Software · head to head
Gladly vs Podium
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; Podium no monthly price, contact limit or message allowance is published anywhere on the pricing page
- They diverge on capability: Gladly covers Lifelong conversation, Podium covers Text messaging.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Gladly and Podium actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), founded (2014).
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
- Shopify
- Magento
Only in Podium
- Text messaging
- Review management
- Webchat
- Payments
- Team inbox
- Automation
Both cover
- Salesforce
- SOC2
- GDPR
- PCI DSS
- 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 Podium
- Handling support conversations across voice, messaging and emailnot Podium
Podium
- Managing customer messages and reviews for local businessesnot Gladly
- Converting inbound leads through text and web chatnot 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
Podium
- No monthly price, contact limit or message allowance is published anywhere on the pricing page
- The page carries a heading asking what Podium costs monthly and does not answer it
- The AI Employee is an add on across all tiers rather than being included
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
Podium
$249/month- Essentials$249/month
- Inbox
- Reviews
- Website chat
- Standard$449/month
- Essentials + Campaigns
- Payments
- Automation
- Professional$undefined/month
- Standard + Advanced analytics
- Multi-location
Which should you pick?
Choose Gladly if
- You need lifelong conversation.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want omnichannel support.
Choose Podium if
- You need text messaging.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want review management.
Questions people ask
- Is Gladly or Podium better?
- Neither clearly leads. Gladly starts at $180/month and Podium at $249/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Gladly or Podium?
- Gladly starts at $180/month and Podium at $249/month.
- Does Gladly or Podium 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 Podium is typically brought in for.
- What can Gladly do that Podium cannot?
- Gladly covers Lifelong conversation, Omnichannel support, Customer timeline, Task management. Podium covers Text messaging, Review management, Webchat, Payments. Both handle Salesforce, SOC2, GDPR, PCI DSS.