Gladly vs Zendesk (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Gladly if

• Fits if you run a retail or ecommerce brand with heavy chat, SMS and phone volume
• Works for teams that want service and sales handled by the same AI

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a price, as none is published
• Not for you if you want a free plan or trial, because neither is listed
• Watch out: the pages are written for retail, so other industries get less detail
• Watch out: its resolution-rate figures come from customer examples, with no published method

Pick Zendesk if

• Fits if your team answers email, chat and phone and wants one queue for all of it
• Works for funded startups, which can get Suite Professional free for 6 months

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you need live chat or a help center, as both start at $55 an agent billed yearly
• Too light for chat-first teams on the $19 plan, which covers email tickets only
• Skip it if you need a fixed bill, since AI resolutions past the allowance cost $1.50 to $2 each
• Watch out: Copilot is a $50 an agent add-on, and phone numbers and call minutes are billed on top
• Watch out: the listing doesn't say whether the trial needs a card, and Suite Enterprise is sold only through sales

Gladly

• No prices are published; the site routes every visit to a demo request, and a /pricing address redirects to the home page.
• The pages are written for retail and ecommerce brands and mention Shopify integration, so other industries get less detail.
• The pages list no standalone desktop or phone apps for agents; iOS and Android are SDKs for adding chat to your own app.
• The vendor states its figures, such as resolution rates, from customer examples and does not publish a method.

Zendesk

• Support Team covers email ticketing only; live chat, voice and a help center start at Suite Team, $55 per agent / month billed annually.
• AI resolutions beyond the included allowance cost $1.50 each on a committed volume or $2.00 each pay-as-you-go.
• Copilot, which adds Auto Assist and suggested first replies, is an add-on at $50 per agent / month billed annually.
• Phone numbers and call minutes are billed as add-ons, and Suite Enterprise is sold only through the sales team.

Gladly

One record per customer

Every chat, email, text, call and social message lands on one lifelong customer profile with order history and preferences, so agents and AI start with the context.

AI for service

Gladly AI answers on chat, email, SMS and voice and works multi-step requests through, handing off to a person with the full conversation when needed.

AI for commerce

The commerce agent recommends products from a shopper's past orders and can take payment in the conversation through a secure card form.

Phone and omnichannel

A built-in phone system with IVR sits beside chat, SMS, email, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, with iOS and Android SDKs for in-app chat.

Routing and operations

People Match routing, tasks, quality assurance, workforce management, CSAT surveys and FAQ management are part of the workspace.

Works beside other help desks

The vendor says Gladly AI can run alongside an existing Zendesk or Salesforce help desk.

Zendesk

Ticketing across channels

Email, messaging, phone and social conversations land in one ticket queue, with routing, pre-written responses, triggers and automations.

AI agents billed per resolution

AI agents answer email on every plan and chat wherever messaging is on. Each agent seat includes 5 automated resolutions a month (10 on Suite Professional).

Messaging and live chat

Suite plans add chat for websites and apps plus WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, X, Slack, WeChat and LINE as channels.

Help center

Suite Team includes one help center in one language. Suite Professional allows up to 5 help centers in 40+ languages, plus community forums.

Voice

Phone support in the browser with toll-free or local numbers from 75+ countries. Suite Professional adds an IVR phone tree.

Reporting

Prebuilt analytics dashboards on every plan. Suite Professional adds Quick Reports, which builds reports from questions typed in plain language.

Gladly

Pricing could not be confirmed. See gladly.ai.

Zendesk

• Support Team$19

  per agent / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)

  Email ticketing with routing, prebuilt dashboards, pre-written replies and automations. No help center, live chat or phone.

• Suite Team$55

  per agent / month, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)

  Adds messaging and live chat, telephony, omnichannel routing, a knowledge base and Action Builder, with one help center in one language.

• Suite Professional$115

  per agent / month, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)

  Adds skills-based routing, an IVR phone tree, AI writing tools, Quick Reports and App Builder, and up to 5 help centers in 40+ languages.

• Suite Enterprise + CopilotCustom

  Adds intelligent triage, Auto Assist, generative AI for voice, approval workflows, a sandbox and custom agent roles. Sold through sales.

Gladly

No public discounts listed.

Zendesk

• Annual discount

  About 20% off with annual billing

  Zendesk's pricing page marks annual billing as 20% off: Suite Team is $55 per agent a month billed yearly against $69 billed monthly.

• Startups

  Startups: 6 months free, up to 2 years via partners

  Funded startups up to Series B and under 10 years old get Suite Professional and Copilot free for 6 months, or 1 to 2 years through VC partners, for up to 50 agents.