FrontOlarkFront vs Olark

Front vs Olark: entry plans at $25 and $29

A team inbox against a live chat software: Olark is $180 a month cheaper for five people. The six differences, what five people pay on each, and a third option.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick Front if email is the channel and you want shared drafts, comments and sequences on every thread. Pick Olark if you want an AI chat agent at a flat monthly price with no usage meter. For five people, Olark is $180 a month cheaper than Front ($325 a month on Front against $145 on Olark), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $100 under Olark. Front and Olark both include website chat in the price; only Front has email and Instagram. Neither Front nor Olark includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Front and Olark sell here at one price.

At a glanceFrontFrontOlarkOlark
Built aroundShared email · comments and drafts on every threadA simple chat box · AI agent at a flat price
Entry plan$25/seat/mo · Starter: one channel type$29/agent/mo · human-only chat
Chat in the price$65/seat/mo · Professional: omnichannel$29/agent/mo · the whole product is chat
AI agentFrom $0.05 per conversation · Autopilot$400/mo flat · unlimited AI conversations, 1 seat
Copilot for agents$20/seat/moNone
Free planNone · 14-day trialNone · trial, no card

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    FrontFront

    As a thread in a shared inbox that teammates comment on and draft together; it is email first. Olark has no ticket queue either.

    OlarkOlark

    As a chat in the box on your site, with transcripts emailed afterwards. Front has no ticket queue either.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    FrontFront

    $25 buys one channel type and up to ten seats. Omnichannel and fifty seats start at Professional, $65. $325 for five people, against $145 on Olark.

    OlarkOlark

    $29 buys a human agent seat; the AI Website Agent is $400 a month flat with one seat included. $145 for five people, against $325 on Front.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    FrontFront

    Autopilot, the AI agent, from $0.05 a conversation; Copilot is $20 per seat and Smart QA $20 per seat. Olark folds AI ($400/mo flat) into the plan instead.

    OlarkOlark

    A flat $400 a month for unlimited AI conversations, with no token or per-outcome charge. Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    FrontFront

    Email on Starter; chat, SMS, WhatsApp and voice on Professional and up. email and Instagram are here and not on Olark.

    OlarkOlark

    Website chat only; no email inbox, WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram. Front adds email and Instagram, which Olark lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    FrontFront

    Sequences, calendar, account views and analytics for logistics, finance and account teams. Olark is a live chat software instead.

    OlarkOlark

    Transcripts, reports and integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot and help desks. Front is a team inbox instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    FrontFront

    A day: connect the mailboxes, set rules and assignments, then add the chat widget. Olark is minutes.

    OlarkOlark

    Minutes: paste the snippet. Front is a day.

Sources: Front pricing · Olark pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The Front inbox: the thread with internal comments beside it and the assignment bar on top
FrontFront. The Front inbox: the thread with internal comments beside it and the assignment bar on top
The Olark agent console: the chat list and the conversation with visitor details
OlarkOlark. The Olark agent console: the chat list and the conversation with visitor details

What your team would pay

Move the sliders. Yearly-billing rates from each vendor’s pricing page, next to Sellio’s plan for the same number of seats.

5 people who answer customers

50

300 Autopilot conversations on Front, AI conversations on Olark

3000+
FrontFront

$340/mo

Omnichannel, up to fifty seats.

5 × $65 seats
$325
300 Autopilot conversations × $0.05
$15
Copilot, 5 × $20
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. From $0.05 per conversation handled by Autopilot, as printed. Rates recorded on 2026-09-06.

OlarkOlark

$145/mo

Human agent seat.

5 × $29 seats
$145
300 AI conversations × $0
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. Olark's AI agent is a flat $400 a month for unlimited conversations; add that to the seats rather than a per-conversation rate. Rates recorded on 2026-09-13.

Sellio · Mini

$55/mo

One price for the workspace: 3 channels, 2 AI agents, $5 AI credit a month.

Workspace, 5 of 5 seats
$45
AI past 100 included conversations
$10
Copilot for agents
Included

About $0.05 per AI conversation past the credit, with a daily and monthly cap you set. Yearly billing takes 20% off. See every plan.

Pricing references: Front pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Olark pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Calculator uses yearly-billing rates. Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

5 people, website chat plus 2 more channels, 2 AI agents: $45 a month. Start free, no card.

Start freeSee every plan

Front, Olark and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureFrontFrontOlarkOlarkSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; channels tiered; AI add-ons per seat.
Per agent; AI flat
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
14-day trial.
None; trial
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Chat channel; Starter allows one channel type.
The whole product
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
The core of the product.
Transcripts only
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Professional and up, via add-on.
Not offered
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Professional and up.
Not offered
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not a channel.
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack and Teams integrations.
Slack notifications
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Autopilot.
AI Website Agent
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20 per seat.
$400 a month flat
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Routes to teammates.
Hands to a human seat
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with tags and status.
Chats only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Rules engine; visual on higher plans.
Chat rules only
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Professional and up.
Chat reports
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Mac and Windows apps.
Browser only
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Front if

  • Email is the channel and you want shared drafts, comments and sequences on every thread.
  • You run logistics, finance or account management where a thread is a piece of work.
  • You need email and Instagram in the price, which Olark does not include outright.
  • You want native desktop apps, which Olark does not ship.

Pick Olark if

  • You want an AI chat agent at a flat monthly price with no usage meter.
  • Website chat is the only channel and simplicity beats features.
  • Five people cost $180 a month less than on Front ($145 against $325), before AI.
  • You want the AI in the seat price ($400/mo flat) rather than Front's meter at from $0.05 per conversation.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Front or Olark who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $325 a month on Front against $145 on Olark for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats, Olark folds AI ($400/mo flat) into the plan; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and a free plan with no trial clock, which neither Front nor Olark includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Front on Professional: $130, $325 and $650 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Olark on Live chat: $58, $145 and $290 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $280 less than Front and $100 less than Olark for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $555 under Front and $195 under Olark.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Front is a team inbox built around shared email; Olark is a live chat software built around a simple chat box. Neither has a free plan: Front offers a 14-day trial of Professional, Olark a free trial. Front and Olark both include website chat in the price; only Front has email and Instagram. Neither Front nor Olark includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats; Olark folds AI ($400/mo flat) into the plan. Neither Front nor Olark has a ticket queue, and only Front ships desktop apps. Front is a day; Olark is minutes.

What each price leaves out

Front: Autopilot AI agent from $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20 per seat per month and Smart QA $20 per seat (included on Enterprise). Olark: AI Website Agent $400 a month flat, extra human seats $29 each. Beside Front's from $0.05 per conversation and Olark's $400/mo flat, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    FrontFront$0.05$24
    OlarkOlarkAssumed $0$0
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    FrontFront · 14-day trial of Professional
    OlarkOlark · Free trial, no card
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

Front vs Olark: the questions people ask

Front is a team inbox built around shared email; Olark is a live chat software built around a simple chat box. Neither Front nor Olark has a ticket queue, and only Front ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Front $25/seat/mo (Starter: one channel type); Olark $29/agent/mo (human-only chat).
  • Chat in the price: Front $65/seat/mo (Professional: omnichannel); Olark $29/agent/mo (the whole product is chat).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: WhatsApp and Telegram, which neither Front nor Olark has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Front and Olark rows is on the shared inbox page.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

Get startedRead the docs

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