Gladly vs Zendesk
Gladly and Zendesk, side by side across AI, pricing, channels, security, and seven more categories. We pull every figure from public sources and don’t pick a winner.
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Gladly
The only AI built for LTV. People-centered AI support; no ticket model.
Best for Mid-market to enterprise retail, ecommerce, and hospitality (Ulta, Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom, TUMI).
2014 · San Francisco, CA.
Zendesk
AI-first resolution platform with autonomous AI agents that resolve tickets across all channels.
Best for Mid-market to enterprise support teams wanting an all-in-one omnichannel helpdesk with built-in AI agents. Also SMBs via self-serve.
2007 (Copenhagen, Denmark) · San Francisco, CA, USA.
Claimed: from the vendor, not independently verified.
3rd-party: sourced elsewhere, not on the vendor's site.
Everything else: from the vendor's own pages and verifiable.
Pricing
List prices, seat rules, trials, and pricing transparency.
- Pricing model
- GladlyPer agent/mo, annual; usage fees for voice, SMS, and AI; not published on site.
- ZendeskPer agent/mo, annual or monthly. Suite is omnichannel, Support is email/ticketing only. AI billed separately.
- Free trial / guarantee
- GladlyNo (enterprise); 30-day trial with 100 AI interactions via Shopify only.
- Zendesk14 days (Suite Professional + Copilot).
- Price
- Gladly~$180/agent/mo (Hero, annual). · ~$210/agent/mo (Superhero, annual). · Not disclosed. Enterprise quote above Superhero.(3rd-party)source
- Zendesk$19/agent/mo (Support Team, annual, email only). $55 (Suite Team, omnichannel). · $115/agent/mo (Suite Professional, annual). · Custom (Suite Enterprise + Copilot).
- Seat minimum
- Gladly~10 agents (Hero); ~45 (Superhero).(3rd-party)source
- ZendeskNot disclosed (none for self-serve).
- Implementation fee
- GladlyNot disclosed. Custom quote; Professional Services.(3rd-party)source
- ZendeskNot disclosed (Launch/Optimization Services extra).
- Transparency
- GladlyOpaque. No pricing on site; requires a demo.
- ZendeskModerate. Base prices public; per-resolution AI and Enterprise pricing not.
Channels
Where each tool can talk to customers.
- GladlyNative
- ZendeskNative
- Live chat
- GladlyNative
- ZendeskNative
- In-app messenger
- GladlyNative
- ZendeskNative (Web Widget and mobile SDK).
- Voice
- GladlyNative. Built-in, enterprise-ready.
- ZendeskNative (Zendesk Talk, usage billed separately).
- SMS
- GladlyNative
- ZendeskNative (Zendesk Text).
- GladlyNative (via WhatsApp Business API).
- ZendeskNative (all Suite plans).
- Social
- GladlyNative. Facebook Messenger, Instagram.
- ZendeskNative (FB Messenger, Instagram; X, LINE, WeChat available).
- Unified inbox
- GladlyNative. Single people-centered timeline (no tickets).
- ZendeskNative. Agent Workspace.
Voice & Telephony
Native voice vs telephony integrations.
- Native vs via integration
- GladlyNative. Voice and IVR built-in, no third-party telephony needed.
- ZendeskNative. Zendesk Talk, included in Suite.
- Voice AI / transcription
- GladlyYes. AI voice summaries and transcription (Deepgram).
- ZendeskYes. Live $0.027/min, post-call $0.01/min. Voice AI Agents in EAP.
- Telephony billed separately
- GladlyYes. Per-minute on top of the seat fee (inbound local ~$0.0186/min).(3rd-party)source
- ZendeskYes. Numbers $1–2/mo, inbound $0.016/min, recording $0.003/min.
AI & Automation
Autonomous resolution, agentic actions, models, and how AI is priced.
- Autonomous AI agent
- GladlyYes. Gladly Sidekick resolves end-to-end on chat, SMS, and voice (email soon); human handoff.(claimed)source
- ZendeskYes. AI Agents resolve multi-step, multi-intent requests end to end across email, messaging, and voice.
- Copilot / Assist mode
- GladlyYes. Team Assist: AI-drafted responses, real-time translation, and summaries.(claimed)source
- ZendeskYes. Copilot handles next-best-action, auto-assist, triage, and call transcription. Add-on $50/agent/mo or in Suite Enterprise + Copilot.
- Claimed automation rate
- Gladly76% of conversations fully resolved by AI (homepage); KUHL 59%.(claimed)source
- ZendeskUp to 80% (homepage). Customers: Hello Sugar 66%, TeamSystem 80% email, Best Egg 80% messaging.(claimed)source
- AI channel coverage
- GladlyChat, SMS, and voice (Sidekick Voice); email launching soon; social not confirmed.(claimed)source
- ZendeskEmail, messaging (web, mobile, social), voice (Voice AI Agents in EAP), and ticketing.
- Agentic actions (API) vs answer-only
- GladlyBoth. Refunds, cancellations, and booking updates via connected commerce and logistics APIs.(claimed)source
- ZendeskActions via API. Orchestrates refunds, cancellations, and legacy-system integrations. Agentic multi-step from May 2026.
- Knowledge sources
- GladlyBrand KB (Guides), conversation history, and integrated commerce, logistics, and order data.(claimed)source
- ZendeskHelp center, external sources (Google Drive, PDFs), and Confluence, via a unified knowledge graph.
- Underlying model
- GladlyNot publicly disclosed; uses Azure, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Deepgram (voice).
- ZendeskOpenAI (zero-retention) on Azure. Also Azure, Amazon Bedrock, and GCP options, plus proprietary intent models.
- Trains on past tickets
- GladlyYes. Learns from every conversation, including human resolutions; not used to train its own models.(claimed)source
- ZendeskYes. Resolution Learning Loop. Forethought acquisition adds self-improving agents.
- Pre-deploy simulation / sandbox
- GladlyNot disclosed
- ZendeskNot disclosed on AI pages. Enterprise plans include a general sandbox.
- Multilingual
- GladlyPartial. Platform translation in 70+ languages; Sidekick AI authoring English-only; IVR 30 languages.
- ZendeskYes. 80 languages at native fluency with auto-switch. KB in 40+ languages.
- Runs on your existing helpdesk vs native-only
- GladlyNative only. Sidekick needs Gladly as the primary helpdesk.
- ZendeskNative to Zendesk (some deployment beyond Zendesk noted).
- AI pricing model
- GladlyUsage-based (per conversation or resolution) on top of a per-agent fee.(3rd-party)source
- ZendeskOutcome-based per successful resolution, with an allowance included. Packaging consolidated May 2026.
- AI unit price
- Gladly~$0.60/conversation (enterprise); $1.50/AI Resolution + $0.25/AI Assist (Shopify tier).(3rd-party)source
- ZendeskNot disclosed (per-resolution price not published).
- Copilot / Assist price
- GladlyNot disclosed (Team Assist not broken out).
- Zendesk$50/agent/mo (annual). Suite Enterprise + Copilot custom.
How Open.cx compares
Open.cx runs on top of Gladly or Zendeskas an AI layer, or works as its own helpdesk. Here's where it lands on the same questions.
- Runs on your existing helpdesk vs native-only
- Both. Add it on top of the helpdesk you already run, or use it as your own inbox. Works with Zendesk, Intercom, Front, Freshdesk, Gorgias, Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, Twilio Flex, and Creatio.
- Autonomous AI agent
- Yes. Autopilot resolves tickets end to end on its own, across every channel.
- AI pricing model
- Per resolution, so you pay for outcomes. Escalations to a human are free.
- Claimed automation rate
- 77% average automation; up to 80% (Trunkrs)(claimed)source
Security & Compliance
Certifications, data residency, and access controls.
- SOC 2 Type II
- GladlySOC 2 Type II (and AI sub-processors).
- ZendeskSOC 2 Type II (report under NDA).
- GDPR
- GladlyYes. DPAs with AI vendors; VeraSafe EU/UK representative.
- ZendeskYes. EU BCRs, ISO 27701, published DPA.
- HIPAA / PCI
- GladlyNot disclosed. PCI-DSS and GDPR confirmed; HIPAA not referenced.
- ZendeskYes. Advanced Compliance add-on with BAA.
- SSO / SAML
- GladlyYes. SSO; SAML certificates.
- ZendeskYes. SAML and OIDC, social SSO, 2FA.
- Data residency
- GladlyPartial. 9 global regions for voice; no explicit customer-selectable residency.
- ZendeskYes. US, AU, JP, EEA (Data Center Location add-on).
Integrations
Marketplace breadth, APIs, and developer tooling.
- Marketplace / integrations (approx.)
- Gladly60+ integrations.
- Zendesk1,800+ apps and integrations.
- Shopify depth
- GladlyDeep native. Customer and purchase history, order management, returns (via Loop), and shipping; Shopify App Store trial.
- ZendeskDeep native (built with Shopify). Order details, refunds, and cancellations in-context. Shopify and Plus, free.
- Open / public API
- GladlyYes. Open APIs; developer.gladly.com.
- ZendeskYes. REST APIs across Support, AI Agents, Talk, Custom Objects, and more.
- Developer SDK / MCP
- GladlyYes. SDKs, sample apps, and testing; webhooks via Messaging Automation APIs.
- ZendeskYes. Android, iOS, and Unity messaging SDKs, plus Apps Core API.
Automation & Workflows
Builders, triggers, routing, and SLAs.
- Workflow builder
- GladlyRouting and entry-point config; no named workflow builder.
- ZendeskYes. No-code builder. App Builder (Pro+), Action Builder (Team+).
- Triggers / automations
- GladlyYes. Automated routing, proactive outreach (voice, SMS, email), and entry-point rules.
- ZendeskYes. Triggers and automations, with conditional logic across external integrations.
- Routing
- GladlyYes. People Match intelligent routing (history, skills, attributes).
- ZendeskOmnichannel (all plans). Skills-based and IVR (Pro+), intelligent triage (Enterprise+).
- Macros / canned responses
- GladlyYes. Quick Reply (button responses) and macros.
- ZendeskYes. Macros plus AI macro suggestions.
- SLA management
- GladlyYes. SLA Business Hours and Entry Point SLA settings.
- ZendeskYes. Growth/Professional+.
Collaboration
How support teams work a queue together.
- Internal notes
- GladlyYes. Notes and @mentions.
- ZendeskYes
- Collision detection
- GladlyReferenced in comparisons; not confirmed on a Gladly page.(3rd-party)source
- ZendeskNot disclosed on reviewed pages.
- Side conversations
- GladlyNot disclosed
- ZendeskYes. In Agent Workspace.
- Shared inbox
- GladlyYes. Unified inbox; task management tied to customer threads.
- ZendeskYes. Unified Agent Workspace.
Self-Service & Knowledge
Knowledge base, help center, and deflection.
- Knowledge base
- GladlyYes. Answers KB for agents and AI; configured via non-developer Guides.
- ZendeskYes. Guide, with branded help centers in 40+ languages.
- Help center
- GladlyYes. Customer-facing, 45+ languages.
- ZendeskYes. Multiple help centers per brand.
- Community forum
- GladlyNot offered
- ZendeskYes. Zendesk Gather.
- AI answers from knowledge base
- GladlyYes. Sidekick serves answers from the Answers KB autonomously.(claimed)source
- ZendeskYes. Generative AI search, semantic search, AI article generation, and gap detection.
Reporting & Analytics
Dashboards, custom reports, and CSAT.
- Dashboards
- GladlyYes. Liveboards (real-time) and Insight Builder.
- ZendeskYes. Explore. Prebuilt on all Suite plans, real-time on Pro+.
- Custom reports
- GladlyYes. Insight Builder custom reports.
- ZendeskYes. Suite Professional+ (Explore Pro). Not on Team.
- Included in lowest tier
- GladlyReporting tier restrictions not published; appears standard.
- ZendeskTeam: prebuilt only. Professional+: custom plus real-time.
- CSAT surveys
- GladlyYes. Native CSAT; integrates Delighted, SimpleSat, Stella.
- ZendeskYes. Native CSAT. Explore CSAT reporting on Pro+.
Onboarding & Support
Implementation, CSM tiers, and partners.
- Onboarding
- GladlyDedicated implementation team; Professional Services; guided docs.
- ZendeskLaunch, Optimization, and AI Services. Zendesk Assist, Academy, and Help Center.
- Support channels
- GladlyGladly Support team (bugs, how-tos, config); dedicated CSM post-implementation.
- ZendeskWeb and help form on all plans. Premier adds phone and 24/7.
- Dedicated CSM
- GladlyYes. All customers get a dedicated CSM post-implementation.
- ZendeskPremier Plus: PSE plus TAM, monthly reviews. Enterprise: weekly.
- Implementation partners
- GladlyNot disclosed. No partner or SI page found.
- ZendeskYes. 1,800+ Marketplace partners plus Professional Services.