Softwr

Live Chat & Chatbots · head to head

Olark vs Rasa

Olark logo

Olark

Live Chat & Chatbots

Make your business human

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rasa logo

Rasa

Live Chat & Chatbots

Open-source framework for building conversational AI

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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; Rasa free Developer Edition caps conversations at 1,000 external or 100 internal per company per month
  • They diverge on capability: Olark covers Live chat, Rasa covers NLU engine.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Olark and Rasa actually diverge.

Attributes where Olark and Rasa differ
AttributeOlarkRasa
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
PlatformsWebOn-premise, Cloud deployment, Docker, Kubernetes
Founded20092016

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Live Chat & Chatbots).

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 Olark

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

Only in Rasa

  • NLU engine
  • Dialogue management
  • Multi-language support
  • Testing tools
  • Teams
  • Custom channels
  • API
  • On-premise support

Both cover

  • Slack

What people use each for

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

Olark

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

Rasa

  • Developers self-hosting an open source conversational AI framework before needing enterprise scalenot Olark

Where each one falls short

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

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

Rasa

  • Free Developer Edition caps conversations at 1,000 external or 100 internal per company per month
  • Rasa Pro and the Business Plan (Pro plus Studio) are not priced on the site and require contacting sales

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Rasa

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full framework access
    • Community support
  • Rasa Pro$50/month
    • Additional tools
    • Priority support
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Advanced features
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose Olark if

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

Choose Rasa if

  • You need nlu engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on On-premise, Cloud deployment, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want dialogue management.
Rasa review

Questions people ask

Is Olark or Rasa better?
Neither clearly leads. Olark starts at Free and Rasa at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Olark or Rasa?
Olark starts at Free and Rasa at Free.
Does Olark or Rasa run on more platforms?
Olark runs on Web. Rasa runs on On-premise, Cloud deployment, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Olark for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Olark best used for?
Olark is most often used for live chat on a website with a small support team, running an ai agent on website conversations with human handoff. Of those, live chat on a website with a small support team and running an ai agent on website conversations with human handoff are not what Rasa is typically brought in for.
What can Olark do that Rasa cannot?
Olark covers Live chat, Chat transcripts, Visitor insights, Customization. Rasa covers NLU engine, Dialogue management, Multi-language support, Testing tools. Both handle Slack.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Olark

More on Rasa

Keep looking

Other head to heads