# Orka vs Chatra

Chatra keeps live messaging approachable. Orka adds a multi-project support workspace, a public help center and Orky. The question is how much you want around the conversation.

Published by Orka / BIGMO SAS. Reviewed 2026-09-18.
Canonical: https://orka-1t3.pages.dev/orka-vs-chatra

## Start with the conversation you need to support.

Some teams need a customer-service platform with many connected pieces. Others need an approachable way to answer people visiting a website. Chatra is relevant to that second situation. Its messenger is designed to support live and asynchronous exchanges, including following up when a visitor is no longer on the page. Orka covers website conversations too, but places them inside a broader project, knowledge and AI workflow.

Imagine a small business that gets a few product questions each day. The most valuable feature may be the confidence that somebody will see and answer them. Now imagine the same team adding three websites, a translated article library and a person covering evenings. The questions change: which project is this, where is the correct answer, and who should take over? That is the point at which the surrounding workspace deserves as much attention as the chat bubble.

Sources: [Chatra asynchronous messenger](https://chatra.com/messenger/)

## Use the current free-plan limit.

Chatra’s current plans page lists a free option for one agent with five chats per month. Essential is $31 per agent monthly, and Pro is $41. Annual billing lowers the displayed equivalents to $25 and $33. Older descriptions of the free product should not override the current plan table when you prepare a budget. The calculator on this page uses the monthly figures.

For three paid Essential agents, the base calculation is $93 a month. Orka Pod is $29 for up to three people, with unlimited projects. That difference is useful to see, but it is not a complete migration argument. List the particular Chatra functions you use, check which Orka plan contains the replacement, and include the time it takes to change your setup. A feature your team depends on can be worth more than a modest subscription difference.

Sources: [Chatra current plans](https://chatra.com/plans/)

## Live typing and asynchronous replies are shared ground.

Chatra documents typing insights, read receipts, visitor context and operator tools. These are not capabilities unique to Orka. They can make human support feel attentive: the agent can prepare, the visitor can see the conversation progressing, and the next reply does not need to start from nothing. Chatra’s asynchronous messenger also acknowledges that people leave a page before a response arrives.

Orka combines the same general support needs with assignment, private notes, tags, reminders and project filters. Try a returning visitor during your trial. Ask a colleague who did not handle the first question to find the context and write the next reply. The goal is not simply speed. It is to avoid a fast answer that belongs to the wrong person or the wrong project. A few well-placed details can make that distinction obvious.

Sources: [Chatra operator and chatbot documentation](https://chatra.com/help/), [Chatra asynchronous messenger](https://chatra.com/messenger/)

## A chatbot label does not establish the same AI.

Chatra’s documentation describes rule-based chatbot paths and visitor prompts. That can be a perfectly useful way to collect information or direct someone to the right next step. It should not be treated as evidence of the same document-grounded generative assistant, token billing or provider-key choices that Orka offers. Conversely, a generative answer is not automatically better than a clear, deterministic question.

Orky can propose a draft for review, answer automatically from your knowledge, summarize and help with everyday writing shortcuts. A person can take over, and the team can decide when the assistant participates. In your evaluation, choose one question that has a precise policy answer and one that requires a personal decision. Check whether the tool gives a reliable next step in each case. Avoid awarding points merely because one product uses the word AI more prominently.

Sources: [Chatra operator and chatbot documentation](https://chatra.com/help/)

## The help center is a distinct reason to consider Orka.

Orka includes a public help center, custom-domain publishing and a searchable Help tab in the widget. Articles written in Markdown can be arranged into collections and sections. Automatic translations are editable, and the original and translated content can be maintained together. Published articles also supply knowledge to Orky, so writing one useful answer can help both the person searching and the assistant replying.

An equivalent public help-center publishing product was not verified in the Chatra sources reviewed here. That is an evidence boundary, not a claim that no integration or separate documentation tool could meet the need. If you already have an excellent article site, ask whether you want to keep it. If you do not, estimate the work of creating and maintaining one elsewhere. The answer should be part of the comparison rather than hidden behind the generic phrase customer support.

Sources: [Chatra operator and chatbot documentation](https://chatra.com/help/), [Chatra asynchronous messenger](https://chatra.com/messenger/)

## Set expectations without pretending to be a large team.

A small team often needs a helpful way to be unavailable. Orka’s online and away indicators, reply-time expectations and night, break-day and panic banners are designed around that reality. The visitor should know what happens next, while the team gets enough room to do the rest of its work. An automatic answer can help with a documented question without claiming a human is online.

For any messenger, test what a new visitor sees at the end of the day. Send a message, close the browser and come back later. Then check the experience from a phone. This is a more representative test than keeping the agent and visitor windows open side by side all afternoon. People use support around their own lives, and the product should make that ordinary interruption understandable.

## Choose the scope that fits your next stage.

Keep Chatra in consideration if your team values its existing messaging experience and does not need to reorganize support around AI and a public knowledge library. Familiarity and a focused workflow are real benefits. A system that people reliably use is more useful than an ambitious replacement that nobody finishes configuring.

Choose Orka when the conversation increasingly depends on several projects, shared context and answers that should be published once and reused. Start with one project, a few accurate articles and reviewed AI drafts. Add automatic replies only where you are comfortable with the knowledge and handoff. There is no need to turn every feature on immediately. A careful transition lets you judge whether the broader workspace is making support clearer rather than simply adding another set of settings.

## What the Orka subscription actually includes.

Orka Solo is free for one person. Pod is $29 per month for up to three people, and Fleet is $99 per month for up to twenty. Unlimited projects and the help center are included across the plans. Message search, image sharing and analytics are paid-plan features. Fleet adds removal of Orka branding and a custom name for Orky. AI usage is a separate budget; using a provider key does not create an Orka markup.

The support toolkit includes live chat, live typing, saved replies, attachments, read receipts and email continuation. Your team can assign conversations, add private notes and mentions, use tags and filters, mark work resolved and set reminders. Visitor tools include a live map, a visitor list, profile information, recent page context, custom attributes and cart context when connected. Availability, reply-time expectations and night, break-day and panic banners explain when a human is around.

Orky can use your knowledge for automatic replies or drafts you review, help with writing shortcuts and summaries, translate conversations and hand over to a person. Widget branding, layout choices and seasonal themes sit alongside mobile apps, installation tools and an SDK. The detailed matrix below covers the full catalogue, including help-center publishing and translation maintenance. Features that depend on a plan or connected data are labeled, rather than silently promised everywhere.

## How to read this comparison.

This guide is published by Orka, not an independent review site. Competitor facts come from the linked official product pages, documentation and developer-maintained listings checked on 18 September 2026. Our recommendations and trial ideas are our analysis. Pricing can change, and a negotiated offer or annual commitment may differ from the monthly examples shown here.

A row marked “Not verified” means the reviewed sources did not establish that exact capability. It does not mean the competitor cannot do it. We distinguish similar functions where needed: a typing indicator is not necessarily a preview of unsent text, an AI knowledge source is not automatically a public help center, and viewing a cart is not the same as changing an order. Ask the vendor to demonstrate the details that are essential to your team.

We compare published capabilities without making claims about certifications, ownership structure or data location that the evidence does not establish. The only deliberately unserious category is the orca connection. For everything else, bring a real support example, use the right plan and check the result. A fair comparison should help you choose well, even when the right choice is not Orka.

## Full feature comparison

Not verified means the reviewed sources did not establish this exact feature. It is not a claim of absence.

- **Real-time live chat** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Live messaging ([source](https://chatra.com/messenger/)).
- **See messages as they are typed** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Typing insights ([source](https://chatra.com/help/)).
- **Conversation history & search** — Orka: Message search: Pod & Fleet. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Saved reply shortcuts** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Saved replies in operator tools ([source](https://chatra.com/help/)).
- **Files & images** — Orka: Image sharing: Pod & Fleet. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Emoji picker** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Read receipts** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Read receipts ([source](https://chatra.com/help/)).
- **Continue by email** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Replies can continue by email ([source](https://chatra.com/messenger/)).
- **Unlimited projects. One inbox.** — Orka: Unlimited projects on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Conversation assignment** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Agent groups and routing ([source](https://chatra.com/help/)).
- **Private notes & @mentions** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Conversation tags** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Inbox filters** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Mark as resolved** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Conversation reminders** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Urgency at a glance** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Room for your whole crew** — Orka: Solo: 1 member · Pod: 3 · Fleet: 20. Chatra: Paid subscriptions per agent ([source](https://chatra.com/plans/)).
- **Answers from your own knowledge** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Automatic replies & escalation** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **AI drafts you approve** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Live human takeover** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **AI control per conversation** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Two-way translation** — Orka: Solo translation: bring your own AI key. Chatra: Not verified.
- **One-click writing shortcuts** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Conversation summaries** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **ChatGPT or Claude** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Bring your own AI key** — Orka: AI usage is separate from the plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Pay-as-you-go AI** — Orka: See current AI rates on the pricing section. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Give Orky your own name** — Orka: Fleet. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Worldwide live visitor map** — Orka: Pod & Fleet. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Live visitor list** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Visitor details** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Visitor context ([source](https://chatra.com/help/)).
- **Current page & recent activity** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Page and device context ([source](https://chatra.com/help/)).
- **Your own customer attributes** — Orka: Requires your integration to supply the data. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Cart context** — Orka: Requires connected cart data. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Conversation analytics** — Orka: Pod & Fleet. Chatra: Not verified.
- **A free help center** — Orka: Included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Help in every language** — Orka: Included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Online & away status** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Your average reply time** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Night banner & working hours** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Break day banner** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Panic banner** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Your colors & your words** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Widget layouts & team profiles** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Christmas & Halloween themes** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Remove Orka branding** — Orka: Fleet. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Install on your website** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **A simple setup** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **SDK for custom integrations** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **iOS & Android apps** — Orka: Included on every plan. Chatra: Mobile messaging apps ([source](https://chatra.com/messenger/)).
- **A lightweight widget** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **IP & country blocking** — Orka: Available; setup may apply. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Your own help center domain** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Bring your existing knowledge** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Markdown editor & preview** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Collections, sections & ordering** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Automatic article translation** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Edit translations & spot outdated copy** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Searchable help inside the widget** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **The same knowledge for Orky** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Drafts, publishing & article filters** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Article views & reader reactions** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **Article URLs, excerpts & SEO fields** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.
- **A help center that feels like yours** — Orka: Help center included on every plan. Chatra: Not verified.

## Sources

- [Chatra current plans](https://chatra.com/plans/)
- [Chatra operator and chatbot documentation](https://chatra.com/help/)
- [Chatra asynchronous messenger](https://chatra.com/messenger/)

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