Olark vs Pure Chat (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pure Chat grades higher than Olark: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Pure Chat grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Olark
Live chat for websites, with an optional flat-fee AI agent
Pure Chat
Live chat for websites with a flat price per plan
Which one is for you
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
Pick Pure Chat if
- Fits if two to four people share chat duty on one site
- Works for a small shop that wants a flat monthly price
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want ticketing, a help center or an AI agent, which the pages don't list
- Tight if you run more than one site, since Growth covers one and PRO at $79 is unlimited
- Tight if you send SMS alerts: 100 a month on Growth, 1,000 on PRO
- Watch out: no live demos are offered, so the trial is the only way to look
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAOlarkFair | 2.4GPAPure ChatFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | B$39 a month billed annually covers 4 operators, about $10 each, which is under the cheapest quarter ($19) per head. A solo user still pays all $39, and extra operators are $13. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day trial of Live Chat with no credit card. There is no free plan. | CA 30-day trial of PRO with no credit card. There is no free plan. |
| Features | 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. | CLive chat with unlimited chats, canned responses and mobile apps. The listing's gap: no AI agent, ticketing or help center is listed, so it is a smaller job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the chat widget and AI answers need setting up. | CNo store rating on record, and the widget and triggers need setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iPhone and Android apps, and 8 listed integrations. No desktop app on record. | BWeb plus iOS and Android apps. Only 2 integrations are listed, and there is no desktop app. |
| Best for | plain live chat on a website | flat-price live chat for a small team |
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: Olark and Pure Chat. How we grade
Price against what you get
Olark starts at $29 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pure Chat starts at $39 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Olark starts $10 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 16 score higher than Olark for less, and 18 score higher than Pure Chat 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
- Olark also covers AI support agent, sMS marketing, whatsApp messaging and chatbots.
- Pure Chat also covers reports.
At a glance
| Olark | Pure Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per agent / month | $39 per month for 1 website and 4 operators, billed annually ($49 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial for Live Chat, no credit card required | 30-day free trial of the PRO plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Olark | Pure Chat |
| Price read from | olark.com | purechat.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Pure Chat
- Growth covers one website and 4 operators; more websites need PRO at $79 a month billed annually.
- SMS notifications are capped at 100 a month on Growth and 1,000 on PRO.
- The pages describe live chat only; they list no AI agent, ticketing or help center product.
- The vendor says it does not offer live demos; the 30-day trial is the way to try it.
Key features
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.
Pure Chat
- Unlimited chats
- Both plans list unlimited chats and unlimited chat history transcripts, with the plan fee covering a set number of operators.
- Visitor tracking
- A visitors view shows who is on the site, the page they are on, how often they have visited and where they came from.
- Widget editor
- The chat box can be customized for mobile and desktop, including design, size, position, text fields and behavior.
- Mobile apps
- iOS and Android apps let operators answer chats away from a desk, with push notifications.
- Canned responses
- Saved replies can be shared with the team or kept private.
- Triggers and file transfer
- Trigger-based actions and alerts, security roles, file transfer and an email form for when no one is available are listed.
Plans
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.
Pure Chat
Growth$39
per month for up to 4 operators, billed annually ($49 monthly)
One website and 100 SMS notifications a month. Extra operators are $13 a month billed annually ($15 monthly). Unlimited chats.
PRO$79
per month for up to 10 operators, billed annually ($99 monthly)
Unlimited websites and 1,000 SMS notifications a month. Extra operators are $8 a month billed annually ($10 monthly). Unlimited chats.
Ways to pay less
Olark
No public discounts listed.
Pure Chat
- Annual discount
Lower price when paid annually
The pricing page shows Growth at $39 and PRO at $79 a month paid annually against $49 and $99 paid monthly, and extra operators cost less too.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Olark or Pure Chat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Olark starts at $29 per agent / month, and Pure Chat starts at $39 per month for 1 website and 4 operators, billed annually ($49 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Olark or Pure Chat?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Olark nor Pure Chat has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
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.