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Customer Support · head to head

Plain vs Gladly

Plain logo

Plain

Customer Support

AI support infrastructure built for B2B teams

From
$35/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Gladly logo

Gladly

Customer Support

Radically personal customer service

From
$180/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Plain foundation plan limited to 2,000 credits per month may be restrictive for high-volume teams; 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: Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation, Gladly covers Lifelong conversation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Plain and Gladly actually diverge.

Attributes where Plain and Gladly differ
AttributePlainGladly
Starting price$35/month$180/month
Pricing modelTiered pricing per seat with credit systemsubscription
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Ios, Android
FoundedUnknown2014

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

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 Plain

  • Multi-channel consolidation
  • AI agents
  • Workflow automation
  • Sidekick assistant
  • Insights engine
  • Linear and Jira integration
  • Help Center and Knowledge Base
  • API-first extensibility

Only in Gladly

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

What people use each for

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

Plain

  • Consolidating support from multiple channels into one inboxnot Gladly
  • Automating support workflows with AI agentsnot Gladly
  • Extracting insights and trends from customer conversationsnot Gladly
  • Building custom support solutions with API accessnot Gladly
  • Implementing AI-assisted customer support at scalenot Gladly

Gladly

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

Where each one falls short

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

Plain

  • Foundation plan limited to 2,000 credits per month may be restrictive for high-volume teams
  • Pricing increases significantly from Foundation to Horizon ($35 to $299 per month)
  • No published pricing for Frontier (custom) plan
  • Additional seat costs ($99 per seat) add up for larger teams
  • Credit-based system requires monitoring usage to avoid overages

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

Plain

$35/month
  • Foundation$35/month
    • 2,000 credits per month
    • Slack and email channels
    • Ari AI agent
  • Horizon$299/month
    • 15,000 credits per month
    • All Foundation features
    • Microsoft Teams integration
  • Frontier$null/custom
    • Custom credit allowance
    • All Horizon features
    • Discord channels

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 Plain if

  • You need multi-channel consolidation.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want ai agents.
Plain 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 Plain or Gladly better?
Neither clearly leads. Plain starts at $35/month and Gladly at $180/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Plain or Gladly?
Plain starts at $35/month and Gladly at $180/month.
Does Plain or Gladly run on more platforms?
Plain runs on Web, API. Gladly runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Plain best used for?
Plain is most often used for consolidating support from multiple channels into one inbox, automating support workflows with ai agents, extracting insights and trends from customer conversations, building custom support solutions with api access. Of those, consolidating support from multiple channels into one inbox and automating support workflows with ai agents are not what Gladly is typically brought in for.
What can Plain do that Gladly cannot?
Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation, AI agents, Workflow automation, Sidekick assistant. Gladly covers Lifelong conversation, Omnichannel support, Customer timeline, Task management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Plain: What is included in the Foundation plan?

The Foundation plan ($35/month per seat) includes 2,000 credits per month, support for Slack and email, Ari AI agent, Linear and Jira integrations, and Help Center access. Up to 5 seats are included.

Source
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
Plain: Can I use Plain with Microsoft Teams?

Yes, Microsoft Teams integration is available on the Horizon plan ($299/month) and higher.

Source
Plain: Is there a free trial for Plain?

Yes, Plain offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card required. You can also get 50% discount through their startup program.

Source
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