G
GAlhena AI vs Kayako
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
A
Choose Alhena AI if…
- you want a free plan to start with
- you're in its core audience: e-commerce brands, customer support teams
K
Choose Kayako if…
- you're in its core audience: customer support teams, e-commerce and retail businesses
Side by side
Feature Alhena AI Kayako
Pricing modelFreemiumPaid
Starting price$199/mo—
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Security and compliance—SOC 2 Type II, GDPR
AI voice/phone agent—
Omnichannel inbox—
Human handoff
AI takes actions
Shopify/ecommerce data
Live translation—
Help center/portal—
PlatformsWebWeb
CategoryCustomer SupportCustomer Support
Rank in its category#10 of 12#9 of 12
CompanyHelix3 Labs, Inc.ESW Operations, LLC
Based inUnited StatesUnited States
Founded—2001
Part of——
What you'd pay
The cheapest plan that fits, per month, billed yearly where the plan offers it.
| Team size | Alhena AI | Kayako |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $199 Essentials | no published plan |
| 5 people | $199 Essentials | no published plan |
| 20 people | $199 Essentials | no published plan |
What the free plans include
Alhena AI
- 25 conversations/mo
- 500 custom URLs / SKUs
- 1 AI profile
- Manual training frequency; AI-only support
Kayako
No free plan.
Key features
A
- Conversational product discovery with bundle and add-on suggestions
- Order cancellations, returns and appointment booking by AI agents
- Phone and SIP-line ready voice AI
- Support in 90+ languages
- Escalation to human agents with full context
- SKU-level tracking of products recommended by AI engines
- Revenue attribution and AI vs. human performance analytics
- Engagement across social comments, DMs and review platforms
K Kayako
- AI agent that drafts replies and closes tickets
- Takes actions like refunds and account creation
- Omnichannel inbox for email, chat, social and voice
- No-code routing, assignment and escalation workflows
- Knowledge base with semantic search and help center
- SLA management and support analytics
- Works on top of Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, Salesforce
- SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, SSO/SAML and audit logs
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
Alhena AI
Free$0
Essentials$199/mo billed annually
Growth$499/mo billed annually
Scale$999/mo billed annually
EnterpriseCustom
Kayako
Kay (AI support agent)$1 per resolved ticket
Kayako OneCustom
Strengths and limitations
Alhena AI
- Free plan includes 25 conversations a month with no credit card
- 14-day trial on Essentials, Growth and Scale
- 200+ integrations stated, including Shopify, Zendesk and Salesforce
- Spam, irrelevant queries and immediate human handoffs do not use conversation credits
- Listed paid plan prices require annual billing, charged upfront
- Credits reset each cycle and do not roll over
- Trial requires a payment method or Shopify billing approval, and billing starts automatically when it ends
- Security certifications are not named on the home page
Kayako
- Kay is billed only for tickets it resolves without a human
- No seat or setup fees for Kay
- Works on top of existing help desks, so no migration is needed
- Lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and SSO/SAML support
- Kayako One pricing is only available through sales
- No free trial mentioned
- No public API is described on the site
More comparisons
Other options to consider
GG
From $10/mo
R
RR
From $12/mo
S
SS
From $750/mo
Y
YAI agents that resolve ecommerce support tickets, pre-sale questions and social DMs
From $1200/mo
Y
From $1200/mo
Y
AI agents that resolve ecommerce support tickets, pre-sale questions and social DMs
Customer Support
I
IAI customer agent that resolves support, sales and ecommerce conversations
From $49.50/mo
I
From $49.50/mo
I
AI customer agent that resolves support, sales and ecommerce conversations
Customer SupportAPI
Z
ZZ
Free trial
Facts from each vendor's public pages, prices checked Oct 26, 2026. Editorial policy