Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Intercom VS Olark

Compare Intercom VS Olark and see what are their differences

Intercom logo Intercom

Intercom is a customer relationship management and messaging tool for web businesses. Build relationships with users to create loyal customers.

Olark logo Olark

Real-time chat and monitoring of your website visitors through Google Talk and Jabber.
  • Intercom Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-05
  • Olark Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-05

Intercom

Release Date
2011 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Ciaran Lee
Employees
500 - 999

Intercom features and specs

  • User-friendly Interface
    Intercom offers an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
  • Comprehensive Customer Communication Tools
    It provides a suite of tools for live chat, email marketing, in-app messaging, and customer support, all of which can be accessed in one place.
  • Customization and Integration
    Intercom allows for extensive customization and integrates with various third-party applications, enabling businesses to tailor the platform to meet their specific needs.
  • Automation Capabilities
    The platform supports automated workflows, which can save time and ensure consistent customer interactions.
  • Customer Data Management
    Intercom collects and analyzes customer data, providing valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences that can inform business strategies.

Possible disadvantages of Intercom

  • Cost
    Intercom can be expensive, particularly for small businesses or startups. The pricing model is based on the number of users and features, which can add up quickly.
  • Complexity for Advanced Features
    While basic features are user-friendly, some of the more advanced functionalities can be complex and may require a steeper learning curve.
  • Limited Reporting
    The reporting and analytics features, while useful, are sometimes considered less comprehensive compared to specialized analytics platforms.
  • Customer Support
    Some users have reported that Intercom's own customer support can be slow to respond, which can be frustrating when dealing with urgent issues.
  • Notification Overload
    The platform can generate a high volume of notifications, which can be overwhelming and may require careful management to avoid interrupting workflow.

Olark features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Olark features an intuitive and straightforward interface that makes it easy for users to set up and navigate, requiring minimal training.
  • Customizable Chat Widget
    The platform allows for extensive customization of the chat widget, enabling businesses to tailor its appearance to match their brand seamlessly.
  • Real-Time Monitoring
    Olark provides real-time monitoring capabilities, which allows businesses to track visitor behavior and initiate conversations proactively.
  • Integration with Other Tools
    Olark integrates smoothly with various customer relationship management (CRM) systems, help desks, and email marketing tools, enhancing its functionality.
  • Automated Greetings
    The platform can send automated messages to website visitors, making customer engagement more efficient and personalized.

Possible disadvantages of Olark

  • Limited Features on Basic Plan
    The entry-level plan offers limited features, which may not be sufficient for larger businesses or those with advanced needs.
  • Cost
    For small businesses or startups, the pricing of higher-tier plans might be relatively expensive compared to other chat solutions.
  • Limited Reporting Options
    Olark’s reporting and analytics capabilities are not as comprehensive as those offered by some competitors, potentially limiting insights.
  • Mobile App Limitations
    The mobile app for Olark is not as robust or feature-rich as its desktop counterpart, which could be a drawback for teams needing full mobile functionality.
  • Dependence on Internet Connection
    Since Olark is a web-based chat solution, its performance is highly dependent on the quality of the internet connection, which can be problematic in areas with unstable connectivity.

Analysis of Intercom

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Intercom is generally viewed as a good solution for businesses seeking to improve customer communication and support. Its robust features and flexibility make it a strong contender in the customer engagement space.

Why this product is good

  • Intercom is considered a good platform because it offers a comprehensive suite of tools for customer engagement. It integrates messaging, live chat, and help desk functionalities, providing a seamless experience for both users and customers. The platform is known for its user-friendly interface, customization options, and advanced integration capabilities with various third-party applications.

Recommended for

    Intercom is recommended for businesses of all sizes that wish to enhance their customer service and communication strategies. It is particularly beneficial for companies that want to offer personalized customer interactions through messaging, automate customer support processes, and gain insights from customer interactions. It's suitable for SaaS businesses, e-commerce platforms, and tech startups that prioritize customer experience.

Analysis of Olark

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Olark is a strong contender in the live chat software market, especially for small to medium-sized businesses that need an affordable and efficient way to communicate with their customers. Its combination of functionality, ease of use, and integration capabilities make it a worthwhile consideration.

Why this product is good

  • Olark is considered a good live chat solution because it offers a user-friendly interface, strong customization options, and reliable customer support. It integrates well with various CRM and e-commerce platforms, making it versatile for businesses looking to enhance their customer service. Its real-time chat features and automation can help improve customer engagement and satisfaction.

Recommended for

    Olark is recommended for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), online retailers, and service providers who want to improve their customer support operations. It's also suitable for teams looking to leverage live chat for sales and support without a steep learning curve.

Intercom videos

Intercom Review & Tutorial - How to Use Intercom for Websites

More videos:

  • Review - Intercom Software Review, Engage, Respond, Educate
  • Review - BTI V6 1200m Bluetooth & Intercom Review

Olark videos

Olark Review: Strenghts and Weaknesses of the Live Chat Software

More videos:

  • Review - Olark review - picksaas.com

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Intercom and Olark)
Customer Support
88 88%
12% 12
CRM
100 100%
0% 0
Live Chat
81 81%
19% 19
Help Desk
86 86%
14% 14

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Intercom and Olark

Intercom Reviews

  1. Eleanor Bennett
    · Digital Marketing Specialist at Logit.io ·
    An essential communication tool

    Intercom provides a lot of value to us. From live chat to email marketing and even helping us to create support documentation, Intercom handles a lot of key moving parts that are essential to keeping customers happy.


9 Best Tidio Alternatives Compared
Intercom is a customer engagement platform that serves mostly large and enterprise businesses. The software is known for its versatility, offering live chat, messaging, and in-app support, combined with advanced automation, AI bots, and customer data tracking.
Source: www.tidio.com
10 Best Freshdesk Alternatives for Businesses in 2024
Intercom is an alternative that excels in self-service support. It enables businesses to communicate and engage with their customers in real-time.
Top 11 Freshdesk Alternatives for 2024 (Ranked & Rated)
Intercom provides a useful suite of tools designed to improve your customer engagement. As a Freshdesk alternative, Intercom ticks several boxes when it comes to features:
9 Best ManyChat Alternatives & Competitors in 2024
Intercom’s main features are its helpdesk interfaces and chatbots. But it also includes lead qualification and nurturing functionalities. It offers product tours and resolution bots that can solve many customer concerns at once, freeing your reps’ time for the most complex queries. You can also make use of its Messenger integration and a provided chatbot to improve your...
Source: www.tidio.com
Top 13 Freshdesk alternatives and competitors for 2024
Intercom offers customer service software while also extending its platform to marketing and sales. Intercom is a newer platform to the CX market and has adopted AI and automation capabilities to keep up with business trends. Intercom features Intercom Messenger, a communication tool that provides customers with self-service or live support options.
Source: www.zendesk.com

Olark Reviews

9 Best Tidio Alternatives Compared
Olark is Tidio’s competitor because of its customizable live chat tools, which allow businesses to interact with visitors, track conversations, and gather customer insights through chat transcripts and analytics. Olark targets small to medium-sized businesses looking to enhance customer service and increase conversions through direct communication.
Source: www.tidio.com
9 Best ManyChat Alternatives & Competitors in 2024
Olark stands out thanks to its modern marketing functionalities. These include attention-grabbing interfaces and imagery. It offers features and aspects that resonate with customers. Overall, Olark is a simple, well-grounded tool that is worth considering if you run a small business or work as a solo professional.
Source: www.tidio.com
The 10 Best Tawk.to Alternatives and Competitors [2022]
Olark is a full customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Its primary features are live chat for sales and customer support. For the latter, they offer automated chat, organized customer data insights, and live chat analytics so you can track your performance. For example, you can monitor average live chat response times.
Source: www.tidio.com
11 Best Customer Service Software & Apps You Need in 2022
Olark’s CoPilot is a chatbot that makes your support team’s jobs easier and improves the customer experience. Using AI, CoPilot can understand questions and send answers to the common ones. It can also route customers to the right agent based on their needs. One of the best parts is that Olark will build your chatbots for you so you don’t have to spend time and energy...
Source: krisp.ai
What are alternatives to LiveChat?
What are good alternatives to LivePerson, Olark, and ATG? I am looking for minimal integration with an analytic overlay and low cost.
Source: www.quora.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Intercom should be more popular than Olark. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Intercom mentions (7)

  • Enhancing Customer Support with a Live Chat Widget on Your Website
    Intercom: Famous for its conversational marketing focus, Intercom’s live chat widget offers features like proactive messaging and lead qualification. It also supports deep personalization for enhanced customer engagement. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • I started affiliate marketing, but with a twist
    Use chatbots to automate customer service: Chatbots use natural language processing to communicate with customers and answer their questions. By integrating chatbots into your affiliate marketing strategy, you can automate customer service and increase engagement with potential customers. This can lead to more sales and higher commissions. (Crisp, Intercom). Source: over 2 years ago
  • How to embed a web application into another website via API?
    I am trying to create an application that will work on a customer's website. Much like tawk.to or intercom.com. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Here's how I'd figure out the go-to-market for a Customer Support SaaS
    My way of doing marketing starts with figuring out what my overall project will (or will not) be. In this case, I looked at the vendors like Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, or Help Scout. They all have whizbang features such as live-chat, collaboration stuffs, automations and workflows. They bill per contact and addons. I’d emphasize a straightforward, fuss-free angle instead. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Chat widget with react.js
    I wanted to know the best practices of developing a widget. So I went through the popular implementations of it. I liked Intercom's widget very much. It is written in React. I analyzed how it works. The minimal javascript is loaded async on the webpage. It is injecting an iframe with id intercom-frame. That iframe has a script in it's head with a source URl. Obviously it is React bundle. Source: about 3 years ago
View more

Olark mentions (1)

  • You don't need live chat on your website
    I think there is some nuance here that is helpful to unpack. We'd almost all agree that: 1. Things that get in the way of solving customer needs are annoying. Most modals, popups, proactive notification that don't happen at the right time. This could include chat, email capture, cookie banners, chat bots, popovers. 2. For almost every business there are some sets of customer needs that require a conversation... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Intercom and Olark, you can also consider the following products

Zendesk - Zendesk is a beautiful, lightweight help-desk solution.

tawk.to - tawk.to is a free live chat app that lets you monitor and chat with visitors on your website or from a free customizable page

Freshdesk - Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer support software that lets you support customers through traditional channels like phone and email, social channels like Facebook and Twitter, and your own branded community

LiveChat - LiveChat - premium live chat software. Approach customers directly on the website, make connections and drive more sales using LiveChat.

Drift - A messaging app that helps you grow your business.

LiveAgent - LiveAgent is a fully-featured web-based live chat and help desk software. It harnesses the power of a universal inbox, real-time live chat, built-in call center, and a robust customer service portal. Start your free 1 month trial today!

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