Drift vs Olark

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Our analysts compared Drift vs Olark based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Live Chat Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Drift is a cloud-based conversational marketing platform that helps businesses acquire customers and streamline sales processes. It generates leads through customizable campaigns, intelligent reports and real-time engagement with website visitors. It offers AI chatbots, offline and mobile access, geo-tagging, conversation histories and more.
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Olark is a cloud-based messaging platform that provides seamless interactions between businesses and customers. It offers real-time channels to communicate with customers and generate leads while improving customer support. It prioritizes chats that need follow-up and forwards them to the CRM.

It provides instant screen sharing for agents to assist website visitors. It also offers modules to upload files, images and videos for immediate support. It supports over 100 languages.
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$2,500 Monthly
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$29/Seat, Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
Small 
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Medium 
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Large 
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Small 
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Medium 
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Large 
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Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Target High Quality Leads: Target site visitors and welcome them with personalized messages based on collected user information, like company name, industry, employee count and location. Expedite interaction and lead conversion by allowing them to schedule appointments through an intelligent auto-attendant. 
  • Qualify Leads Faster: Engage with buyers faster by segmenting them based on tech stack data and allowing priority ones skip the form queue. Qualify leads in real time and instantly route them to sales representatives without leaving the website. 
  • Close Deals Quickly: Use the Deal Room feature to improve collaboration among sales staff. Store notes and resources about every conversation and manage all sales processes in one place. Sales managers can coach representatives effectively and buyers can chat, call or book a meeting with their point of contact directly. 
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  • Enhance Customer Support: Speed up workflows by setting up automation rules. Keep visitors engaged by routing chats to the correct department. Track user behavior and send automatic messages. Personalize messages based on browsing details, including referring URL and location. 
  • Improve Data Collection: Gather relevant data using live chat transcripts. Filter and custom search customer information as needed. Saves offline emails and online chat transcripts in an archive. It captures details including chat ratings, email, location, name and the origin of the live chat page. 
  • Strengthen Engagement Rate: Answer queries or schedule demos in real time. Support customers without interrupting their browsing session with visitor insights and cobrowsing. It provides a non-branded chatbot to help visitors stay focused on the product, not the brand. 
  • Increase Sales: Capture leads from different locations by detecting in-use language and translating in real time. Prioritize chats and score leads by collecting visitor data from multiple websites. It also provides access to company data, size, social profile links and relevant profiles to understand the audience. It displays the user’s age, gender, company name, job title and more. 
  • Free Trial: Get hands-on access with a free 14-day trial version. 
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  • Reports: Get detailed reports on website engagement, team performance, sales, response time, routing, leads acquired and other performance metrics.
  • Playbooks: Leverage automated message workflows that use IP data to create customized chat experiences for users, send targeted messages, run marketing campaigns, monitor site visitors and connect leads to teams.
  • API and Integration: Use the API to access bot features, sync contacts, enable permissions for agent information, support widget configurations and assist with data retrieval and deletion. Integrate with Hubspot, Salesforce, Zapier, Marketo and Clearbit.
  • Email Bots: AI-powered email bots manage email conversations with contacts, improve conversion rates, distinguish human email replies from autoresponders and route them to the right representatives, guarantee follow-ups, track responses and drive more pipelines.
  • Customer Data: Collate user data from third-party sources like Crunchbase, SixSense, and ZoomInfo to segment and personalize customer information. Collect and manage contact profiles with fields like visitor name, contact details, company name and industry.
  • Visitor Intelligence: Increase website engagement and personalize interactions using Visitor Intelligence. This visitor identification software records information shared by customers, like email address or location, and uses it to personalize customer interactions with the bot.
  • Live Chat: Connect with website visitors, capture leads, engage target accounts and manage conversations with multiple inboxes. Make internal notes and get conversational ratings on the website.
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  • Reporting and Analytics: Sort and filter customer data based on satisfaction ratings and conversation tags. Check for highest and lowest rated chats. Filter most frequent chat topics. Receive automatic email summaries on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Check which day and time the visitors are most interested. 
  • Chatbox Forms: Customize forms and pre-chat surveys to gather customer details before starting a conversation. Send offline messages via emails for agents to contact them as needed. Provide optional questions and add automated chat rules for frequent visitors. 
  • Team Management: Manage, monitor and keep track of team performance. Tracks activity reports and limits the number of chats for a single agent to handle. Assign chats to the next available agent if the current agent cannot assist the customer. Save links, documents, FAQs and product pitches for quick access. 
  • Integration: Choose the preferred software and stay connected with sales, marketing and support processes. Use live chat plugins to integrate with eCommerce platforms. Provides seamless integration with help desks, CRMs, team communication and marketing automation platforms. Customize integrations using Webhooks for platforms that do not support the preferred CRM. 
  • Canned Responses: Pre-program and personalize responses for the team and individual purposes with the text expander. Use shortcuts to recall long and common answers. 
  • Chatbox: Customize a chatbox that aligns with the website’s color and brand. Adjust shape, size, colors and position. Personalize live chat by using human avatars. Choose the language the user is comfortable with by picking from a list of available languages. 
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Product Ranking

#6

among all
Live Chat Software

#25

among all
Live Chat Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

84
78
85
84
63
59
100
94
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Online Visitor Management
Platform Capabilities
Conversation Management
Integration and Extensibility
Online Visitor Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Drift
Olark
+ Add Product + Add Product
Conversation Management Customer Collaboration Online Visitor Management Platform Capabilities Ticket Management 85 63 100 90 65 84 59 94 80 56 0 25 50 75 100
83%
0%
17%
82%
5%
13%
43%
0%
57%
29%
14%
57%
100%
0%
0%
89%
0%
11%
86%
0%
14%
71%
5%
24%
40%
0%
60%
11%
0%
89%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

72%
0%
28%
67%
0%
33%

User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 865 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 924 reviews
87%
of users recommend this product

Drift has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 87% when considering 865 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

91%
of users recommend this product

Olark has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 91% when considering 924 user reviews from 2 recognized software review sites.

4.3 (21)
n/a
4.3 (490)
n/a
4.48 (166)
4.55 (462)
4.5 (151)
4.5 (462)
4.0 (37)
n/a

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Drift and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Online Visitor Management.

Online Visitor Management Award

Olark stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Usability: According to 90% of users who mentioned this aspect, the software is intuitive and easy to use.
Reporting: 73% of users who commented on this aspect said the reports are clear and detailed.
Multimedia Capabilities: According to 60% of users who reviewed this aspect, it’s easy to create, record and share videos.
Customer Service: 70% of users who reviewed this element said that customer support is attentive and professional.
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Simple to Use: Olark's interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy for users to navigate and find the features they need. The learning curve is minimal, allowing teams to get up and running quickly without extensive training.
Customization Options: Olark provides a variety of customization options, allowing users to tailor the chat experience to their brand and website. This includes customizing the chat box's appearance, creating automated messages, and setting up pre-chat surveys to gather visitor information.
Integrations: Olark integrates with numerous third-party applications, such as CRM systems, email marketing platforms, and help desk software. This allows users to streamline their workflows and improve efficiency by connecting Olark with their existing tools.
Real-Time Reporting: Olark offers real-time reporting features that provide insights into chat volume, visitor engagement, and agent performance. These reports help users track key metrics and make data-driven decisions to optimize their live chat strategy.
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Cost: According to 80% of users who mentioned this, the product is expensive, making it unaffordable for small businesses.
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Limited Customization: Olark offers basic customization options, but users seeking advanced branding control or unique chat box designs may find the platform restrictive. For example, modifying the chat box's shape or adding interactive elements might not be possible.
Reporting Features: While Olark provides basic reporting on chat volume and agent activity, it may lack the depth of analytics that some businesses require. Users who need granular insights into customer behavior, chat flow, or agent performance might find the reporting capabilities insufficient.
Integrations: Olark integrates with popular CRM and helpdesk platforms, but the range of integrations might not be as extensive as some competitors. Users relying on niche or industry-specific software may encounter compatibility challenges.
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Drift streamlines business communications using live chat widgets, custom chatbots, videos and integrations. According to reviews, it offers a user-friendly platform, detailed reporting tools, useful lead routing and excellent customer support. Users appreciated that it helps to generate leads and navigate complex sales. However, some users reported technical issues with push notifications and chats, and some considered the product expensive. Overall, Drift is suitable for businesses seeking to improve and refine their customer engagement.

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Users of Olark, the live chat software, frequently praise its user-friendly interface and straightforward setup, making it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes. The platform's intuitive design allows customer service representatives to manage multiple conversations simultaneously, boosting efficiency and response times. Olark's reporting and analytics tools also receive positive feedback, providing valuable insights into customer interactions and team performance. However, some users note that Olark's customization options are somewhat limited compared to competitors like Zendesk Chat and LiveChat. While Olark offers basic customization features, businesses with complex branding or workflow requirements may find it restrictive. Additionally, Olark's pricing structure, based on the number of operators, can become expensive for larger teams. Despite these limitations, Olark's strengths lie in its ease of use, affordability for smaller teams, and focus on core live chat functionality. This makes it an ideal choice for small to medium-sized businesses seeking a simple and effective solution to engage with website visitors and provide real-time support. Olark's emphasis on user-friendliness and essential features ensures that businesses can quickly implement and utilize the platform without a steep learning curve or excessive costs.

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Screenshots

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