ProProfsKayakoProProfs vs Kayako

ProProfs vs Kayako: AI at $450/year or $1 per resolution

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 ProProfs if one person answers chat and you want every feature free. Pick Kayako if you want an AI agent billed only per resolved ticket, with no seat fee. For five people it is $100 a month on ProProfs, and a quote on Kayako, before AI; Sellio Mini is $45 for the workspace. ProProfs and Kayako both include website chat in the price; only Kayako has email. Neither ProProfs nor Kayako includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what ProProfs and Kayako sell here at one price.

At a glanceProProfsProProfsKayakoKayako
Built aroundThe chat widget · free for one operatorTickets and a customer journey · AI billed per resolution
Entry plan$0 · one operator, all featuresQuote · Kayako One
Chat in the priceAbout $20/operator/mo · Team planQuote · widget included
AI agent$450/year · 2,500 AI interactions a month$1 per resolution · Kay AI Agent
Copilot for agentsIn the AI add-onIn Kay
Free planYes · a single operatorNone · 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

    ProProfsProProfs

    As a chat in the widget, greeted by a rule or the AI add-on, with the visitor's page shown. Kayako raises a ticket where ProProfs keeps a conversation.

    KayakoKayako

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

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    ProProfsProProfs

    One operator is free with every feature; a team pays per operator, about $20 a month each. $100 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; ProProfs prints $100.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    ProProfsProProfs

    AI chat automation is $450 a year for 2,500 interactions a month, a flat add-on. Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats instead.

    KayakoKayako

    Kay, the AI agent, is $1 per resolved ticket, with no seat fee; escalations are not charged. ProProfs folds AI ($450/year) into the plan instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    ProProfsProProfs

    Website chat, with WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger on the team plan; no Telegram. Kayako adds email, which ProProfs lacks.

    KayakoKayako

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

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    ProProfsProProfs

    A help desk, a knowledge base and surveys as sibling products; a suite from $499 a month. Kayako is a help desk instead.

    KayakoKayako

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

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    ProProfsProProfs

    Minutes: paste the widget. Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

    KayakoKayako

    A sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding. ProProfs is minutes.

Sources: ProProfs 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 ProProfs Chat operator view: the chat with the visitor's page and history
ProProfsProProfs. The ProProfs Chat operator view: the chat with the visitor's page and history
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: ProProfs pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13; needs verification); Kayako pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13; needs verification). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

ProProfs, 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.

FeatureProProfsProProfsKayakoKayakoSellio

Pricing

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

Channels

Website live chat
All plans
Widget included
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Separate help desk product
Included
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Team plan
Not offered
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Team plan
Messenger and X only
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)
Not offered
Slack integration
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
AI add-on
Kay
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
$450 a year flat
$1 per resolution
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Hands to an operator
Escalates free of charge
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Separate help desk product
Ticket-first
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Greetings and routing
Automation rules
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Chat reports
Reporting
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

Pick ProProfs if

  • One person answers chat and you want every feature free.
  • A flat yearly AI add-on beats a per-conversation meter for you.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Kayako offers no trial.
  • You want native desktop apps, which Kayako does not ship.

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 ProProfs does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which ProProfs does not have.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on ProProfs or Kayako who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $100 a month on ProProfs, and a quote on Kayako for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: ProProfs folds AI ($450/year) into the plan, Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and WhatsApp in the base price, which neither ProProfs nor Kayako includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

ProProfs: $100 a month for five (5 operators × about $20); 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, $55 less than ProProfs 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

ProProfs is a live chat software built around the chat widget; Kayako is a help desk built around tickets and a customer journey. Only ProProfs has a free plan (a single operator); Kayako offers no trial. ProProfs and Kayako both include website chat in the price; only Kayako has email. Neither ProProfs nor Kayako includes WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram outright. ProProfs folds AI ($450/year) into the plan; Kayako meters AI ($1 per resolution) above the seats. Kayako has tickets and ProProfs does not, and only ProProfs ships desktop apps. ProProfs is minutes; Kayako is a sales conversation, then a white-glove onboarding.

What each price leaves out

ProProfs: AI Chat Automation $450 a year for 2,500 interactions a month. Kayako: Kay AI Agent $1 per resolved ticket; escalations and deflections are free. Beside ProProfs's $450/year 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

ProProfs does not print the figures above in a form a fetch can read (Free for one operator; the team plan is priced per operator and shown after sign-up, so its figure is from published summaries.), so they are marked unverified here beside Kayako's, and ProProfs'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 ProProfs'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
    ProProfsProProfsSee 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.

    ProProfsProProfs · 15-day trial of the team plan
    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

ProProfs vs Kayako: the questions people ask

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

  • Entry plan: ProProfs $0 (one operator, all features); Kayako Quote (Kayako One).
  • Chat in the price: ProProfs About $20/operator/mo (Team plan); Kayako Quote (widget included).
  • Sellio's inbox: WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, which neither ProProfs nor Kayako has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside ProProfs and Kayako 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

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