SaaS · head to head
Heap vs Olark
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Heap no built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation; 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: Heap covers Autocapture, Olark covers Live chat.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Heap and Olark actually diverge.
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 Heap
- Autocapture
- Retroactive analytics
- Session replay
- Funnel analysis
- User segmentation
- Path analysis
- Data science
- Virtual events
Only in Olark
- Live chat
- Chat transcripts
- Visitor insights
- Customization
- Offline messaging
- Shortcuts
- Slack
- Zendesk
Both cover
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- GDPR
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Heap
- User behavior analysisnot Olark
- Conversion optimizationnot Olark
- Product adoptionnot Olark
- Customer journey mappingnot Olark
- A/B testing analysisnot Olark
Olark
- Live chat on a website with a small support teamnot Heap
- Running an AI agent on website conversations with human handoffnot Heap
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Heap
- No built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation
- Group analytics and advanced features require a sales conversation, not self-serve
- Cloud-only deployment; no self-hosted option for data security or compliance requirements
- Session replay lacks developer debugging tools compared to PostHog
- Pricing for Growth and Pro plans requires direct sales contact; no transparency on how pricing scales
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 $29 a month
- Regional routing, SSO and custom SLAs require a custom enterprise plan with no published price
Pricing, plan by plan
Heap
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 10,000 monthly sessions
- Basic charts
- 6 months data history
- Growth$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Sense AI assistant
- 12 months data history
- Pro$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Account analytics
- Engagement matrix
- Premier$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Data warehouse integration
- Unlimited projects
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 Heap if
- You need autocapture.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want retroactive analytics.
Choose Olark if
- You need live chat.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want chat transcripts.
Questions people ask
- Is Heap or Olark better?
- Neither clearly leads. Heap 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, Heap or Olark?
- Heap starts at Free and Olark at Free.
- Does Heap or Olark run on more platforms?
- Heap runs on Web, iOS, Android. Olark runs on Web.
- Can I use Heap for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Heap best used for?
- Heap is most often used for user behavior analysis, conversion optimization, product adoption, customer journey mapping. Of those, user behavior analysis and conversion optimization are not what Olark is typically brought in for.
- What can Heap do that Olark cannot?
- Heap covers Autocapture, Retroactive analytics, Session replay, Funnel analysis. Olark covers Live chat, Chat transcripts, Visitor insights, Customization. Both handle Salesforce, HubSpot, GDPR.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Heap: What does Heap's autocapture feature do?
Heap's autocapture is a single code snippet that automatically captures every click, swipe, tap, pageview, and form fill on your website and apps without requiring manual event setup. Once installed, Heap captures the entire digital experience of every user on every platform with no ongoing engineering maintenance needed.
SourceHeap: What are Heap's pricing plans and how much do they cost?
Heap offers a Free plan for up to 10,000 monthly sessions. Growth, Pro, and Premier plans use custom session-based pricing that requires contacting sales for a quote. Free includes basic charts and 6 months data history. Growth adds the Sense AI assistant. Pro adds account analytics. Premier adds data warehouse integration and dedicated customer success management.
SourceHeap: Does Heap include session replay and A/B testing?
Heap includes integrated session replay showing exactly what users did on your site. However, Heap does not include built-in A/B testing or feature flags. Teams requiring these capabilities must use separate tools or integrate with third-party platforms.
SourceHeap: What integrations does Heap support?
Heap supports over 100 integrations connecting to business tools including marketing platforms, CRMs, and data warehouses. This allows insights to reach relevant teams and ensures data flows to other business systems automatically.
SourceHeap: Does Heap offer self-hosting or is it cloud-only?
Heap is cloud-only and does not offer self-hosted options. Organizations requiring on-premises deployment should consider alternatives like PostHog which supports self-hosting alongside its cloud product.
SourceHeap: What is Sense and how does it help with analytics?
Sense Chat is Heap's AI assistant that enables users to access analytics without extensive technical knowledge. It allows teams to ask questions about user behavior and get answers directly without lengthy onboarding or technical expertise, making insights more accessible to non-technical stakeholders.
SourceRelated pages
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- Olark vs Zendesk Sunshine Conversations
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