Chatwoot vs Kayako

Detailed comparison to help you choose the right tool for your needs

C

Chatwoot

Open-source customer engagement platform — self-hosted Intercom alternative

4.3
Editorial Rating
K

Kayako

Unified customer service for growing teams

4.0
Editorial Rating

Quick Comparison

Rating

4.3
vs
4

Starting Price

Free
vs
$39

Pricing Model

freemium
vs
paid
Feature
Chatwoot
Kayako
Omnichannel inbox
Live chat widget
Chatbots
WhatsApp integration
Automation rules
Self-hosting
Help Desk
Live Chat
Self-Service Portal
Customer Journey Tracking
Collaboration
Automation

Chatwoot Pros

  • Full-featured Intercom alternative for free (self-hosted)
  • Omnichannel — chat, email, social, WhatsApp
  • Good documentation and API
  • Active community

Chatwoot Cons

  • Cloud plans limited by conversation count
  • Some features less mature than Intercom
  • Self-hosted needs Redis + PostgreSQL

Kayako Pros

  • Customer journey tracking gives useful context
  • Good self-service portal options
  • Supports multiple languages out of the box
  • Clean and uncluttered agent interface
  • Good collaboration features for teams
  • REST API for custom integrations

Kayako Cons

  • Has undergone multiple ownership changes
  • Smaller user community than major competitors
  • Integration options are more limited
  • Mobile apps need improvement
  • Pricing is not as competitive as newer tools
  • Feature development has slowed over the years

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