Help Scout vs Kayako

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Our analysts compared Help Scout vs Kayako based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Help Desk Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Kayako Software Tool

Product Basics

Help Scout's help desk software offers a streamlined solution for businesses seeking to enhance their customer support capabilities. It's particularly well-suited for small to medium-sized teams that prioritize efficient and personalized communication. Help Scout centralizes all customer interactions, including email, live chat, and social media, into a unified inbox, enabling teams to respond promptly and effectively.

Key benefits of Help Scout include its intuitive interface, customizable automation, and reporting features. Popular features encompass shared inboxes for collaborative support, pre-built templates for faster responses, and detailed analytics for performance monitoring. Compared to other help desk software, Help Scout is known for its user-friendliness and excellent customer support. Its pricing ranges from $20 to $65 per user per month, billed annually.

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Kayako is a comprehensive Help Desk Software designed to streamline customer support operations. It's ideal for businesses of all sizes seeking to improve customer satisfaction and streamline communication. Key benefits include centralized ticketing, automated workflows, and robust reporting for improved efficiency and visibility.

Popular features include a customizable knowledge base, self-service portal, and omnichannel support. Its user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation make it accessible to teams of all technical backgrounds. Compared to similar products, Kayako is highly rated for its ease of use, customization options, and excellent customer support.

Pricing varies depending on the number of agents and features required. It offers flexible payment options, including monthly and annual subscriptions, to suit different business needs.

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$20 Monthly
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$15 Monthly
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Windows
Mac
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Android
Chromebook
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Android
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Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Easy Collaboration: Send private notes to teammates and discuss problems to find solutions together before replying to customers. Create a searchable library of frequently asked questions and insert them into replies in two clicks.  
  • Deliver Instant Answers: Allow customers to access knowledge base articles from anywhere on the website with Beacon (virtual agent). Embed the knowledge base content on any web page, so customers don’t waste time searching. 
  • All Time Availability: Work on any device including, desktop, mobile or tablet. Include SSL support on every site for free and offer peace of mind to customers. Allow customers to take advantage of configurable options and auto-generated sitemap for each article in knowledge base software. 
  • Easy Escalation: Allow customers to start a live chat from where they accessed the knowledge base. Direct customer support request to email queue when live chat isn’t available. Offer choice to reach out from any mode of communication that works best for them.  
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  • Increase Support Effectiveness: Enforce workforce SLAs and standardize performance quality across staff. Automate common tasks such as sending reminders and notifications, escalating queries, assigning conversations, and optimizing response and resolution times. 
  • Offer Stellar Self-Service: Help customers find solutions without the need for a live agent through step-by-step troubleshooters and a comprehensive knowledge base. Answer queries at all hours with an AI-powered Instant Response System. 
  • Ensure Quality: Use knowledge base ratings and customer satisfaction surveys to measure agent performance. Gain insight into marketing segmentation, projected customer behavior and areas of improvement through reports. 
  • Engage Leads: Turn website visitors into potential customers with geographical visitor monitoring, proactive live chat and click-to-call (VoIP). 
  • Integrate Easily: Extend your customer support platform by integrating with APIs for products such as Zapier, Slack and Salesforce. 
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  • Collision Detection: See who replies or views comments in real time. Allow users to collaborate internally via notes and @mentions. Use tagging to trigger automation and categorize conversations. Use saved answers for most common queries through two-click access. Automate all actions, create custom folders and send bulk replies.  
  • Reports and Analytics: Measure team performance, monitor customer satisfaction rates and identify issues clearly to prevent complexities and issues without opening an Excel spreadsheet. Integrate the help desk platform with services such as Snap Engage and Olarkto. Store every chat automatically in the customer's profile.  
  • Shared Inbox: Manage all support requests in a shared inbox. Get all the collaboration features such as multichannel support, notification, advanced search, mobile apps, satisfaction ratings and developer tools to stay productive and deliver world-class support. 
  • Knowledge Base: Reduce support volume by 20% and encourage fewer conversations and happier customers with easy-to-add text, hyperlinks, images, tables, and videos to articles. Customize SEO details by selecting categories and adding related units.  
  • Messages: Offer proactive support, engage leads and onboard new customers with trigger-based messages. Send SMS from any blog, website, store, or Beacon-installed app. 
  • Customer Management: List customer data, app activity and previous conversations alongside every request to deliver more personalized and faster support.  
  • Live Chat: Help customers find help center content or chat with agents easily from the same tool. Recommend resources depending on the pages clients view, so they don't waste time looking for answers. 
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  • Self-Service: Give customers access to resources such as self-help articles, FAQs, videos and 24/7 virtual support help with automated replies to common questions. Monitor search terms to identify gaps and optimize content according to customer needs. 
  • SingleView: Capture entire customer journeys in a centralized, easy-to-use visualization. Easily enable collaboration among employees with unified resources. 
  • Live Chat: Provide convenient service to customers with instant chats on web and mobile platforms. Send proactive messages based on information from conversations and behavior. 
  • Integration: Build intelligent, multi-step workflows across various channels and apps in a few clicks. Automate systems to organize, customize and provide proactive support to customers. Generate reports to forecast customer behavior and strategically adapt business practices.  
  • Shared Inbox: Manage all conversations with customers in a central location. Categorize and route discussions to the most appropriate agents automatically. Access records of entire customer contact history. 
  • Ticketing Software: Assign and prioritize tickets through an AI-supported ticketing system. Sort communications by keyword and category in team inboxes. 
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Product Ranking

#20

among all
Help Desk Software

#21

among all
Help Desk Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

75
67
62
50
50
0
75
67
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Integrations and Extensibility
Platform Security
Team Collaboration
Platform Security
Ticket Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Help Scout
Kayako
+ Add Product + Add Product
Agent Productivity Call Center Management Dashboards And Reporting Email Management Live Chat Management Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Team Collaboration Ticket Management 62 50 75 66 74 83 73 85 63 50 0 67 84 73 30 68 79 87 0 25 50 75 100
50%
17%
33%
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100%
67%
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33%
71%
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29%
86%
0%
14%
64%
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36%
64%
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36%
80%
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20%
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60%
71%
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29%
63%
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37%
67%
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67%
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33%
53%
6%
41%
88%
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12%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

100%
0%
0%
58%
0%
42%
89%
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11%
89%
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11%

User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 654 reviews
Great User Sentiment 551 reviews
90%
of users recommend this product

Help Scout has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 90% when considering 654 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

81%
of users recommend this product

Kayako has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 81% when considering 551 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

n/a
4.9 (16)
4.3 (260)
4.1 (197)
4.67 (183)
3.99 (162)
4.7 (168)
4.0 (156)
4.0 (43)
3.2 (20)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Help Scout and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Integrations and Extensibility. Help Scout stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award
Integrations and Extensibility Award

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Intuitive Interface: User-friendly design simplifies navigation and ticket management, making it easy for support teams to get up to speed quickly.
Shared Inbox: Collaborative workspace allows multiple agents to manage tickets efficiently, ensuring seamless handoffs and faster resolution times.
Automated Workflows: Customizable automation rules streamline repetitive tasks, freeing up agents' time for more complex issues.
Powerful Search: Robust search capabilities make it easy to find specific tickets, customer information, and knowledge base articles, reducing time spent on manual searches.
Excellent Customer Support: Responsive and knowledgeable support team provides prompt assistance, ensuring a positive user experience.
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User-Friendly Interface: Kayako's intuitive design makes it easy for users to navigate and find the information they need quickly.
Comprehensive Features: Kayako offers a wide range of features, including ticketing, knowledge base, live chat, and reporting, all in one platform.
Automation Capabilities: Kayako's automation tools, such as auto-responders and ticket routing, streamline workflows and save time.
Mobile Accessibility: Kayako's mobile app allows users to access and manage their help desk from anywhere, at any time.
Excellent Customer Support: Kayako's support team is highly responsive and provides personalized assistance to users.
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Limited Customization: Help Scout offers limited customization options, which can restrict businesses from tailoring the software to their specific needs and branding.
Lack of Automation: Compared to other Help Desk Software, Help Scout lacks robust automation features, such as automated ticket assignment and escalation rules, which can hinder efficiency.
Pricing Structure: Help Scout's pricing plans can be perceived as expensive for businesses with a large number of agents or high ticket volume.
Limited Reporting Capabilities: Some users have reported that Help Scout's reporting capabilities are not as comprehensive as they would like, making it challenging to extract valuable insights and track performance.
Mobile App Limitations: The Help Scout mobile app has been criticized for its limited functionality compared to the desktop version, making it less convenient for remote or on-the-go support teams.
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Limited Customization: Users complain about Kayako's limited customization options, making it difficult to tailor the software to their specific business needs.
Complex User Interface: Kayako's user interface is often criticized for being overly complex and difficult to navigate, leading to a steep learning curve for new users.
Frequent Bugs and Glitches: Users report experiencing frequent bugs and glitches within Kayako, which can disrupt their workflow and hinder productivity.
Slow Response Times: Kayako's response times for support queries have been reported as slow, leaving users waiting for extended periods to resolve issues.
Lack of Integration Options: Kayako's limited integration options make it challenging to connect with other business applications, hindering seamless data flow and automation.
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Help Scout, a popular help desk software, has received consistent praise from users in the last year. Many users emphasize its user-friendly interface, which makes it easy to set up and use, even for those new to help desk software. The software's intuitive design and customizable features allow users to tailor it to their specific needs, making it a versatile option for businesses of all sizes. When comparing Help Scout to similar products, users often highlight its superior customer support and documentation. Help Scout's dedicated support team is highly responsive and knowledgeable, providing valuable assistance to users. Additionally, the software's comprehensive documentation and tutorials make it easy for users to find answers to their questions and troubleshoot any issues they encounter. One of the key differentiating factors of Help Scout is its focus on email support. The software seamlessly integrates with email, allowing users to manage all their customer interactions from a single platform. This streamlines communication and improves efficiency, particularly for businesses that rely heavily on email support. Overall, Help Scout is highly recommended for businesses looking for a user-friendly, customizable, and reliable help desk software. Its strengths in customer support, email integration, and intuitive design make it an excellent choice for companies of all sizes that prioritize efficient and effective customer service.

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Kayako is well-regarded by users for its comprehensive feature set, intuitive interface, and excellent customer support. Many users find it to be a superior alternative to Zendesk due to its more affordable pricing, customizable automation, and robust reporting capabilities. Additionally, Kayako's omnichannel support, which allows for seamless communication across multiple channels, sets it apart from other help desk software. However, some users have reported occasional glitches and limited customization options compared to more expensive competitors. Nevertheless, Kayako remains a highly recommended choice for businesses seeking a reliable and user-friendly help desk solution, particularly for those looking for an affordable and feature-rich option. Its strengths in automation, reporting, and omnichannel support make it an excellent fit for businesses looking to streamline their customer support operations and provide a seamless customer experience.

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