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Most buyers should pick Intercom.
Choose Intercom if you need a full helpdesk with AI: seats start at $19 per month billed annually ($29 monthly list price), and Fin adds $0.99 per outcome. Olark is the live-chat-first option, at $29 per agent monthly; its AI agent costs $400 monthly when billed annually and includes one human seat. Neither has a free plan, and both list 14-day trials. Pick Olark for human chat; Intercom for tickets, automation and AI in one system.
01Side by side
| Intercom | Olark | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $19/seat/month annually; $29 monthly list price | $29/agent/month live chat; AI is $400/month annually |
| Free plan | No free plan; 14-day trial | No free plan; 14-day trial |
| Best for | Teams needing a helpdesk with AI | Teams focused on website live chat |
| Core strength | Fin AI agent built into the helpdesk | Website-trained AI answers and chat insights |
| Learning curve | Not published | Not published |
| Integrations/data | Connects existing tools; shared customer record | AI Connector analyzes transcripts with business data |
| Team/seat costs | $19–$132/seat/month annually; Fin costs $0.99/outcome | $29/agent/month chat; AI includes one agent |
| Support | Shared inbox, ticketing and unified customer support | Live chat, conversation routing and lead qualification |
Intercom Choose Intercom if
- Choose Intercom if… you need tickets, a shared inbox and automation.
- Choose Intercom if… Fin should share the helpdesk and customer record.
- Choose Intercom if… you need support across phone, email, chat and Slack.
Olark Choose Olark if
- Choose Olark if… human live chat at $29 per agent is enough.
- Choose Olark if… you want AI with one human seat for $400 monthly.
- Choose Olark if… transcript analysis with CRM, analytics and helpdesk data matters.
02Pricing compared
Intercom starts at $19 per seat/month billed annually for Essential; its monthly list price is $29. Advanced is $85 per seat/month and Expert is $132, both annual prices. Fin is an extra $0.99 per outcome on any plan, so costs can rise with usage. Intercom lists a 14-day trial and no free plan.
Olark’s human-only Live Chat plan is $29 per agent/month, with no annual price listed. Its Standard AI Website Agent costs $400 per month when billed annually ($4,800 per year) and includes unlimited conversations plus one human seat. Extra agent seats cost $29 each per month. Olark also lists a 14-day trial and no free plan.
For basic human chat, Olark’s entry price is higher than Intercom Essential’s annual rate. For AI, compare Olark’s fixed monthly plan with Intercom’s per-outcome charge; the cheaper option depends on usage.
03Features and depth
Intercom is the broader support system. Its plans combine live chat, a shared inbox and ticketing; higher tiers add workflow automation, multiple team inboxes, routing, and private or multilingual help centers. Fin works across phone, email, chat, and Slack, while Copilot assists human agents. Intercom also lists a Knowledge Hub and AI Simulations for preparing Fin. The pricing page reports a 76% average resolution rate across 12,000+ customers; that is the company’s figure, not a guarantee for a new account.
Olark is centered on website live chat. Its AI agent answers from a business’s website and documentation, provides visitor context such as referral source and viewed pages, and can help qualify leads and route conversations. AI Connector lets AI tools analyze transcripts alongside CRM, analytics, and helpdesk data. That is useful for chat insights, but the published plan details don’t describe a unified ticketing system or the wider inbox and knowledge tools listed for Intercom. Choose Olark for visitor conversations; choose Intercom when support tickets and automation also need a home.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Neither product’s published pricing details quantify setup time or publish a learning-curve rating, so we wouldn’t call either one easier based on this information alone.
The scope does suggest different amounts to configure. Olark’s Live Chat plan focuses on human chat, while its AI plan includes one agent seat and unlimited conversations. Intercom spans inboxes, ticketing, automation, help-center content, and AI, with some capabilities tied to higher tiers or add-ons. That gives support teams more pieces to manage, but also puts more functions in one platform. Intercom says standalone Fin can be set up in under an hour with most helpdesks; that claim is for standalone Fin, not a promised setup time for the full Intercom suite. Check which features your team actually needs before comparing onboarding effort.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Intercom or Olark?
For human chat, Intercom Essential is $19 per seat/month billed annually, versus Olark Live Chat at $29 per agent/month. Intercom’s monthly list price is $29. Olark’s AI plan is $400 per month billed annually, while Intercom Fin costs $0.99 per outcome, so AI costs depend on usage.
Does Olark include AI in its $29 plan?
No. Olark’s $29 per agent/month Live Chat plan is listed as human-only, with no AI. Its Standard AI Website Agent costs $400 per month when billed annually and includes one human agent seat. Additional agent seats on that plan are $29 per month each.
Does Intercom charge extra for Fin?
Yes. Intercom lists Fin AI Agent at $0.99 per outcome on all plans. Fin Voice is listed separately at $1.99 per voice outcome. A team should account for those usage charges alongside its per-seat plan price.
Do Intercom and Olark offer free plans or trials?
Neither product lists a free plan in the published pricing details. Both list a 14-day free trial. Check the current pricing pages for any eligibility conditions before signing up.