Gladly
Kayako
| Feature | Gladly | Kayako |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $180/mo | From $30/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 3.9 / 5 |
| Best For | ecommerce-brands, luxury-retail, enterprise-support, customer-obsessed-teams | ecommerce, saas-companies, support-teams, mid-size-companies |
| Founded | 2014 | 2001 |
| Unified Conversation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Omnichannel Inbox | ✓ | ✗ |
| Voice Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Service | ✓ | ✓ |
| Customer Timeline | ✓ | ✗ |
| Task Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ticketing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Customer Journey | ✗ | ✓ |
| Collaboration | ✗ | ✓ |
| 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
✓ Kayako Pros
- Unified customer view
- Good live chat
- Journey tracking
- Multichannel
✗ Kayako Cons
- Dated interface
- Limited integrations
- Slow development pace
The Verdict
Gladly is built for ecommerce brands and luxury retail, with a focus on unified-conversation and omnichannel-inbox. Kayako targets ecommerce and saas companies and leads with live-chat and ticketing.
On pricing, Kayako is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $30/mo compared to $180/mo for Gladly. That $150/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.
Gladly edges out on user ratings (4.5 vs 3.9). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: Gladly has a slight overall edge — but if unified customer view matters most to you, Kayako may still be the right call.