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Compare Olark and Podium

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At a Glance
Olark
Olark
Star Rating
(223)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (49.8% of reviews)
Information
Pros & Cons
Not enough data
Entry-Level Pricing
$17 per month
Learn more about Olark
Podium
Podium
Star Rating
(2,047)4.6 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (60.3% of reviews)
Information
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
Contact Us Per Month
Browse all 3 pricing plans
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
  • G2 reviewers report that Podium excels in overall user satisfaction, boasting a significantly higher G2 Score compared to Olark. This indicates that users find Podium to be a more comprehensive solution for their communication needs.
  • Users say that Olark is particularly easy to set up and use, with many appreciating its straightforward interface. One user highlighted, "I like the fact that Olark is nice and simple to setup !!", making it a good choice for small businesses looking for basic chat functionalities.
  • Reviewers mention that Podium's ability to consolidate messages from various platforms like Google Business Profile, Facebook, and SMS into a single feed is a standout feature. This centralization simplifies communication management, which users find incredibly beneficial.
  • According to verified reviews, while both platforms offer good ease of use, Podium edges out with a slightly better score in user experience. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and features like the Text-to-Pay option, which enhances customer interactions.
  • G2 reviewers highlight that Olark provides essential features for businesses starting with live chat, but it may lack some advanced functionalities that Podium offers, such as automated review invitations and reputation management tools that streamline customer feedback processes.
  • Users express that while Olark has a solid support system, Podium's quality of support is rated higher, with users noting that Podium's customer service is responsive and helpful, further enhancing the overall user experience.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Olark
Olark Live Chat
$17
per month
Learn more about Olark
Podium
Core
Contact Us
Per Month
Browse all 3 pricing plans
Free Trial
Olark
Free Trial is available
Podium
No trial information available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.9
208
9.1
1,731
Ease of Use
9.3
210
9.3
1,750
Ease of Setup
9.0
112
9.1
1,083
Ease of Admin
9.0
114
9.3
881
Quality of Support
8.8
173
9.0
1,609
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
9.1
107
9.2
898
Product Direction (% positive)
8.2
209
9.0
1,717
Features by Category
Not enough data
7.5
44
Core Conversational Capabilities - AI Chatbots
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Data
Not enough data
8.0
39
Not enough data
8.8
40
Interaction
Not enough data
8.0
41
Not enough data
8.2
40
Not enough data
8.3
40
Not enough data
8.4
40
Not enough data
8.3
39
Task & Flow Management - AI Chatbots
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Learning
Not enough data
8.2
40
Not enough data
7.9
41
Deployment & Embedding - AI Chatbots
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Content Generation
Not enough data
8.1
41
Not enough data
7.9
41
Admin & Configuration - AI Chatbots
Not enough data
Not enough data
System
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.4
41
Not enough data
8.5
40
Not enough data
8.5
39
Agentic AI - AI Chatbots
Not enough data
5.2
8
Not enough data
6.0
8
Not enough data
6.3
8
Not enough data
5.8
8
Not enough data
6.7
8
Not enough data
5.8
8
Not enough data
6.7
8
Monitoring & Improvement - AI Chatbots
Not enough data
Not enough data
Reliability & Safety - AI Chatbots
Not enough data
Not enough data
Conversational MarketingHide 21 FeaturesShow 21 Features
Not enough data
7.2
264
Messenger
Not enough data
8.3
160
Not enough data
7.7
208
Not enough data
9.1
224
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Channels
Not enough data
7.9
214
Not enough data
8.6
223
Not enough data
9.3
238
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.0
197
Customers
Not enough data
8.3
155
Not enough data
8.4
156
Not enough data
8.5
224
Not enough data
8.3
224
Not enough data
8.5
224
Agentic AI - Conversational Marketing
Not enough data
4.8
14
Not enough data
4.9
14
Not enough data
4.6
14
Not enough data
4.9
13
Not enough data
5.2
14
Not enough data
5.4
14
Not enough data
5.2
14
Not enough data
7.9
66
Platform Basics
Not enough data
8.6
65
Not enough data
8.5
64
Not enough data
9.1
65
Platform Data
Not enough data
9.1
65
Not enough data
9.0
65
Platform Additional Functionality
Not enough data
8.5
63
Not enough data
9.1
65
Not enough data
9.3
65
Platform Content
Not enough data
9.0
62
Agentic AI - Automotive Marketing
Not enough data
6.3
9
Not enough data
6.5
9
Not enough data
6.5
9
Not enough data
6.7
9
Not enough data
6.7
9
Not enough data
6.7
9
Not enough data
6.7
9
Not enough data
7.7
270
Text Messaging
Not enough data
8.7
231
|
Verified
Not enough data
9.3
240
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
187
Not enough data
8.6
239
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.3
214
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
216
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
234
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
217
|
Verified
SMS Platform
Not enough data
8.5
224
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.6
223
|
Verified
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
7.6
201
|
Verified
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.2
206
|
Verified
Agentic AI - SMS Marketing
Not enough data
5.7
24
Not enough data
6.3
25
Not enough data
6.6
24
Not enough data
6.4
24
Not enough data
5.8
24
Not enough data
5.7
24
Customer Communications ManagementHide 10 FeaturesShow 10 Features
Not enough data
8.1
425
Channels
Not enough data
8.2
323
Not enough data
8.1
322
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Design
Not enough data
8.3
338
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.5
373
Not enough data
8.4
364
Not enough data
8.6
337
Generative AI
Not enough data
7.5
234
Not enough data
7.5
229
Not enough data
7.7
92
Productivity Tools
Not enough data
8.4
87
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
9.2
88
Not enough data
8.4
87
Not enough data
8.0
87
Analytics
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Agentic AI - Shared Inbox
Not enough data
5.9
23
Not enough data
6.2
23
AI Agents For Business OperationsHide 17 FeaturesShow 17 Features
Not enough data
8.9
21
Responses
Not enough data
9.4
16
Not enough data
9.4
16
Not enough data
9.1
16
Automation - AI Agents
Not enough data
8.8
16
Not enough data
8.8
18
Not enough data
8.6
17
Not enough data
8.9
17
Not enough data
8.9
17
Platform
Not enough data
9.2
16
Not enough data
8.9
17
Not enough data
9.3
16
Autonomy - AI Agents
Not enough data
8.7
15
Not enough data
8.9
15
Not enough data
8.8
16
Not enough data
8.0
15
Generative AI
Not enough data
8.6
15
Not enough data
8.8
15
Not enough data
8.5
35
Responses
Not enough data
8.9
33
Not enough data
8.4
34
Not enough data
8.9
34
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.2
33
Platform
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.6
32
Not enough data
8.6
32
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.8
33
Not enough data
9.0
32
Generative AI
Not enough data
8.1
32
Not enough data
8.1
31
Conversational SupportHide 10 FeaturesShow 10 Features
Not enough data
8.3
342
Conversational Platform
Not enough data
8.7
295
Not enough data
8.4
253
Not enough data
8.3
166
Not enough data
8.5
179
Support Automation
Not enough data
8.5
257
Not enough data
8.3
165
Not enough data
8.7
167
Not enough data
8.1
173
Generative AI
Not enough data
7.5
152
Not enough data
7.5
154
Generative AI
Not enough data
7.7
246
Not enough data
7.5
243
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Communication
9.3
110
|
Verified
9.2
701
|
Verified
8.8
108
|
Verified
9.0
726
|
Verified
8.2
54
8.1
512
9.7
5
9.0
667
|
Verified
Not enough data
7.4
297
Internal Use
7.7
97
|
Verified
8.2
616
|
Verified
8.9
102
|
Verified
8.9
680
|
Verified
8.3
74
|
Verified
8.6
649
|
Verified
8.0
5
8.6
631
|
Verified
8.1
6
8.8
637
|
Verified
8.7
32
|
Verified
8.5
602
|
Verified
Not enough data
6.6
42
Platform Basics - VoIP Providers
Not enough data
6.8
11
Not enough data
6.5
11
Not enough data
6.2
10
Not enough data
5.8
11
Not enough data
5.8
10
Not enough data
6.5
10
Basic Communication
Not enough data
8.4
42
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
7.3
37
Agentic AI - VoIP Providers
Not enough data
6.0
7
Not enough data
6.0
7
Not enough data
6.2
7
Not enough data
6.7
7
Access
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Advanced Features
Not enough data
6.7
39
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.1
39
Online Reputation ManagementHide 18 FeaturesShow 18 Features
Not enough data
7.4
756
Consumer Intelligence
Not enough data
9.1
630
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
519
Not enough data
8.5
560
|
Verified
Reporting
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.4
525
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.9
649
|
Verified
Media Monitoring
Not enough data
8.5
519
Not enough data
7.3
200
Not enough data
8.3
512
In-House Management
Not enough data
8.6
504
Not enough data
8.6
504
|
Verified
Generative AI
Not enough data
7.5
138
Agentic AI - Online Reputation Management
Not enough data
5.2
11
Not enough data
5.3
11
Not enough data
5.9
11
Not enough data
5.8
11
Not enough data
5.6
11
Not enough data
5.6
11
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - AI Agents
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Olark
Olark
Podium
Podium
Olark and Podium are categorized as Live Chat
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Olark
Olark
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
49.8%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
44.7%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
5.5%
Podium
Podium
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
60.3%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
34.9%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
4.9%
Reviewers' Industry
Olark
Olark
Computer Software
19.6%
Internet
11.4%
Retail
6.4%
Education Management
4.6%
Marketing and Advertising
4.1%
Other
53.9%
Podium
Podium
Automotive
19.9%
Retail
13.8%
Consumer Services
9.1%
Construction
7.9%
Furniture
6.2%
Other
43.1%
Alternatives
Olark
Olark Alternatives
Fin by Intercom
Fin by Intercom
Add Fin by Intercom
Drift
Drift
Add Drift
LiveChat
LiveChat
Add LiveChat
Lime Connect (formerly Userlike)
Lime Connect (formerly Userlike)
Add Lime Connect (formerly Userlike)
Podium
Podium Alternatives
Birdeye
Birdeye
Add Birdeye
Fin by Intercom
Fin by Intercom
Add Fin by Intercom
Plivo
Plivo
Add Plivo
Swell
Swell
Add Swell
Discussions
Olark
Olark Discussions
What is Olark chat?
1 Comment
Lexi T.
LT
Olark Chat is an app that lives on your website and lets visitors connect with agents at your company for real-time support and feedback, and it can be...Read more
Monty the Mongoose crying
Olark has no more discussions with answers
Podium
Podium Discussions
How can I make people interact with the chat feature better?
3 Comments
Jeff J.
JJ
Let them know about how easy it is to connect to the company they are using. It's a direct connection between the customer and service techs.Read more
How can online reviews help my business?
2 Comments
VL
In a day and age of online reviews, the majority of the people nowadays are choosing their services/companies based on their online popularity/reviews. Read more
How do I edit my templates ( If this is not a permissions issues )
2 Comments
Jeffrey P.
JP
If it is not a permissions issue then to be honest I am not sure. You can create new templates. When I login to Podium on a computer it tells me that you...Read more