Olark3CXOlark vs 3CX

Olark vs 3CX: $145 or $0 for five people

A live chat software against a business phone system with live chat: 3CX is $145 a month cheaper for five people. Where Olark and 3CX split, and a third option for small teams.

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 Olark if you want an AI chat agent at a flat monthly price with no usage meter. Pick 3CX if phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents. For five people, 3CX is $145 a month cheaper than Olark ($145 a month on Olark against $0 on 3CX), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only 3CX's figure comes under. Olark and 3CX both include website chat in the price; only 3CX has WhatsApp. Neither Olark nor 3CX includes email, Instagram and Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Olark against 3CX, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceOlarkOlark3CX3CX
Built aroundA simple chat box · AI agent at a flat pricePhone calls · a PBX with a chat widget
Entry plan$29/agent/mo · human-only chat$0 · SMB Free: up to 10 users
Chat in the price$29/agent/mo · the whole product is chat$0 · live chat on the free tier
AI agent$400/mo flat · unlimited AI conversations, 1 seatNone for chat · call transcription launching
Copilot for agentsNoneNone
Free planNone · trial, no cardYes · up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    OlarkOlark

    As a chat in the box on your site, with transcripts emailed afterwards. 3CX has no ticket queue either.

    3CX3CX

    As a call, or as a chat that rings the same agent queue; there is no ticket behind it. Olark has no ticket queue either.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    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 $0 on 3CX.

    3CX3CX

    The licence is per system per year, sized by simultaneous calls, not per agent; the free tier covers ten users. $0 for five people, against $145 on Olark.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    OlarkOlark

    A flat $400 a month for unlimited AI conversations, with no token or per-outcome charge. 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat) instead.

    3CX3CX

    No AI agent for chat. Call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Olark folds AI ($400/mo flat) into the plan instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    OlarkOlark

    Website chat only; no email inbox, WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram. 3CX adds WhatsApp, which Olark lacks.

    3CX3CX

    Voice, live chat, WhatsApp, Messenger and SMS through the phone system; no email queue. WhatsApp is here and not on Olark.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    OlarkOlark

    Transcripts, reports and integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot and help desks. 3CX is a business phone system with live chat instead.

    3CX3CX

    The phone system itself: extensions, call queues, IVR, recordings and video meetings. Olark is a live chat software instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    OlarkOlark

    Minutes: paste the snippet. 3CX is a day for the phone system.

    3CX3CX

    A day for the phone system; minutes for the chat widget once the PBX is up. Olark is minutes.

Sources: Olark pricing · 3CX 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 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
The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel
3CX3CX. The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel

Pricing references: Olark pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13); 3CX pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Olark, 3CX 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.

FeatureOlarkOlark3CX3CXSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI flat
Per system per year, by simultaneous calls
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None; trial
Up to 10 users, hosted by 3CX
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
The whole product
Widget rings the agent queue
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Transcripts only
No email queue
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Not offered
Through the phone system
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Not offered
Messenger only
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not offered
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack notifications
Internal 3CX chat only
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
AI Website Agent
None for chat
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
$400 a month flat
No AI agent to bill
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Hands to a human seat
No AI to hand off from
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Chats only
Calls and chats, no ticket queue
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Chat rules only
Call flows, not support automations
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Chat reports
Call reports
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

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.
  • Time to the first reply is minutes here and a day for the phone system on 3CX.
  • Its pricing model suits you better than 3CX's: per agent per month for human chat; a flat monthly price for the AI agent.

Pick 3CX if

  • Phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents.
  • You want a free tier for a small team that already needs a PBX.
  • Five people cost $145 a month less than on Olark ($0 against $145), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp in the price, which Olark does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $145 a month on Olark against $0 on 3CX for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Olark folds AI ($400/mo flat) into the plan, 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat), and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and tickets raised from a chat, which neither Olark nor 3CX includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Olark on Live chat: $58, $145 and $290 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. 3CX: $0 a month for five (five users on the free tier); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $100 less than Olark and more than 3CX's $0 for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $195 under Olark.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Olark is a live chat software built around a simple chat box; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Only 3CX has a free plan (up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted); Olark offers a free trial. Olark and 3CX both include website chat in the price; only 3CX has WhatsApp. Neither Olark nor 3CX includes email, Instagram and Telegram outright. Olark folds AI ($400/mo flat) into the plan; 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat). Neither Olark nor 3CX has a ticket queue, and only 3CX ships desktop apps. Olark is minutes; 3CX is a day for the phone system.

What each price leaves out

Olark: AI Website Agent $400 a month flat, extra human seats $29 each. 3CX: No AI agent for chat; call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Beside Olark's $400/mo flat and 3CX's none for chat, 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
    OlarkOlarkAssumed $0$0
    3CX3CXSee vendorNot quoted
    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.

    OlarkOlark · Free trial, no card
    3CX3CX · Free tier, no trial clock
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Olark vs 3CX: the questions people ask

Olark is a live chat software built around a simple chat box; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Neither Olark nor 3CX has a ticket queue, and only 3CX ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Olark $29/agent/mo (human-only chat); 3CX $0 (SMB Free: up to 10 users).
  • Chat in the price: Olark $29/agent/mo (the whole product is chat); 3CX $0 (live chat on the free tier).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: email, Instagram and Telegram, which neither Olark nor 3CX has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Olark and 3CX on the same rows.

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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