Hiver vs Kayako
Hiver is gmail-based customer service platform. Best suited for organizations heavily invested in Gmail who primarily handle email support. Known for its native Gmail integration and shared mailbox management.
Kayako is customer service software that scales with your business. Best suited for traditional businesses focused on email and phone support. Known for its comprehensive knowledge base with customer portal.
Hiver KayakoHiver and Kayako represent different approaches to customer support - Hiver transforms Gmail into a collaborative helpdesk, while Kayako provides a dedicated platform for unified customer conversations.
The choice depends on whether your team prefers working within Gmail's familiar interface or wants a purpose-built support platform with advanced conversation management.
What features does Hiver offer?
Hiver's feature set is built around its target customer base, a key differentiator against Kayako. It uses a per seat pricing model starting at From $25/seat/mo, a different approach from Kayako's usage-based structure. The features split across channel coverage, automation depth, AI tooling, and team management. Converge ($49/month flat for up to 15 agents) covers all of these in its base subscription.
What features does Kayako offer?
Kayako's feature set is built around its target customer base, a key differentiator against Hiver. It uses a usage-based pricing model starting at From $1/mo, a different approach from Hiver's per seat structure. The features split across channel coverage, automation depth, AI tooling, and team management. Converge ($49/month flat for up to 15 agents) covers all of these in its base subscription.
How do Hiver and Kayako compare on features?
Hiver and Kayako compete in the same category but tune their feature sets for different team profiles. The material differences cluster around channel coverage, automation depth, reporting, and team management. The side-by-side below draws on aggregated G2 and Capterra reviews. A flat-rate alternative like Converge ($49/month for up to 15 agents) may sidestep the trade-off entirely.
Hiver excels by turning Gmail into a collaborative workspace with shared inboxes, email assignments, and collision detection. Teams can manage support without leaving their familiar Gmail environment.
Kayako provides unified customer conversations across email, chat, phone, and social media in a single timeline. Its customer journey tracking offers complete interaction history and context.
Hiver offers superior Gmail integration and email collaboration, while Kayako provides better multi-channel support and customer context management beyond email.
How much do Hiver and Kayako cost?
Hiver starts at From $25/seat/mo (per seat); Kayako starts at From $1/mo (usage-based). Converge is $49/month flat for up to 15 agents with all channels and AI included.
Hiver costs $15-$59 per user monthly, while Kayako ranges from $15-$35 per agent. Hiver's pricing can become expensive at higher tiers - a 10-person team costs $150-$590 with Hiver versus $150-$350 with Kayako.
Kayako offers better value for larger teams and multi-channel support needs, while Hiver's Gmail-centric approach justifies higher costs for email-heavy workflows.
Hiver Pricing
Kayako Pricing
What are Hiver's strengths and limitations?
Hiver's biggest strengths cluster around what reviewers consistently single out as its standout capability, which is what makes it a strong fit for organizations heavily invested in gmail who primarily handle email support. Its limitations cluster around pricing-model fit at smaller team sizes and around channel coverage gaps relative to a messaging-first inbox. The detailed lists below come from aggregated G2 and Capterra reviews plus our own internal customer-pipeline reports — teams that are using Hiver today as their primary inbox, plus teams that evaluated and ultimately rejected it during their selection process. Read them carefully side-by-side with Kayako's breakdown lower on this page to decide which of the two platforms fits where your team is heading next quarter — or whether a flat-rate alternative like Converge ($49/month, up to 15 agents, all channels and AI included) is a better path entirely, sidestepping both vendors.
Strengths
- Seamless Gmail integration
- Easy setup for Gmail users
- Good email management features
- Familiar interface
Limitations
- Limited to Gmail ecosystem
- No modern messaging channels
- Expensive per-user pricing
- Lacks WhatsApp and social messaging
What are Kayako's strengths and limitations?
Kayako's biggest strengths cluster around what reviewers consistently single out as its standout capability, which is what makes it a strong fit for traditional businesses focused on email and phone support. Its limitations cluster around pricing-model fit at smaller team sizes and around channel coverage gaps relative to a messaging-first inbox. The detailed lists below come from aggregated G2 and Capterra reviews plus our own internal customer-pipeline reports — teams that are using Kayako today as their primary inbox, plus teams that evaluated and ultimately rejected it during their selection process. Read them carefully alongside Hiver's breakdown earlier on this page to decide which of the two platforms fits where your team is heading next quarter — or whether a flat-rate alternative like Converge ($49/month, up to 15 agents, all channels and AI included) is a better path entirely, sidestepping both vendors.
Strengths
- No seat fees in 2026 (Kay AI pricing pivot)
- Strong knowledge base functionality
- SingleView customer journey timeline across channels
- Good reporting capabilities
Limitations
- AI resolution fees scale linearly with ticket volume
- Platform pricing beyond Kay AI is quote-only
- Limited social media integrations
- No native WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, or Zalo support
Hiver or Kayako: which should you pick?
Pick Hiver if your primary need maps to its standout capability and its pricing model works at your team size. Pick Kayako if your team profile maps to its strengths instead. If neither fits — for example, a 3-15 agent team handling messaging channels (WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Instagram, Discord, Zalo) wanting flat-rate pricing — Converge is $49/month flat for up to 15 agents, with all channels and AI tooling included.
Choose Hiver if your team lives in Gmail, wants seamless email collaboration, and values the highest G2 rating (4.6). Choose Kayako if you need unified multi-channel conversations and don't mind learning a new platform.
When should you choose Hiver or Kayako?
Choose Hiver if: Your team primarily uses Gmail, wants to avoid learning new software, and values the highest user satisfaction ratings (4.6 G2 score).
Choose Kayako if: You need true multi-channel support beyond email, want unified customer conversations, and prefer better pricing for larger teams.
Converge at $49/month flat rate bridges both worlds - offering Gmail integration like Hiver with unified conversations like Kayako, without per-user fees.
Looking for more options? Browse all platform comparisons, or see all Hiver comparisons and all Kayako comparisons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hiver is best for Organizations heavily invested in Gmail who primarily handle email support. Kayako is best for Traditional businesses focused on email and phone support. Hiver's standout feature is Native Gmail integration and shared mailbox management, while Kayako offers Comprehensive knowledge base with customer portal.
Hiver starts at From $25/seat/mo. Kayako starts at From $1/mo. Hiver offers a free plan. For flat-rate pricing, consider Converge at $49/month for up to 15 agents.
Hiver offers a free plan. Kayako does not offer a free plan. Both are established platforms in the customer support space.
Hiver pros: Seamless Gmail integration; Easy setup for Gmail users. Kayako pros: No seat fees in 2026 (Kay AI pricing pivot); Strong knowledge base functionality. Each platform has distinct strengths depending on your use case.
Choose Hiver for Organizations heavily invested in Gmail who primarily handle email support. Choose Kayako for Traditional businesses focused on email and phone support. If you need messaging-first support with flat pricing, consider Converge as an alternative at $49/month for up to 15 agents.
Ready to try Converge?
$49/month flat. Up to 15 agents. 7-day free trial, no credit card required.
Start Free Trial