As time goes by, more and more companies improve their service desk solutions. Some add features, others provide stability, and some do both. Two such companies are Kayako and Freshdesk. Their attention to detail is phenomenal, and it’s clear from the get-go that both offer basically everything you might ever need.
Yet, as good as they might sound, which one is actually the best? How does Kayako stacks-up against Freshdesk? All this and more we will be covering today. We understand that most businesses don’t have time to read and follow each service desk every day, so we decided to compare them so that you have a clear idea of which one is for you. Thus, without further ado, let’s get started!
Comparison
To start our Kayako vs Freshdesk review, we first need to discuss each service desk individually. This will allow you to understand better what each service desk aims to achieve and what to expect in future updates.
Kayako
So, what is Kayako, and how is it different from the competition? The answer is quite simple, it’s a cloud-based service desk system aggregating the most critical channels into one convenient place. This, in turn, allows for a more efficient way to assess consumer issues, requests, or questions.
Approximately 50,000 companies and organizations (including governmental) use Kayako to manage customer requests. The tool has various features that accelerate time to market, support, and sales. Among the most prominent ones are live chats, web interactions, emails, self-service through knowledge bases, etc. Big-name companies such as NASA, Peugeot, and De Beers use all this and more.
Aside from traditional functionality, Kayako allows for a wide range of automation techniques. Essentially, you can eliminate mundane work through different automation scripts, which will free up more time for agents to solve problems that automation cannot. And if you need to connect Kayako to something that isn’t supported straight out of the box, you can use the open API system. With the help of an API, you can hook Kayako to external tools that will help you reach even more people.
And last but not least, Kayako has apps for mobile devices. The company has released a robust mobile companion app that runs every major platform, including iOS, Android, and even Windows Phone and Blackberry.
Freshdesk
Looking at Freshdesk, it’s immediately apparent that this service desk is powered by world-class tech and tools that will boost your service and help you establish a cult following. In addition, it is one of the few systems designed with brand management in mind. Aside from that, it is a perfect fit for small and medium-sized businesses thanks to the included gamification tools.
Another key element of Freshdesk is its support for multi-channel service. It helps streamline operations and reduces time spent on mundane work such as exporting, extracting, and sorting out multiple reports into one readable format as everything can be automated. Also, as a bonus, Freshdesk has support for self-service portals. In other words, users can establish a vast knowledge base to help them educate their key audience and attract new customers. And it’s not just customers; with it you can teach new employees about your product line.
Just like Kayako, Freshdesk has support for live chats, phones, and different game mechanics. Also, with Freshdesk, you can hook many other CRMs, including those considered legacy products. In addition, thanks to the vast integration possibilities, you can connect Freshdesk with Google Apps, Youtube, Twitter, and more. Finally, the company offers a mobile version of the app for Android and iOS with most of the functionality in the desktop version.
Features
When it comes to features, both tools share a lot of similarities. Yet, the way these functions are executed is quite different, and a few things are exclusive to one platform. In any case, let’s look at what each of them offers to the end user.
Kayako
First thing first, unlike Freshdesk, Kayako offers a self-hosted solution. This might seem small, but when you consider that most of the system is under your direct control, the benefits are massive. You can quickly move, update, and manage your data without any latency, as everything is on your side.
Another vital feature of Kayako is its Custom Fields system. What is seemingly an editing tool hides a colossal potential behind it. With this tool, your agents can fully adapt their workspace to their needs. Take this possibility into a massive corporation with more than 1k+ people on board, and the benefits are clear. Indeed, with Custom Fields, agents can edit every string of information to their needs and re-think how live chat forms work. This is a potent tool in the right hands.
Lastly, there’s the Insights system. It's essentially an analytics tool that allows you to forecast various metrics and trends. It draws information from you and your customers using different channels. It's still in its infancy, but the results are more than promising. Again, we suggest you pair it with GA to get more accurate results.
Freshdesk
While it's true that setting up and managing people in Freshdesk is easy, there is a category of people that love the two-side gamification feature of the system. You see, most systems focus only on one-sided (agent) gamification and forget that their customers love a game too. In Freshdesk, you can set up a wide range of quizzes and mini-games that will help you educate and, in some cases, invite new customers.
The second prominent feature is the ability to simplify ticket management. Unlike other service desk solutions, Freshdesk doesn’t force its customers to use whatever they have in store. In fact, with Freshdesk, you can adapt all kinds of functions to your business, including the ticket management tool. This will ease the staff education process and help you avoid unnecessary errors that might occur during ticket rerouting, reassigning, etc.
Finally, Freshdesk has the Intelligent Automation feature. While simple on paper, it’s powered by neural networks as it can learn new things. Remember that the learning capability is limited, but it’s still a perfect tool that can offload a ton of work from your agents, including ticket resolve issues, rerouting, closing, etc.
Pros and Cons
The review wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t put Kayako vs Freshdesk in terms of advantages. While the two systems bring a lot of good stuff to the table, they have pros and cons. Among the most noticeable are the following:
Kayako
Pros
- Highly scalable
- Great options for online collaboration
- A lot of customization options
- Good omnichannel support
- Best-in-class automation system
Cons
- Most features are locked behind a paywall
- The stock user interface needs are redesign
- Searching via tags can be cumbersome
- Establishing rules can be hard
- Poor email functionality
Freshdesk
Pros
- Great issue tracking options
- A speedy and intuitive ticket search system
- Well-documented open API
- State-of-the-art automation
- A lot of gamification tools
Cons
- Macro is hard to set up for no good reason
- KPI dashboards are non-customizable
- Limited in-app capability
- Performance can throttle for some reason
- No on-premise option
Convenience
To start off, both help desks are practically identical in this regard, therefore, we won’t compare Freshdesk vs Kayako but explain how each of them excels. Now that this is out of the way, we can’t stress enough how both service desks are accessible tools. No matter what background you’ve come from, the interactive tutorial will get you started in no time. And it’s not just the tutorial section; most features are intuitively placed and easily reachable.
You don’t have to scroll through several windows just to find a simple rename button. The system also has several keyboard shortcuts, and those that are empty can be edited to open/close, launch/pause, and delete/restore certain elements. Overall, you won’t need a coach to teach your new employees about the system.
Pricing
The final part of our Freshdesk vs Kayako comparison is the pricing, where the similarities end. Again, we will first look at Kayako, as the number of options isn’t that big.
Kayako
Inbox — This starting tariff plan will cost you around $15 agent/month. The tariff itself included the bare minimum and did not have a lot of cool features. Among them, the most helpful feature is the Live Chat, Insights, and Collision prevention functions.
Growth — This is the second tariff plan, which is much better in terms of features. Among the most prominent are advanced automation rules, multi-brand support, and a higher level of customizability. This plan will cost you $30 agent/month.
Scale — This is Kayako's premium plan, and it includes everything in the Growth plan, as well as a few extra things such as custom roles and permissions, advanced workflows, and even Salesforce integration. This tariff will cost you $60 agent/month.
Freshdesk
Regarding pricing, Freshdesk offers its customers a wide range of options. And we wouldn’t be lying as the company has 5 tariff plans, including a free one. Thus, here’s what you get in each plan.
Sprout — This is the Free plan that entails a few basic features. Nothing much can be said about this plan aside from the fact that you can move your agent data from it to another plan.
Blossom — This is the first paid plan that costs $15 agent/month. It has everything the previous plan has and adds a few extra features: automation, collision detection, and the ability to set business hours.
Garden — Viewed as the happy medium by the community, Garden has a few things that make it very valuable for the price of just $29 agent/month. One such feature is Customer Satisfaction surveys and performance reports. These features make it a viable option for small and medium businesses.
Estate — This plan usually suits medium-large companies and has everything you need. The only limiting factor is that you don’t get HIPPA compliance and IP whitelisting. Aside from that, for just $49 per agent/month, you will get access to the Portal Customization feature and Ticket Assignment Automation, among others.
Forest — Last but not least, there’s the cream of the crop, the champion tariff Forest. It has everything and the best part of it, in unlimited quantity. Although, this tariff will cost you $109 per agent/month. It is pricey, but the amount of things you get is worth it.
Conclusion
So that about wraps things up for this Freshdesk vs Kayako review. We didn’t cover many things, but what we did will hopefully help you pick the right tool for you. They are very good at what they do, and the pricing options are pretty good. It’s just that not every tool is for every organization. Some might prefer Kayako’s UI; others will love the ticket management tool in Freshdesk.
In any case, if you plan on migrating to any of these, we suggest you give our tool a try. After all, relocating to another service desk can be challenging and not always worth the effort. But using our wizard, you move all your valuable stuff to the new help desk in just a few clicks. The most significant part is that you don’t have to take our word for it. Just sign-up for our Free Trial and see for yourself.
