Is Crisp or Olark better?

Neither clearly leads. Crisp starts at Free and Olark at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Crisp or Olark?

Crisp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Crisp and $29/month for Olark.

Does Crisp or Olark run on more platforms?

Crisp runs on Cloud-based SaaS. Olark runs on Web.

Can I use Crisp for free?

Yes. Crisp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Olark starts at $29/month.

What is Crisp best used for?

Crisp is most often used for customer service and support automation, chat and omnichannel messaging, chatbot and ai conversation management, customer profile and ticket management. Of those, customer service and support automation and chat and omnichannel messaging are not what Olark is typically brought in for.

What can Crisp do that Olark cannot?

Crisp covers Shared inbox, Chatbots, Knowledge base, Video calls. Olark covers Chat transcripts, Visitor insights, Customization, Offline messaging. Both handle Live chat, Slack, GDPR, SSL.

Live Chat · head to head

Crisp vs Olark

Crisp

Live Chat

Customer messaging platform for startups and SMBs

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Olark

Live Chat

Make your business human

From: $29/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Crisp has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Crisp free tier limited to 2 seats and 100 customer profiles; 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: Crisp covers Shared inbox, Olark covers Chat transcripts.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Crisp and Olark actually diverge.

Attributes where Crisp and Olark differ
Attribute	Crisp	Olark
Starting price	Free	$29/month
Pricing model	freemium	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Cloud-based SaaS	Web
Founded	2015	2009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Live Chat).

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 Crisp

Shared inbox
Chatbots
Knowledge base
Video calls
CRM
WordPress
Shopify
Zapier

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.

Crisp

Customer service and support automationnot Olark
Chat and omnichannel messagingnot Olark
Chatbot and AI conversation managementnot Olark
Customer profile and ticket managementnot Olark
Team collaboration on customer communicationnot Olark

Olark

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

Where each one falls short

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

Crisp

Free tier limited to 2 seats and 100 customer profiles
Additional agents cost $10/month per seat beyond included seats
Customer profile limits increase with each tier; 5,000 (Mini) to 200,000 (Plus)
Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales

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

Crisp

Free

FreeFree
- 2 seats
- Website chat widget
- Shared inbox
Mini$45/month
- 4 seats
- ~$5 AI credits (around 90 automated conversations)
- Shared email inbox
Essentials$95/month
- 10 seats
- ~$25 AI credits (around 450 automated conversations)
- Omnichannel inbox
Plus$295/month
- 20+ seats
- ~$75 AI credits (around 1,350 automated conversations)
- Unlimited task automations

Olark

$29/month

Standard AI Website Agent$400/month
- One human agent seat included
- Unlimited AI conversations
- Automatic FAQ and knowledge updates
Live Chat Only$29/month
- Human operators only
- No AI component
- Upgradeable to AI later
Custom Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Regional routing
- Advanced integrations
- Custom workflows

Which should you pick?

Choose Crisp if

You need shared inbox.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Cloud-based SaaS.
You also want chatbots.

Crisp review

Choose Olark if

You need chat transcripts.
You also want visitor insights.

Olark review

Questions people ask

Is Crisp or Olark better?: Neither clearly leads. Crisp starts at Free and Olark at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Crisp or Olark?: Crisp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Crisp and $29/month for Olark.
Does Crisp or Olark run on more platforms?: Crisp runs on Cloud-based SaaS. Olark runs on Web.
Can I use Crisp for free?: Yes. Crisp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Olark starts at $29/month.
What is Crisp best used for?: Crisp is most often used for customer service and support automation, chat and omnichannel messaging, chatbot and ai conversation management, customer profile and ticket management. Of those, customer service and support automation and chat and omnichannel messaging are not what Olark is typically brought in for.
What can Crisp do that Olark cannot?: Crisp covers Shared inbox, Chatbots, Knowledge base, Video calls. Olark covers Chat transcripts, Visitor insights, Customization, Offline messaging. Both handle Live chat, Slack, GDPR, SSL.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Crisp: How much does Crisp cost?

Crisp offers a free plan ($0/month for 2 seats), Mini ($45/month for 4 seats), Essentials ($95/month for 10 seats), Plus ($295/month for 20+ seats), and Enterprise (custom pricing).

Source

Olark: How much does Olark's Standard AI plan cost?

Olark's Standard AI Website Agent plan costs $400 per month when billed annually ($4,800/year). This includes one human agent seat, unlimited AI conversations, automatic FAQ updates, lead capture, and white glove support with no token limits or overages.

Source

Crisp: Is there a free version of Crisp?

Yes, Crisp Free includes 2 seats, website chat widget, shared inbox, and mobile/desktop apps with a 100 customer profile limit and no AI credits.

Source

Olark: What is the cost for additional agent seats on Olark?

Additional human agent seats on Olark cost $29 per agent per month. This rate applies when upgrading from the Standard AI plan.

Source

Crisp: What are AI credits in Crisp?

AI credits power automated conversations. Mini plan includes ~$5 credits (90 conversations), Essentials includes ~$25 credits (450 conversations), Plus includes ~$75 credits (1,350 conversations).

Source

Olark: Does Olark charge based on token usage?

No, Olark explicitly states 'No token costs, ever.' The Standard AI plan charges per agent seat with no usage-based overages or token limits, avoiding unexpected cost spikes during peak traffic periods.

Source

Crisp: Does Crisp charge per additional agent?

Yes, additional agents beyond included seats cost $10/month per person. Free plan includes 2 seats; additional seats available on paid plans.

Source

Crisp vs Olark

Crisp

Olark

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Crisp

Only in Olark

Both cover

What people use each for

Crisp

Olark

Where each one falls short

Crisp

Olark

Pricing, plan by plan

Crisp

Olark

Which should you pick?

Choose Crisp if

Choose Olark if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Crisp

More on Olark

Keep looking

Other head to heads