KayakoAgileCRMKayako vs AgileCRM

Kayako vs AgileCRM: chat, tickets and AI for a small team

A help desk against an all-in-one CRM with a help desk: one prints a price and one quotes. Where Kayako and AgileCRM 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 Kayako if you want an AI agent billed only per resolved ticket, with no seat fee. Pick AgileCRM if you want sales, marketing and a help desk in one cheap CRM. For five people it is a quote on Kayako, and $150 a month on AgileCRM, before AI; Sellio Mini is $45 for the workspace. Kayako and AgileCRM both include email in the price; only Kayako has website chat. Neither Kayako nor AgileCRM includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Kayako against AgileCRM, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceKayakoKayakoAgileCRMAgileCRM
Built aroundTickets and a customer journey · AI billed per resolutionThe CRM record · help desk is one module
Entry planQuote · Kayako One$8.99/user/mo · Starter, two-year billing
Chat in the priceQuote · widget includedNone · no chat widget
AI agent$1 per resolution · Kay AI AgentNone · no AI agent
Copilot for agentsIn KayNone
Free planNone · talk to a pricing expertYes · 10 users, 1,000 contacts

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    KayakoKayako

    As a ticket that shows the customer's journey across the site and past conversations. AgileCRM raises tickets too, from the CRM record.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    As a help desk ticket attached to a CRM contact, beside the deals and campaigns. Kayako raises tickets too, from tickets and a customer journey.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    KayakoKayako

    No seat price is printed for Kayako One; older plans were $15 to $60 per agent. No figure for five people here; AgileCRM prints $150.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    $8.99 buys sales and marketing on Starter; the help desk module starts on Regular at $29.99. $150 for five people; Kayako prints no figure to set beside it.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    KayakoKayako

    Kay, the AI agent, is $1 per resolved ticket, with no seat fee; escalations are not charged. AgileCRM has no AI to bill (none) instead.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    No AI agent and no copilot; automation is rule-based campaign workflows. Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    KayakoKayako

    Email, live chat, Messenger and X; no WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram in the inbox. website chat is here and not on AgileCRM.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    Email tickets and telephony; no live chat widget, WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram. Kayako adds website chat, which AgileCRM lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    KayakoKayako

    A help center, SLAs, automation rules and reporting. AgileCRM is an all-in-one CRM with a help desk instead.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    Sales pipeline, marketing automation, landing pages and email campaigns in one CRM. Kayako is a help desk instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    KayakoKayako

    A sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding. AgileCRM is a day.

    AgileCRMAgileCRM

    A day: import contacts, connect the mailbox, set up groups and canned responses. Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

Sources: Kayako pricing · AgileCRM 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 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
The AgileCRM help desk: the ticket list beside the contact record
AgileCRMAgileCRM. The AgileCRM help desk: the ticket list beside the contact record

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

Kayako, AgileCRM 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.

FeatureKayakoKayakoAgileCRMAgileCRMSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Quote; AI per resolution
Per user; lowest price needs two-year billing
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None
10 users, 1,000 contacts
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Widget included
No chat widget
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Included
Help desk on Regular and up
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Not offered
Not offered
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Messenger and X only
Not offered
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not offered
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack integration
Not offered
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Kay
None
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
$1 per resolution
No AI to bill
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Escalates free of charge
No AI to hand off from
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticket-first
Groups, labels, canned responses
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Automation rules
Campaign workflows and triggers
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reporting
Basic reports
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

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.
  • You need website chat in the price, which AgileCRM does not include outright.
  • You want an AI agent at all; AgileCRM has none.

Pick AgileCRM if

  • You want sales, marketing and a help desk in one cheap CRM.
  • Support is email tickets and phone, without a chat widget.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Kayako offers no trial.
  • It prints its price ($150 a month for five) where Kayako quotes.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against a quote on Kayako, and $150 a month on AgileCRM for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats, AgileCRM has no AI to bill (none), and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Kayako nor AgileCRM includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Kayako quotes per team, so two, five and ten people are three conversations with sales. AgileCRM on Regular: $60, $150 and $300 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, against a quote on Kayako and $105 less than AgileCRM for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $205 under AgileCRM.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey; AgileCRM is an all-in-one CRM with a help desk built around the CRM record. Only AgileCRM has a free plan (10 users, 1,000 contacts); Kayako offers no trial. Kayako and AgileCRM both include email in the price; only Kayako has website chat. Neither Kayako nor AgileCRM includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats; AgileCRM has no AI to bill (none). Kayako and AgileCRM both raise tickets, and neither Kayako nor AgileCRM ships a desktop app. Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding; AgileCRM is a day.

What each price leaves out

Kayako: Kay AI Agent $1 per resolved ticket; escalations and deflections are free. AgileCRM: No AI agent or copilot. Beside Kayako's $1 per resolution and AgileCRM's none, 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

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 AgileCRM'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
    KayakoKayakoSee vendorNot quoted
    AgileCRMAgileCRMAssumed $0$0
    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.

    KayakoKayako · None printed; book a session
    AgileCRMAgileCRM · Free plan, no card
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Kayako vs AgileCRM: the questions people ask

Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey; AgileCRM is an all-in-one CRM with a help desk built around the CRM record. Kayako and AgileCRM both raise tickets, and neither Kayako nor AgileCRM ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Kayako Quote (Kayako One); AgileCRM $8.99/user/mo (Starter, two-year billing).
  • Chat in the price: Kayako Quote (widget included); AgileCRM None (no chat widget).
  • Sellio: WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, which neither Kayako nor AgileCRM has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Kayako and AgileCRM 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.

Get startedRead the docs

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