At a glance

Olark Gleap
Best for Small businesses wanting simple live chat Product teams wanting visual bug reporting + support
Starting price $29/seat/mo $25/mo
Free tier
Open source
Free tier available
Open source
Automation Rules
Bug Reports
CRM Integration
Feedback
Live Chat
Surveys
Transcripts

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

Gleap

Strengths

  • Includes Bug Reports as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
  • Includes Live Chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
  • Free for 1 project — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
  • Includes feedback alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

  • Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
  • 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

The bottom line

Pricing: Olark starts at $29/seat/mo. Gleap starts at $25/mo. Gleap is the more affordable option.

Feature gaps: Olark offers Automation Rules, CRM Integration and Transcripts that Gleap lacks. Gleap brings Bug Reports, Feedback and Surveys that Olark 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: 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. Gleap's biggest strengths are: includes bug reports as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows.

Watch out for: With Olark, users commonly note that starts at $29/seat/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users. With Gleap, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

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

Choose Gleap if...

  • You need a tool built for product teams wanting visual bug reporting + support
  • You want to save on per-user costs — Gleap is $4.00/user/mo cheaper
  • You specifically need Bug Reports and Feedback
  • You care about includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
  • The free tier works for you: free for 1 project

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