Olark
ServiceNow
| Feature | Olark | ServiceNow |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $29/mo | Contact sales |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | small-businesses, freelancers, sales-teams, support-teams | enterprise, it-departments, large-organizations, government |
| Founded | 2009 | 2004 |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Visitor Insights | ✓ | ✗ |
| Chat Transcripts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Custom Forms | ✓ | ✗ |
| Team Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automation Rules | ✓ | ✗ |
| Itsm | ✗ | ✓ |
| Itom | ✗ | ✓ |
| Workflow Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cmdb | ✗ | ✓ |
| Service Portal | ✗ | ✓ |
| Virtual Agent | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ ServiceNow Pros
- Industry leader in ITSM
- Highly customizable
- Powerful workflows
- AI integration
✗ ServiceNow Cons
- Very expensive
- Complex implementation
- Requires dedicated admin
The Verdict
Olark is built for small businesses and freelancers, with a focus on live-chat and visitor-insights. ServiceNow targets enterprise and it departments and leads with itsm and itom.
ServiceNow uses custom enterprise pricing, while Olark starts at $29/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.