I
IAI customer agent that resolves support, sales and ecommerce conversations
From $49.50/mo
Kayako vs Vapi
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
K
Choose Kayako if…
- you're in its core audience: customer support teams, e-commerce and retail businesses
V
Choose Vapi if…
- you want a free plan to start with
- you need an API to build on
- you're in its core audience: developers, customer support teams
Side by side
Feature Kayako Vapi
Pricing modelPaidFreemium
Starting price—$29/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Trains AI on your content—Yes
Data retention—Depends on customer config; free plan 14 days raw data; deleted on request
Security and complianceSOC 2 Type II, GDPRSOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS
Omnichannel inbox—
Human handoff—
AI takes actions—
Shopify/ecommerce data—
Help center/portal—
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryCustomer SupportAI Agents
CompanyESW Operations, LLCVapi Inc.
Based inUnited StatesUnited States
Founded2001—
Part of——
Key features
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
V Vapi
- Configurable voice, conversation flow and telephony
- Call testing and simulation before going live
- Real-time call monitoring and observability
- Built-in AI conversation guardrails
- Twilio, Vonage, Telnyx and Vapi SIP telephony
- Model providers passed through at cost
- SSO, OAuth and RBAC access controls
- SOC 2, HIPAA and PCI compliance
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
Kayako
Kay (AI support agent)$1 per resolved ticket
Kayako OneCustom
Vapi
No Success Package$0 to start, $0.05/min hosting
Core$29
Pro10% of Vapi hosting fee, $999/mo minimum
PremierCustom
Strengths and limitations
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
Vapi
- $5 free credits and no minimum minutes to start
- Model provider costs passed through with no markup
- Unlimited agents on every plan
- SOC 2, HIPAA and PCI compliance
- The hosting fee and provider costs add up; the page estimates $82–$129 for 1,000 minutes
- HIPAA compliance is a $2,000/month add-on
- The free tier has no support SLA and allows only 4 concurrent calls
- Pro requires a $999/month minimum
More comparisons
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II
From $49.50/mo
I
AI customer agent that resolves support, sales and ecommerce conversations
Customer SupportAPI
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ZZ
Free trial
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TT
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T
AI customer service and live chat that answers questions and drives store sales
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G
GG
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F
FHelpdesk ticketing with AI agents and agent copilot for customer service teams
From $19/mo
F
From $19/mo
F
Helpdesk ticketing with AI agents and agent copilot for customer service teams
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S
SS
From $750/mo
Built from each vendor's public website; we haven't tested them hands-on. Editorial policy