Kayako vs LiveAgent
Converge Team
Side-by-side comparison for 2026
| Feature | Kayako | LiveAgent |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | From $79/seat/mo | From $49/seat/mo |
| Best For | Traditional businesses focused on email and phone support | Traditional customer service teams needing comprehensive help desk functionality with phone support |
| Standout Feature | Comprehensive knowledge base with customer portal | Comprehensive all-in-one platform combining help desk, live chat, and call center in a single solution |
| Free Plan | ✗ | ✓ |
| G2 Rating | 4.2 | 4.5/5 |
Kayako and LiveAgent both target mid-market businesses seeking comprehensive customer support solutions, but they differ significantly in their approach to unified customer experiences and pricing models.
While Kayako focuses on creating seamless customer journeys across touchpoints, LiveAgent emphasizes feature breadth and affordability with its freemium model.
Feature Comparison
Kayako's strength lies in its unified customer view and journey mapping capabilities. It excels at connecting customer interactions across email, live chat, phone, and social media into coherent conversation threads. The platform's customer satisfaction surveys and feedback loops are particularly well-designed.
LiveAgent counters with broader channel coverage including Facebook, Twitter, Viber, and WhatsApp integrations. Its call center features are more robust, offering call recording, IVR, and advanced call routing. The platform also includes gamification elements and detailed performance analytics that Kayako lacks.
Both platforms offer solid automation, but LiveAgent's rule-based system is more flexible and easier to configure for complex workflows.
Pricing Comparison
Kayako's pricing ranges from $15 to $35 per agent monthly, positioning it as a mid-tier solution. However, many advanced features like custom fields and advanced reporting are locked behind higher pricing tiers, potentially increasing costs.
LiveAgent's $0 to $69 per agent pricing offers more flexibility, especially for growing teams. The free tier supports up to 3 agents with basic features, making it attractive for startups. Even their mid-tier plans at $29/agent include features that Kayako reserves for premium tiers.
For teams prioritizing cost-effectiveness, LiveAgent typically provides better value, especially when factoring in the feature-to-price ratio across different team sizes.
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
LiveAgent
Pros
- ✓ Extensive feature set with 188+ capabilities
- ✓ Strong call center functionality with unlimited recordings
- ✓ Mature platform with robust reporting and analytics
Cons
- ✗ Per-agent pricing can become expensive for larger teams
- ✗ Complex interface may overwhelm users focused on messaging
- ✗ Social media integrations require additional fees on lower tiers
Verdict
Choose Kayako if you need sophisticated customer journey mapping and don't mind paying premium prices for advanced unification features. Choose LiveAgent if you want comprehensive multi-channel support at competitive pricing with room to scale.
Choose Kayako if: You prioritize sophisticated customer journey tracking, need advanced unification features, and budget allows for premium pricing.
Choose LiveAgent if: You want comprehensive multi-channel support, prefer flexible pricing options, or need to start with a free plan while building your support team.
Alternative consideration: For teams seeking predictable costs without per-agent fees, Converge provides modern customer support tools at a flat $49/month rate, regardless of team size.
Looking for more options? Browse all 750+ platform comparisons, or see all Kayako comparisons and all LiveAgent comparisons.