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Live Chat & Chatbots · head to head

Chatwoot vs Olark

Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Live Chat & Chatbots

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Olark logo

Olark

Live Chat & Chatbots

Make your business human

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month; Olark the AI website agent is a $400 a month flat plan billed annually at $4,800, which is a large step from the $29 per agent human only plan
  • They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Email inbox, Olark covers Chat transcripts.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Olark actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Olark differ
AttributeChatwootOlark
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryUnknownLive Chat & Chatbots
Founded20172009

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Chatwoot

  • Email inbox
  • Social channels
  • Knowledge base
  • Chatbots
  • Reports
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • Line

Only in Olark

  • Chat transcripts
  • Visitor insights
  • Customization
  • Offline messaging
  • Shortcuts
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Zendesk

Both cover

  • Live chat
  • Slack
  • GDPR
  • SSL
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Chatwoot

  • Self-hosted supportnot Olark
  • Privacy-first chatnot Olark
  • Multi-channel supportnot Olark

Olark

  • Live chat on a website with a small support teamnot Chatwoot
  • Running an AI agent on website conversations with human handoffnot Chatwoot

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Chatwoot

  • Free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month
  • Self-hosted option requires managing infrastructure, updates, and external messaging costs
  • Smaller ecosystem and community compared to Zendesk or Intercom
  • AI features require credit consumption and additional configuration

Olark

  • The AI website agent is a $400 a month flat plan billed annually at $4,800, which is a large step from the $29 per agent human only plan
  • That flat price covers only one human seat, with each additional seat at $29 a month
  • Regional routing, SSO and custom SLAs require a custom enterprise plan with no published price

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

Free
  • HackerFree
    • 2 agents
    • 500 conversations per month
    • 1 live chat channel
  • Startups$19/month
    • Unlimited agents
    • Unlimited conversations

Olark

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 20 chats/month
    • 1 agent
    • Basic customization
  • Standard$29/month
    • Unlimited chats
    • Chat transcripts
    • Integrations
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Co-browsing
    • Chatbot
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Chatwoot if

  • You need email inbox.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted.
  • You also want social channels.
Chatwoot review

Choose Olark if

  • You need chat transcripts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want visitor insights.
Olark review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Olark better?
Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Olark at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Olark?
Chatwoot starts at Free and Olark at Free.
Does Chatwoot or Olark run on more platforms?
Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Olark runs on Web.
Can I use Chatwoot for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Chatwoot best used for?
Chatwoot is most often used for self-hosted support, privacy-first chat, multi-channel support. Of those, self-hosted support and privacy-first chat are not what Olark is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Olark cannot?
Chatwoot covers Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base, Chatbots. Olark covers Chat transcripts, Visitor insights, Customization, Offline messaging. Both handle Live chat, Slack, GDPR, SSL.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Chatwoot: Does Chatwoot offer a self-hosted option?

Yes. Chatwoot provides both cloud-hosted and self-hosted versions. Self-hosting is free with the open-source version, though you handle infrastructure, maintenance, and external messaging costs.

Source
Chatwoot: What communication channels does Chatwoot support?

Chatwoot supports email, live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media channels consolidated into a single inbox.

Source
Chatwoot: Is there a free plan for Chatwoot?

Yes. Chatwoot offers a free Hacker plan supporting up to 2 agents, 500 conversations per month, and one live chat channel.

Source
Chatwoot: What AI features does Chatwoot include?

Chatwoot includes Captain AI agent for automated responses, Copilot for smart reply suggestions, and live translation features.

Source
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Related pages

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