What is the difference between Intercom and Kayako?

Intercom is best for SaaS companies that want unified customer messaging, while Kayako is best for Support teams wanting unified customer journey tracking. Intercom starts at $39/seat/mo and Kayako starts at $15/agent/mo.

Intercom vs Kayako

Intercom is customer messaging platform with live chat, bots, help center, and product tours, while Kayako is help desk platform with journey-based customer support and multichannel inbox. Kayako comes in cheaper, but price alone does not tell the full story. Intercom is built for saas companies that want unified customer messaging, whereas Kayako targets support teams wanting unified customer journey tracking.

At a glance

	Intercom	Kayako
Best for	SaaS companies that want unified customer messaging	Support teams wanting unified customer journey tracking
Starting price	$39/seat/mo	$15/agent/mo
Free tier	—	—
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	—	—
Open source	—	—
AI Chatbot	✓	—
Collaborators	—	✓
Help Center	✓	—
Journey Tracking	—	✓
Live Chat	✓	✓
Product Tours	✓	—
Shared Inbox	✓	✓

Intercom

Strengths

Unified platform for chat, bots, help center, and email
AI-powered chatbot (Fin) handles routine queries
Product tours and in-app messaging
Strong reporting and analytics

Weaknesses

Expensive — pricing starts at $39/seat/mo
Complex pricing with many add-ons
Can be overwhelming to set up
Some features feel half-baked

Try Intercom → Full review

Kayako

Strengths

Includes Journey Tracking as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Includes Live Chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Pricing starts at $15/agent/mo, which includes the full customer support feature set
Established product with 25+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Starts at $15/agent/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Kayako → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Intercom starts at $39/seat/mo. Kayako starts at $15/agent/mo. Kayako is the more affordable option.

Feature gaps: Intercom offers AI Chatbot, Help Center and Product Tours that Kayako lacks. Kayako brings Collaborators and Journey Tracking that Intercom does not have. Both share Live Chat and Shared Inbox.

Team fit: Both tools target mid-size teams teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Where each tool shines: Intercom's biggest strengths are: unified platform for chat, bots, help center, and email. ai-powered chatbot (fin) handles routine queries. Kayako's biggest strengths are: includes journey tracking as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows.

Watch out for: With Intercom, users commonly note that expensive — pricing starts at $39/seat/mo. With Kayako, the main complaint is that starts at $15/agent/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users.

Choose Intercom if...

You need a tool built for saas companies that want unified customer messaging
You specifically need AI Chatbot and Help Center
You care about ai-powered chatbot (fin) handles routine queries

Choose Kayako if...

You need a tool built for support teams wanting unified customer journey tracking
You want to save on per-user costs — Kayako is $24.00/user/mo cheaper
You specifically need Collaborators and Journey Tracking
You care about includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows