Gladly
Groove
| Feature | Gladly | Groove |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $180/mo | From $16/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | ecommerce-brands, luxury-retail, enterprise-support, customer-obsessed-teams | small-businesses, startups, small-support-teams, saas-companies |
| Founded | 2014 | 2012 |
| Unified Conversation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Omnichannel Inbox | ✓ | ✗ |
| Voice Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Service | ✓ | ✗ |
| Customer Timeline | ✓ | ✗ |
| Task Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shared Inbox | ✗ | ✓ |
| Knowledge Base | ✗ | ✓ |
| Live Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Assignments | ✗ | ✓ |
| Collision Detection | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reporting | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Gladly Pros
- Single conversation thread per customer
- Excellent omnichannel support
- Built-in voice and messaging
- Customer-first approach
✗ Gladly Cons
- Very expensive per agent
- Enterprise-focused
- Smaller marketplace of integrations
✓ Groove Pros
- Very simple to use
- Feels like email not a ticket system
- Good for small teams
- Knowledge base included
✗ Groove Cons
- Limited automation
- Basic reporting
- Not suitable for large teams
The Verdict
Gladly is built for ecommerce brands and luxury retail, with a focus on unified-conversation and omnichannel-inbox. Groove targets small businesses and startups and leads with shared-inbox and knowledge-base.
On pricing, Groove is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $16/mo compared to $180/mo for Gladly. That $164/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.