Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

Front vs Olark

Front logo

Front

Customer Support

Where teams collaborate on customer communication

From
$25/month per seat
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Olark logo

Olark

Customer Support

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: Front starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier; 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: Front covers Shared inbox, Olark covers Live chat.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Front and Olark actually diverge.

Attributes where Front and Olark differ
AttributeFrontOlark
Starting price$25/month per seatFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud-based SaaSWeb
CategoryCustomer SupportUnknown
Founded20132009

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 Front

  • Shared inbox
  • Email collaboration
  • Omnichannel messaging
  • Analytics
  • Workflows
  • Integrations
  • Asana
  • Jira

Only in Olark

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

Both cover

  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Slack
  • GDPR
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Front

  • Multi-team customer support across email, chat, SMS channelsnot Olark
  • Enterprises using AI to resolve complex multi-step customer requestsnot Olark

Olark

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

Where each one falls short

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

Front

  • Starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier
  • AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT are included only in Enterprise tier ($105/seat/month); available as add-ons at higher cost in lower tiers
  • Starter tier limited to 10 automation rules; Professional tier allows 20; unlimited rules only in Enterprise
  • Advanced analytics excluded from Starter tier

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

Front

$25/month per seat

No published plan breakdown. See the Front 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 Front if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You work on Cloud-based SaaS.
  • You also want email collaboration.
Front 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 Front or Olark better?
Neither clearly leads. Front starts at $25/month per seat and Olark at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Front or Olark?
Olark has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month per seat for Front and Free for Olark.
Does Front or Olark run on more platforms?
Front runs on Cloud-based SaaS. Olark runs on Web.
Can I use Olark for free?
Yes. Olark has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Front starts at $25/month per seat.
What is Front best used for?
Front is most often used for multi-team customer support across email, chat, sms channels, enterprises using ai to resolve complex multi-step customer requests. Of those, multi-team customer support across email, chat, sms channels and enterprises using ai to resolve complex multi-step customer requests are not what Olark is typically brought in for.
What can Front do that Olark cannot?
Front covers Shared inbox, Email collaboration, Omnichannel messaging, Analytics. Olark covers Live chat, Chat transcripts, Visitor insights, Customization. Both handle Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, GDPR.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Front

More on Olark

Keep looking

Other head to heads