One of these charges a single flat fee no matter how much your AI agent talks. The other is cheaper to start but caps how many AI resolutions you get before the meter runs. Neither is the highest-rated tool in this roundup, so the real question is which billing model fits your volume.
Olark and LiveChat sit at the bottom of our live chat rankings on score, but that doesn’t mean the choice between them is simple. Olark bills its AI agent as one flat monthly fee with no conversation cap, while LiveChat, now sold under the Text by LiveChat name, prices AI usage in a bundled allowance that runs out and needs topping up. The cheaper sticker price isn’t always the cheaper bill once AI volume climbs.
Olark‘s AI-enabled Standard plan is $400 per month billed annually, covering one human seat plus unlimited AI conversations. LiveChat‘s Essential plan is $19 per user per month billed annually, but includes only 10 AI resolutions per month before extra charges apply.
Find this and other live chat head-to-heads on our comparison hub and in our Best Live Chat Software roundup, including Zendesk Chat vs Intercom and Tidio vs Tawk.to.
| Feature | Olark | LiveChat |
|---|---|---|
| Human-only entry price | $29/agent/mo | $19/user/mo annual (Essential) |
| AI resolution cap at entry AI tier | ✓ Unlimited, flat $400/mo | ~ (10/mo included, Essential) |
| Extra AI usage cost | ✓ (none, flat fee covers it) | $49.50 per 50-resolution pack |
| Live visitor tracking limit | Not published | 50 (Essential) / 400 (Growth) |
| Current brand name on pricing page | Olark | Text by LiveChat (Text, Inc.) |
| Our overall score | 2.7/5 | 2.8/5 |
Pricing structure: flat AI fee versus capped resolutions
The sticker price tells you almost nothing until you know your AI chat volume.
Bottom line: LiveChat's Essential plan is the cheaper way in at $19 per user per month billed annually, or $25 monthly, and it includes one AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions per month. Once you exceed that allowance, LiveChat sells additional resolutions in 50-packs at $49.50 each. Olark takes the opposite approach with its Standard AI plan: a flat $400 per month billed annually, which covers one human agent seat plus unlimited AI conversations, with no token limits or per-resolution overage charges at all. For a low-volume site, LiveChat's $19 entry is clearly cheaper. For a site where AI is expected to field a high and unpredictable volume of questions, Olark's flat fee removes the risk of resolution top-ups piling up month over month.
If your AI chat volume regularly exceeds 10 resolutions a month, model LiveChat's 50-pack add-on costs against Olark's flat $400/month fee before assuming LiveChat is cheaper overall.
Choosing chat without AI at all
For teams that just want a human-staffed widget, not an AI agent.
Bottom line: Olark explicitly separates the two: its human-only live chat is $29 per agent per month with no AI included, and Olark states you can add the AI Website Agent later without reinstalling anything on your site. LiveChat does not publish an equivalent AI-free tier; even its entry Essential plan at $19 per user per month bundles in 1 AI Agent with 10 resolutions included. A team that specifically wants to avoid AI involvement entirely, for compliance or preference reasons, has a cleaner opt-out path with Olark than with LiveChat's current plan structure.
A brand detail worth knowing before you compare pricing pages
LiveChat’s own pricing page isn’t labeled LiveChat anymore.
Bottom line: Checking livechat.com directly in October 2026 shows the product now marketed as Text by LiveChat, run by a company called Text, Inc., which the vendor's own homepage describes as the team behind LiveChat.com, HelpDesk.com, and ChatBot.com. New signups and the pricing shown on the live site route through this Text-branded structure, though the vendor states existing LiveChat customers see no change to their accounts. If you're cross-checking prices against older third-party reviews that reference "LiveChat" pricing under its previous page layout, confirm you're looking at the current Text by LiveChat pricing page rather than an outdated screenshot.
Should I choose Olark or LiveChat?
Bottom line: LiveChat suits a team that wants the cheaper, slightly higher-rated option with modest AI volume; Olark suits a team that expects high or unpredictable AI chat volume and wants one flat bill.
- You expect high or unpredictable AI conversation volume
- You want one flat monthly bill with no resolution top-ups
- You'd rather start with human-only chat and add AI later
- You want to avoid token limits or usage overage charges entirely
- You're comfortable with a higher starting price in exchange for predictability
- You want the cheaper entry price at $19/user/month annually
- Your AI chat volume is modest, comfortably under 10 resolutions a month
- You want the slightly higher-rated platform at 2.8/5
- You want visitor tracking limits bundled into your plan tier
- You're fine confirming pricing under its current Text by LiveChat branding
With scores just a tenth of a point apart, LiveChat is the marginally better default, cheaper to start at $19 per user per month and a slightly higher rating in our evaluation.
But Olark is the right call for one specific buyer: a team that expects AI to handle a high or unpredictable volume of conversations and wants a flat $400 per month bill instead of managing resolution top-ups every time usage spikes.
Before committing to LiveChat's Essential plan, estimate your actual monthly AI resolution count. If you're likely to need more than one or two 50-packs regularly, Olark's flat fee may work out cheaper despite the higher sticker price.
The most common questions teams ask when choosing between Olark and LiveChat LiveChat holds a slight edge in our evaluation at 2.8/5 against Olark's 2.7/5, and it also starts cheaper at $19 per user per month billed annually versus Olark's $29 per agent for human-only chat. Olark's advantage shows up specifically around AI volume: its Standard AI Website Agent plan is a flat $400 per month with unlimited AI conversations and no per-resolution overage, while LiveChat's entry Essential tier caps AI at 10 resolutions per month before extra charges apply. Olark's human-only live chat, with no AI agent, is $29 per agent per month. Its AI-enabled Standard plan is $400 per month billed annually, which includes one human agent seat plus unlimited AI conversations, with additional human seats at $29 per agent per month. LiveChat's Essential plan is $19 per user per month billed annually, or $25 monthly, and includes 1 AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions per month. Yes. LiveChat's Essential plan includes 10 AI resolutions per month, and its Growth plan, at $79 per user per month annually, includes 200. Beyond the included allowance, LiveChat sells additional AI resolutions in 50-packs at $49.50 each. Olark's AI-enabled plan has no equivalent resolution cap; it is billed as one flat monthly fee covering unlimited AI conversations. Not a separate product, but a separate pricing tier. Olark's human-only live chat is $29 per agent per month with no AI included. Adding the AI Website Agent moves you to the Standard plan at $400 per month billed annually, which bundles one human seat with unlimited AI conversations, and Olark states you can add the AI agent later without reinstalling anything. LiveChat's own pricing and homepage currently present the product as Text by LiveChat, operated by Text, Inc., described on the vendor's own site as being from the same team behind LiveChat.com, HelpDesk.com, and ChatBot.com. New trials and the pricing shown on livechat.com now route through this Text-branded pricing structure, though the vendor states existing LiveChat customers see no change to their accounts.Frequently asked questions: Olark vs LiveChat
Is Olark or LiveChat better?
How much does Olark cost vs LiveChat?
Does LiveChat limit how many AI resolutions you get each month?
Is Olark's AI Website Agent a separate product from its live chat?
Has LiveChat changed its brand name?
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