What are the main differences between Drift and Glean?

Drift excels in Forrester Wave Leader for Conversation Automation Solutions (Q1 2024) - analyst validation and Pre-trained on 100M+ B2B sales/marketing conversations - domain-specific expertise, scoring 87/100 in user ratings with N/A% accuracy. Glean leads in Permissions-aware AI is genuinely differentiated - real-time enforcement across 100+ datasources addresses critical enterprise concern and Strong developer experience - comprehensive APIs, 4-language SDKs (Python, Java, Go, TypeScript), LangChain integration with 96/100 overall rating and 90% accuracy. Key technical difference: Drift focuses on Forrester Wave Leader for Conversation Automation Solutions (Q1 2024) while Glean emphasizes Permissions-aware AI with real-time access control enforcement. Pricing differs by $2450/month.

Which is better for enterprises: Drift or Glean?

Drift offers SOC 2 compliance for enterprise security. HIPAA compliance is available in Drift. For scalability, both offer cloud-based deployment options. Glean leads with 96/100 enterprise readiness score (98/100 enterprise features).

How much does Drift cost vs Glean?

Drift starts at $2500/monthly (enterprise-annual model), while Glean begins at $50/monthly (enterprise model). Drift offers a free tier. This represents a significant price difference of $2450/month. See our detailed pricing breakdown for complete tier comparisons.

Can I migrate from Drift to Glean?

Migration from Drift to Glean typically requires API-based data export/import, which Glean provides. Glean provides comprehensive API access excellent documentation for the migration process. Estimated migration time: 1-2 days for cloud setup. Contact Glean support for migration assistance and best practices.

What integrations do Drift and Glean support?

Drift integrates with Salesforce: Deep native integration (lead/contact sync, chat activity logging, campaign attribution, real-time scoring - requires Enterprise/Unlimited/Performance editions), HubSpot: Full marketplace integration (contact sync, workflow triggers, in-chat record viewing), Salesloft Rhythm: High-intent buyers routed into seller workflows with AI-generated email recommendations, Zapier: Robust integration with triggers (new leads, messages, goal completion, conversation events), actions (contact create/update, event logging), Website embedding: JavaScript widget, iframe, React component package (react-driftjs) (9 integrations total). Glean supports Cloud Storage: Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, Communication: Slack (full bot support), Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Outlook, Zoom, Collaboration: Confluence, Notion, Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Miro, CRM/Support: Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk, Identity: Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, OneLogin (8 integrations available). Both offer REST APIs for custom integrations. Drift offers 13% more integrations.

What are the main differences between Drift and Glean?

Drift offers strong capabilities, scoring 0/100 in user ratings. Glean provides unique strengths with 0/100 overall rating. Key technical difference: Drift focuses on advanced features while Glean emphasizes specialized capabilities.

Which is better for enterprises: Drift or Glean?

Both platforms provide enterprise-grade security. HIPAA compliance varies - contact vendors for details. For scalability, both offer cloud-based deployment options. Glean leads with strong/100 enterprise readiness score.

How much does Drift cost vs Glean?

Drift starts at custom pricing/month (subscription model), while Glean begins at contact sales/month (subscription model). Both require paid plans. Pricing is relatively comparable. See our detailed pricing breakdown for complete tier comparisons.

Can I migrate from Drift to Glean?

Migration from Drift to Glean typically requires manual data transfer since API access may be limited. Glean offers standard documentation for the migration process. Estimated migration time: 1-2 days for cloud setup. Contact Glean support for migration assistance and best practices.

What integrations do Drift and Glean support?

Drift integrates with (multiple platforms). Glean supports (various tools). API availability varies by plan. Integration coverage is comparable.

Drift vs Glean

Make an informed decision with our comprehensive comparison. Discover which RAG solution perfectly fits your needs.

More about Glean More about Drift Get Started Today

Priyansh KhodiyarDevRel at CustomGPT.ai

Fact checked and reviewed by Bill Cava

Published: 01.04.2025Updated: 25.04.2025

In this comprehensive guide, we compare Drift and Glean across various parameters including features, pricing, performance, and customer support to help you make the best decision for your business needs.

Overview

When choosing between Drift and Glean, understanding their unique strengths and architectural differences is crucial for making an informed decision. Both platforms serve the RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) space but cater to different use cases and organizational needs.

Quick Decision Guide

Choose Drift if: you value forrester wave leader for conversation automation solutions (q1 2024) - analyst validation
Choose Glean if: you value permissions-aware ai is genuinely differentiated - real-time enforcement across 100+ datasources addresses critical enterprise concern

About Drift

Drift is conversational marketing and sales platform with ai chatbot. B2B conversational marketing platform acquired by Salesloft (Feb 2024), focusing on sales engagement and lead qualification rather than general-purpose RAG. Forrester Wave Leader (Q1 2024), $30K+/year enterprise positioning. Critical: August 2025 security breach affected 700+ organizations via OAuth token exploit. Founded in 2015, headquartered in Boston, MA, USA (Salesloft HQ: Atlanta, GA), the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.

Overall Rating

87/100

Starting Price

$2500/mo

About Glean

Glean is enterprise work ai with permissions-aware rag across 100+ apps. Glean is a premium enterprise RAG platform with permissions-aware AI as its core differentiator. Founded by ex-Google Search engineers, Glean achieved $100M ARR in three years and a $7.2B valuation (2025). It connects 100+ enterprise apps with real-time access controls, supports 15+ LLMs, and offers comprehensive APIs with 4-language SDKs. Trade-offs: enterprise-only sales (~$50/user/month, ~$60K minimum), no consumer messaging channels, and premium positioning over plug-and-play simplicity. Founded in 2019, headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.

Overall Rating

96/100

Starting Price

$50/mo

Key Differences at a Glance

In terms of user ratings, Glean in overall satisfaction. From a cost perspective, Glean offers more competitive entry pricing. The platforms also differ in their primary focus: Conversational Marketing versus Enterprise RAG. These differences make each platform better suited for specific use cases and organizational requirements.

⚠️ What This Comparison Covers

We'll analyze features, pricing, performance benchmarks, security compliance, integration capabilities, and real-world use cases to help you determine which platform best fits your organization's needs. All data is independently verified from official documentation and third-party review platforms.

Detailed Feature Comparison

Drift	Glean	CustomGPTRECOMMENDED
Data Ingestion & Knowledge Sources
Website Content – Sitemap syncing with automatic daily updates Document Upload – PDF and .docx through Content Library interface AI Knowledge Library – Sales playbooks and brand messaging rules ⚠️ NO Cloud Storage – No Drive, Dropbox, Notion, or YouTube	✅ 100+ native connectors – Cloud storage, CRM, collaboration platforms plus Indexing API File formats – PDFs, Word, HTML, spreadsheets, structured data Real-time sync – Content within minutes, permission changes immediate ⚠️ Initial indexing – Few days depending on volume Scale – 10K-100K users, hundreds of millions of documents	1,400+ file formats – PDF, DOCX, Excel, PowerPoint, Markdown, HTML + auto-extraction from ZIP/RAR/7Z archives Website crawling – Sitemap indexing with configurable depth for help docs, FAQs, and public content Multimedia transcription – AI Vision, OCR, YouTube/Vimeo/podcast speech-to-text built-in Cloud integrations – Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, Dropbox, Notion with auto-sync Knowledge platforms – Zendesk, Freshdesk, HubSpot, Confluence, Shopify connectors Massive scale – 60M words (Standard) / 300M words (Premium) per bot with no performance degradation
Integrations & Channels
✅ Salesforce Integration – Lead sync, activity logging, attribution, real-time scoring ✅ HubSpot Integration – Contact sync, workflow triggers, in-chat records Website Embedding – JavaScript widget, React component, iOS SDK ⚠️ NO Omnichannel – No Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram, or Teams	Slack & Teams – Official apps, Gleanbot auto-responses, Real-Time Search API Browser extensions – Chrome (300K+ users), Firefox, Safari, Edge ⚠️ No WhatsApp/Telegram – Designed for internal enterprise use only SSO protocols – OIDC, SAML 2.0 with Okta, Microsoft Entra	Website embedding – Lightweight JS widget or iframe with customizable positioning CMS plugins – WordPress, WIX, Webflow, Framer, SquareSpace native support 5,000+ app ecosystem – Zapier connects CRMs, marketing, e-commerce tools MCP Server – Integrate with Claude Desktop, Cursor, ChatGPT, Windsurf OpenAI SDK compatible – Drop-in replacement for OpenAI API endpoints LiveChat + Slack – Native chat widgets with human handoff capabilities
Core Chatbot Features
✅ Bionic Chatbots – Auto-update content, 5x faster training vs traditional 60+ Pre-Built Topics – Ready day 1 with visual Playbook Builder Fastlane Lead Scoring – AI CQL scoring with routing (Advanced/Enterprise) ✅ 100M+ Pre-Training – B2B sales/marketing conversations for domain expertise	Glean Chat interface – Natural conversations with company knowledge Multi-turn conversations – Context awareness across turns Streaming responses – Real-time with source citations	✅ #1 accuracy – Median 5/5 in independent benchmarks, 10% lower hallucination than OpenAI ✅ Source citations – Every response includes clickable links to original documents ✅ 93% resolution rate – Handles queries autonomously, reducing human workload ✅ 92 languages – Native multilingual support without per-language config ✅ Lead capture – Built-in email collection, custom forms, real-time notifications ✅ Human handoff – Escalation with full conversation context preserved
Customization & Branding
API Configuration – drift.config() with colors, positioning, pixel-level widget control Visual Branding – Custom icons/logos (100x100px), logo removal (Pro+) AI Voice – System prompts for tone, personality, response length ⚠️ NO Dashboard White-Label – Widget only, not dashboard	UI customization – Custom logos, color schemes, background images Custom subdomains – your-company.glean.com Chat widget styling – CSS positioning, width/height, custom containers ⚠️ Limited white-labeling – Glean branding may remain visible	Full white-labeling included – Colors, logos, CSS, custom domains at no extra cost 2-minute setup – No-code wizard with drag-and-drop interface Persona customization – Control AI personality, tone, response style via pre-prompts Visual theme editor – Real-time preview of branding changes Domain allowlisting – Restrict embedding to approved sites only
L L M Model Options
OpenAI GPT Models – Announced Feb 2023 for suggested replies ⚠️ Version Undisclosed – GPT-3.5 vs GPT-4 not publicly documented ⚠️ NO Model Switching – Locked to unified AI backend Target Accuracy – 80% response acceptance with human-in-the-loop	✅ 15+ LLMs supported – GPT-4, Gemini 1.5 Pro, Claude 3 Sonnet Per-step model selection – Different LLMs for each workflow step Temperature controls – Factual, balanced, or creative output settings BYOK support – Glean Universal Key or Customer Key options Automatic routing – Zero data retention, optimizes top models per query	GPT-5.1 models – Latest thinking models (Optimal & Smart variants) GPT-4 series – GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o available Claude 4.5 – Anthropic's Opus available for Enterprise Auto model routing – Balances cost/performance automatically Zero API key management – All models managed behind the scenes
Developer Experience ( A P I & S D Ks)
✅ Free API Access – 600 requests/min, 20+ webhook events React Component – react-driftjs for integration, iOS SDK available ⚠️ NO Official SDKs – Community Python only, no Java/Ruby/Go/PHP ⚠️ Aging Documentation – Portal ~4 years outdated, broken links	✅ Client & Indexing APIs – Search, Chat, Agents, Documents, Governance Official SDKs – Python, Java, Go, TypeScript with async support Web SDK – Embeddable chat, search, autocomplete, recommendations components Framework integrations – LangChain, CrewAI, OpenAI Assistants, MCP Server Authentication – OAuth 2.0, user-scoped tokens, impersonation support	REST API – Full-featured for agents, projects, data ingestion, chat queries Python SDK – Open-source `customgpt-client` with full API coverage Postman collections – Pre-built requests for rapid prototyping Webhooks – Real-time event notifications for conversations and leads OpenAI compatible – Use existing OpenAI SDK code with minimal changes
Performance & Accuracy
✅ Fast Deployment – 2-hour ingestion, 48-hour full deployment Target Accuracy – 80% AI response acceptance rate ✅ Proven Results – 1Password (4X ROI), Pure Storage (4.8X meetings) Real-Time Updates – Automatic daily content syncing	✅ 74% human-agreement rate – 25% precision increases 141% ROI over 3 years – Forrester Total Economic Impact 110 hours saved per employee annually – Productivity gains Hallucination prevention – RAG grounding, permissions, citations	Sub-second responses – Optimized RAG with vector search and multi-layer caching Benchmark-proven – 13% higher accuracy, 34% faster than OpenAI Assistants API Anti-hallucination tech – Responses grounded only in your provided content OpenGraph citations – Rich visual cards with titles, descriptions, images 99.9% uptime – Auto-scaling infrastructure handles traffic spikes
Pricing & Scalability
Premium Tier – $2,500/month ($30K/year): live chat, chatbots, 12/5 support Advanced Tier – $40-50K/year: Fastlane scoring, CSM, quarterly consulting Enterprise Tier – $60K+/year: AI chatbots, Flex Routing, 24/7 support ⚠️ NO Free Tier – $30K annual minimum, SMB-prohibitive	⚠️ No public pricing – Enterprise sales only Estimated cost – ~$45-50+ per user/month Minimum ACV – ~$60K (approximately 100 users minimum) No free trial – Paid POCs up to $70K Annual contracts – Per-seat model, 7-12% renewal increases, FlexCredits for premium	Standard: $99/mo – 60M words, 10 bots Premium: $449/mo – 300M words, 100 bots Auto-scaling – Managed cloud scales with demand Flat rates – No per-query charges
Security & Privacy
⚠️ CRITICAL BREACH (Aug 2025) – UNC6395 exploited OAuth, 700+ orgs, FINRA alert Certifications – SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001/27701, GDPR/HIPAA/PCI Encryption – AES-256-GCM at rest, TLS 1.2+ in transit	✅ SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR ⚠️ No FedRAMP – Not for US federal government AES-256 at rest, TLS 1.2+ in transit Single-tenant – Isolated per customer, Cloud-Prem option	SOC 2 Type II + GDPR – Third-party audited compliance Encryption – 256-bit AES at rest, SSL/TLS in transit Access controls – RBAC, 2FA, SSO, domain allowlisting Data isolation – Never trains on your data
Observability & Monitoring
Conversation Metrics – Total, new, by playbook, meetings, response times Lead Scoring – MQL-to-SQL conversion, CQL scoring, pipeline attribution Agent Productivity – Performance analytics with A/B testing (Advanced/Enterprise) Real-Time Engagement – Live visitor ID, engagement scoring	Insights Dashboard – DAU/WAU/MAU, Search Session Satisfaction metrics Usage metrics – Searches and chats per user per week 270-day data retention – Department-level filtering Audit logging – User activity, access patterns, SIEM export	Real-time dashboard – Query volumes, token usage, response times Customer Intelligence – User behavior patterns, popular queries, knowledge gaps Conversation analytics – Full transcripts, resolution rates, common questions Export capabilities – API export to BI tools and data warehouses
Support & Ecosystem
Premium Support – 12/5 support, no dedicated CSM Advanced Support – 24/7 support, CSM, quarterly consulting, semi-annual EBR Enterprise Support – 24/7 priority, monthly consulting, quarterly EBRs ⚠️ Documentation Concerns – Portal outdated ~4 years, broken links	Standard support – 24x5 via portal, email, Slack Connect Premium support – 24x7 critical issues with additional fee ✅ Excellent documentation – developers.glean.com with OpenAPI specs GitHub repositories – SDK examples and sample projects	Comprehensive docs – Tutorials, cookbooks, API references Email + in-app support – Under 24hr response time Premium support – Dedicated account managers for Premium/Enterprise Open-source SDK – Python SDK, Postman, GitHub examples 5,000+ Zapier apps – CRMs, e-commerce, marketing integrations
No- Code Interface & Usability
Visual Playbook Builder – No-code with 60+ pre-built topics Content Library UI – Upload PDF/Word and marketing content ⚠️ Steep Learning Curve – G2 reviews cite complexity	✅ Natural language configuration – Describe goals in plain language Visual builder – Drag-and-drop workflow creation AI-assisted creation – Auto-generates draft agents 30+ prebuilt agents – Sales, engineering, IT, HR	2-minute deployment – Fastest time-to-value in the industry Wizard interface – Step-by-step with visual previews Drag-and-drop – Upload files, paste URLs, connect cloud storage In-browser testing – Test before deploying to production Zero learning curve – Productive on day one
Salesloft Acquisition ( Core Context)
Acquisition Date – February 2024 by Salesloft (Vista Equity) Combined Vision – AI Revenue Orchestration unifying marketing and sales ✅ Rhythm Integration – High-intent buyers with AI email recommendations ✅ Forrester Wave Leader – Conversation Automation Solutions (Q1 2024)	N/A	N/A
Multi- Lingual Support
20+ Languages – Manual config with drift.config({locale: 'en-US'}) ⚠️ NO Auto-Detection – Manual language setup required	N/A	N/A
R A G-as-a- Service Assessment
⚠️ NOT A RAG PLATFORM – B2B conversational marketing, different from RAG Core Focus – Sales engagement and lead qualification, NOT retrieval Limited Ingestion – Website + PDF/Word only, NO cloud storage ⚠️ No LLM Flexibility – Locked to OpenAI GPT	✅ TRUE RAG PLATFORM – API-first with comprehensive tools Data flexibility – 100+ connectors, Indexing API Best for – Large enterprises requiring permissions-aware RAG	Platform type – TRUE RAG-AS-A-SERVICE with managed infrastructure API-first – REST API, Python SDK, OpenAI compatibility, MCP Server No-code option – 2-minute wizard deployment for non-developers Hybrid positioning – Serves both dev teams (APIs) and business users (no-code) Enterprise ready – SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, WCAG 2.0, flat-rate pricing
Competitive Positioning
✅ Market Position – Forrester Wave Leader Conversation Automation (Q1 2024) ✅ Proven ROI – 1Password (4X ROI), Pure Storage (4.8X meetings) ⚠️ Security Concerns – Aug 2025 breach creates enterprise trust gap ⚠️ Channel Limitations – Website-centric, no Slack/WhatsApp/Teams	✅ Unique strength – Real-time permissions-aware AI across 100+ datasources Proven ROI – 141% ROI, 110 hours/employee saved ⚠️ Pricing barrier – ~$50/user/month, ~$60K minimum	Market position – Leading RAG platform balancing enterprise accuracy with no-code usability. Trusted by 6,000+ orgs including Adobe, MIT, Dropbox. Key differentiators – #1 benchmarked accuracy • 1,400+ formats • Full white-labeling included • Flat-rate pricing vs OpenAI – 10% lower hallucination, 13% higher accuracy, 34% faster vs Botsonic/Chatbase – More file formats, source citations, no hidden costs vs LangChain – Production-ready in 2 min vs weeks of development
Deployment & Infrastructure
Cloud-Only SaaS – No self-hosted or on-premise options Website Embedding – JavaScript widget, react-driftjs component, iOS SDK ⚠️ No On-Premise – Cannot deploy on private infrastructure	N/A	N/A
Account- Based Marketing ( A B M) Features
Real-Time Visitor ID – Company, location, account history detection Fastlane Lead Scoring – CQL automated scoring (Advanced/Enterprise) Drift Intel Add-On – Enriched visitor analytics with account insights ✅ Rhythm Integration – Conversations feed into Salesloft seller workflows	N/A	N/A
A I Models
OpenAI GPT – Announced Feb 2023 for suggested replies ⚠️ Version Undisclosed – GPT-3.5 vs GPT-4 not documented ⚠️ NO Model Switching – Locked to unified AI backend Pre-Training – 100M+ B2B sales/marketing conversations	✅ 15+ LLMs – GPT-4, Gemini 1.5 Pro, Claude 3 with per-step selection Temperature controls – Factual, balanced, or creative output BYOK support – Customer Key for data sovereignty	OpenAI – GPT-5.1 (Optimal/Smart), GPT-4 series Anthropic – Claude 4.5 Opus/Sonnet (Enterprise) Auto-routing – Intelligent model selection for cost/performance Managed – No API keys or fine-tuning required
R A G Capabilities
Website Syncing – Daily updates via sitemap, 2-hour ingestion Content Library – PDF/.docx uploads, AI Knowledge for playbooks ✅ Bionic Chatbots – Auto-update content, 5x faster training ⚠️ NOT RAG-as-a-Service – Conversational marketing, fundamentally different	✅ Hybrid search – Semantic + lexical for accuracy Knowledge Graph Framework – Proprietary anchors across data 74% human-agreement – 25% precision increases	GPT-4 + RAG – Outperforms OpenAI in independent benchmarks Anti-hallucination – Responses grounded in your content only Automatic citations – Clickable source links in every response Sub-second latency – Optimized vector search and caching Scale to 300M words – No performance degradation at scale
Use Cases
✅ B2B Lead Qualification – Mid-market to Fortune 500 ($30K+ budgets) Website Visitor Engagement – Real-time chat for high-intent buyer routing ✅ Pipeline Acceleration – 1Password (4X ROI), Pure Storage (4.8X meetings) ⚠️ NOT For – Knowledge retrieval, omnichannel support, document Q&A, SMBs	Enterprise knowledge – Unified search across 100+ datasources Permissions-aware – Healthcare, finance, legal hierarchies AI agents – 30+ prebuilt for sales, engineering, IT	Customer support – 24/7 AI handling common queries with citations Internal knowledge – HR policies, onboarding, technical docs Sales enablement – Product info, lead qualification, education Documentation – Help centers, FAQs with auto-crawling E-commerce – Product recommendations, order assistance
Support & Documentation
Premium Support – 12/5 support without dedicated CSM Advanced Support – 24/7 support, CSM, quarterly consulting, semi-annual EBR Enterprise Support – 24/7 priority, monthly consulting, quarterly EBRs ⚠️ Documentation Concerns – Portal ~4 years outdated, broken links	24x5 standard support – Portal, email, Slack Connect ✅ Excellent documentation – developers.glean.com with OpenAPI Official SDKs – Python, Java, Go, TypeScript	Documentation hub – Docs, tutorials, API references Support channels – Email, in-app chat, dedicated managers (Premium+) Open-source – Python SDK, Postman, GitHub examples Community – User community + 5,000 Zapier integrations
Customization & Flexibility ( Behavior & Knowledge)
✅ Real-Time Updates – Bionic Chatbots auto-update, 5x faster training Playbook Customization – Sequences based on behavior, firmographics, account data Bot Personality – System prompts for tone, personality, response length ⚠️ API Read-Only – Cannot manage knowledge base programmatically	Natural language config – Build agents without technical expertise Visual builder – Drag-and-drop workflow creation 30+ templates – Sales, engineering, IT, HR	Live content updates – Add/remove content with automatic re-indexing System prompts – Shape agent behavior and voice through instructions Multi-agent support – Different bots for different teams Smart defaults – No ML expertise required for custom behavior
Limitations & Considerations
⚠️ Aug 2025 Breach – 700+ orgs affected, Salesforce disabled, FINRA alert ⚠️ Enterprise Pricing – $30K/year minimum excludes SMBs and startups ⚠️ NOT a RAG Platform – Conversational marketing, different from RAG ⚠️ Limited Ingestion – Website + PDF/Word only, NO cloud storage ⚠️ NO Omnichannel – Website-centric, no Slack/WhatsApp/Teams ⚠️ Steep Learning Curve – Playbook setup challenging for non-specialists	⚠️ High cost barrier – ~$50/user/month, ~$60K minimum ⚠️ NO FedRAMP – Not for US federal government ⚠️ No consumer channels – No WhatsApp, Telegram Complex implementation – Indexing takes days	Managed service – Less control over RAG pipeline vs build-your-own Model selection – OpenAI + Anthropic only; no Cohere, AI21, open-source Real-time data – Requires re-indexing; not ideal for live inventory/prices Enterprise features – Custom SSO only on Enterprise plan
Core R A G Features
N/A	✅ Hybrid search – Semantic (vector-based) + lexical (keyword) approaches Knowledge Graph Framework – Proprietary anchors across enterprise data LLM Control Layer – Optimizes outputs with context-aware query rewriting Grounded answers – Source citations with every response	N/A
Permissions- Aware A I ( Core Differentiator)
N/A	✅ Real-time access control – Across all 100+ datasources Identity crawling – Users, groups, memberships, permission models Connector-level mirroring – Respects native permissions (Salesforce, GDrive) Zero-trust architecture – Users only see authorized content	N/A
Multi- Language & Localization
N/A	Full support – English, German, Japanese (semantic, assistant, UI) Partial support – French, Spanish 20+ languages – Early access or keyword search	N/A
Conversation & Agent Features
N/A	Conversation history – Thread tracking in Slack, History tab Version control – All agent versions auto-saved ⚠️ No lead capture – Designed for internal enterprise use	N/A
Deployment Options
N/A	Cloud (SaaS) – Standard Glean infrastructure deployment Cloud-Prem – Customer-hosted in AWS or GCP Single-tenant architecture – Isolated per customer	N/A
Security & Compliance
N/A	✅ SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR ⚠️ NO FedRAMP – Not for US federal government Single-tenant – Isolated per customer, Cloud-Prem option	SOC 2 Type II + GDPR – Regular third-party audits, full EU compliance 256-bit AES encryption – Data at rest; SSL/TLS in transit SSO + 2FA + RBAC – Enterprise access controls with role-based permissions Data isolation – Never trains on customer data Domain allowlisting – Restrict chatbot to approved domains
Pricing & Plans
N/A	⚠️ No public pricing – Enterprise sales only ~$45-50+/user/month – Estimated cost from reports ~$60K minimum ACV – Approximately 100 users minimum	Standard: $99/mo – 10 chatbots, 60M words, 5K items/bot Premium: $449/mo – 100 chatbots, 300M words, 20K items/bot Enterprise: Custom – SSO, dedicated support, custom SLAs 7-day free trial – Full Standard access, no charges Flat-rate pricing – No per-query charges, no hidden costs
Core Agent Features
N/A	✅ Autonomous AI agents – Understand tasks, execute autonomously Natural language builder – Describe goals, auto-designs workflows 100+ native actions – Slack, Teams, Salesforce, Jira, GitHub	Custom AI Agents – Autonomous GPT-4/Claude agents for business tasks Multi-Agent Systems – Specialized agents for support, sales, knowledge Memory & Context – Persistent conversation history across sessions Tool Integration – Webhooks + 5,000 Zapier apps for automation Continuous Learning – Auto re-indexing without manual retraining
Additional Considerations
N/A	⚠️ Cannot create content directly – Focuses on search/retrieval Large organization focus – May be overkill for smaller teams Training investment – Upskilling employees needed	Time-to-value – 2-minute deployment vs weeks with DIY Always current – Auto-updates to latest GPT models Proven scale – 6,000+ organizations, millions of queries Multi-LLM – OpenAI + Claude reduces vendor lock-in

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Final Thoughts

Final Verdict: Drift vs Glean

After analyzing features, pricing, performance, and user feedback, both Drift and Glean are capable platforms that serve different market segments and use cases effectively.

When to Choose Drift

You value forrester wave leader for conversation automation solutions (q1 2024) - analyst validation
Pre-trained on 100M+ B2B sales/marketing conversations - domain-specific expertise
Deep Salesforce and HubSpot native integrations for enterprise CRM workflows

Best For: Forrester Wave Leader for Conversation Automation Solutions (Q1 2024) - analyst validation

When to Choose Glean

You value permissions-aware ai is genuinely differentiated - real-time enforcement across 100+ datasources addresses critical enterprise concern
Strong developer experience - comprehensive APIs, 4-language SDKs (Python, Java, Go, TypeScript), LangChain integration
Model flexibility without vendor lock-in - 15+ LLMs with per-step selection and bring-your-own-key option

Best For: Permissions-aware AI is genuinely differentiated - real-time enforcement across 100+ datasources addresses critical enterprise concern

Migration & Switching Considerations

Switching between Drift and Glean requires careful planning. Consider data export capabilities, API compatibility, and integration complexity. Both platforms offer migration support, but expect 2-4 weeks for complete transition including testing and team training.

Pricing Comparison Summary

Drift starts at $2500/month, while Glean begins at $50/month. Total cost of ownership should factor in implementation time, training requirements, API usage fees, and ongoing support. Enterprise deployments typically see annual costs ranging from $10,000 to $500,000+ depending on scale and requirements.

Our Recommendation Process

Start with a free trial - Both platforms offer trial periods to test with your actual data
Define success metrics - Response accuracy, latency, user satisfaction, cost per query
Test with real use cases - Don't rely on generic demos; use your production data
Evaluate total cost - Factor in implementation time, training, and ongoing maintenance
Check vendor stability - Review roadmap transparency, update frequency, and support quality

For most organizations, the decision between Drift and Glean comes down to specific requirements rather than overall superiority. Evaluate both platforms with your actual data during trial periods, focusing on accuracy, latency, ease of integration, and total cost of ownership.

📚 Next Steps

Ready to make your decision? We recommend starting with a hands-on evaluation of both platforms using your specific use case and data.

• Review: Check the detailed feature comparison table above
• Test: Sign up for free trials and test with real queries
• Calculate: Estimate your monthly costs based on expected usage
• Decide: Choose the platform that best aligns with your requirements

Last updated: February 3, 2026 | This comparison is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the latest platform capabilities, pricing, and user feedback.

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Priyansh Khodiyar

DevRel at CustomGPT.ai. Passionate about AI and its applications. Here to help you navigate the world of AI tools and make informed decisions for your business.

Drift vs Glean