Spiceworks
Spiceworks covers the Microsoft 365 outage from the help desk's side.
Comparison · Support
Kayako vs Formbricks
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Kayako and Formbricks — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Kayako vs Formbricks: at a glance
What is Kayako?
Kayako's public changelog has been silent since mid-2022 — the radar is showing a stalled product.
Kayako has not posted a public changelog entry since June 2022. The most recent communication was a CEO apology over a performance incident and a series of link-only release-notes posts pointing to a Help Center article. The visible operational picture is an established customer-support product no longer broadcasting product motion.
What is Formbricks?
Formbricks 6.2 candidate two fixes Helm installs and response filters before stable.
Formbricks' 6.0 cycle renamed Unify to Analyze and added MCP OAuth, and 6.1 added the v3 responses API. 6.2.0-rc.1 brought data retention policies and shared show-conditions; rc.2 on November 12 is mostly fixes: fresh Helm installs with bundled PostgreSQL, Valkey templates across upgrades, consistent multi-status response filters and a themed signature pad. It also exposes embedded-data keys in chart pickers and includes a Cube config change for custom database roles.
Kayako vs Formbricks: editorial side-by-side
Kayako
0.0SUPPORT
Kayako's public changelog has been silent since mid-2022 — the radar is showing a stalled product.
◆ Current state
Kayako has not posted a public changelog entry since June 2022. The most recent communication was a CEO apology over a performance incident and a series of link-only release-notes posts pointing to a Help Center article. The visible operational picture is an established customer-support product no longer broadcasting product motion.
◆ Where it's heading
Direction is hard to read from public changelog activity alone, but the trajectory implied by the silence is unmistakable: either the product moved its release communication elsewhere, or development pace slowed enough to stop justifying a regular changelog. Either way, prospects watching only the public surface see no momentum.
◆ Prediction
Without renewed public activity, Kayako will continue to be perceived as legacy in a category where Zendesk, Intercom, and HelpScout are publishing prominently. A customer-facing changelog refresh would be the lowest-effort signal to send, and is the most likely next move if the product is in fact still under active development.
Formbricks
5.0SUPPORT
Formbricks 6.2 candidate two fixes Helm installs and response filters before stable.
◆ Current state
Formbricks' 6.0 cycle renamed Unify to Analyze and added MCP OAuth, and 6.1 added the v3 responses API. 6.2.0-rc.1 brought data retention policies and shared show-conditions; rc.2 on November 12 is mostly fixes: fresh Helm installs with bundled PostgreSQL, Valkey templates across upgrades, consistent multi-status response filters and a themed signature pad. It also exposes embedded-data keys in chart pickers and includes a Cube config change for custom database roles.
◆ Where it's heading
Formbricks keeps building controls for larger self-hosted customers, retention rules and scoped APIs, while much of each candidate goes to its Helm and Compose packaging. The feed still shows release candidates rather than stable tags.
◆ Prediction
Expect one or two more 6.2 candidates of deployment fixes before a stable 6.2.0, likely within two weeks given the rc.1 to rc.2 gap.
Alternatives to Kayako and Formbricks
Other Support products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Kayako or Formbricks.
DoneDone
DoneDone's editor gets tables, spreadsheet paste and text colors.
Twilio
Twilio's voice AI stops cutting callers off mid-sentence, using its own turn-taking model.
Xurrent
Xurrent's November update blocks unverified email senders from changing records.
LiveAgent
LiveAgent 5.71 starts letting bots work chats over MCP and answer the phones.
Chatway
Chatway adds a Ticket Center, moving from live chat toward a full helpdesk.
See all Kayako alternatives → · See all Formbricks alternatives →
Recent activity from Kayako and Formbricks
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoFormbricks6.2.0-rc.2
- 5d agoFormbricksFormbricks 6.2 RC1 adds data retention policies
- 26d agoFormbricks6.1 RC3: race-proof workspace cap and online-upgrade fixes
- 28d agoFormbricks6.1 RC2: v3 API validation, incremental extraction, upgrade fixes
- 1mo agoFormbricks6.1 RC1: v3 responses API, MCP response access, webhook jobs
- 1mo agoFormbricks6.0.0 RC5: Helm Envoy safeguards
- 4y agoKayakoKayako Engineering Update
- 4y agoKayakoKayako Release Notes - April 2022
- 4y agoKayakoKayako Release Notes - February 2022
- 4y agoKayakoRecent performance issues
- 4y agoKayakoKayako Release Notes - January 2022
- 4y agoKayakoPlanned Maintenance Outage
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Kayako and Formbricks?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Formbricks is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Kayako better than Formbricks?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Formbricks is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Support products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Kayako?
Top Kayako alternatives in Support are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Kayako alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/kayako for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Formbricks?
Top Formbricks alternatives in Support are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Formbricks alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/formbricks for the full list with editorial commentary on each.