LiveChatKayakoLiveChat vs Kayako

LiveChat vs Kayako: live chat or help desk

A live chat software against a help desk: 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

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The short answer

Pick LiveChat if website chat is the channel and you want the most refined console and widget available. Pick Kayako if you want an AI agent billed only per resolved ticket, with no seat fee. For five people it is $245 a month on LiveChat, and a quote on Kayako, before AI; Sellio Mini is $45 for the workspace. LiveChat and Kayako both include website chat in the price; only Kayako has email. Neither LiveChat nor Kayako includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what LiveChat and Kayako sell here at one price.

At a glanceLiveChatLiveChatKayakoKayako
Built aroundThe chat console · help desk and chatbot sold separatelyTickets and a customer journey · AI billed per resolution
Entry plan$19/agent/mo · Starter: 60-day historyQuote · Kayako One
Chat in the price$49/agent/mo · TeamQuote · widget included
AI agentChatBot from $52/mo · a separate product$1 per resolution · Kay AI Agent
Copilot for agentsIncluded · Text IntelligenceIn Kay
Free planNone · 14-day trialNone · 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

    LiveChatLiveChat

    As a chat in the agent console, with the visitor's page and typing shown live; tickets go to the separate HelpDesk product. Kayako raises a ticket where LiveChat keeps a conversation.

    KayakoKayako

    As a ticket that shows the customer's journey across the site and past conversations. LiveChat has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    LiveChatLiveChat

    $19 buys the console with 60 days of history. Team at $49 keeps the history and adds reports. $245 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; LiveChat prints $245.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    LiveChatLiveChat

    Text Intelligence assists are included; an AI answering customers means the separate ChatBot product from $52 a month. 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. LiveChat meters AI (ChatBot from $52/mo) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    LiveChatLiveChat

    Website chat, Messenger, Apple Messages, WhatsApp and email in the console; SMS via integration. Kayako adds email, which LiveChat lacks.

    KayakoKayako

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

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    LiveChatLiveChat

    A large marketplace, and sibling products for chatbot, help desk and knowledge base at their own prices. Kayako is a help desk instead.

    KayakoKayako

    A help center, SLAs, automation rules and reporting. LiveChat is a live chat software instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    LiveChatLiveChat

    An hour: paste the snippet, invite agents, answer. Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

    KayakoKayako

    A sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding. LiveChat is an hour.

Sources: LiveChat 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 LiveChat agent console: the chat list, the conversation and the visitor details
LiveChatLiveChat. The LiveChat agent console: the chat list, the conversation and the visitor details
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: LiveChat pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Kayako pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13; needs verification). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

LiveChat, 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.

FeatureLiveChatLiveChatKayakoKayakoSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; ChatBot is a separate product.
Quote; AI per resolution
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
14-day trial.
None
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

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

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
ChatBot, a separate subscription.
Kay
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $52/mo for ChatBot; copilot included.
$1 per resolution
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
ChatBot transfers to agents.
Escalates free of charge
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
HelpDesk is a separate product.
Ticket-first
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Routing rules; flows live in ChatBot.
Automation rules
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and ratings.
Reporting
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

Pick LiveChat if

  • Website chat is the channel and you want the most refined console and widget available.
  • You need Apple Messages for Business.
  • You want native desktop apps, which Kayako does not ship.
  • It prints its price ($245 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.
  • You need email in the price, which LiveChat does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which LiveChat does not have.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on LiveChat or Kayako who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $245 a month on LiveChat, and a quote on Kayako for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: LiveChat meters AI (ChatBot from $52/mo) above the seats, Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and a free plan with no trial clock, which neither LiveChat nor Kayako includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

LiveChat on Team: $98, $245 and $490 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. 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, $200 less than LiveChat and against a quote on Kayako for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $395 under LiveChat.

Where the two agree, and where they split

LiveChat is a live chat software built around the chat console; Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey. Neither has a free plan: LiveChat offers 14 days, no card, Kayako no trial. LiveChat and Kayako both include website chat in the price; only Kayako has email. Neither LiveChat nor Kayako includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. LiveChat (ChatBot from $52/mo) and Kayako ($1 per resolution) both meter AI above the seats. Kayako has tickets and LiveChat does not, and only LiveChat ships desktop apps. LiveChat is an hour; Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

What each price leaves out

LiveChat: Text Intelligence (copilot, suggestions, summaries) included. The ChatBot product is separate, from $52 a month yearly. Kayako: Kay AI Agent $1 per resolved ticket; escalations and deflections are free. Beside LiveChat's ChatBot from $52/mo 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

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 LiveChat'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
    LiveChatLiveChatAssumed $0$0
    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.

    LiveChatLiveChat · 14 days, no card
    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

LiveChat vs Kayako: the questions people ask

LiveChat is a live chat software built around the chat console; Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey. Kayako has tickets and LiveChat does not, and only LiveChat ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: LiveChat $19/agent/mo (Starter: 60-day history); Kayako Quote (Kayako One).
  • Chat in the price: LiveChat $49/agent/mo (Team); Kayako Quote (widget included).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, which neither LiveChat nor Kayako has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the LiveChat 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.

Get startedRead the docs

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