Gladly
Hiver
| Feature | Gladly | Hiver |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $180/mo | Free / from $19/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | ecommerce-brands, luxury-retail, enterprise-support, customer-obsessed-teams | small-teams, gmail-users, support-teams, startups |
| Founded | 2014 | 2011 |
| Unified Conversation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Omnichannel Inbox | ✓ | ✗ |
| Voice Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Service | ✓ | ✗ |
| Customer Timeline | ✓ | ✗ |
| Task Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shared Inboxes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Assignment | ✗ | ✓ |
| Collision Detection | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sla Management | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Hiver Pros
- Works inside Gmail
- Easy adoption
- Shared inboxes
- Good for email teams
✗ Hiver Cons
- Gmail-only
- Limited outside email
- Fewer features than full helpdesks
The Verdict
Gladly is built for ecommerce brands and luxury retail, with a focus on unified-conversation and omnichannel-inbox. Hiver targets small teams and gmail users and leads with shared-inboxes and email-assignment.
On pricing, Hiver is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $19/mo compared to $180/mo for Gladly. That $161/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Hiver 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.
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.