Replace / Olark
Best free Olark alternatives (open source, self-hosted) 2026
The best open-source alternative to Olark is Chatwoot (or Resend) with Onyx, self-hosted on Railway. Shared inbox, help center, live chat, and AI answers. Intercom, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Front, Help Scout, Zoho Desk, Drift, LiveChat, Tawk.to, Smartsupp, Gorgias, Hiver, Freshchat, and Kustomer without the platform tax.
Estimated save $8,000 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How Olark compares
| Olark | Chatwoot + Resend + Onyx | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hosted subscription | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | Public list price not verified this run | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
FAQ
- What is the best free open-source Olark alternative?
- The best open-source alternative to Olark is Chatwoot (or Resend) with Onyx, self-hosted on Railway. Shared inbox, help center, live chat, and AI answers. Intercom, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Front, Help Scout, Zoho Desk, Drift, LiveChat, Tawk.to, Smartsupp, Gorgias, Hiver, Freshchat, and Kustomer without the platform tax.
- Is it free?
- The Chatwoot + Resend + Onyx licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no Olark seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from Olark?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The Chatwoot + Resend + Onyx stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old Olark links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the Chatwoot + Resend + Onyx stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: Chatwoot + Resend + Onyx. Medium; needs SMTP and a vector store for Onyx.
- What does this replace?
- Intercom / Intercom Fin / Zendesk / Freshdesk / Front / Help Scout / Zoho Desk / Drift / LiveChat / Freshchat / Kustomer. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $8,000 a year.
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