What does an AI chatbot for your website really cost?
Eight AI chatbots for answering website chats, priced by how many conversations they handle a month. Some charge per chat, some per resolution, one per AI reply and one by tokens, so the cheapest changes with volume. Pick a number.
Last checked: 7 Nov 2026 · every price read off the vendor's own page, monthly billing, before VAT · no affiliate links
Jump to: the short answer · how each tool counts a chat
The short answer
Per-resolution billing grows with every chat, so the gap widens with volume. Intercom charges $0.99 for each Fin outcome, Zendesk US$2.00 for each automated resolution after the first 5, and HubSpot $0.50 for each resolution after the 200 its seat includes. The seat is the small part: at 100 chats Intercom is £95.63 and Zendesk £200.95 a month, but at 2,000 chats they are £1,500.94 and £3,039.97. Zendesk is the dearest at every size.
Cheapest from 500 chats: Chatbase, if a chat averages three AI replies. Chatbase bills per AI reply, not per chat, so its figures rest on our assumption, not Chatbase's: £59.77 a month at 500 chats ($80), £171.84 at 2,000 ($230) and £821.82 at 10,000 ($1,100). Extra credits are $40 per 1,000, so each extra reply adds about $0.04 a chat: at 5 replies, 10,000 chats come to about $1,900. Actions or a stronger model cost more per reply, and removing the 'Powered By Chatbase' badge is $99 a month.
Cheapest at 100 chats: Botpress Free, £0, but it stops at 100 conversations, with no top-ups. Next are Chatbase Hobby at £29.88 ($40) and Freshchat at £53.
After Chatbase, the order holds from 500 chats: Freshchat (£197, £737 and £3,617 at 500, 2,000 and 10,000 chats), then HubSpot (£202.07, £762.40 and £3,750.84). Botpress at 10,000 is its page's own total for Team, £3,876.75 ($5,189), though Botpress recommends Enterprise at that size.
Tidio has no published price past 1,000 AI conversations. Lyro on Tidio's free help-desk plan is €75 a month for 100 (£62.56) and €350 for 500 (£291.95); above 1,000 it is contact sales.
Crisp can't be priced per chat. It charges a flat £45 a month (Mini) and bills its Hugo AI agent by tokens, with no per-chat rate, so it isn't ranked. Crisp's own estimate is in its note.
Watch the offers and one-off fees. Intercom's $29 seat is a new-customer price, kept "for as long as you remain subscribed"; the list price is $39. HubSpot Professional also needs a one-off onboarding purchase, and the pricing page doesn't say how much.
Free plans mostly leave out the AI. Crisp Free has no AI credits, Freshchat Free has no Freddy AI Agent, HubSpot's Customer Agent starts on Professional, and Tidio gives 50 AI conversations once per account. Only Botpress has a monthly free AI allowance (100 conversations).
When the cheapest is not the answer
- A resolution is only charged when the bot works. Intercom, Zendesk and HubSpot charge per resolved chat, so their figures here are the most you'd pay. A bot that resolves half the chats halves that part, but a person then handles the rest.
- Seats add up for a team. Every figure assumes one seat. Intercom, Zendesk, Freshchat and HubSpot charge per seat (HubSpot £90 for each extra one); Crisp's Mini includes 4 seats and Botpress Team has no seat limit.
- Some meters can't be switched off. Botpress adds packs of 100 conversations automatically, and its FAQ answers "Can I turn off auto-recharge for conversation packs?" with "No."; it also buys $10 AI-usage grants once the included allowance is spent, which isn't in these figures. Crisp's Hugo stops answering when its credits run out unless Pay-As-You-Go is on.
- Branding can cost extra. Removing "Powered By Chatbase" is $99 a month and Tidio's branding a €20 a month add-on; HubSpot's free chat carries HubSpot branding; Botpress drops its branding from Plus.
- Annual billing is cheaper, but locks you in. Paid yearly, Intercom Essential is $19 a seat for new customers, Zendesk Suite Team £45, Freshchat Growth £15 and HubSpot Professional £81; Chatbase is 20% off.
- Prices are as shown to a server in Europe, before VAT. Tidio showed euros, and a vendor that sets its currency by location may show a UK visitor something different. Zendesk and HubSpot charge seats in pounds but AI usage in dollars, so the bill moves with the exchange rate.
Who made this page
An AI agent read each tool's pricing page and help centre in a real browser, switched it to monthly billing, set each volume on the vendor's own calculator where there was one (Tidio, Botpress), and copied the sentence behind every figure; code checked each sentence was really on the page before it could be used.
This page replaces an older list of AI chatbot platforms on this site. There are no affiliate links on this page and nothing on it earns a commission.
How the numbers are worked out
monthly cost = the cheapest monthly-billed plan that covers that many AI-answered chats, plus its per-use AI charge, with one seat where seats are required
Each tool counts a chat its own way:
- Intercom: Fin outcomes (a resolved conversation or a completed workflow), counted once per chat
- Tidio: Lyro conversations, any chat with at least one AI reply
- Chatbase: message credits, one per AI reply on its default model, counted at 3 replies a chat (our assumption, not Chatbase's)
- Botpress: conversations with at least two messages from the visitor
- Zendesk: automated resolutions, counted once per chat
- Crisp: Hugo credits spent by tokens, with no per-chat rate, so not ranked
- Freshchat: Freddy AI sessions, everything a visitor exchanges with the bot in 24 hours
- HubSpot: Customer Agent resolutions at 50 credits each, counted once per chat
| Tool | 100 chats | 500 chats | 2,000 chats | 10,000 chats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intercom (Fin)$0.99 for every chat Fin resolves; the $29 seat is for new customers, 'for as long as you remain subscribed' | £95.63Essential, 1 seat $29 (new-customer price; list $39) + 100 Fin outcomes at $0.99 · $128.00 | £391.49Essential, 1 seat $29 (new-customer price; list $39) + 500 Fin outcomes at $0.99 · $524.00 | £1,500.94Essential, 1 seat $29 (new-customer price; list $39) + 2,000 Fin outcomes at $0.99 · $2,009.00 | £7,418.06Essential, 1 seat $29 (new-customer price; list $39) + 10,000 Fin outcomes at $0.99 · $9,929.00 |
| Tidio (Lyro)about €0.70 a chat; shown in euros to this server | £62.56Free help-desk plan + Lyro AI, 100 AI conversations · €75.00 | £291.95Free help-desk plan + Lyro AI, 500 AI conversations · €350.00 | no planSelf-serve stops at 1,000 AI conversations: contact sales | no planSelf-serve stops at 1,000 AI conversations: contact sales |
| Chatbasebills per AI reply, not per chat: extra credits are $40 per 1,000 ($0.04 a reply), so at 5 replies a chat 10,000 chats are about $1,900; 'Powered By Chatbase' badge unless you pay $99 a month | £29.88Hobby, 700 message credits, at 3 AI replies a chat (our assumption) · $40.00 | £59.77Hobby + 1,000 extra credits ($40 + $40), at 3 AI replies a chat (our assumption) · $80.00 | £171.84Basic + 2,000 extra credits ($150 + $80), at 3 AI replies a chat (our assumption) · $230.00 | £821.82Business + 15,000 extra credits ($500 + $600), at 3 AI replies a chat (our assumption) · $1,100.00 |
| Botpresspacks are added automatically and can't be switched off; AI usage beyond the included allowance is extra | freeFree, 100 conversations (a hard cap, no top-ups) · $0.00 | £286.89Plus $189 + 3 packs of 100 at $65 (the page's own total) · $384.00 | £888.31Team $939 + 5 packs of 100 at $50 (the page's own total) · $1,189.00 | £3,876.75Team $939 + 85 packs of 100 at $50: the page's own total, but Botpress recommends Enterprise at this size · $5,189.00 |
| ZendeskUS$2.00 per automated resolution; £1.30 if bought ahead in blocks of 100+, if available to monthly customers (not confirmed) | £200.95Suite Team, 1 agent £59 (5 resolutions included) + 95 resolutions at US$2.00, converted at the ECB rate | £798.64Suite Team, 1 agent £59 (5 resolutions included) + 495 resolutions at US$2.00, converted at the ECB rate | £3,039.97Suite Team, 1 agent £59 (5 resolutions included) + 1,995 resolutions at US$2.00, converted at the ECB rate | £14,993.73Suite Team, 1 agent £59 (5 resolutions included) + 9,995 resolutions at US$2.00, converted at the ECB rate |
| Crisp (Hugo)Crisp's own estimate: a Hugo-handled conversation 'costs around $0.05 to $0.10 USD, but this remains only an estimate' | no planMini £45 a month + Hugo AI billed by tokens: no per-chat rate, so not ranked | no planMini £45 a month + Hugo AI billed by tokens: no per-chat rate, so not ranked | no planMini £45 a month + Hugo AI billed by tokens: no per-chat rate, so not ranked | no planMini £45 a month + Hugo AI billed by tokens: no per-chat rate, so not ranked |
| Freshchat (Freddy)£0.36 a chat (a session covers 24 hours); the Free plan has no AI agent | £53.00Growth, 1 agent £17 + 1 × 100 Freddy AI sessions at £36 | £197.00Growth, 1 agent £17 + 5 × 100 Freddy AI sessions at £36 | £737.00Growth, 1 agent £17 + 20 × 100 Freddy AI sessions at £36 | £3,617.00Growth, 1 agent £17 + 100 × 100 Freddy AI sessions at £36 |
| HubSpot (Customer Agent)one-off onboarding purchase required, amount not published; Customer Agent starts on Professional | £90.00Professional, 1 seat £90 (its 10,000 credits cover 200 resolutions) | £202.07Professional, 1 seat £90 (200 resolutions included) + 300 resolutions at $0.50 (15,000 extra credits at $10 per 1,000), converted at the ECB rate | £762.40Professional, 1 seat £90 (200 resolutions included) + 1,800 resolutions at $0.50 (90,000 extra credits at $10 per 1,000), converted at the ECB rate | £3,750.84Professional, 1 seat £90 (200 resolutions included) + 9,800 resolutions at $0.50 (490,000 extra credits at $10 per 1,000), converted at the ECB rate |
Exchange rates. ECB euro reference rates of 6 November 2026, the latest published (7 Nov 2026 is a Saturday): 1 EUR = 0.83415 GBP, 1 EUR = 1.1165 USD, so 1 USD = 0.74711 GBP.
Left out: Voiceflow — no published plan prices: they are shown only inside the app; ManyChat — Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and TikTok automation, not website chat; Fin on another helpdesk — sold through Intercom's sales team, with a 50-outcome monthly minimum; Fin on Intercom's own helpdesk is priced above; Tidio Plus and Premium — contact sales: Plus starts at €300 a month plus usage at unpublished rates; Zendesk Forethought AI agents — contact sales; no published price.
There are no affiliate links on this page. Six of these eight companies run affiliate programmes (Freshworks' names Freshdesk rather than Freshchat); this site hasn't joined any of them. The research is done by AI agents reading each vendor's own pricing pages and help centres. Product names and logos are trademarks of their owners, used only to identify the products compared. No analytics cookies, no tracking scripts, no third-party requests. A personal project, separate from the author's day job.
Questions people ask
How much does an AI chatbot for a website cost?
On this page's figures, from £0 for 100 chats a month on Botpress Free to £14,993.73 for 10,000 chats on Zendesk. At 500 AI-answered chats a month: Chatbase £59.77 (if a chat averages three AI replies), Freshchat £197, HubSpot £202.07, Botpress £286.89, Tidio £291.95, Intercom £391.49 and Zendesk £798.64.
How much does Intercom Fin cost?
$0.99 for each Fin outcome, on top of a seat: Essential is $29 a seat a month for new customers (list $39). At 500 chats a month that is $524 (about £391.49), and at 2,000 chats $2,009 (about £1,500.94).
Is there a free AI chatbot for a website?
Botpress's Free plan answers up to 100 conversations a month, with no top-ups. The other free plans mostly leave out the AI: Crisp Free has no AI credits, Freshchat Free has no Freddy AI Agent, HubSpot's Customer Agent starts on Professional, and Tidio gives 50 AI conversations once per account.
Why is Chatbase cheaper than the other chatbots?
It bills per AI reply rather than per chat. This page assumes three AI replies a chat; that is this page's assumption, not Chatbase's: on that basis 2,000 chats cost $230 a month (about £171.84). At five replies a chat, 10,000 chats come to about $1,900 instead of $1,100.
Answers use the figures on this page, last checked 7 Nov 2026.