What is the difference between Crisp and Olark?

Crisp is best for Startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk, while Olark is best for Small businesses wanting simple live chat. Crisp starts at Free and Olark starts at $29/seat/mo.

Is Crisp or Olark cheaper?

Crisp starts at Free and is free. Olark starts at $29/seat/mo.

Crisp vs Olark

Crisp is all-in-one business messaging platform with live chat, chatbot, help desk, and CRM, while Olark is simple live chat software with automation rules, team management, and CRM integrations. The biggest difference up front: Crisp is free, while Olark starts at $29/seat/mo. Crisp is built for startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk, whereas Olark targets small businesses wanting simple live chat.

At a glance

	Crisp	Olark
Best for	Startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk	Small businesses wanting simple live chat
Starting price	Free	$29/seat/mo
Free tier	✓	—
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	—
Open source	—	—
Automation Rules	—	✓
CRM	✓	—
CRM Integration	—	✓
Chatbot	✓	—
Help Desk	✓	—
Live Chat	✓	✓
Shared Inbox	✓	—
Transcripts	—	✓

Crisp

Strengths

Generous free tier for basic live chat
Much cheaper than Intercom
All-in-one: chat, bot, help desk, CRM
Clean, modern interface

Weaknesses

Less powerful AI than Intercom's Fin
Fewer integrations
Reporting less detailed than enterprise tools
Some features less polished

Try Crisp → Full review

Olark

Strengths

Includes Live Chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Includes Automation Rules as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Pricing starts at $29/seat/mo, which includes the full customer support feature set
Established product with 17+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Starts at $29/seat/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Olark → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Crisp is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Olark starts at $29/seat/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Crisp offers CRM, Chatbot and Help Desk that Olark lacks. Olark brings Automation Rules, CRM Integration and Transcripts that Crisp does not have. Both share Live Chat.

Team fit: Both tools target small teams teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Where each tool shines: Crisp's biggest strengths are: generous free tier for basic live chat. much cheaper than intercom. Olark's biggest strengths are: includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. includes automation rules as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows.

Watch out for: With Crisp, users commonly note that less powerful ai than intercom's fin. With Olark, the main complaint is that starts at $29/seat/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users.

Choose Crisp if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: startups and small businesses that want affordable live chat + help desk
Budget is a hard constraint — Crisp is free, Olark is not
You specifically need CRM and Chatbot
You care about much cheaper than intercom

Choose Olark if...

You need a tool built for small businesses wanting simple live chat
You specifically need Automation Rules and CRM Integration
You care about includes automation rules as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows