Pylon vs Thena

by Gralio Feb 03, 2025

Pylon and Thena are customer support platforms with distinct approaches. Pylon offers a wider range of channels and traditional support features, making it suitable for broader support needs. Thena excels for businesses heavily reliant on Slack, providing deep integration and streamlined workflows within the Slack environment.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 107 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 hour, 5 minutes of reading.

Pylon

Website LinkedIn

Thena

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

Pylon is a customer support platform designed for growing B2B companies. It allows you to manage customer interactions from various channels like Slack, Microsoft Teams, email, and in-app chat, all within a single platform. Pylon offers tools for tracking customer issues, automating workflows, analyzing support data, and collaborating with your team. It also provides features like a knowledge base, customer portal, and integrations with popular business tools. Pylon aims to help businesses streamline their customer support operations and improve efficiency.

Thena is a customer support platform designed for businesses that primarily use Slack for communication. It allows you to manage customer requests from various sources like email and messaging apps all within Slack. Thena uses AI to automate tasks, such as categorizing requests and summarizing conversations, and provides analytics to track performance. It's best for mid-size B2B companies aiming to streamline their customer support workflow.

Summary

Main difference

Pylon offers a broader multi-channel support experience including a dedicated app, while Thena focuses on deep Slack integration for customer support managed entirely within Slack.

Relative strengths of Pylon (compared to Thena)

Wider channel coverage (email, in-app chat, Slack, MS Teams).
Dedicated customer support features like knowledge base and customer portal.
Stronger focus on traditional support channels outside of Slack.

Relative weaknesses of Pylon (compared to Thena)

Less deeply integrated with Slack compared to Thena.
Potentially more expensive, especially for smaller teams.
Steeper learning curve due to a broader feature set.

Who is using Pylon and Thena?

Marios C.

Founder & GTM Engineer at RevFlow AI

No data

Who should use Pylon VS. Thena

Pylon is a customer support platform best for small B2B SaaS companies using Slack and Microsoft Teams. It centralizes communication, automates workflows, and offers a knowledge base. Users love its Slack integration and automation features but find the pricing high and the feature set extensive. A more gradual learning curve would be beneficial.

Thena is a customer support platform built for Slack, enabling streamlined workflows and enhanced customer experiences. Users praise its seamless Slack integration, real-time engagement, and centralized communication management. However, some find the message builder less intuitive and experience occasional UI glitches. Perfect for B2B SaaS companies seeking efficient customer support within their existing Slack environment.

Best for small businesses.
Ideal for B2B SaaS companies.

Best fit for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) using Slack.
Ideal for B2B SaaS companies relying on Slack for customer communication.

Pylon and Thena features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Multi-channel support (web, Slack, MS Teams, email)

Supported

Pylon supports web, Slack, MS Teams, and email channels.

Supported

Thena supports customer interactions across web, Slack, MS Teams, and email.
Unified inbox for support interactions

Supported

Pylon offers a unified inbox for various support channels, including Slack, email, and in-app chat.

Supported

Thena offers a unified inbox supporting Slack, email, in-app chat, and Microsoft Teams.
AI-assisted knowledge base creation

Not supported

Pylon uses AI for customer support but not for knowledge base creation.

Partially supported

Thena integrates with existing knowledge bases and uses AI to generate responses but does not create articles.
Slack integration

Supported

Pylon integrates with Slack, allowing for conversation tracking and issue management within Pylon's platform.

Supported

Thena offers extensive Slack integration, including receiving various notifications directly within Slack.
Internal chat

Not supported

Pylon does not appear to support internal chat.

Not supported

Thena does not provide an internal chat feature for users to communicate with each other within the software.
Third-party integrations

Partially supported

Pylon integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams, but Google Drive integration is not documented.

Partially supported

Thena offers integrations with various tools like Slack, Jira, and Linear. However, there is no mention of Google Drive or Microsoft Teams integrations on their website or other provided sources.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0.5

Rather positive sentiment

No data
Customer Service

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

+1

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.94

Strongly positive sentiment

+1

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.89

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.85

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.67

Rather positive sentiment

+0.75

Strongly positive sentiment
Scalability

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

Pylon and Thena Pricing

Pylon offers support system for various sizes of teams. The pricing is per seat and billed monthly or annually (with a discount).

Plans

User sentiment

Rather positive

+0.5

See full Pricing page

Thena offers a 14-day free trial and three pricing plans: Core, Pro, and Enterprise. The Core and Pro plans are billed annually and have a minimum user requirement. The Enterprise plan requires contacting sales for custom pricing.

Plans

User sentiment

Strongly positive

See full Pricing page

Pylon and Thena review insights

107 reviews analysed from

Users love

Pylon offers seamless integration with Slack and Microsoft Teams, centralizing customer communications.
The platform excels at organizing and tracking customer conversations, ensuring no message is missed.
Pylon\'s automation features, like AI tagging and status updates, streamline workflows and save time.
The customer support team is highly responsive and helpful, providing excellent assistance.
Pylon is constantly evolving, with new features and improvements released regularly.

Seamless Slack integration for managing customer support.
Enhanced customer support experience and streamlined workflows.
Real-time customer engagement and collaboration within Slack.
Centralized platform for managing customer interactions and communications.
Automated ticket creation and efficient escalation processes.

Users dislike

Pylon can be expensive for its full feature set, especially for smaller teams.
The product has a lot of features, which can be overwhelming for new users. A more gradual learning curve would be helpful.
Limited native integrations beyond Slack, Teams, and Email. More integrations with popular CRMs and support tools would enhance its value.
While the AI features are promising, their accuracy can vary. Some users have reported inconsistencies in AI tagging and status updates.
The mobile app experience could be improved to match the robustness of the web app.

Thena branding is required for some features.
Message builder for communications could be more user-friendly.
Occasional glitches and delayed responsiveness in the user interface.
Constant prompts to close tickets can be disruptive.

Pylon and Thena Ratings

G2

5.0/5

(48)

G2

4.9/5

(63)

Company health

Employee growth

54% increase in the last year

5% increase in the last year

Web traffic

28% decrease in the last quarter

18% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

May 2024 - $20M

February 2023 - $7M

How important is native Microsoft Teams integration alongside Slack?

Native Microsoft Teams integration is of moderate importance if Slack integration is already robust. While Pylon offers both, many businesses heavily reliant on Slack may find Thena sufficient. If a company uses both platforms extensively for communication, Pylon's broader integration becomes more valuable.

Which product offers a better long-term scalability solution for growth?

Both Pylon and Thena offer scalability features, but Pylon demonstrates a slightly stronger potential for long-term scalability due to its broader integration capabilities beyond Slack, accommodating future growth and diversification of communication channels. While Thena excels for Slack-centric businesses, this specialization might become a limiting factor if the company expands communication channels or needs integrations beyond Thena's current offerings. Pylon's wider range of integrations, along with its higher website traffic growth and employee growth rate, suggest a greater capacity to adapt and scale with evolving business needs.

What are the advantages of Pylon?

Pylon offers broader communication channel integration, including email and in-app chat, alongside Slack and Microsoft Teams, unlike Thena's primary focus on Slack. Pylon also provides a knowledge base and customer portal, features not mentioned for Thena. While both target B2B SaaS companies, Pylon's pricing may be more appealing to smaller teams with its lower starting price point.

What are the disadvantages of Pylon?

Pylon's pricing can be a barrier, especially for smaller teams, given its per-seat cost. The extensive feature set, while beneficial, can also overwhelm new users. Furthermore, some users report inconsistencies with the AI features, like tagging and status updates. Finally, Pylon has limited native integrations outside of Slack, Teams, and Email, potentially requiring custom integrations for other tools.

Is Pylon cheaper than Thena?

Pylon's pricing starts at $59 per user per month, while Thena's starts at $64 per user per month. Therefore, Pylon is slightly cheaper than Thena at the entry-level. However, both offer different tiers and potentially custom enterprise pricing, so a comprehensive comparison would require looking at specific needs and user counts.

Alternatives to Pylon and Thena

HubSpot Service Hub

HubSpot Service Hub is a customer service platform designed to help businesses manage customer interactions and improve satisfaction. It offers tools like a shared inbox, live chat, and automation to streamline support processes. The platform focuses on providing a unified view of the customer journey and uses AI to automate tasks and provide insights. HubSpot Service Hub aims to help businesses scale their customer service operations efficiently, leading to improved customer retention and business growth.

HubSpot Marketing Hub

HubSpot Marketing Hub is a comprehensive marketing platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers a suite of tools including email marketing, marketing automation, social media management, analytics, and SEO optimization, all within a single platform. This helps businesses streamline their marketing efforts, improve efficiency, and track results. Its focus on inbound marketing and lead generation makes it a popular choice for businesses looking to attract and convert leads into customers. HubSpot Marketing Hub integrates seamlessly with HubSpot's CRM platform for enhanced sales and marketing alignment.

Zendesk Support Suite

Zendesk Support Suite is a customer service software solution designed to help businesses of all sizes provide excellent customer support. It offers a range of tools, including messaging, live chat, AI-powered automation, and a self-service help center. It aims to improve agent productivity, personalize customer interactions across various channels (like social media and email), and streamline workflows to increase efficiency. Zendesk emphasizes data-driven decision-making and boasts a user-friendly interface that integrates with numerous other business applications.

Tidio

Tidio is a customer service platform designed for small and medium businesses. It uses AI-powered chatbots to automate conversations, answer questions, and offer support to website visitors 24/7. This can help your team manage a high volume of inquiries, potentially reducing response times and increasing customer satisfaction. Tidio also offers live chat, allowing for real-time interaction with customers when needed. Key features include website visitor tracking, customizable automated messages, and integration with popular business tools like Shopify and Mailchimp.

ClearFeed

ClearFeed is a customer support platform built for companies who use Slack. It helps manage customer conversations happening across multiple Slack channels, turning them into trackable tickets with service level agreements (SLAs). It offers features like automated workflows, GPT-powered responses, and reporting on support team performance. ClearFeed also integrates with popular helpdesk tools like Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Salesforce, allowing for seamless information sharing.

Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud is a customer service platform designed to help businesses of all sizes manage customer interactions and support requests. It offers a range of tools, including case management, live chat, and self-service portals, all within a single platform. Using AI, it aims to personalize customer experiences, automate routine tasks, and provide data-driven insights to improve service operations and boost agent productivity. Salesforce Service Cloud integrates with other Salesforce products and can be customized for various industries, making it a comprehensive solution for managing customer service.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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