Kayako Classic

What is Kayako Classic?

Kayako Classic is the original self-hosted version of Kayako's help desk software, built on PHP and deployed on your own servers. It was a well-regarded support platform for over 15 years, offering ticketing, live chat, a customer portal, and advanced reporting via its proprietary Kayako Query Language (KQL). As of now, Kayako Classic is in maintenance mode — existing customers pay annual fees but receive no new feature development.

Who is it for?

Kayako Classic is only relevant for organizations that already have it deployed and have not yet migrated to a modern cloud platform. There are no new licenses available. Teams in heavily regulated industries or with strict data residency requirements may still be running it, but Kayako's own website actively promotes migration to the cloud version.

Strengths

• Full on-premises control — data stays entirely on your infrastructure, with access to the PHP source code for deep customization.
• Unlimited agents and departments — no per-seat limits on the self-hosted deployment model.
• Established workflows — teams that have customized it heavily over the years may have workflows difficult to replicate elsewhere.
• KQL reporting — the custom query language gave technically capable teams powerful ad-hoc reporting.
• Live chat and voice — VOIP click-to-call and unlimited live chat sessions were included.

What to consider

• In maintenance mode — no new features, and eventually no security patches. This is a time-limited option.
• Kayako is actively pushing migration to their cloud product and has reduced Classic support resources.
• Security risks increase over time as the self-hosted platform ages without updates.

Bottom line

Kayako Classic made sense for a decade, but it's end-of-life in practice. If you're still running it, start planning migration to a modern platform — either Kayako's cloud product or a competitor. New buyers should not consider Kayako Classic; see the Kayako listing for the current cloud offering.