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All industries · head to head

Freshdesk vs Olark

Freshdesk logo

Freshdesk

All industries

Delight your customers, effortlessly

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Olark logo

Olark

Live Chat & Chatbots

Make your business human

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Olark has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Freshdesk growth tier lacks multilingual helpdesk and custom reporting dashboards; 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: Freshdesk covers Ticketing, Olark covers Live chat.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Freshdesk and Olark actually diverge.

Attributes where Freshdesk and Olark differ
AttributeFreshdeskOlark
Starting price$19/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
CategoryAll industriesLive Chat & Chatbots
Founded20102009

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web), 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 Freshdesk

  • Ticketing
  • Automation
  • Self-service
  • Team collaboration
  • Multi-channel support
  • SLA management
  • Reporting
  • Mobile apps

Only in Olark

  • Live chat
  • Chat transcripts
  • Visitor insights
  • Customization
  • Offline messaging
  • Shortcuts
  • HubSpot
  • Zendesk

Both cover

  • Slack
  • Salesforce
  • GDPR

What people use each for

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

Freshdesk

  • Help desk and ticketing systemnot Olark
  • Customer support portal and knowledge basenot Olark
  • Multi-channel support coordinationnot Olark
  • AI-assisted support agent interactionnot Olark

Olark

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

Where each one falls short

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

Freshdesk

  • Growth tier lacks multilingual helpdesk and custom reporting dashboards
  • Skill-based routing available only on Enterprise tier
  • Freddy AI Copilot requires separate £29/agent/month add-on on Pro and Enterprise plans
  • AI agent sessions charged beyond initial 500 sessions: £49 per additional 100 sessions
  • Day passes for non-agents vary by tier: £2 (Growth), £7 (Pro), £12 (Enterprise)

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

Freshdesk

$19/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Freshdesk review.

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 Freshdesk if

  • You need ticketing.
  • You also want automation.
Freshdesk review

Choose Olark if

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

Questions people ask

Is Freshdesk or Olark better?
Neither clearly leads. Freshdesk starts at $19/month and Olark at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Freshdesk or Olark?
Olark has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $19/month for Freshdesk and Free for Olark.
Does Freshdesk or Olark run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Olark for free?
Yes. Olark has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Freshdesk starts at $19/month.
What is Freshdesk best used for?
Freshdesk is most often used for help desk and ticketing system, customer support portal and knowledge base, multi-channel support coordination, ai-assisted support agent interaction. Of those, help desk and ticketing system and customer support portal and knowledge base are not what Olark is typically brought in for.
What can Freshdesk do that Olark cannot?
Freshdesk covers Ticketing, Automation, Self-service, Team collaboration. Olark covers Live chat, Chat transcripts, Visitor insights, Customization. Both handle Slack, Salesforce, GDPR.
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