Gladly
Help Scout
| Feature | Gladly | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $180/mo | Free / from $25/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | ecommerce-brands, luxury-retail, enterprise-support, customer-obsessed-teams | small-businesses, saas-companies, remote-teams, customer-focused-brands |
| Founded | 2014 | 2011 |
| Unified Conversation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Omnichannel Inbox | ✓ | ✗ |
| Voice Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Service | ✓ | ✗ |
| Customer Timeline | ✓ | ✗ |
| Task Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shared Inbox | ✗ | ✓ |
| Knowledge Base | ✗ | ✓ |
| Beacon | ✗ | ✓ |
| Live Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflows | ✗ | ✓ |
| Customer Profiles | ✗ | ✓ |
| 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
✓ Help Scout Pros
- Feels like email to customers (no ticket numbers)
- Excellent knowledge base (Docs)
- Beacon widget for contextual help
- Simple and fast — minimal training needed
✗ Help Scout Cons
- Limited automation compared to Zendesk
- No built-in phone or video support
- Reporting less advanced on lower plans
The Verdict
Gladly is built for ecommerce brands and luxury retail, with a focus on unified-conversation and omnichannel-inbox. Help Scout targets small businesses and saas companies and leads with shared-inbox and knowledge-base.
On pricing, Help Scout is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $25/mo compared to $180/mo for Gladly. That $155/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Help Scout has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Gladly requires a paid subscription from day one.
Feature-wise, Help Scout offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Gladly takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
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.