Glean vs Microsoft Copilot

Glean

Glean is the reference implementation of permission-aware enterprise search, and permissions are the hard part everyone else underestimates. It is also priced so that only companies with a real sprawl problem can justify it.

Pros

• +Permission inheritance from each connected system is done properly, not approximated
• +Answers cite and link the underlying documents rather than paraphrasing them away
• +Connector coverage across the mainstream SaaS estate is broad
• +Commercially solid: about $300M ARR by May 2026 at a $7.2B valuation

Cons

• −No published price anywhere, and contracts start in six figures
• −Value depends entirely on connector coverage of your specific stack
• −Index quality inherits whatever mess exists in the source systems
• −Overlaps increasingly with Microsoft and Google's bundled offerings, which cost nothing extra

Microsoft Copilot

Copilot is the sensible default for people who live in Windows, Edge and Microsoft 365: it is already installed, it is free for ordinary use, and paying a Microsoft 365 subscription you may already have unlocks it inside Word and Excel. Judged purely as a chatbot it trails ChatGPT and Gemini on depth and features, so power users who are not tied to Office should pick on model quality, not on the taskbar button.

Pros

• +Free tier with web-grounded answers, image generation, file and photo understanding
• +Native apps on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android plus Edge, with one account carrying the conversation across them
• +Upgrade path reuses Microsoft 365 plans most households already pay for, from $9.99 a month
• +Clear consumer privacy and health-data policies published alongside the terms

Cons

• −Free usage is explicitly capacity-dependent, so limits move without notice
• −The Copilot name covers several different products, and the consumer one is the least capable
• −Family plan grants the AI features to the subscription owner only, not to the other five members
• −Copilot Pro was retired and folded into Microsoft 365 Premium, so older guides and price quotes are stale

Is Glean cheaper than Microsoft Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot starts at $9.99/mo; Glean prices on request, so a quote is the only way to compare.

Does Glean or Microsoft Copilot have a free tier?

Microsoft Copilot has a free tier; Glean prices on request.

Which has a public API, Glean or Microsoft Copilot?

Glean ships a public API, as of our last verification. A public API for Microsoft Copilot is not confirmed by us — check its developer docs before you plan an integration.