Kayako vs Textline
Converge Team
Side-by-side comparison for 2026
| Feature | Kayako | Textline |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | From $79/seat/mo | From $100/mo |
| Best For | Traditional businesses focused on email and phone support | Small businesses needing simple SMS messaging |
| Standout Feature | Comprehensive knowledge base with customer portal | Streamlined SMS-only experience |
| Free Plan | ✗ | ✓ |
| G2 Rating | 4.2 | 4.2 |
Kayako and Textline represent two distinct approaches to customer support: Kayako as a comprehensive helpdesk solution and Textline as a specialized SMS-first platform. While Kayako offers traditional multi-channel support with email, chat, and phone integration, Textline focuses exclusively on text messaging for customer engagement.
This comparison examines how these platforms serve different business needs, from Kayako's enterprise-grade ticketing system to Textline's mobile-first customer communication strategy.
Feature Comparison
Kayako provides comprehensive helpdesk functionality including ticket routing, knowledge base management, and multi-channel support across email, live chat, and phone. Its strength lies in unified customer history and advanced automation workflows.
Textline specializes in SMS customer service with features like bulk messaging, automated responses, and conversation management. It excels at reaching customers on mobile devices and handling high-volume text conversations.
The fundamental difference is scope: Kayako covers all support channels while Textline masters one channel exceptionally well.
Pricing Comparison
Kayako uses per-agent pricing starting around $15/month per user, with costs scaling based on features and agent count. Enterprise plans can reach $60+ per agent monthly.
Textline charges based on message volume and features, typically starting at $50/month for basic plans with per-message fees for high usage. This can be more cost-effective for SMS-heavy businesses.
Kayako
Pros
- ✓ Comprehensive multi-channel support
- ✓ Strong knowledge base functionality
- ✓ Good reporting capabilities
Cons
- ✗ Per-agent pricing gets expensive
- ✗ Limited social media integrations
- ✗ Complex setup for advanced features
Textline
Pros
- ✓ Simple SMS-focused interface
- ✓ Good team collaboration features
- ✓ Reasonable pricing for SMS
Cons
- ✗ SMS only - no other channels
- ✗ Message limits with overage fees
- ✗ Limited automation capabilities
Verdict
Choose Kayako if you need a full-featured helpdesk with traditional support channels and robust ticket management. Choose Textline if your customer base prefers SMS communication and you want to leverage text messaging for support and marketing.
Choose Kayako if: You need comprehensive helpdesk functionality, manage complex support workflows, or require traditional support channels like email and phone.
Choose Textline if: Your customers prefer SMS communication, you want to leverage text messaging for both support and marketing, or you need specialized mobile engagement tools.
For teams seeking a modern alternative, consider Converge at $49/month flat rate, offering unified customer communication without per-agent fees.
Looking for more options? Browse all 750+ platform comparisons, or see all Kayako comparisons and all Textline comparisons.