Kayako vs. SysAid

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Kayako
Score 6.1 out of 10
N/A
Kayako is a help desk and customer support platform that helps businesses automate workflows, improve agent productivity, and deliver personalized customer experiences across email, chat, and social media.
$79
per month
SysAid
Score 9.0 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
SysAid is an ITSM platform that enhances service delivery with AI Agents, chatbots, workflow automation, and asset management. AI Copilot categorizes tickets, provides case summaries, and offers sentiment analysis. The AI chatbot, available via chat, email, and Teams, speeds support.N/A
Pricing
KayakoSysAid
Editions & Modules
Kayako One
$79
per month
Enterprise
Contact Sales
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
KayakoSysAid
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional DetailsSysAid Copilot is available as an add-on for any plan. It bakes generative AI into every aspect of service management.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
KayakoSysAid
Features
KayakoSysAid
Incident and problem management
Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Product A and Product B
Kayako
2.0
11 Ratings
120% below category average
SysAid
9.1
178 Ratings
11% above category average
Organize and prioritize service tickets1.011 Ratings9.9177 Ratings
Expert directory1.05 Ratings8.0144 Ratings
Subscription-based notifications1.08 Ratings9.9127 Ratings
ITSM collaboration and documentation1.07 Ratings9.4145 Ratings
Ticket creation and submission7.011 Ratings00 Ratings
Ticket response1.011 Ratings00 Ratings
Service restoration00 Ratings8.9125 Ratings
Self-service tools00 Ratings8.4171 Ratings
ITSM reports and dashboards00 Ratings9.4154 Ratings
Self Help Community
Comparison of Self Help Community features of Product A and Product B
Kayako
1.0
9 Ratings
155% below category average
SysAid
-
Ratings
External knowledge base1.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal knowledge base1.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-Channel Help
Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Product A and Product B
Kayako
1.0
10 Ratings
154% below category average
SysAid
-
Ratings
Customer portal1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
IVR1.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Social integration1.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Email support1.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Help Desk CRM integration1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
ITSM asset management
Comparison of ITSM asset management features of Product A and Product B
Kayako
-
Ratings
SysAid
8.5
154 Ratings
3% above category average
Configuration mangement00 Ratings9.7144 Ratings
Asset management dashboard00 Ratings8.8151 Ratings
Policy and contract enforcement00 Ratings7.1103 Ratings
Change management
Comparison of Change management features of Product A and Product B
Kayako
-
Ratings
SysAid
9.7
143 Ratings
15% above category average
Change requests repository00 Ratings9.7130 Ratings
Change calendar00 Ratings9.7109 Ratings
Service-level management00 Ratings9.7135 Ratings
Best Alternatives
KayakoSysAid
Small Businesses
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
SysAid
SysAid
Score 9.0 out of 10
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
KayakoSysAid
Likelihood to Recommend
1.0
(22 ratings)
9.3
(180 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.8
(11 ratings)
8.9
(19 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(45 ratings)
Availability
7.5
(2 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
2.1
(4 ratings)
7.7
(53 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(2 ratings)
8.6
(11 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(14 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(9 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
User Testimonials
KayakoSysAid
Likelihood to Recommend
Kayako
When it works, It's without a doubt a great help desk solution. It is perfect for our usage, and have rolled it out company-wide. It's great if you have multiple departments. We have it set up so most items come through a single desk that then hands out tickets to their proper department. There may be cheaper options for smaller organizations but for one that is as service-driven as ours, we really think Kayako is a great fit.
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SysAid Technologies
SysAid just works. For the number of built in features, it is relatively easy to use and get started with. Getting started with SysAid is hassle free as well. Once setting up the RDS on prem, rolling out to all of the machines is a breeze. The cloud service takes over from there. Device scans will immediately begin sending data to SysAid cloud that provides hardware and software information.
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Pros
Kayako
  • Gives a very good report on an individual level of what is being done for a customer or corporate issue.
  • Easy to understand who has what, what the tickets are about, how long they have been opened and how many times the customer/employee have gone back and forth with each other.
  • Nice dashboard view.
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SysAid Technologies
  • Email integration. End-users can interact with the ticketing system exclusively through email, and admins can message exclusively within a ticket. All communications are linked directly to user accounts including SysAid admin accounts.
  • Ticket management is very customizable. You can add categories, statuses, action and communication automation, ticket sorting, and much more.
  • knowledge base links directly to tickets, so repeat issues are easy to solve.
Read full review
Cons
Kayako
  • Departments need a bit of work. Even though you can have multiple departments, the only changes that can be made are globally. If you want independent queues within the departments, you have to do a lot of work that can be very confusing.
  • Survey system is not up to speed. Kayako really needs to add Net Promoter Score into their system. Also, if a staff user removes their name from an incident ticket, it removes them from the survey so you really can't even get a good estimate of how well your staff is in the eyes of the customer.
  • Very difficult to implement when you already have a customer base. Setting them up in organizations is difficult. Also, the sign-up for new customers is quirky. If you send an email to Kayako, it will say you are not an authorized user, however, it will store your email address. If you try to send an email a second time, it will go through. This is one of many reasons why we decided to move from Kayako to Oracle Service Cloud.
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SysAid Technologies
  • The Help tool could use some refining. Particularly indicating the order in which steps must be done. A clear example is the creation of customized fields or lists.
  • Formatting of the ticket. There is no possibility to create dynamic tables, use more than one column. I would want to have more flexibility without having to pay for Professional Services
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Likelihood to Renew
Kayako
  • We are grandfathered in on their old Software-assurance pricing and our continued use costs us only a few hundred dollars a year (excluding hosting expenses)
  • Our team's processes are now heavily ingrained in the system
  • We have not been shown a more compelling option that is more cost-effective while still offering all the features we've come to expect
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SysAid Technologies
This rating reflects our overall satisfaction with the platform’s performance, reliability, and flexibility in meeting our IT service management needs. SysAid has streamlined our ticketing processes, enhanced asset management, and improved operational efficiency through automation and reporting. The system’s adaptability across multiple departments has added significant value beyond IT. An excellent service tool.
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Usability
Kayako
I did not come from an IT background and I picked this program up quickly
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SysAid Technologies
Whilst it delivers on most of the features it comes with, I feel Change Management needs a complete re-do as it is really complicated, and think it should be made to be straightforward. For the free services of their Market Place, they should develop a platform where one can just browse for the script (downloaded) and apply the patch, without having to go into various places in code to activate the service. or at least, build the integrations into the system and have [a] section under settings, or even straight from the Market Place, where one can just enable the service, and if required, be prompted to input additional information, including credentials.
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Reliability and Availability
Kayako
They are really good, but it takes a while to get back, because of the large time difference to the Eastern US. However, they are very helpful.
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SysAid Technologies
Another of the benefits of sysaid is that it is highly available when working in on-premise environments.The only times the system is down is when a restart of the services is required to add a new feature. Apart from that, we have not had any problems.In the case of the cloud, the only condition I have seen where sysaid is not available is because the internet link is down or damaged.
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Performance
Kayako
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
In the case of system performance, I have seen that no matter the number of assets and users, Sysaid responds in the same way and at the same speed. The reports that are scheduled do not have any details because they arrive directly to your email. In the same way, when it is integrated with other systems, for example through the API or by email, we have not seen any failure due to the integration. It works very well with or without integrations.
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Support Rating
Kayako
  • We didn't have to use support too much, but when we did, they were able to assist us and help us make everything work.
  • Mostly we used their Online KB and step by step instructions to get all of our issues resolved.
Read full review
SysAid Technologies
SysAid support is fast and effective. They support their own product, so they know it well. I can expect a response to my request in less than 24 hours and often in less than an hour. Their sales, customer support, and technical support staff are experts in the area of the support request ticket, so we seldom are transferred to another support agent. Their system is well designed and one of the best of all the applications we use.
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In-Person Training
Kayako
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
My team was greatly assisted and trained well. Despite the time zone difference the trainer made every effort to be available during times that were suitable for us and the assistance and help offered was extremely appreciated by my team. A wonderful experience by the team.
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Online Training
Kayako
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
The training I received was very good, they gave me tasks to carry out and then they checked what I had done.It was gratifying that the instructor noticed that I had made very fast progress because I had done the implementation myself and it was very fast. At least I remember that after 5 days I had already finished almost 90% of all the implementation tasks.
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Implementation Rating
Kayako
Three years in we are about as happy with Kayako as we could be. We've had several employee's leave and on-boarding new hires was easier than it has ever been as things are uniform and consistent across the entire application.
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SysAid Technologies
It is recommended that it be synchronized with the active directory for a better experience, also using the network scanning tools are very useful both to maintain your hardware and software inventory. See all the documentation found on the portal where they suggest good practices for the use of SysAid and exploit it from the first time
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Alternatives Considered
Kayako
We were using Spiceworks for a few years before switching to Kayako but found that it wasn't as customizable or as user friendly for our customers. The SNMP scanning and inventory features with Spiceworks was nice but we needed more of a Help Desk that would allow us to scale our services to more companies.
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SysAid Technologies
There are many items offered on the other platforms that SysAid does not have. However, for a smaller or medium-sized business that needs a simple and easy way to get tickets flowing and allow users to help themselves, this is an excellent way to start.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Kayako
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
When we purchase it, the plans were different and mainly we acquired lifetime licenses. in the past year, we migrated to the cloud version. In both cases, the pricing structure was accurate, although they could provide some extra flexibility to pay for exactly what we need in the business.
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Scalability
Kayako
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
Le doy esta calificación porque los módulos que contiene se pueden usar para casi cualquier departamento, tanto gestión de tickets como inventarios de equipos, hemos utilizado una versión gratuita en Ingeniería para gestionar sus tiempos en las tareas asignadas, es lo único que utilizan pero podrían usar fácilmente el módulo de inventario para su herramienta y el módulo de proyectos también
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Professional Services
Kayako
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
We have used SysAid since 2008. Through out these years, we find that SysAid support is very helpful and professional. The respond that we get is very fast and they will help us until we have solved our problem that we reported to them. So far, we are very happy with SysAid support.
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Return on Investment
Kayako
  • Tickets were definitely responded to faster once we implemented the audible alarm that would go off when new tickets came into the queue. This was possible because of the API.
  • Since the system was email based we could set our monitoring software up to generate tickets automatically via email for customers when it found something out of the ordinary.
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SysAid Technologies
  • How easy it is to configure the app to our existing ITIL process. The ability to pick what services we would like to have as well as the ability to integrate using API as well as the marketplace.
  • Intuitive interface. Integration to Outlook. Easy reporting.
  • It has a very user-friendly interface and effective management capabilities.
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ScreenShots

SysAid Screenshots

Screenshot of Monitoring & Fine Tuning - Gives the admin control over the quality of answers that the AI Chatbot provides, through the ability to edit and fine-tune the answers.Screenshot of Ticket Journey - Admins can deep dive into the history and context of a ticket, quickly, with ticket journey filters, while reviewing a chronological, consolidated view of everything to help reach a resolution, faster – including all actions takenScreenshot of a Ticket Queue, which offers a consolidated, easy-to-navigate view of the ticket queue to help admins resolve issues more more efficiently.Screenshot of AI Chatbot, a conversational self-service experience that uses Generative AI to help employees work through issues by delivering answers based on what it has learned by absorbing knowledge base articles, internal data, and ticket resolution historyScreenshot of the workflow automation that digitizes processes without coding or scripting. Users can automate complex processes with simple design and editing capabilities, and real-time visibility of the end-to-end process.Screenshot of the SysAid AI Agents that empower IT teams with intelligence that thinks, learns, and acts securely. Designed to enhance—not override—IT operations, they anticipate needs, make informed decisions, and adapt responsibly