Olark alternative

A self-hosted Olark alternative with a built-in AI chatbot

Olark is a hosted live chat tool billed monthly per seat. ZChat covers the same essentials, a website widget, a real agent workspace, transcripts and ratings, and adds a self-hosted AI chatbot, all as software you install once and own, with conversations stored in your own database.

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One-time, not per-seat

A one-time license from $299 replaces a monthly per-seat bill, so adding agents or handling more conversations does not raise your cost every month.

A built-in AI chatbot

Answer routine questions automatically from your knowledge base and hand off to a human when needed. Run the model locally with Ollama or use your own OpenAI or Anthropic keys.

Your data, your server

Transcripts and visitor records live in your own SQL Server database with CSV export and built-in GDPR access and erasure, not in a hosted service you rent.

ZChat vs Olark, at a glance

How a self-hosted, one-time-license platform compares with a typical hosted plan.

Compare	ZChat	Olark
Hosting model	Self-hosted on your own server	Hosted SaaS (Olark's cloud)
Pricing	One-time license from $299	Monthly subscription
Where conversations live	Your own SQL Server database	The vendor cloud
AI chatbot	Built in - local Ollama or your OpenAI/Anthropic keys	Varies by plan
Source-code license	Available as an option	Not available
Remove vendor branding	Yes	Varies by plan

Do I have to manage a server?

You host it yourself, but on infrastructure you likely already run: Windows with IIS, Linux with Nginx, or Docker, against a SQL Server database. The free localhost evaluation lets you try the whole thing on your own machine before setting up a real server.

Does it include the agent tools I expect?

Yes: a browser dashboard and a native Windows desktop console, canned responses, departments and routing, transcripts, and post-chat satisfaction ratings. Agents get native notifications for incoming chats rather than a tab that has to stay open.

How do I move over from Olark?

Install the server, run the SQL scripts, create your widget in the dashboard, and replace the Olark snippet on your site with the ZChat one. Because you can rehearse it on localhost first, the switch on your live site is a single snippet change.

Own it on your server

Try the full product free on localhost.

The download is the real product: server, dashboard, widget, SQL scripts, and a localhost trial license. One command sets up the demo database and opens the dashboard.

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Owned customer support software

Deploy live chat on your own terms, not on someone else's pricing model.

ZChat gives you the installable server, web dashboard, website widget, and desktop agent tools in one self-hosted product you buy once and keep. Run it on infrastructure you trust and connect AI only if and how you want it.

Download ZChat See Product Demo

Deployment

Install on Windows or Linux, behind IIS or Nginx, in a VM, or in Docker if that fits your stack.

Commercial model

One-time purchase, perpetual license, and no monthly per-agent bill attached to growth.

AI Flexibility

Use Ollama locally or connect OpenAI and Anthropic with your own provider accounts.