GorgiasKayakoGorgias vs Kayako

Gorgias vs Kayako: who includes WhatsApp and Instagram

An ecommerce help desk against a help desk: one prints a price and one quotes. Where Gorgias and Kayako split, and a third option for small teams.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick Gorgias if you sell on Shopify, BigCommerce or Magento and want refunds and order edits from the ticket. Pick Kayako if you want an AI agent billed only per resolved ticket, with no seat fee. For five people it is $60 a month on Gorgias, and a quote on Kayako, before AI; Sellio Mini is $45 for the workspace. Gorgias and Kayako both include website chat and email in the price; only Gorgias has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Gorgias nor Kayako includes Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Gorgias against Kayako, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceGorgiasGorgiasKayakoKayako
Built aroundShopify orders · tickets priced by volumeTickets and a customer journey · AI billed per resolution
Entry plan$10/mo · Starter: 50 ticketsQuote · Kayako One
Chat in the price$60/mo · Basic: 300 tickets, any agentsQuote · widget included
AI agentAbout $1 per resolution · and it counts as a ticket$1 per resolution · Kay AI Agent
Copilot for agentsIncluded · AI-assisted repliesIn Kay
Free planNone · trial offeredNone · talk to a pricing expert

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    GorgiasGorgias

    As a ticket with the Shopify order beside it, so an agent can refund or edit without leaving. Kayako raises tickets too, from tickets and a customer journey.

    KayakoKayako

    As a ticket that shows the customer's journey across the site and past conversations. Gorgias raises tickets too, from Shopify orders.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    GorgiasGorgias

    There are no seats: $60 buys 300 tickets a month for any number of agents, and about $0.40 a ticket past that. $60 for five people; Kayako prints no figure to set beside it.

    KayakoKayako

    No seat price is printed for Kayako One; older plans were $15 to $60 per agent. No figure for five people here; Gorgias prints $60.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    GorgiasGorgias

    AI Agent is about $1 per resolved conversation, and each resolution also counts as a ticket. Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats as well.

    KayakoKayako

    Kay, the AI agent, is $1 per resolved ticket, with no seat fee; escalations are not charged. Gorgias meters AI (about $1 per resolution) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    GorgiasGorgias

    Email, chat, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and SMS, with the store's order data in every one. WhatsApp and Instagram are here and not on Kayako.

    KayakoKayako

    Email, live chat, Messenger and X; no WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram in the inbox. Gorgias adds WhatsApp and Instagram, which Kayako lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    GorgiasGorgias

    Revenue reporting, order actions, convert campaigns and deep Shopify, BigCommerce and Magento apps. Kayako is a help desk instead.

    KayakoKayako

    A help center, SLAs, automation rules and reporting. Gorgias is an ecommerce help desk instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    GorgiasGorgias

    Hours for a Shopify store: install the app, connect the mailbox, turn on the macros. Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

    KayakoKayako

    A sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding. Gorgias is hours for a Shopify store.

Sources: Gorgias pricing · Kayako pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The Gorgias ticket view: the customer thread with the Shopify order and actions on the right
GorgiasGorgias. The Gorgias ticket view: the customer thread with the Shopify order and actions on the right
The Kayako conversation view: the ticket with the customer journey timeline beside it
KayakoKayako. The Kayako conversation view: the ticket with the customer journey timeline beside it

Pricing references: Gorgias pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06; needs verification); Kayako pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13; needs verification). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Gorgias, Kayako and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureGorgiasGorgiasKayakoKayakoSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per ticket volume; AI per resolution on top.
Quote; AI per resolution
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
Trial only.
None
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Chat widget.
Widget included
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Yes.
Included
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Yes.
Not offered
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Yes, including comments.
Messenger and X only
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not a channel.
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack notifications.
Slack integration
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
AI Agent with Shopify actions.
Kay
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
About $1 per resolution, plus the ticket.
$1 per resolution
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Hands to agents.
Escalates free of charge
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticket-first.
Ticket-first
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Rules and macros.
Automation rules
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Support and revenue stats.
Reporting
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile.
Browser only
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Gorgias if

  • You sell on Shopify, BigCommerce or Magento and want refunds and order edits from the ticket.
  • Ticket volume is low and steady, so paying by ticket beats paying by seat.
  • You need WhatsApp and Instagram in the price, which Kayako does not include outright.
  • It prints its price ($60 a month for five) where Kayako quotes.

Pick Kayako if

  • You want an AI agent billed only per resolved ticket, with no seat fee.
  • A ticket view that shows the customer's journey matters to you.
  • Time to the first reply is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding here and hours for a Shopify store on Gorgias.
  • Its pricing model suits you better than Gorgias's: seat prices are not printed; the AI agent is $1 per resolution. Older plans ran $15 to $60 per agent.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $60 a month on Gorgias, and a quote on Kayako for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Gorgias meters AI (about $1 per resolution) above the seats, Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Gorgias nor Kayako includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Gorgias: $60 a month for five (300 tickets a month, any number of agents); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Kayako quotes per team, so two, five and ten people are three conversations with sales. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $15 less than Gorgias and against a quote on Kayako for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Gorgias is an ecommerce help desk built around Shopify orders; Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey. Neither has a free plan: Gorgias offers a free trial, Kayako no trial. Gorgias and Kayako both include website chat and email in the price; only Gorgias has WhatsApp and Instagram. Neither Gorgias nor Kayako includes Telegram outright. Gorgias (about $1 per resolution) and Kayako ($1 per resolution) both meter AI above the seats. Gorgias and Kayako both raise tickets, and neither Gorgias nor Kayako ships a desktop app. Gorgias is hours for a Shopify store; Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

What each price leaves out

Gorgias: AI Agent about $0.90 to $1.00 per resolved conversation on top of the plan; extra tickets about $0.36 to $0.40 each. Kayako: Kay AI Agent $1 per resolved ticket; escalations and deflections are free. Beside Gorgias's about $1 per resolution and Kayako's $1 per resolution, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How these figures were read

Gorgias does not print the figures above in a form a fetch can read (Per ticket volume, not per agent. Gorgias renders its table in the browser, so these figures were confirmed from published summaries; check the vendor page.), so they are marked unverified here beside Kayako's, and Gorgias's pricing page should be checked before you decide. Kayako does not print the figures above in a form a fetch can read (Seat prices are not printed; the AI agent is $1 per resolution. Older plans ran $15 to $60 per agent.), so they are marked unverified here beside Gorgias's, and Kayako's pricing page should be checked before you decide.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    GorgiasGorgiasSee vendorNot quoted
    KayakoKayakoSee vendorNot quoted
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    GorgiasGorgias · Free trial offered
    KayakoKayako · None printed; book a session
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

Gorgias vs Kayako: the questions people ask

Gorgias is an ecommerce help desk built around Shopify orders; Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey. Gorgias and Kayako both raise tickets, and neither Gorgias nor Kayako ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Gorgias $10/mo (Starter: 50 tickets); Kayako Quote (Kayako One).
  • Chat in the price: Gorgias $60/mo (Basic: 300 tickets, any agents); Kayako Quote (widget included).
  • Sellio: Telegram, which neither Gorgias nor Kayako has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Gorgias and Kayako rows is on the shared inbox page.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

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