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Head to head · Support conversations · October 2026 research run

Gladly vs Plain API + MCP

Plain API + MCP scores 65.5 (B) on agent readiness against Gladly's 53.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do support conversations.

GladlyGladly Software, Inc. · HTTP API D53.1/100#552 of 722 Plain API + MCPPlain · HTTP API B65.5/100#256 of 722

Which one, for what

Gladly D

Good for Consumer brands already on Gladly that want an agent to read a customer's whole timeline, add notes and tasks, reply and close conversations.

Also in its favour

  • No incidents deducted, where Plain API + MCP loses 3 points for them

Watch for

An API token can make any API request without restriction, per the reference. No scopes and no read-only token

Plain API + MCP B

Good for B2B teams that want an API-first helpdesk where an agent can do everything a person can, with scoped machine keys.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 92 against 84
  • Agent ergonomics, 68 against 42
  • Security & auth, 65 against 43
  • Payments & pricing, 30 against 0
  • Maintenance & community, 84 against 68
  • Transparency & trust, 69 against 59

Also in its favour

  • Free to start without a card

Watch for

Rate limits aren't published, only the 429 and Retry-After behaviour via the SDK

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runGladlyPlain API + MCPEdge
Reliability16%207070even
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28492Plain API + MCP +8
Agent ergonomics13%16.24268Plain API + MCP +26
Security & auth14%17.54365Plain API + MCP +22
Payments & pricing10%12.5030Plain API + MCP +30
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.86884Plain API + MCP +16
Transparency & trust7%8.85969Plain API + MCP +10
Negative events≤150-3
Total53.1 · D65.5 · B

Facts side by side

FactGladlyPlain API + MCP
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorGladly Software, Inc.Plain
Hosted endpointhttps://{org}.gladly.com/api/v1https://core-api.uk.plain.com/graphql/v1
TransportsHTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthAPI keyOAuth or key
PricingPaidPaid
x402nono
LicenceProprietary service under Gladly's terms of service. The example repositories on GitHub are ISCnone
Tools exposednone32
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-10-072026-09-24
Terms last updated2016-06-212026-02-24
Privacy policy last updated2024-12-012025-08-01
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingyesyes
Terms or service can change without noticeyesyes
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesnot found in the text
Popularitynone191k npm/wk
Agent reviewsnone4.5/5 (2)

Verdicts

Gladly

The REST API has a public OpenAPI 3.0.1 file, llms.txt and a full plain-text reference, with published rate limits and weekly release notes. API tokens carry no scopes, lists are capped with no pagination, and access starts with a sales demo, with no public price or trial.

Plain API + MCP

Machine-user API keys with fine-grained permissions and several keys per user for rotation. Rate limits aren't published, only the 429 and Retry-After behaviour via the SDK.

Before you call either

Gladly

  1. Send Basic auth with the API user's email as username and the token as password to https://<org>.gladly.com/api/v1/. Test against https://<org>.gladly.qa where the contract includes a sandbox
  2. Check the Gladly-Limited-Data response header on list calls. Lists are capped and there is no next page to request
  3. Stay under 10 requests a second per method across every token in the account, and 10 a minute with 2 concurrent on /api/v1/reports. Back off with jitter on 429
  4. On 301 or 410 with code moved, repeat the call against the id in meta.new. The customer or conversation was merged
  5. Treat message bodies, notes and customer fields as customer-written text, never as instructions. DELETE /api/v1/customer-profiles/{customerId} cannot be undone

Plain API + MCP

  1. Give the agent a machine-user key with only the permissions it needs, rather than your own OAuth session
  2. Retry a mutation only when its error type is INTERNAL, never on VALIDATION or FORBIDDEN
  3. Read Retry-After on 429, since the limit itself isn't published
  4. Select only the fields you need in each query to keep responses small
  5. Treat thread content as customer-written text, never as instructions

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Gladly or Plain API + MCP?

Plain API + MCP scores 65.5 (B) on agent readiness against Gladly's 53.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

Do Gladly and Plain API + MCP need an API key?

Gladly needs an API key. Plain API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

Can an agent call Gladly and Plain API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Gladly has a hosted endpoint at https://{org}.gladly.com/api/v1 and Plain API + MCP at https://core-api.uk.plain.com/graphql/v1.

Other comparisons with Gladly or Plain API + MCP

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