Kayako Alternative: Escaping 600% Price Increases and Legacy Technology

Kayako has been around since 2001—and unfortunately, parts of the platform feel like it. With a 1.8/5 Trustpilot rating (94% one-star reviews), reports of 200-600% price increases, and billing disputes that escalate to collections, many teams are looking for an escape route.

If you're searching for a Kayako alternative, Support Station offers modern technology, transparent pricing, and support software from a company that won't increase your bill by 600% overnight.

Quick Pricing Comparison

Team Size	Support Station (Standard)	Kayako One + AI	Annual Savings
5 agents	$175/month	$395/month*	$2,940/year
10 agents	$175/month	$790/month*	$7,680/year
25 agents	$175/month	$1,975/month*	$21,900/year
50 agents	$175/month	$3,950/month*	$45,600/year

Kayako One at $79/month base + estimated $1/AI resolution costs. Actual pricing is quote-based and varies.

Kayako Has History, But...

Kayako pioneered helpdesk software over two decades ago. Their unified inbox, SLA management, and omnichannel support laid groundwork that modern platforms built upon.

But history doesn't excuse predatory pricing practices, outdated technology, and a platform that users describe as having "one of the worst interfaces I have ever seen."

The 600% Price Increase Nightmare

Kayako's pricing practices have generated horror stories across review sites.

“I received an email from Kayako requesting that I contact them about my renewal. When I did, they informed me they would be increasing their pricing by 600% for this year, and an additional 25% each year thereafter.”

“Despite clear and documented cancellation of our service, we were repeatedly subjected to erroneous invoices for months, and in some cases, even years following termination. What's worse is the company's apparent willingness to escalate these phantom debts to collection agencies.”

Let that sink in: 600% price increases and collections threats for cancelled accounts.

Support Station offers transparent, published pricing. No quote-based surprises, no aggressive renewal tactics, no collections for phantom invoices.

$1 Per AI Resolution

Kayako's recent AI pivot (Kayako One) adds usage-based costs on top of your subscription.

Component	Cost
Kayako One base	$79/month
AI-resolved tickets	$1 each
Total at 1,000 AI resolutions	$1,079/month
Total at 5,000 AI resolutions	$5,079/month

At scale, per-resolution AI pricing becomes unpredictable and expensive.

Support Station includes AI in every paid plan. Our Standard plan ($175/month) includes 10,000 AI interactions—$0.02/credit if you go over, not $1.

Outdated Interface

Users consistently describe Kayako's interface as dated and frustrating.

“This is the badly designed, unintuitive user interface. One of the worst I have ever seen.”

“Kayako feels out-dated all along. After two years of the 7.0 php release it still is not even fully compatible with any php 7.x release and up to today relies on the out-dated php 5.x versions.”

A helpdesk still relying on PHP 5.x in 2025 suggests deep technical debt that affects the entire platform.

Support Station is built on modern technology: Next.js frontend, NestJS backend, real-time updates, and an interface designed for 2025 workflows.

Support From a Support Company (That Doesn't Respond)

For a company selling support software, Kayako's own support has earned scathing reviews.

“Over 2 months without a single response from Kayako, this is not only negligible, it simply unacceptable.”

Two months without a response from a helpdesk vendor is beyond ironic—it's a warning sign.

At Support Station, we believe support software companies should demonstrate excellent support. We respond promptly and work to solve your actual problems.

Forced Minimums and Hidden Requirements

Kayako has imposed minimum license requirements that force customers to pay for seats they don't need.

“Forced to pay for 10+ licenses even when using fewer agents.”

“Legacy customer exploitation with excessive support charges.”

Hidden quote-based pricing, minimum seat requirements, and legacy customer exploitation create an unpredictable and adversarial vendor relationship.

Feature Comparison

What You Might Miss

We believe in honest comparisons. Here's where Kayako has advantages:

• Parent/child tickets: Ability to create sub-tickets linked to a main ticket.
• Longer market presence: 20+ years of feature development (though this also means legacy code).
• Self-hosted option: Kayako Classic offers on-premise deployment (starting at $15,000).
• SMS/WhatsApp: Native messaging channel support.
• Collision detection: Real-time agent collision prevention.

For teams needing parent/child tickets or self-hosted deployment, Kayako offers capabilities Support Station doesn't.

Who Should Switch

Support Station is ideal for:

• Teams traumatized by price increases who want predictable billing
• Companies fleeing outdated interfaces for modern UX
• Organizations wanting transparent pricing without quote negotiations
• Growing teams who don't want $1/AI resolution charges

Consider staying with Kayako if:

• You need self-hosted deployment (and can afford $15K+)
• Parent/child ticket structure is essential
• You've negotiated favorable long-term pricing
• You're locked into a contract you can't exit

Making the Switch

Migrating from Kayako to Support Station is straightforward:

1. Export your knowledge base from Kayako
2. Import articles into Support Station
3. Set up your widget on your website
4. Configure email forwarding for your support address
5. Connect Slack for team notifications

Most teams complete migration in under a day.

The Bottom Line

Kayako's 1.8/5 Trustpilot rating tells the story: 600% price increases, collections for cancelled accounts, two-month support response times, and an interface stuck in the past decade.

Support Station offers what Kayako should be: modern technology, transparent pricing, and a company that treats customers as partners rather than revenue targets.

For a 10-agent team, switching saves over $7,680 per year. More importantly, you escape the risk of predatory pricing practices and billing disputes.

Ready to leave legacy problems behind? Start your free trial and experience modern support software.