Hiver
Olark
| Feature | Hiver | Olark |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $19/mo | From $29/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 |
| Best For | small-teams, gmail-users, support-teams, startups | small-businesses, freelancers, sales-teams, support-teams |
| Founded | 2011 | 2009 |
| Shared Inboxes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email Assignment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Collision Detection | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sla Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Visitor Insights | ✗ | ✓ |
| Chat Transcripts | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Forms | ✗ | ✓ |
| Team Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automation Rules | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Hiver Pros
- Works inside Gmail
- Easy adoption
- Shared inboxes
- Good for email teams
✗ Hiver Cons
- Gmail-only
- Limited outside email
- Fewer features than full helpdesks
✓ Olark Pros
- Very easy to use
- Great for small teams
- Good customization
- Accessible chat widget
✗ Olark Cons
- Limited features vs competitors
- No chatbot builder
- Basic reporting
The Verdict
Hiver is built for small teams and gmail users, with a focus on shared-inboxes and email-assignment. Olark targets small businesses and freelancers and leads with live-chat and visitor-insights.
On pricing, Hiver is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $19/mo compared to $29/mo for Olark. That $10/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Hiver has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Olark requires a paid subscription from day one.
Hiver edges out on user ratings (4.4 vs 4.1). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Both tools are a solid fit for support teams — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Hiver has a slight overall edge — but if very easy to use matters most to you, Olark may still be the right call.