charles vs VanChat: Shopify Performance Comparison
Both apps score Grade C — VanChat has the edge with 35 ms vs 48 ms desktop CPU execution.
Both apps provide live chat and customer support functionality for Shopify stores. This page presents StackConflict’s independent lab results for both — measured in a clean-room environment with no other apps installed.
Head-to-Head Metrics
| Metric | charles | VanChat | Faster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C | C | Tie |
| JS Payload | 241.69 KB | 279.2 KB | charles |
| CPU Desktop | 48 ms | 35 ms | VanChat |
| CPU Mobile | 67 ms | 117 ms | charles |
| Layout Shift | 0.0 | 0.0006 | charles |
Mobile CPU measured with 4× CDP throttle (mid-range Android). Tested 2026-05-30.
VanChat — The Faster Option (Grade C)
VanChat scores Grade C with a JS payload of 279.2 KB and 35 ms desktop CPU execution. Mobile CPU: 117 ms. Even as the faster of the two options, merchants on mobile-heavy stores should weigh its impact on their combined app stack.
View full VanChat speed report →
charles — The Heavier Option (Grade C)
charles scores Grade C with a JS payload of 241.69 KB and 48 ms desktop CPU execution. Mobile CPU: 67 ms. This places it in the heavier half of StackConflict’s benchmark dataset — merchants running mobile-first stores should evaluate whether the feature value justifies the performance tradeoff.
View full charles speed report →
When to Choose charles
- Its unique feature set has no lighter equivalent in StackConflict’s database
- Your store traffic is predominantly desktop
- You have already removed or lightened other heavy scripts to compensate
When to Choose VanChat
- Its unique feature set has no lighter equivalent in StackConflict’s database
- Your store traffic is predominantly desktop
- You have already removed or lightened other heavy scripts to compensate
Performance Verdict
Result: Comparable — Both apps score Grade C — VanChat has the edge with 35 ms vs 48 ms desktop CPU execution.
Both apps carry Grade C — see StackConflict’s full Chat rankings for lighter alternatives.
About This Test
StackConflict measures each Shopify app in an isolated clean-room environment — a single development store, no other scripts, Playwright-controlled browser. V8 CPU cost is the ScriptDuration delta before and after injection. CLS is captured from the same browser session. Results represent the median of three independent runs with outliers removed.
Data from the StackConflict Lab. Last updated 2026-05-30.