Gorgias vs Kayako (2026)

TL;DR

• Pick Gorgias if you run a Shopify (or broader ecommerce) store and want support agents resolving order issues, refunds, and returns without leaving the ticket.
• Pick Kayako if you're a general support team that wants one flat per-agent price, every feature included, and AI billed only when it actually resolves a ticket.

Two different businesses, two different products

Gorgias and Kayako aren't really competing for the same buyer. Gorgias is purpose-built for ecommerce — over 17,000 brands run it, and the whole experience is wired around Shopify order data. Kayako is a horizontal helpdesk: a clean unified inbox for any support team, ecommerce or not, with no platform specialization.

If you sell physical products online, that specialization is the whole game. If you're a SaaS company, an agency, or any non-retail support org, Gorgias's ecommerce features are wasted weight and Kayako's neutrality is an asset.

Pricing models are the real decision

This is where the comparison gets sharp, because the two price on completely different axes.

Gorgias charges by ticket volume, not seats. Plans start at $10/month (Starter, 50 tickets) and Pro starts around $360/month, with the AI Agent billed separately at roughly $0.90–$1.00 per automated interaction. This suits seasonal ecommerce — you add agents for free but pay for conversation volume.

Kayako charges by seat: one flat plan at $79/agent/month with every feature included and no tiered gating, plus Kay AI resolution at $1 per successfully resolved ticket (you pay nothing for escalations or failed attempts).

The math flips depending on your shape. A small team handling huge ticket volume (classic DTC during a sale) gets punished by Gorgias's volume pricing but is cheap on Kayako's per-seat model. A larger team handling modest volume per head is the reverse. Map your own agent-to-ticket ratio before deciding — it's the single most important number here.

Ecommerce actions

Gorgias wins this category by default because Kayako doesn't really compete in it. Gorgias agents see full Shopify order history and can cancel orders, issue refunds, apply discounts, and trigger store macros directly inside a ticket. It even attributes support conversations to revenue, connecting CX spend to sales. Kayako has none of this native ecommerce tooling — it's a general inbox.

Channels

Both consolidate multiple channels, but Gorgias casts the wider net for modern retail: email, live chat, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, SMS, and voice. Kayako covers email, live chat, and social in one workspace — solid and clean, but narrower. For a brand selling through social commerce, Gorgias's channel list is a real advantage.

AI automation

Both use a pay-for-results AI model, which is refreshingly honest on each side. Gorgias's AI Agent claims around 60% instant resolution on routine ecommerce inquiries like order status and returns, billed per interaction. Kayako's Kay charges only on successful resolution. The difference: Gorgias's AI is trained on ecommerce intents and order data, so it's stronger for retail; Kayako's is more general-purpose.

Fit and ceiling

Gorgias is ideal for DTC startups through large multi-channel retailers — but teams on BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or custom stacks get a less seamless experience than Shopify merchants. Kayako fits small-to-mid support teams that want simplicity; it lacks the enterprise workflow depth and reporting of Zendesk or Intercom, so power users may hit limits.

Bottom line

This one is mostly decided by what you sell. Run a Shopify store drowning in order-status tickets? Gorgias will likely pay for itself and is the clear choice. Run any other kind of support operation — or want predictable per-seat costs with every feature unlocked? Kayako is the cleaner, more honest fit. Just pressure-test the pricing models against your real ticket-to-agent ratio before signing, because that's where the cost surprises hide.