KayakoFacebook ChatKayako vs Facebook Chat

Kayako vs Facebook Chat: help desk or Meta Business Suite inbox

A help desk against a Meta Business Suite inbox: one prints a price and one quotes. The six differences, what five people pay on each, and a third option.

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

Try the third optionSellio pricing

No credit card. Live in minutes.

The short answer

Pick Kayako if you want an AI agent billed only per resolved ticket, with no seat fee. Pick Facebook Chat if customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget. For five people it is a quote on Kayako, and $0 a month on Facebook Chat, before AI; Sellio Mini is $45 for the workspace. Kayako and Facebook Chat share no channel in the base price; only Kayako has website chat and email; only Facebook Chat has Instagram. Neither Kayako nor Facebook Chat includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Kayako and Facebook Chat sell here at one price.

At a glanceKayakoKayakoFacebook ChatFacebook Chat
Built aroundTickets and a customer journey · AI billed per resolutionMessenger and Instagram DMs · free with a Page
Entry planQuote · Kayako One$0 · with a Facebook Page
Chat in the priceQuote · widget includedNone · the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024
AI agent$1 per resolution · Kay AI AgentNone to buy · instant replies and FAQs
Copilot for agentsIn KayMeta AI drafts · for some businesses
Free planNone · talk to a pricing expertYes · the whole inbox is free

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. Facebook Chat has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    As a Messenger or Instagram message in the Business Suite inbox, with the customer's profile beside it. Kayako raises a ticket where Facebook Chat keeps a conversation.

  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; Facebook Chat prints $0.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    There are no seats and no price; anyone with a Page role can answer. $0 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. Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy) instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    No AI agent to buy. Instant replies, away messages and FAQs are rules; Meta AI drafts replies for some businesses. 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 and email are here and not on Facebook Chat.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Messenger, Instagram DMs and comments; WhatsApp lives in its own app, and the website plugin is gone. Instagram is here and not on Kayako.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    KayakoKayako

    A help center, SLAs, automation rules and reporting. Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Posting, scheduling and ads for the Page; nothing beyond Meta's own channels. Kayako is a help desk instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    KayakoKayako

    A sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding. Facebook Chat is none.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    None: it is already there when you have a Page. Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

Sources: Kayako pricing · Facebook Chat 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 Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list
Facebook ChatFacebook Chat. The Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list

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

Kayako, Facebook Chat 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.

FeatureKayakoKayakoFacebook ChatFacebook ChatSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Quote; AI per resolution
Free
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None
The whole product
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Widget included
Website Chat Plugin retired in 2024
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Included
Not offered
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Not offered
Separate WhatsApp Business app
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Messenger and X only
DMs and comments
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
Rules, not an AI agent
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
Labels and done state only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Automation rules
Instant replies, away messages, FAQs
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reporting
Page insights
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser only
Browser and mobile
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 and email in the price, which Facebook Chat does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Facebook Chat does not have.

Pick Facebook Chat if

  • Customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget.
  • One or two people answer and you do not need assignment or tickets.
  • You need Instagram in the price, which Kayako does not include outright.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Kayako offers no trial.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Kayako or Facebook Chat who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with a quote on Kayako, and $0 a month on Facebook Chat for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats, Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy); Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Kayako nor Facebook Chat includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Kayako quotes per team, so two, five and ten people are three conversations with sales. Facebook Chat: $0 a month for five (free for anyone with a Page role); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, against a quote on Kayako and more than Facebook Chat's $0 for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. Only Facebook Chat has a free plan (the whole inbox is free); Kayako offers no trial. Kayako and Facebook Chat share no channel in the base price; only Kayako has website chat and email; only Facebook Chat has Instagram. Neither Kayako nor Facebook Chat includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats; Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy). Kayako has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and neither Kayako nor Facebook Chat ships a desktop app. Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding; Facebook Chat is none.

What each price leaves out

Kayako: Kay AI Agent $1 per resolved ticket; escalations and deflections are free. Facebook Chat: No AI agent; instant replies and FAQs are rule-based. Beside Kayako's $1 per resolution and Facebook Chat's none to buy, 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 Facebook Chat'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
    Facebook ChatFacebook ChatSee 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.

    KayakoKayako · None printed; book a session
    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat · Not applicable; free
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Kayako vs Facebook Chat: the questions people ask

Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. Kayako has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and neither Kayako nor Facebook Chat ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Kayako Quote (Kayako One); Facebook Chat $0 (with a Facebook Page).
  • Chat in the price: Kayako Quote (widget included); Facebook Chat None (the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024).
  • Sellio's inbox: WhatsApp and Telegram, which neither Kayako nor Facebook Chat has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Kayako and Facebook Chat on the same rows.

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

No credit card required