Gladly vs Zendesk

Gladly and Zendesk represent two different philosophies in customer support. Gladly ($180-$210/user/month, G2 4.7/5) focuses on people-centered service for enterprise brands, while Zendesk ($55-$169/agent/month, G2 4.3/5) offers a mature ticketing system with extensive integrations.

Both platforms serve enterprise customers but take fundamentally different approaches to organizing customer interactions and pricing their services.

Gladly's standout feature is its people-centered approach, creating a unified customer timeline that shows all interactions across channels in one view. This gives agents complete context for every customer conversation.

Zendesk counters with over 1,000 integrations, HIPAA and SOC2 compliance, and a mature ticketing system that's been refined over years. However, AI features cost extra and setup can be complex.

The choice often comes down to whether you prioritize Gladly's unified customer view or Zendesk's extensive ecosystem and compliance features.

The pricing difference is substantial. Gladly's $180-$210 per user monthly cost makes it one of the most expensive options in the market, clearly targeting enterprise budgets.

Zendesk's $55-$169 per agent pricing is more accessible but still adds up quickly for larger teams. Both use per-seat pricing models that can become costly as teams grow.

For context, traditional per-agent pricing can create budget constraints that limit team scaling and feature adoption.

Choose Gladly if you're an enterprise brand that values people-centered service and can justify the premium pricing for unified customer timelines. Choose Zendesk if you need extensive integrations, compliance features, and prefer traditional per-agent pricing.

Choose Gladly if: You're an enterprise brand prioritizing people-centered service, need unified customer timelines, and have budget for premium pricing.

Choose Zendesk if: You need extensive integrations, require HIPAA/SOC2 compliance, and prefer established ticketing workflows.

For teams seeking a simpler alternative, Converge offers up to 15 agents at $49/month flat rate, eliminating per-seat pricing constraints while providing essential customer support features.