Olark vs Tidio (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Tidio: it is second in our ranking of help desk and live chat tools, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Tidio grades higher on value for money, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
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
Tidio
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations
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 Tidio if
- Fits if you run a small Shopify or WordPress store and want chat on the site
- Works for up to 10 people sharing support, since seats aren't charged one by one
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you get lots of chats, as Growth climbs to $349 a month at 2,000 conversations
- Not for you if you need a help center or phone support in the same tool
- Tight if you have more than 10 agents, since more seats need Plus from $300 a month plus usage
- Watch out: Lyro's 50 free conversations come once; after that it's $39 a month for 50, up to $700 for 1,000
- Watch out: Flows reach 100 visitors a month free, and more cost from $29 a month for 2,000
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAOlarkFair | 3.2GPATidioVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AGrowth, from 250 conversations, is $49.17 a month billed yearly for the whole team, about $9.83 a head for five, just under 60% of what the cheaper quarter of help desks charges. Starter is $24.17 for 100 conversations, under $5 a head. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day trial of Live Chat with no credit card. There is no free plan. | CA free plan with 10 seats, live chat, ticketing and the social channels, plus a 7-day trial with no card. The cap you'll hit is 50 answered conversations a month, and Lyro's 50 free conversations come once, not monthly. |
| 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 a visitor list, one inbox for five channels, ticketing, the Lyro AI agent, rule-based Flows and AI reply help. But the listing has no help center or phone support, and ongoing Lyro use is an add-on from $39 a month. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the chat widget and AI answers need setting up. | A4.76 from 4,767 App Store ratings, the top band for support apps. Adding the chat box to a Shopify or WordPress store is what it's built around. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iPhone and Android apps, and 8 listed integrations. No desktop app on record. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android apps for agents, with Shopify, WordPress, Zendesk, Salesforce and Zapier, and an API. That's every device type covered. |
| Best for | plain live chat on a website | live chat for small online stores |
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 Tidio. 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. Tidio starts at $24.17 a month and scores 3.3.
Tidio scores higher and starts $4.83 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 16 score higher than Olark for less, and none scores higher than Tidio 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 sMS marketing, whatsApp messaging and chatbots.
- Tidio also covers help desk.
At a glance
| Olark | Tidio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per agent / month | $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 50 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, with live chat, ticketing, email, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, 50 one-off Lyro AI conversations and 100 Flows visitors a month. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial for Live Chat, no credit card required | 7-day free trial of all plans and add-ons, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Olark | Tidio LLC |
| Price read from | olark.com | tidio.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 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.
Tidio
- Plans are capped by conversations a human answers: 50 a month free, 100 on Starter and up to 2,000 on Growth; above that is Plus, from $300 a month plus usage.
- Lyro is free for 50 conversations once; ongoing use is an add-on from $39 a month for 50 conversations, up to $700 for 1,000, on monthly billing.
- Free, Starter and Growth are limited to 10 seats; more seats need Plus.
- Flows reach 100 visitors a month free; more cost from $29 a month for 2,000 visitors on monthly billing.
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.
Tidio
- Live chat widget
- A chat box for websites and stores, with a list of visitors on the site right now, operating hours and live video calls.
- One inbox for every channel
- Chat, email, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp conversations arrive in a single inbox, with a ticketing system for issues that need follow-up.
- Lyro AI Agent
- Answers questions from your FAQ and website content and hands off to a person. It can also be bought alone and added to Zendesk or Salesforce.
- Flows
- Rule-based chat automations built in a visual editor from sales and FAQ templates, such as quote requests or capturing missed conversations.
- AI reply help
- An AI reply assistant and Copilot help agents write answers; Premium adds Advanced Copilot, AI insights and CSAT.
- Apps on every platform
- Agents can work in a browser or in apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
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.
Tidio
Free$0
50 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, with live chat, ticketing, social channels and 50 Lyro AI conversations for the life of the account.
Starter$24.17
per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 monthly)
100 billable conversations a month and 10 seats, adding a live visitors list, operating hours and basic analytics.
Growth$49.17
per month from 250 conversations, billed annually ($59 monthly)
Adds advanced analytics, permissions, auto-assignment and macros. The price rises with volume, to $349 a month at 2,000 conversations on monthly billing.
Plus$300
per month, plus usage for AI and human conversations
Custom limits and seat counts, departments, several projects, custom branding, ticketing automations, OpenAPI and a success manager. Sold through sales.
PremiumCustom
From 3,000 Lyro conversations with a guaranteed 50% resolution rate, pay-per-resolution billing, a mobile SDK, SSO and Lyro run as a managed service.
Ways to pay less
Olark
No public discounts listed.
Tidio
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
Tidio's pricing page gives two months free on annual billing: Starter works out to $24.17 a month billed annually against $29 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Olark or Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Olark starts at $29 per agent / month, and Tidio starts at $24.17 per month for 100 conversations, billed annually ($29 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 Tidio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Tidio has a free plan. Olark does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Olark and Tidio run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Tidio 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.