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9 Best Olark Alternatives to Enhance Customer Support [2024]

Written by: Beata Stefanowicz
Updated:

Firstly—what is Olark?

Olark is a powerful live chat software designed to help businesses connect with customers in real time and improve customer engagement.

Some of its key features include customizable chat widget, automated messages, real-time chat monitoring, and reporting tools. 

But—

This solution may not suit every business, as it’s relatively simple and can lack some functionality compared to competitors. If you’re seeking an alternative to Olark, this article is for you.

Here’s a comparison table for a quick overview of the top available platforms:

PlatformRatingsFree plan/trialBest for
Tidio4.7/5 ⭐AI capabilities
LiveAgent4.5/5 ⭐️14-day free trialPre-chat survey
Chatbot4.4/5 ⭐️14-day free trialReady-to-use templates
Crisp4.5/5 ⭐️Offline lead generation
Intercom4.5/5 ⭐️14-day free trialSimple flow builder
LiveChat4.5/5 ⭐️14-day free trialIntelligent chat routing
Freshdesk4.2/5 ⭐️Shared inbox
Zendesk4.3/5 ⭐️14-day free trialTicketing system
Drift4.4/5 ⭐️Chat-to-call function
Tawk.to4.4/5 ⭐️Free web-chat tools

Let’s start with—

Why look for an Olark alternative?

According to Enlyft, Olark has 1.58% of the customer service management market share. And while Olark is a great out-of-the-box tool for businesses looking for something simple, it has its limits. 

The users of the platform point these as the most obvious drawbacks of the platform:

  • Underwhelming live chat tool
  • No built-in ticketing system
  • Limited canned response features
  • Limited multichannel support
  • Unclear Olark pricing plans 

So, if you’re one of many businesses looking for an Olark alternative, here are the top software worth checking out.

9 best Olark alternatives: detailed reviews

On top of live chat support, the platform you choose needs a range of advanced features, self-service portal, ticket automation, and iOS as well as Android apps. Let’s jump straight into the detailed reviews of Olark alternatives:

1. Tidio

Tidio dashboard view

Rating: 4.7/5 ⭐️ (1,560+ reviews)

Tidio is a customer service software that combines a helpdesk system, live chat functionality, and AI features. It focuses on automating workflows to speed up processes and boost client satisfaction.

You can embed a chat widget integrated with conversational AI, on your website for real-time support. This system also brings customer interactions from multiple channels into a shared inbox so you can keep track of all your conversations and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Main features:

Pricing:

  • 7-day free trial available
  • Free version available
  • Starter ($29/mo)
  • Growth (starts at $59/mo)
  • Plus (starts at $749/mo)
  • Premium (starts at $2999/mo)

Choose a customizable and automated live chat for your business

Learn more about Tidio Live Chat

Read more: Learn how to customize your Tidio widget. Also, check out how Gecko Hospitality used Tidio to automate 90% of its customer service.

2. LiveAgent 

LiveAgent dashboard view

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️ (1,500+ reviews)

LiveAgent is an Olark alternative known for its fast-loading live chat. Automations with ChatGPT provide appropriate replies to customers. Users can also apply the proactive chat feature to capture leads and enhance customer communication.

Other available functions include the pre-set canned responses and a universal inbox that helps to manage all messages by automatically assigning as well as tracking support tickets. Businesses can also create a self-service knowledge base, FAQs, how-to guides, and community forums for customers.

Pros:

Cons:

  • Mobile UX is not very intuitive
  • Ineffective spam filtering

Pricing

  • Free 14-day trial available
  • Starter ($20/mo/person)
  • Team ($41/mo/person)
  • Business ($59/mo/person)
  • Enterprise → contact sales team 

3. Crisp

Crisp dashboard view

Ratings: 4.5/5 ⭐️ (95+ reviews)

Crisp is a customer messaging platform popular among small businesses, helping them send fast feedback while collecting customer information. Crisp uses email, live chat, and social media channels to send communications to your clients and website visitors. This Olark alternative provides personalized support using knowledge base, chatbots, and a unified inbox functionality.

Pros

Cons:

  • Customization options restrictive on chatbot
  • Complications during API integration

Pricing

  • Free version
  • Pro ($25/mo/workspace)
  • Unlimited ($95/mo/workspace)

Did you know that…

Customer service software is projected to grow to exceed $9.48 billion in 2024. 

4. Intercom

Intercom dashboard view

Ratings: 4.5/5 ⭐️ (3,205+ reviews)

Intercom is a top-rated Olark alternative that uses AI for its chatbot, help desk software, and knowledge base. This software makes customer support teams spend less time on Q&A and more on personalized interactions that build long-term relationships.

Intercom is aimed at enterprise businesses, as it offers many complex features that require resources to utilize fully. As you plan for the future, reports from chat support, workflows, and team performance, come in handy. 

Pros

  • Built-in AI for knowledge base and chatbots
  • Omnichannel support available
  • Workflow automation tools

Cons

  • Learning curve necessary
  • Complex features overwhelm new users

Pricing:

  • Free 14-day trial available
  • Essential ($39/mo/seat)
  • Advanced ($99/mo/seat)
  • Expert ($139/mo/seat)

Read more: Discover the top Intercom alternatives and choose one that best suits your business.

5. LiveChat

LiveChat dashboard view

Ratings: 4.5/5 ⭐️ (750+ reviews)

We have already mentioned this provider as they are also behind ChatBot software. So, let’s get a bit more in depth. LiveChat is a great alternative to Olark because they both offer popular chat tools that visitors love. With this messaging platform, potential customers can chat with support agents in real time and your service team can segment users, access reports and analytics, and connect with over 200 integrations including WhatsApp. 

Pros

  • Real-time reporting 
  • Customizable chatbox
  • Intelligent chat routing

Cons

  • Lacks AI-driven functionality
  • Performance lags during high-traffic

Pricing

  • Starter ($20/mo/user)
  • Team ($41/mo/user)
  • Business ($59/mo/user)
  • Enterprise → contact sales

Read more: Go through the detailed reviews of the best LiveChat alternatives.

6. Freshdesk

Freshdesk dashboard view

Ratings: 4.2/5 ⭐️ (3,220+ reviews)

Freshdesk stands out for its omnichannel help desk, AI, and ticketing system features. It offers team collaboration where conversations from live chat, email, phone calls, Twitter, and Facebook Messenger are converted into tickets for team members to collaborate on. The goal is to track all conversations across multiple channels in one place and organize leads. Freshdesk also offers features like ticket tagging, task automations, quick replies, and more. 

Pros

  • Advanced AI and chatbot capabilities
  • Canned responses
  • User-friendly design

Cons

  • No integration for Instagram or SMS
  • Limited automation functionality

Pricing

  • Free version available
  • Growth ($18/mo/agent)
  • Pro ($59/mo/agent)
  • Enterprise ($95/mo/agent)

Read more: Compare Freshdesk alternatives to get the right tool for your business.

7. Zendesk

Zendesk dashboard view

Ratings: 4.3/5 ⭐️ (5,900+ reviews)

While both Zendesk and Olark have real-time live chat, the former is a significantly superior tool with years of market experience and product maturity. It offers pre-chat forms that give context to a support agent before they engage the customer, increasing the likelihood of closing a sale. 

On top of that, the platform offers automated ticket triggers and proactive messaging to answer questions in real time and reroute the complex queries to a human agent on auto-pilot. Zendesk also provides a CRM system and an omnichannel feature that centralizes communication across email, chat, and social media, into one panel.

Pros

  • Pre-chat forms 
  • Customizable platform
  • Trigger automations

Cons

  • Slow response time from the support team
  • Collapsing admin bar can be irritating
  • No buttons to undo actions

Pricing

  • Free trial available
  • Basic Plan ($19/mo/agent)
  • Suite Team ($69/mo/agent)
  • Suite Growth ($115/mo/agent)
  • Suite Professional ($149/mo/agent)
  • Suite Enterprise → contact sales
  • Suite Enterprise Plus → contact sales

Read more: Check out the top Zendesk alternatives and select one that best suits your business. 

8. Salesloft (formerly Drift)

Salesloft dashboard view

Ratings: 4.4/5 ⭐️ (1,250+ reviews)

Drift makes it to our list of Olark alternatives for its conversational approach when engaging customers. A powerful live chat solution and AI chatbot is what’s behind the human-like texting behind the tool. The platform enables website visitors to quickly receive answers to their queries, get recommendations, or schedule a meeting. Created with marketing and sales in mind, Salesloft is ideal for improving your conversion rates. 

Pros

  • Chat-to-call function
  • Lead qualification forms
  • Marketing automation tools

Cons 

  • Overwhelming range of features for new users
  • Integration complications during implementation

Pricing:

  • Advanced → contact sales
  • Premier → contact sales

Read more: Check out the best Salesloft alternatives available on the market today.

9. Tawk.to

Tawk.to dashboard view

Ratings: 4.4/5 ⭐️ (185+ reviews)

Tawk.to is a free Olark alternative with a customizable chat widget that can be embedded on any website. With Tawk.to, you can enable pop-up notifications and communicate with your website visitors in real time. A scheduler helps to turn the chat window on or off, based on the predetermined times. Messages pile in the inbox stack from most recent to oldest, showing which ones are opened and closed. Moreover, agents can turn messages into tickets based on the details of each query. 

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Customizable chat widget
  • Chat history and chat transcripts

Cons

  • Advanced customization or integration needs technical knowledge
  • Limited capabilities on mobile app

Pricing

  • Free
  • Hire agents ($1/hour/agent)

Read more: Discover the best Tawk.to alternatives and choose the right one for your business.

Olark alternatives: key takeaway

Basic tools are ideal for small businesses or startups needing simple chat and reporting features. However, larger companies may require more robust capabilities, such as multilingual support, advanced AI chatbots, and a unified inbox for omnichannel support.

The tools in this article increase customer satisfaction and agent productivity so your business can scale efficiently. And why not test conversational AI, ticketing system, and live chat features right away?


Beata Stefanowicz
Beata Stefanowicz

Content Writer at Tidio with a love for the written word. She scouts around for digital trends and ways to help small and medium businesses grow.