Customer Support · head to head
SupportBee vs Olark
SupportBee
Customer Support
Simple email ticketing for small teams
- From
- $13/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Olark has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: SupportBee email-only ticketing, no live chat, phone support, chatbots, or AI features; 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: SupportBee covers Shared inbox, Olark covers Live chat.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which SupportBee and Olark actually diverge.
| Attribute | SupportBee | Olark |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $13/month | Free |
| Pricing model | Unknown | subscription |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, Mobile Browser | Web |
| Category | Customer Support | Live Chat & Chatbots |
| Founded | 2010 | 2009 |
Identical on both: 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 SupportBee
- Shared inbox
- Email ticketing
- Snippets
- Customer portal
- Knowledge base
- Reports
- Trello
- Asana
Only in Olark
- Live chat
- Chat transcripts
- Visitor insights
- Customization
- Offline messaging
- Shortcuts
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
Both cover
- Slack
- SSL
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
SupportBee
- Email supportnot Olark
- Ticket managementnot Olark
- Team collaborationnot Olark
Olark
- Live chat on a website with a small support teamnot SupportBee
- Running an AI agent on website conversations with human handoffnot SupportBee
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
SupportBee
- Email-only ticketing, no live chat, phone support, chatbots, or AI features
- Basic reporting and analytics, lacking advanced dashboards and customizable metrics
- No SLA management capabilities
- Limited workflow customization compared to enterprise platforms
- No dedicated mobile app (web interface only)
- Confusing navigation and UI issues reported by some users
- Cannot select and snooze multiple emails at once
- Occasional performance delays
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
SupportBee
$13/month- Startup$13/month
- Unlimited tickets and inboxes
- Team inbox with ticket assignment
- Knowledge base integration (KBee)
- Enterprise$17/month
- All Startup features
- Advanced integrations
- Custom roles and permissions
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 SupportBee if
- You need shared inbox.
- You work on Web, Mobile Browser.
- You also want email ticketing.
Choose Olark if
- You need live chat.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want chat transcripts.
Questions people ask
- Is SupportBee or Olark better?
- Neither clearly leads. SupportBee starts at $13/month and Olark at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, SupportBee or Olark?
- Olark has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $13/month for SupportBee and Free for Olark.
- Does SupportBee or Olark run on more platforms?
- SupportBee runs on Web, Mobile Browser. Olark runs on Web.
- Can I use Olark for free?
- Yes. Olark has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SupportBee starts at $13/month.
- What is SupportBee best used for?
- SupportBee is most often used for email support, ticket management, team collaboration. Of those, email support and ticket management are not what Olark is typically brought in for.
- What can SupportBee do that Olark cannot?
- SupportBee covers Shared inbox, Email ticketing, Snippets, Customer portal. Olark covers Live chat, Chat transcripts, Visitor insights, Customization. Both handle Slack, SSL, Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
SupportBee: How much does SupportBee cost?
SupportBee offers Startup plan at $13/user/month and Enterprise at $17/user/month, both with unlimited tickets and inboxes. No per-ticket charges. A 14-day free trial is available with no credit card required.
SourceSupportBee: Does SupportBee offer live chat or phone support?
No. SupportBee focuses on email ticketing and does not include native live chat, phone support, chatbots, or AI features. It is designed for email-based customer support.
SourceSupportBee: What platforms can SupportBee run on?
SupportBee is a web-based platform accessible on desktop and mobile browsers. It does not offer a dedicated desktop or mobile app, but the web interface is responsive and works on phones. Integration with email clients is available.
SourceSupportBee: Does SupportBee integrate with Slack?
Yes. SupportBee integrates with Slack to send real-time notifications for new tickets, replies, assignments, and internal comments. Teams can configure which events trigger alerts and organize notifications into dedicated channels.
Source