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Software · head to head

Help Scout vs Gladly

Help Scout logo

Help Scout

Software

Customer service software that people love

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Gladly logo

Gladly

Software

Radically personal customer service

From
$180/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Help Scout has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Help Scout the free plan caps contacts at 100 a month, so it is a volume trial rather than a standing free tier; 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: Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Gladly covers Lifelong conversation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Help Scout and Gladly actually diverge.

Attributes where Help Scout and Gladly differ
AttributeHelp ScoutGladly
Starting priceFree$180/month
Free tierYesNo
Founded20112014

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Help Scout

  • Shared inbox
  • Live chat
  • Customer profiles
  • Workflows
  • Reporting
  • Slack
  • HubSpot
  • Jira

Only in Gladly

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

Both cover

  • Knowledge base
  • Salesforce
  • Shopify
  • SOC2
  • GDPR
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Help Scout

  • Shared inbox and help desk for customer support teamsnot Gladly
  • Publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat supportnot Gladly

Gladly

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

Where each one falls short

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

Help Scout

  • The free plan caps contacts at 100 a month, so it is a volume trial rather than a standing free tier
  • Inboxes are rationed by plan, at 1 on free, 5 on Plus and 10 on Pro
  • Each plan also caps users, at 25 on Standard and 50 on Plus
  • The Pro plan at $75 per user per month carries a 10 user minimum, so the entry cost is $750 a month
  • SSO, SAML and HIPAA compliance are Pro only
  • AI Answers is billed separately at $0.75 per resolution on top of the seat price

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

Help Scout

Free
  • Standard$20/month
    • 2 mailboxes
    • 1 Docs site
    • Email & live chat
  • Plus$40/month
    • 5 mailboxes
    • Custom fields
    • Advanced permissions
  • Pro$65/month
    • 25 mailboxes
    • Enterprise security
    • HIPAA compliance

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 Help Scout if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want live chat.
Help Scout review

Choose Gladly if

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

Questions people ask

Is Help Scout or Gladly better?
Neither clearly leads. Help Scout starts at Free and Gladly at $180/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Help Scout or Gladly?
Help Scout has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Help Scout and $180/month for Gladly.
Does Help Scout or Gladly run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Help Scout for free?
Yes. Help Scout has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gladly starts at $180/month.
What is Help Scout best used for?
Help Scout is most often used for shared inbox and help desk for customer support teams, publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat support. Of those, shared inbox and help desk for customer support teams and publishing a knowledge base alongside email and chat support are not what Gladly is typically brought in for.
What can Help Scout do that Gladly cannot?
Help Scout covers Shared inbox, Live chat, Customer profiles, Workflows. Gladly covers Lifelong conversation, Omnichannel support, Customer timeline, Task management. Both handle Knowledge base, Salesforce, Shopify, SOC2.
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