Softwr

SaaS · head to head

Drift vs Gladly

Drift logo

Drift

SaaS

The Conversation Cloud

From
$2500/month
Rated
-
Gladly logo

Gladly

Customer Support

Radically personal customer service

From
$180/month
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Drift product is being sunset by Salesloft with successor service (1mind) recommended; Gladly no pricing is published at any level, and the pricing page states no per agent cost, per conversation rate, minimum commitment or feature tiers
  • They diverge on capability: Drift covers Live chat, Gladly covers Lifelong conversation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Drift and Gladly actually diverge.

Attributes where Drift and Gladly differ
AttributeDriftGladly
Starting price$2500/month$180/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android
CategorySaaSCustomer Support
Founded20152014

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Drift

  • Live chat
  • AI chatbots
  • Meeting scheduling
  • Email sequences
  • Visitor intelligence
  • Conversation routing
  • Mobile app
  • Analytics dashboard

Only in Gladly

  • Lifelong conversation
  • Omnichannel support
  • Customer timeline
  • Task management
  • Knowledge base
  • IVR
  • Shopify
  • Magento

Both cover

  • Salesforce
  • SOC2
  • GDPR

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Drift

  • Lead qualificationnot Gladly
  • Meeting bookingnot Gladly
  • Customer supportnot Gladly
  • Account-based marketingnot Gladly
  • Sales accelerationnot Gladly

Gladly

  • Customer service built around a single customer record rather than ticketsnot Drift
  • Handling support conversations across voice, messaging and emailnot Drift

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Drift

  • Product is being sunset by Salesloft with successor service (1mind) recommended
  • Mandatory bundling within Salesloft increases cost
  • No free tier available
  • Customer support and knowledge base have been deprioritized
  • Limited to enterprise B2B pipeline generation focus

Gladly

  • No pricing is published at any level, and the pricing page states no per agent cost, per conversation rate, minimum commitment or feature tiers
  • The pricing page presents outcome statistics in place of any cost information
  • Every route to a figure goes through a demo or sales conversation

Pricing, plan by plan

Drift

$2500/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Drift review.

Gladly

$180/month
  • Hero$180/month
    • All channels
    • Customer timeline
    • Knowledge base
  • Superhero$210/month
    • Everything in Hero
    • Custom reporting
    • Advanced rules

Which should you pick?

Choose Drift if

  • You need live chat.
  • You also want ai chatbots.

Choose Gladly if

  • You need lifelong conversation.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want omnichannel support.

Questions people ask

Is Drift or Gladly better?
Neither clearly leads. Drift starts at $2500/month and Gladly at $180/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Drift or Gladly?
Drift starts at $2500/month and Gladly at $180/month.
Does Drift or Gladly run on more platforms?
Drift runs on Web. Gladly runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Drift best used for?
Drift is most often used for lead qualification, meeting booking, customer support, account-based marketing. Of those, lead qualification and meeting booking are not what Gladly is typically brought in for.
What can Drift do that Gladly cannot?
Drift covers Live chat, AI chatbots, Meeting scheduling, Email sequences. Gladly covers Lifelong conversation, Omnichannel support, Customer timeline, Task management. Both handle Salesforce, SOC2, GDPR.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Drift: What is the current status of Drift in 2026?

On March 6, 2026, Clari and Salesloft announced the gradual sunset of Drift's conversational marketing solution, with 1mind named as its exclusive AI successor. Drift remains available but its future is limited.

Source
Drift: How much does Drift cost?

Drift pricing starts around $2,500/month ($30,000/year) for Premium chat-only capabilities, with Enterprise plans exceeding $80,000/year. Drift is bundled within Salesloft and billed annually only.

Source
Drift: What features come with Drift Premium?

Premium plans include live chat widget, custom chatbot flows, meeting scheduling with calendar integration, basic playbooks, email sequences, and standard integrations.

Source
Drift: Does Drift offer a free plan?

No, Drift no longer publicly advertises a free plan as of 2026. All plans require annual billing through Salesloft.

Source

Related pages

Other head to heads