Text by LiveChat vs Olark (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Text by LiveChat grades higher than Olark: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Text by LiveChat grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Text by LiveChat
Website chat, ticketing and an AI agent from the LiveChat team
Olark
Live chat for websites, with an optional flat-fee AI agent
Which one is for you
Pick Text by LiveChat if
- Fits if you sell online and want chat that shows what a shopper has in their cart
- Works for teams who answer from desktops as well as phones
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need unlimited chat history or multilingual chat, as both wait on Growth at $79 a user
- Not for you if you want a help center or phone support in the same tool
- Tight if your AI agent gets busy, since Essential has 10 resolutions a month and 50 more cost $49.50
- Watch out: Essential gives 5 AI reply suggestions per user a month, tracks 50 live visitors and allows 3 campaigns
- Skip it if you're on an older LiveChat plan and want Text features, as they aren't part of those plans
Pick Olark if
- Fits if you want live chat answered by people, priced per seat
- Works for a site that wants an AI agent with unlimited conversations at a flat fee
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need ticketing or a help center, as the pages show neither
- Pricey if you add the AI agent, which starts at $400 a month billed annually
- Watch out: the page doesn't say whether the $29 seat price is monthly or annual
- Watch out: SSO, regional routing and custom SLAs are only in the sales-only Custom package
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAText by LiveChatFair | 2.2GPAOlarkFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEssential is $19 a user a month billed yearly ($25 monthly), between the cheaper quarter and the middle of help desks. It already has chat, tickets and an AI agent, but only 10 AI resolutions a month, and the next plan, Growth, is $79 a user. | C$29 per agent a month is the middle of the category. The AI agent package is $400 a month billed annually, about 14 times that. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day free trial of Essential or Growth with no card needed. There's no free plan, and once it ends every person who answers chats or tickets needs a paid seat. | CA 14-day trial of Live Chat with no credit card. There is no free plan. |
| Features | CWebsite chat that shows who's browsing and what's in their cart, one inbox for chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS and email, tickets, an AI agent and reply help. The gaps: no help center or phone channel on the listing, and Essential keeps 60 days of history. | CLive chat with human agents, and an AI agent as a separate package. It does the chat job fully, but it is a smaller job: the pages show no ticketing or help center. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You add the chat box to your site, connect each channel and point the AI agent at your knowledge sources before it does much on its own. | CNo store rating on record, and the chat widget and AI answers need setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android apps for agents, with Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Webflow, WhatsApp, Instagram and Klaviyo, and an API. Every device type is covered. | BWeb plus iPhone and Android apps, and 8 listed integrations. No desktop app on record. |
| Best for | website chat with an AI agent included | plain live chat on a website |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Text by LiveChat and Olark. How we grade
Price against what you get
Text by LiveChat starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Olark starts at $29 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Text by LiveChat scores higher and starts $10 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Text by LiveChat for less, and 16 score higher than Olark for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Text by LiveChat also covers help desk.
- Olark also covers sMS marketing, whatsApp messaging and chatbots.
At a glance
| Text by LiveChat | Olark | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) | $29 per agent / month |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Essential or Growth, no credit card required | 14-day free trial for Live Chat, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Text, Inc. | Olark |
| Price read from | livechat.com | olark.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Text by LiveChat
- New sign-ups now get Text plans; the older LiveChat plans stay only for existing customers, and Text features are not part of them.
- AI resolutions beyond the monthly allowance (10 on Essential, 200 on Growth) cost $49.50 per pack of 50.
- There is no free plan, and every person who answers chats or tickets needs a paid seat.
- Essential keeps chat and file history for 60 days and tracks 50 live visitors; unlimited history and multilingual chat need Growth.
Olark
- The AI agent starts at $400 a month, billed annually, which is far above the $29 live chat seat price.
- The pricing page does not say whether the $29 seat price is monthly or annual billing.
- Olark is a chat product; the pages here show no full ticketing or help center product.
- SSO, regional routing and custom SLAs are only in the sales-only Custom package.
Key features
Text by LiveChat
- Website chat with visitor tracking
- A chat widget for websites and stores that shows who is browsing, which pages they view and, for Shopify stores, what is in their cart.
- One inbox for several channels
- Website chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS through Twilio and email arrive in one inbox, with a ticketing system for follow-ups, on every plan.
- AI Agent
- Answers customers from your knowledge sources and hands over to a person. Essential includes 1 agent and 10 resolutions a month, Growth 10 agents and 200.
- AI Copilot for agents
- Suggests replies and edits text for the team: 5 suggestions per user a month on Essential and 50 on Growth, which also adds chat and ticket summaries.
- Proactive campaigns
- Chat invitations and cart recovery messages shown to visitors, with sales reports tied to chats. Essential allows 3 campaigns and Growth 30.
- Apps for desktop and phone
- Agents can work in a browser or in apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
Olark
- AI website agent
- The agent answers visitor questions from your site content, keeps its knowledge in step with the site, and qualifies leads. The in-app name for it is AI Assistant.
- Human live chat
- Chat between visitors and your agents, with live handoff from the AI to a person in the same conversation thread.
- Proactive engagement
- Chats can be triggered by visitor behavior such as UTM source, return visits and time on page.
- Lead capture
- Buttons, in-chat contact forms and booking links appear when the agent decides they help.
- Assistant split tests
- Traffic can be split between two assistant configurations to compare tone, openers and qualification approach.
- Channels and customization
- The features page lists WhatsApp and SMS, and chatbox colors and position can be matched to the site.
Plans
Text by LiveChat
Essential$19
per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
Chat, inbox and ticketing, 1 AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions a month, 50 live visitors tracked, 3 proactive campaigns and 60 days of chat history.
Growth$79
per user / month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Adds 10 AI Agents and 200 AI resolutions a month, chat supervision, shared canned replies, unlimited history, 400 live visitors and team reports.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI agents built for you, flexible usage limits, a white-label widget, SSO and audit logs, SLAs and a dedicated account team. Sold through sales.
Olark
Live Chat$29
per agent / month, billing basis not shown
Full-featured live chat with human agents and no AI. The AI agent can be added later without reinstalling.
Standard AI Website Agent$400
per month, billed annually ($4,800 a year)
Unlimited AI conversations with no overages, lead capture and qualification, proactive engagement and one human agent seat. Extra human seats are $29 per agent a month.
CustomCustom
For power users and enterprise: regional routing, multiple teams, custom workflows and SLAs, and SSO. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Text by LiveChat
- Annual discount
About 20% to 24% off with annual billing
The pricing page puts the annual saving at about 24% on Essential ($19 against $25 per user a month) and about 20% on Growth ($79 against $99).
Olark
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Text by LiveChat or Olark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Text by LiveChat is cheaper to start with: $19 a month for each person, against $29 a month for each person for Olark. Text by LiveChat starts at $19 per user / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly), and Olark starts at $29 per agent / month.
Which has a free plan, Text by LiveChat or Olark?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Text by LiveChat nor Olark has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Text by LiveChat and Olark run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Text by LiveChat lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.