Gladly
Lark
| Feature | Gladly | Lark |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $180/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | ecommerce-brands, luxury-retail, enterprise-support, customer-obsessed-teams | startups, asian-market-teams, small-businesses, cross-functional-teams |
| Founded | 2014 | 2019 |
| Unified Conversation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Omnichannel Inbox | ✓ | ✗ |
| Voice Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Service | ✓ | ✗ |
| Customer Timeline | ✓ | ✗ |
| Task Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Messaging | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Conferencing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Documents | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spreadsheets | ✗ | ✓ |
| Project Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Approval Workflows | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Lark Pros
- All-in-one suite (chat, docs, video, tasks)
- Very generous free tier
- Fast and responsive
- Built-in approval workflows
✗ Lark Cons
- ByteDance ownership raises data concerns
- Less popular in Western markets
- Some features feel overwhelming
The Verdict
Gladly is built for ecommerce brands and luxury retail, with a focus on unified-conversation and omnichannel-inbox. Lark targets startups and asian market teams and leads with messaging and video-conferencing.
On pricing, Lark is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $12/mo compared to $180/mo for Gladly. That $168/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Lark 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.