CRM Comparison

Front vs Gladly (2026)

Front is a shared-inbox platform for teams handling complex, cross-department customer operations; Gladly is an AI-first, voice-native platform for B2C retail brands. Here's how to pick in 2026.

Front

Shared inbox and customer service platform for teams handling complex, multi-channel customer operations — combining email, chat, SMS, and ticketing with AI automation and cross-team workflows.

Pricing From $25/user/mo (Starter); Professional $65; Enterprise $105; AI tools extra
Our rating 4.2/5
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Gladly

AI-first customer service platform built for B2C retail and service brands, combining AI agents with human escalation across voice, chat, email, and SMS.

Pricing Custom pricing; estimated $180–$210/user/mo; enterprise minimum spend applies
Our rating 4.2/5
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TL;DR

  • Pick Front if your team handles complex, multi-channel customer operations where requests cross departments and you want a shared inbox with workflows and SLA tracking.
  • Pick Gladly if you are a mid-to-large B2C brand in retail, e-commerce, or hospitality that wants AI-first, voice-native engagement with a lifetime customer timeline.

Two philosophies of customer conversation

This is a customer engagement comparison, not a sales-pipeline one — both tools exist to run customer conversations, but they picture those conversations very differently. Front treats support as a collaborative inbox. It consolidates email, chat, SMS, and voice into a shared team workspace that still feels like email, then adds routing, escalation, SLA tracking, and cross-team workflows. Its sweet spot is operations where a single request might touch sales, fulfillment, and support before it is resolved — logistics, financial services, professional services — and conversation context must survive every handoff.

Gladly treats support as a relationship with a person, not a ticket. It maintains a lifetime conversation history across voice, chat, SMS, email, and social, so agents and AI always see the whole customer rather than an isolated case. It is built for B2C brands like Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel, and Ulta where customers contact support repeatedly and voice matters. Its AI is designed to engage and resolve end-to-end, not just deflect.

Front organizes around the inbox and the team; Gladly organizes around the customer and the AI. That is the core difference.

Pricing

Front starts at $25/user/mo (Starter, capped at 10 seats and one channel), with Professional at $65 and Enterprise at $105; AI Autopilot and Copilot are paid add-ons on lower tiers. Gladly uses custom pricing, estimated at $180–$210/user/mo, with an enterprise minimum spend and voice/SMS usage billed separately on top of seat fees. Front is reachable for small and mid-market teams; Gladly is an enterprise commitment where value depends on conversation volume.

Voice and AI: where they diverge

Gladly is voice-native and AI-first — voice is a core channel, and it claims 76% of conversations fully resolved by AI with non-technical teams configuring behavior through plain-English Guides. Front's AI Autopilot can automate up to 70% of inbound requests, but it is layered onto the shared-inbox model and often costs extra. If phone volume and autonomous AI resolution define your operation, Gladly is engineered for it; if you want AI assisting a human-driven, email-like workflow, Front fits.

Fit by company type

Front spans logistics, fintech, tech, and professional services — anywhere issues cross departments, and it counts 9,000+ companies. Gladly is narrower and deeper: mid-to-large consumer brands where experience is a competitive edge and contact volume is high. B2B or asynchronous support teams will find Gladly overkill; simple support teams may find Front's workflow tooling more than they need.

Who should pick what

  • Cross-department operations (sales + fulfillment + support) → Front.
  • High-volume B2C retail or hospitality brand → Gladly.
  • Team that wants an affordable, email-like shared inbox → Front.
  • Brand where phone is a dominant support channel → Gladly.
  • Mid-market team needing SLA tracking and routing → Front.
  • Enterprise wanting AI to resolve most conversations end-to-end → Gladly.

Bottom line

Front and Gladly both unify customer conversations, but for different operators. Front is the shared inbox for teams whose requests cross departments and who want workflow control at a reachable price. Gladly is the AI-first, voice-native platform for consumer brands that compete on experience and can fund an enterprise commitment. Match the tool to your channel mix and company type, not to a feature list.

Try them yourself

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Frequently asked questions

Front vs Gladly — which is better?
They target different support models. Front is better for mid-market and enterprise teams where a customer request crosses sales, fulfillment, and support and needs a shared inbox with workflows. Gladly is better for high-volume B2C brands in retail and hospitality that want AI-first, voice-native engagement. Complex cross-team operations favor Front; consumer-brand experience favors Gladly.
Is Front cheaper than Gladly?
Substantially. Front starts at $25/user/mo and its Professional tier is $65, while Gladly uses custom pricing estimated at $180–$210/user/mo with an enterprise minimum commitment. Front is accessible to smaller teams; Gladly is priced for large B2C operations. For most budgets Front is the far lighter financial commitment.
Which is better for phone and voice support?
Gladly, clearly — voice is a first-class, native channel in its design, built for brands where customers call repeatedly. Front centers on email, chat, and SMS in a shared inbox, treating voice as one of several channels rather than the core. If phone is your dominant channel, Gladly is purpose-built for it.
Which handles cross-department requests better?
Front. Its whole model is routing, escalating, and collaborating on a conversation without losing context as it moves between teams — ideal when a request touches sales, fulfillment, and support. Gladly focuses on a unified per-customer timeline rather than cross-department handoffs. For operations that span departments, Front fits better.
Which has stronger AI?
Both lean on AI but differently. Gladly is AI-first, claiming 76% of conversations fully resolved by AI and offering plain-English 'Guides' to set brand voice without code. Front offers AI Autopilot that handles up to 70% of inbound requests, but on lower tiers it is a paid add-on. For AI as the core of the product, Gladly; for AI layered onto a shared inbox, Front.