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Tidio
From $0Best for: small businesses wanting live chat and an AI bot together, fast to set up.
Tidio combines live chat with AI-driven responses in one simple platform. A genuine free tier makes it easy to trial before committing, and it has one of the more generous affiliate programs in this category if you're also considering promoting it.
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Basic live chat + limited AI replies |
| Starter | $29/mo | More AI conversations, remove branding |
| Growth | $59/mo | Higher conversation volume |
Intercom (Fin AI)
From $39/seat/moBest for: growing businesses wanting a full support desk with AI ticket resolution built in.
Intercom pairs a proper customer support suite with its Fin AI agent, which resolves common queries automatically and hands off the rest to a human. More of an investment than the others here, but scales well as support volume grows.
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $39/seat/mo | Core support desk |
| Advanced | $99/seat/mo | Fin AI resolution included |
| Expert | $139/seat/mo | Advanced workflows and reporting |
Freshchat (Freshworks)
From $29/moBest for: businesses already using Freshworks products, or wanting an AI bot bundled with a helpdesk.
Freshchat is part of the wider Freshworks suite (which also includes Freshdesk). Its AI chatbot layer, Freshbot, is solid without being the most advanced option here, but the bundle pricing can work out well if you need a helpdesk too.
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | $29/mo | Core chat + basic bot |
| Pro | $79/mo | Advanced bot flows |
| Enterprise | $115/mo | Full automation suite |
Chatbase
From $0Best for: training a bot directly on your own website content or documents, no coding required.
Chatbase lets you build a support agent by uploading your own documents or pointing it at your website, so answers come straight from your actual business content. A strong pick if your main goal is an accurate FAQ-style assistant.
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 chatbot, limited messages |
| Standard | $32/mo | 2,000 messages/mo |
| Pro | Higher tiers available | Scales with usage |
ManyChat
From $0Best for: businesses running most of their customer contact through Instagram and Facebook Messenger.
ManyChat specialises in social media automation, Instagram DMs, comments, and Facebook Messenger, rather than website live chat. If most of your customer conversations already happen on social, this is a more natural fit than the others here.
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Up to 1,000 contacts |
| Pro | From $15/mo | Unlimited contacts, more automation |
Before You Subscribe
What actually matters when comparing chatbot tools
Where your customers actually are
A brilliant website chatbot is wasted if your customers mostly message you on Instagram. Match the tool to the channel, not the other way around.
Human handoff quality
The best bots pass complicated conversations to a real person smoothly, without the customer having to repeat themselves. Test this before committing.
What it's trained on
Some tools (like Chatbase) train directly on your own content for accuracy. Others rely on generic AI responses, fine for simple FAQs, riskier for anything specific to your business.
Recurring cost at real volume
Free tiers look great until your conversation volume grows. Check the next pricing tier up, not just the entry price, before deciding.
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