A chatbot price list is only useful if every row states the same four things: the free plan and its limit, the entry paid price, the unit that is billed, and whether AI answers are in that price or a separate add-on. This chatbot price list does that for 19 tools from their published figures as of September 2026, groups them by pricing model, and explains how to read any price list without being misled. Prices change; check the vendor's page first.
The list
| Tool | Free plan | Entry paid price | Unit billed | AI answers in the price? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vatdi | Yes: 15 conversations/mo, every feature | $4.49/mo (150 conv.); $7.49/mo unlimited | Flat per store | Yes | Unlimited teammates; badge removal is the only paid-only change |
| Tidio | Yes: 50 conversations/mo, no AI | Starter $29/mo; Growth from $59/mo | Plan + metered Lyro AI (from about $39/mo); per seat on higher tiers | No: add-on | Multichannel inbox |
| Intercom | No (14-day trial) | Essential $29/seat/mo; Advanced $85; Expert $132 | Per seat + Fin $0.99 per resolution | Per resolution | Full platform |
| Drift | No | Quote only; entry reported around $2,500/mo on annual contracts | Contract | Included in quote | B2B revenue teams |
| Tawk.to | Yes: live chat, unlimited agents | Add-ons | Add-ons | No: paid add-on | Branding removal also paid |
| Crisp | Yes: Basic | Mini $45/mo; Essentials $95; Plus $295 | Per workspace | Check plan | Shared inbox |
| LiveChat | No | From $20/agent/mo (annual) | Per agent | No: ChatBot.com is separate, from $52/mo | Live chat first |
| Zendesk | No (14-day trial) | Suite Team from $55/agent/mo (annual) | Per agent | No: AI agents are add-ons | Helpdesk |
| Freshchat | Yes: up to 10 agents | Growth $19/agent/mo; Pro $49; Enterprise $79 (annual) | Per agent | No: Freddy AI add-on | Messaging |
| Gorgias | No (trial) | From $10/mo (50 tickets); Basic $60/mo (300) | Per ticket + AI per resolution | Per resolution | Shopify-first helpdesk |
| HubSpot | Yes: free chatbot builder | Paid hubs from about $15–20/seat/mo | Per seat | Builder is rule-based; check AI terms | Fits HubSpot users |
| Chatbase | Yes | Hobby $40/mo; Standard $150; Pro $500 | Plan tiers | Yes | Trained on uploaded content |
| Botpress | Yes: usage credits | Plus $89/mo; Team $495/mo | Plan + credits | Yes, credit-metered | Developer-oriented |
| Landbot | Check | Starter €40/mo; Pro €100/mo | Plan tiers | Builder; check AI terms | No-code flows |
| Olark | No | $29/seat/mo | Per seat | Live chat | |
| ManyChat | Yes | Pro from $15/mo | Plan tiers | Builder; check AI terms | Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp |
| Chatfuel | Check | From $19.99/mo | Plan tiers | Builder; check AI terms | Messaging apps |
| Shopify Inbox | Free with any Shopify plan | Included | Shopify plan | No retrieval-style AI answers | Shopify only |
| Zoho SalesIQ | Yes | Basic $7/operator/mo; Professional $12.75; Enterprise $20 (annual) | Per operator | Check AI terms |
Sources for the rows we cite most: Intercom, Tidio, Zendesk and Vatdi's pricing page. Where a cell says "check", the vendor's page did not state it plainly at the time of writing; we would rather leave a gap than guess. This list is re-verified quarterly.
How to read a price list
- Find the unit first. $29 per seat, $29 per month flat and $29 plus $0.99 per resolution are three different bills at any real volume. The models are explained in chatbot pricing models explained.
- Find the sentence about AI. On several tools the entry price buys live chat and the answering component is an add-on; the row above says which.
- Check annual versus monthly. Per-agent prices are often quoted on annual billing; the monthly rate is higher.
- Read the free plan's limit, and whether it is a plan or a trial with a countdown.
- Price your busiest month, not your average one, on the unit the vendor counts.
Grouped by pricing model
Three rows, read properly
Take three rows that look similar at a glance and follow the four columns. Vatdi Starter, $4.49: flat per store, AI included, 150 conversations, unlimited teammates; the bill is $4.49 whether one person or five watch the inbox, and it becomes $7.49 for unlimited conversations. Freshchat Growth, $19: per agent on annual billing, so a three-person shop pays $57 a month, and the Freddy AI add-on is extra before the bot answers anything. Intercom Essential, $29: per seat, plus $0.99 for every conversation Fin resolves on its own, so a busy month with 700 AI resolutions is $29 plus $693 for one seat. The headline numbers are $4.49, $19 and $29; the bills at a small store's real volume are $4.49, $57 plus an add-on, and about $722. That is the whole reason a price list needs the unit column.
The same reading applies to the free plans. "Free" at Tidio is 50 live-chat conversations with no AI answers; at Tawk.to it is unlimited live chat with AI and branding removal paid; at Vatdi it is 15 conversations with AI and every feature, badge shown. Three free plans, three different products, and only one of them answers a customer without a further purchase; treat the free column the same way as the paid one, by reading what the plan actually includes.
What a price list cannot tell you
- Whether the bot will answer your questions. That depends on your content and on whether the tool syncs your catalogue; run the ten-question test in the trial method.
- What a "conversation" or "resolution" means. Definitions differ; the same store can count very differently on two tools.
- Channel coverage. Several cheaper rows are website-only (Vatdi included); several dearer rows include Messenger, WhatsApp and email.
- Store connections. Catalogue sync and order lookup are what make a store bot useful, and they rarely appear on a pricing page. Vatdi's plugins provide both on WooCommerce, OpenCart, PrestaShop, Magento, Shopware, Joomla and Drupal, and not on Shopify.
- Enterprise terms. Quote-only pricing has no public number; see AI chatbot enterprise pricing.
Three ways to use this list
- Cheapest with AI included: filter the "AI answers" column to "Yes" and sort by entry price; the result is covered in the cheapest AI chatbots for a small business.
- Same store, three volumes: take your monthly conversations and your busiest month and price each unit; the worked example is in how much an AI chatbot costs.
- Head to head: for the pairs stores ask about most, see Vatdi vs Tidio and Vatdi vs Intercom, and the fuller seven-tool comparison. Vatdi's own plans are laid out in monthly plans.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a chatbot cost per month?
As published in September 2026, anywhere from free to several thousand dollars: free plans with limits at Vatdi, Tidio, Tawk.to, Freshchat, Chatbase and others; flat plans from $4.49 (Vatdi); per-agent plans from $19–$55 per person; per-resolution AI at $0.99 per answered conversation on top of seats (Intercom); and quote-only contracts reported around $2,500 a month (Drift). The unit matters more than the number.
Which chatbot has the cheapest paid plan?
On this list, Vatdi Starter at $4.49 a month for 150 conversations with AI included, then Zoho SalesIQ at $7 per operator (check its AI terms), Gorgias at $10 for 50 tickets (AI billed per resolution) and ManyChat Pro from $15 (messaging apps). Several low entry prices exclude AI answers, so confirm that column before treating a row as the cheapest AI chatbot.
Why do chatbot prices vary so much?
Because the tools sell different things under one word: a website assistant, a multichannel inbox, a full helpdesk, a flow builder for messaging apps, or an enterprise revenue platform. Each bills on the unit natural to its origin (store, seat, resolution, ticket, contract). Compare within the group that matches what you need before comparing across groups.
Are these prices current?
They are the published figures as of September 2026, and vendors change prices without notice. We re-verify the list quarterly and state the month in the title so you know how old it is. Before any decision, open the vendor's pricing page, confirm the unit and the AI terms, and check whether the quoted rate requires annual billing.
Is a free chatbot plan enough for a small business?
For testing and low volume, yes, if the free plan includes AI answers. Vatdi's Free plan covers 15 conversations a month with every feature and a badge; Tidio's free plan excludes AI answers; Tawk.to's is live chat. A small store usually passes 15 conversations within weeks, at which point $4.49 a month is the honest next step on this list.
What is not on this price list that I should budget for?
Your own time on content: an afternoon structuring shipping, returns and product information so the bot can answer, and about thirty minutes a week reviewing low-rated conversations. Also branding removal, extra seats, AI overage and annual commitments where they apply. On Vatdi there is no setup fee or contract, and the only paid-only change is removing the badge.
