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Customer Support · head to head

Gladly vs Kayako

Gladly logo

Gladly

Customer Support

Radically personal customer service

From
$180/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Kayako logo

Kayako

Live Chat

Effortless customer service

From
$30/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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; Kayako the AI agent is billed at $1 per resolved ticket, so support cost scales with ticket volume rather than being a fixed subscription
  • They diverge on capability: Gladly covers Lifelong conversation, Kayako covers Unified inbox.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gladly and Kayako actually diverge.

Attributes where Gladly and Kayako differ
AttributeGladlyKayako
Starting price$180/month$30/month
CategoryCustomer SupportLive Chat
Founded20142001

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), 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 Gladly

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

Only in Kayako

  • Unified inbox
  • Live chat
  • Help center
  • Customer journey
  • Automation
  • Reporting
  • Slack
  • Zapier

Both cover

  • Shopify
  • Salesforce
  • Stripe
  • SOC2
  • GDPR
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Gladly

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

Kayako

  • Help desk ticketing with a unified inbox and knowledge basenot Gladly
  • Resolving support tickets automatically with an AI agentnot Gladly

Where each one falls short

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

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

Kayako

  • The AI agent is billed at $1 per resolved ticket, so support cost scales with ticket volume rather than being a fixed subscription
  • A resolution counts when the AI solves the issue without human involvement, so the definition of a billable event is set by the vendor's own system
  • No per agent monthly price is published for the full Kayako One platform
  • Full platform pricing requires talking to an expert

Pricing, plan by plan

Gladly

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

Kayako

$30/month
  • Inbox$30/month
    • Email & live chat
    • Help center
    • Basic automation
  • Growth$60/month
    • Everything in Inbox
    • Customer journey
    • SLA management
  • Scale$100/month
    • Everything in Growth
    • Advanced reporting
    • Custom roles

Which should you pick?

Choose Gladly if

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

Choose Kayako if

  • You need unified inbox.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want live chat.
Kayako review

Questions people ask

Is Gladly or Kayako better?
Neither clearly leads. Gladly starts at $180/month and Kayako at $30/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gladly or Kayako?
Gladly starts at $180/month and Kayako at $30/month.
Does Gladly or Kayako run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Gladly best used for?
Gladly is most often used for customer service built around a single customer record rather than tickets, handling support conversations across voice, messaging and email. Of those, customer service built around a single customer record rather than tickets and handling support conversations across voice, messaging and email are not what Kayako is typically brought in for.
What can Gladly do that Kayako cannot?
Gladly covers Lifelong conversation, Omnichannel support, Customer timeline, Task management. Kayako covers Unified inbox, Live chat, Help center, Customer journey. Both handle Shopify, Salesforce, Stripe, SOC2.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Gladly: How much does Gladly cost?

Gladly does not publish pricing on its website. The vendor directs prospective customers to request a demo or contact the sales team for custom pricing tailored to organizational needs.

Source
Kayako: How much does Kayako charge?

Kayako uses results-based pricing where customers pay $1 per resolved ticket when Kay AI Agent solves the issue without human intervention. There are no seat fees or setup fees. Kayako One helpdesk platform pricing requires contacting sales.

Source
Kayako: What counts as a resolved ticket for Kayako pricing?

A resolution occurs when Kay solves the customer's issue without human agent involvement, whether by taking action or providing an answer the customer confirms solves their problem. Escalations to humans and simple deflections do not count.

Source
Kayako: What is Kayako's AI resolution rate?

Kayako reports a 68 percent AI resolution rate for Kay AI Agent. The platform claims a cost advantage of $1 per resolution versus $4.60 for competitors, with reported CSAT improvement of 14 points.

Source
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