Best Chatbase Alternatives of 2026
Seven AI chatbot and agent platforms to consider instead of Chatbase, ranked on published price, billing predictability, helpdesk depth and fit for teams leaving it.
By , research by the BestBots team ยท Updated Oct 19, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Tidio is the best Chatbase alternative for small businesses where people still answer most chats: a full live chat inbox with 10 seats, a free plan and Lyro AI in fixed quotas from $39. If you want to pay only for results, Intercom Fin bills $0.99 per outcome, and Botpress is the pick for complex, code friendly agent flows.
Our top picks
Why people look for Chatbase alternatives
Chatbase is one of the quickest ways to put a custom AI agent on a website, with model choice, actions and voice. The reasons buyers look elsewhere come from its own pricing page and docs:
- Credits move with the model. A reply costs 1 credit on Claude 5.5 Haiku and 5 on Claude 5.5 Opus, and actions add requests.
- One agent per plan. Each extra agent is $300 a year.
- Branding. Removing "Powered by Chatbase" costs $1,188 a year.
- Light helpdesk. The shared inbox starts on Standard at $150 a month with 3 seats.
- No free plan. Only a 7 day trial.
If none of these apply, read the Chatbase review and Chatbase pricing first.
How to choose
- Humans answer most chats: Tidio or Crisp.
- You want outcome based billing: Intercom Fin, HubSpot Customer Agent or ChatBot.
- You need complex logic or code: Botpress.
- You are an agency building many agents: Voiceflow.
Our picks, in detail
- Starting price
- $29 per month
- Pricing model
- per conversation
- Price per resolution
- Not per resolution: $0.70 to $0.78 per Lyro conversation on monthly tiers
- Channels
- Website chat widget plus channels connected to Tidio; Lyro Connect for Zendesk, Intercom, Salesforce
Tidio pairs a full live chat and helpdesk with 10 seats against Chatbase's 2 to 5, and Lyro AI is sold in fixed conversation quotas from $39 for 50, so the bill does not move with model choice. The Free plan covers 50 conversations a month and 50 lifetime Lyro conversations, and Tidio holds 4.8 on the Shopify App Store from 1,357 reviews.
Pros
- Free plan and a 7 day trial with no credit card
- Lyro learns from your site and FAQs; setup described as minutes
- 4.8 on the Shopify App Store from 1,357 reviews and 4.6 on G2 from 1,968
- Lyro can also plug into Zendesk, Intercom or Salesforce
Cons
- Billed per Lyro conversation, not per resolution, so failed answers still count
- Prices scale with conversation tiers on two meters, human and AI
- Premium's resolution guarantee is quote only
- Language count is not published on the Lyro page
Skip it if you want to choose the underlying model or run complex actions; Lyro is a fixed agent.
- Starting price
- $0.99 per outcome
- Pricing model
- per resolution
- Price per resolution
- $0.99 per outcome
- Channels
- Chat, email, WhatsApp, SMS, Slack, Instagram, Facebook Messenger; voice at $1.99 per outcome
Fin bills $0.99 per outcome, so a reply that does not help, or a request for a human, costs nothing. It sits inside a mature helpdesk or standalone on Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot and others, covers 60+ languages and has 3,925 G2 reviews at 4.5.
Pros
- Billed per outcome at $0.99, and requests for a human are not charged
- Runs standalone on Salesforce, HubSpot, Freshworks, Front, Zoho, Gorgias and others with no seat fees
- 14 day trial with unlimited outcomes and no credit card
- Largest review base in this list: 4.5 on G2 from 3,925 reviews
Cons
- Assumed resolutions count: a customer who leaves without replying after Fin answers is billed
- Monthly seat prices are $10 to $14 higher than annual
- Voice costs double at $1.99 per outcome and is sold through sales
- Qualification outcomes cost $9.99 each
Skip it if your volume is high and simple; Chatbase on a 1 credit model costs a fraction of $0.99 per conversation.
- Starting price
- $45 per month
- Pricing model
- flat per workspace
- Price per resolution
- None; bundled credits, Crisp estimates $0.05 to $0.10 per AI handled conversation
- Channels
- Web chat, email, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, SMS, Line, Viber
Crisp charges $45 to $295 per workspace with unlimited conversations and AI credits bundled, which Crisp estimates at about 90 to 1,350 automated conversations by plan. You get a real shared inbox, 4 to 20 seats, WhatsApp, Instagram and SMS, and white labeling on Plus, where Chatbase charges $1,188 a year.
Pros
- Flat workspace price with 4 to 20 seats included
- Free plan and 14 day trial with no card
- AI credits bundled; Crisp estimates $0.05 to $0.10 per AI conversation
- Choice of OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Mistral or Crisp hosted models, with EU processing options
- 4.5 on G2 from 205 reviews
Cons
- Credit to conversation ratio is an estimate, not a contract rate
- Tool connected AI agent, ticketing and 100+ integrations only on the $295 Plus plan
- Trustpilot score is 2.0 from 55 reviews, 70% one star, citing support delays and account suspensions
- Hugo stops answering when credits run out unless pay as you go is on
Skip it if vendor track record matters; Crisp scores 2.0 on Trustpilot from 55 reviews.
- Starting price
- $150 per month billed annually
- Pricing model
- per conversation
- Free tier
- 100 conversations a month, 3 agents, 3 seats
- Paid from
- $150 per month billed annually (Plus)
Botpress gives developers and agencies a visual builder plus code for multi step agents. The Free plan includes 100 conversations a month, 3 agents and 3 seats; Plus is $150 a month billed annually for 250 conversations and $25 of AI spend. It has 514 G2 reviews at 4.5.
Pros
- Free tier with 100 conversations
- Unlimited agents on paid plans
- Per conversation rate drops to $0.50 on Team
- 4.5 on G2 from 514 reviews
Cons
- Paid plans shown only with annual billing
- Conversation packs auto add at 95% of quota and cannot be disabled
- You build and maintain the support logic
- Voice channel only on Enterprise
Skip it if you want a working support bot in an afternoon; Botpress has a steeper learning curve.
- Starting price
- $100 per seat per month
- Pricing model
- per seat plus per resolution
- Price per resolution
- $0.50 (50 HubSpot credits); voice $0.50 per minute
- Channels
- Chat, email, forms, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, inbound voice
HubSpot's Customer Agent costs $0.50 per resolved conversation and reads CRM records, past conversations and your knowledge base. Handoffs to a human within 72 hours are free. It covers chat, email, WhatsApp, Messenger and inbound voice.
Pros
- $0.50 per resolution is among the lowest published rates in the category
- Reads CRM records, past conversations and files, so answers use customer context
- Covers chat, email, forms, WhatsApp, Messenger and inbound voice in all HubSpot languages
- Third party AI providers are contractually barred from training on your data; SOC 2 Type 2
Cons
- Needs Service Hub Professional or Enterprise, not available on Starter
- $1,500 to $3,500 one time onboarding fee
- Credits are shared with other HubSpot AI features and do not roll over
- Pricing page and product catalog show different seat figures, so confirm your quote
Skip it if you are not on HubSpot; Service Hub Professional is $100 per seat plus $1,500 onboarding.
- Starting price
- $25 per user per month
- Pricing model
- per user plus per resolution
- Price per resolution
- $0.99
- Channels
- Website chat, WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, Shopify
ChatBot from Text (LiveChat) prices AI by resolution: Essential is $25 per user per month with 10 AI resolutions, Growth $99 with 200, and extra resolutions are $0.99 each. Annual billing is $19 and $79. It suits teams that want a clear per resolution meter without Intercom's seats.
Pros
- $0.99 per resolution, only when the AI solves the question
- Live chat, inbox and ticketing included
- 14 day trial without a card
Cons
- Only 10 resolutions included on Essential
- Per user pricing adds up for larger teams
- 28 G2 reviews, a thin rating base
Skip it if you need model choice or voice; ChatBot's review base is also small at 28 on G2.
- Starting price
- Quote only
- Pricing model
- usage based
- Free tier
- Free plan with a one time credit grant
- Paid from
- Quote only, usage based
Voiceflow is built for teams and agencies designing chat and voice agents across clients, with usage based billing on its agency path and a free tier with a one time credit grant. It fits buyers who outgrow Chatbase's one agent per plan and $300 per extra agent.
Pros
- Voice and chat from one agent: web, WhatsApp, SMS and phone
- 3,000+ customers and 10,000+ live agents reported
- Phone via Voiceflow numbers, Twilio, Vonage or Telnyx
- SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA listed; no training on customer data
- Trustpilot 4.1 from 15 reviews
Cons
- No published prices on any paid plan
- Built for customer conversations, not back office automation
- Fewer general app integrations than Zapier or Make
- Credits run out mid month unless auto top up is set
Skip it if you want published prices; Voiceflow shows plan prices only inside the app.
Price comparison at a glance
| Product | AI price | Platform fee |
|---|---|---|
| Chatbase | 1 to 5 credits per request, $40 per 1,000 extra | $40 to $500 per month |
| Tidio | $0.70 to $0.78 per Lyro conversation | Free, $29 Starter, $59 to $349 Growth |
| Intercom Fin | $0.99 per outcome | $29 to $132 per seat annual, none standalone |
| Crisp | Bundled AI credits | $45 to $295 per workspace |
| Botpress | Conversation packs ($50 to $65 per 100) plus AI spend | Free, Plus $150 annual, Team $750 annual |
| HubSpot Customer Agent | $0.50 per resolution | $100 per seat Professional |
| ChatBot | $0.99 per resolution after 10 or 200 included | $19 to $79 per user annual |
| Voiceflow | Usage based credits | Prices shown in app |
A worked comparison at 800 conversations a month, four replies each. Chatbase Standard on a 1 credit model is $150 and covers it. Tidio Starter plus Lyro 750 is $554 billed monthly, but includes 100 human conversations and 10 seats. Intercom Fin standalone, if 500 of the 800 end in an outcome, is $495 with no seats. ChatBot Growth for one user is $99 with 200 resolutions, then 300 more at $0.99, $396 total. Chatbase is the cheapest for AI only volume; the others charge more and give you more helpdesk. All tracked prices are on the AI Price Index.
Who should stay on Chatbase
Stay if your AI handles most conversations end to end, you run 1 or 2 credit models, you value its no training policy and you need only one or two agents. In that profile, Chatbase is among the cheapest per conversation in the category. Compare head to head on Tidio vs Chatbase.
How we picked
We started from Chatbase's published plans and credit table and the reasons customers leave, then ranked the chatbot and agent platforms in our database on four questions: is pricing published and predictable, how strong is the human inbox, how much control do you get over the AI, and how strong are verified ratings and security credentials. Every price comes from the vendor's own pricing page, checked in October 2026. Nobody paid for placement. See how we score.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Chatbase?
Tidio for small businesses that need live chat and a human team, Intercom Fin if you want to pay only for outcomes at $0.99, and Botpress for complex agent flows. Crisp is the pick for a flat monthly price.
Is there a free alternative to Chatbase?
Yes. Tidio's Free plan includes 50 conversations a month and 50 lifetime Lyro AI conversations, and Botpress's Free plan includes 100 conversations a month and 3 agents. Chatbase itself has no free plan, only a 7 day trial.
Is Botpress better than Chatbase?
For developers building multi step agents with custom logic, yes. For a non technical team that wants an agent trained on its docs quickly, Chatbase is easier.
Is Tidio better than Chatbase?
Tidio is better for human led live chat, Shopify stores and a free start. Chatbase is better for AI first agents with model choice, actions and voice. See Tidio vs Chatbase.
Why do people leave Chatbase?
Common reasons are unpredictable credit use when switching models or adding actions, one agent per plan ($300 per extra agent a year), $1,188 a year to remove branding, and a light helpdesk compared with Zendesk or Tidio.
Which Chatbase alternative has the best privacy terms?
Chatbase itself is strong here: it says it never trains on customer data and offers zero retention on HIPAA accounts. Among alternatives, compare each vendor's data processing terms; Gorgias and Zendesk, for example, publish AI data FAQs and certifications.