending it to the client."

Aug 6, 2025

Positive review:

CL

Cece L.

Program Coordinator

Education Management, 11-50 employees

"The chat feature works and is effective, and I like that we can pre-collect information such as the visitor's email and region in the case that we need to follow up afterwards."

Apr 24, 2025

Negative review:

DP

Daniel P.

Sales

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 201-500 employees

"The main aspect that I do not like about the helpdesk is that if you assign a ticket to someone, or if someone assigns you a ticket, there is no notification email sent to the assignee."

Jun 6, 2025

[Read all reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/issue-tracking/helpdesk-profile/reviews/)

Positive review:

NM

Natale M.

Senior Field Technician

Information Technology and Services, 2-10 employees

"It does some things very well and makes communications with clients centralized and viewable for everyone on the team, but some of the other features were quite buggy and inconsistent."

May 22, 2025

Negative review:

DM

David M.

Admin

Telecommunications, 2-10 employees

"Two of my agents hit a wall trying to pull a fairly standard report and I ended up opening a support ticket just to get the steps."

Apr 21, 2026

Positive review:

KA

KENNETH A.

Costumer Care Representative

Building Materials, 51-200 employees

"Its the best tickets management software so far because it gets the job done so effectively and efficiently that there is mostly little left for me to do."

Jan 23, 2025

Negative review:

DM

David M.

Admin

Telecommunications, 2-10 employees

"The data is all there, it's just buried under menus that aren't laid out intuitively."

Apr 21, 2026

Positive review:

KM

Kilmer M.

Senior Director of Advertising and eCommerce

Financial Services, 11-50 employees

"Kayako streamlines customer interactions by centralizing all inquiries onto a single platform."

Oct 24, 2024

Negative review:

TK

Taylor K.

Engineer

Hospitality, 501-1000 employees

"The interface can be quite cluttered creating a tricky navigation at times."

Feb 22, 2025

[Read all reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/help-desk/kayako-profile/reviews/)

## Customer support

* * *

HelpDesk

Email/Help Desk: Available

FAQs/Forum: Available

Knowledge Base: Available

Phone Support: Available

24/7: Available

Chat: Available

Kayako

Email/Help Desk: Available

FAQs/Forum: Available

Knowledge Base: Available

Phone Support: Available

24/7: Available

Chat: Available

## Training options

* * *

HelpDesk

In Person: Not available

Live Online: Available

Webinars: Available

Documentation: Available

Videos: Available

Kayako

In Person: Not available

Live Online: Available

Webinars: Available

Documentation: Available

Videos: Available

## Send this comparison chart to my inbox

## Popular Comparisons

* * *

[Salesforce Sales Cloud vs HelpDesk](https://www.softwareadvice.com/compare/2764-Salesforce/vs/150799-helpdesk/)[LiveAgent vs Kayako](https://www.softwareadvice.com/help-desk/kayako-profile/vs/liveagent/)