Table of Contents
- Key takeaways
- How much does an AI chatbot cost in 2026?
- How were the examples calculated?
- What are the six AI chatbot pricing models?
- 1. Per seat: Zendesk
- 2. Flat plan: SiteGPT
- 3. Per resolution or outcome: Fin
- 4. Per conversation: Botpress
- 5. Usage or credits: Chatbase
- 6. Custom contract: Ada
- How do the six pricing models compare at the same volume?
- What does an AI chatbot cost for an enterprise compared with a small business?
- What drives the total cost of ownership of an AI chatbot?
- What does AI chatbot maintenance cost?
- How does compliance change the price?
- How does AI chatbot cost compare with a live agent?
- Which AI chatbot pricing model should you choose?
- Five questions to ask before you sign
- Frequently asked questions
- Cost basics
- How much does an AI chatbot cost per month?
- What is the average cost of an enterprise AI chatbot?
- Is there a free AI chatbot?
- Pricing models
- Do AI chatbot platforms charge per seat?
- What is per-resolution pricing?
- Which pricing model is cheapest?
- Enterprise and total cost
- How do you calculate the total cost of ownership for an AI chatbot?
- What is the difference between SMB and enterprise AI chatbot pricing?
- Does a HIPAA BAA cost extra?
- Sources
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Feb 20, 2026 05:09 PM
AI chatbot pricing in 2026 runs from $39 a month for a flat self-serve plan to a median of $72,000 a year for a custom enterprise contract, and the pricing model decides the bill more than the plan name does.
TL;DR
- There are six AI chatbot pricing models: per seat, flat plan, per resolution or outcome, per conversation, usage or credits, and custom contract.
- At 2,000 conversations a month with half resolved by AI, published prices give $129 on a flat plan, $390 on credits, $1,000 per conversation and $1,077 per outcome with seats.
- Small and mid-sized businesses can buy on published prices from $39 to $500 a month. Enterprise deals are quoted. Vendr reports a median Ada contract of $72,000 a year.
- The plan fee is one of five cost lines. Overages, add-ons, human seats and maintenance time make up the rest of the total cost of ownership.
- A HIPAA BAA, a signed DPA and SSO usually sit on the top tier. On SiteGPT the BAA and the signed DPA are Enterprise only.
Key takeaways
Pricing model | What the bill is tied to | Published example | Monthly cost at 2,000 conversations | Best for |
Per seat | Number of human agents | Zendesk Suite Team, $55 per agent a month billed yearly | $165 for 3 seats, AI resolutions billed on top | Teams that already run a helpdesk |
Flat plan | A fixed fee with a message allowance | SiteGPT Growth, $129 a month billed monthly | $129 | A predictable bill for answers from your own content |
Per resolution or outcome | Issues the AI resolves | Fin, $0.99 per outcome | $1,077 with 3 seats | Paying only when the AI works |
Per conversation | Every conversation, resolved or not | Botpress Team, $750 a month billed annually | $1,000 | Developer-built agents with steady volume |
Usage or credits | AI replies, paid from a credit pool | Chatbase Standard, $150 a month | $390 | Low or uneven volume |
Custom contract | A negotiated annual commitment | Ada, median $72,000 a year per Vendr | $6,000 | Enterprise procurement and security review |
How much does an AI chatbot cost in 2026?
An AI chatbot costs between $39 and $500 a month on a published self-serve plan in 2026, and tens of thousands of dollars a year on a custom enterprise contract. The spread comes from three things: how many conversations the chatbot handles, how many people use the dashboard, and which pricing model the vendor uses.
The same workload can cost eight times more on one model than on another. A business with 2,000 conversations a month pays $129 on a flat plan and $1,077 on an outcome-based plan with three seats. That is a gap of $948 a month, or $11,376 a year.
This guide explains the six pricing models and works one example through each. For a vendor-by-vendor price table at fixed volumes, see the AI chatbot pricing comparison.
Buyer | Typical monthly volume | What plans cost | How it is bought |
Small business | Under 2,000 conversations | $39 to $150 a month | Self-serve, card, monthly or annual |
Mid-market | 2,000 to 20,000 conversations | $129 to about $4,000 a month | Self-serve plan plus overage packs or add-ons |
Enterprise | Above 20,000 conversations, or any volume with security review | Quoted. Vendr puts the median Ada contract at $72,000 a year, with a range of $36,158 to $295,400 | Annual contract through sales |
How were the examples calculated?
The examples use one workload and each vendor's published price. Every figure is a list price in US dollars, read on the vendor's own pricing page.
The small and mid-sized business workload has four inputs:
- 2,000 customer conversations a month
- 5 AI replies per conversation, so 10,000 AI messages a month
- The AI resolves 50% of conversations without a person, so 1,000 resolutions a month
- 3 human agents handle the rest
The enterprise workload multiplies the volume by ten: 20,000 conversations, 100,000 AI messages, 10,000 resolutions and 25 human agents.
The vendors are ordered by pricing model, starting with the model most helpdesk buyers already know. No vendor is best overall. Each one gets a "Best for" label that follows from how its model behaves. Your reply count and resolution rate will differ, so swap in your own numbers before you compare quotes.
What are the six AI chatbot pricing models?
The six AI chatbot pricing models are per seat, flat plan, per resolution or outcome, per conversation, usage or credits, and custom contract. Each one ties the bill to a different number, and each one rewards a different kind of buyer.
1. Per seat: Zendesk
Per-seat pricing charges a fixed amount for each human agent who logs in. The AI is bundled into the seat or billed on top.
Zendesk lists Support Team at $19, Suite Team at $55 and Suite Professional at $115 per agent a month, all billed yearly. AI agents are included from Suite Team. Zendesk bills them by automated resolution once usage passes the plan allowance, and its pricing page shows no price per resolution.
Worked example. Three Suite Team seats cost 3 x $55 = $165 a month, or $1,980 a year. That figure covers seats only. The 1,000 AI resolutions a month are billed against an allowance, and the price above that allowance comes from sales.
- Bill grows when: you hire agents, or AI resolutions pass the allowance.
- Watch for: the resolution price is missing from the public page. Get it in writing before you sign.
- Best for: teams that already run a helpdesk and want the AI inside it.
The SiteGPT vs Zendesk comparison covers how the two fit together.
2. Flat plan: SiteGPT
Flat-plan pricing charges one fixed monthly fee that includes a set allowance of messages, chatbots and team members. The bill stays the same whether the AI resolves 10% or 90% of conversations.
SiteGPT has three published plans. Starter is $59 a month billed monthly, or $39 a month billed yearly, with 4,000 messages. Growth is $129 monthly, or $79 a month billed yearly, with 10,000 messages and 4 team members. Scale is $429 monthly, or $259 a month billed yearly, with 40,000 messages and 10 team members. Extra packs of 5,000 messages cost $59 a month.
Worked example. The workload needs 10,000 messages, which is the Growth allowance. Growth costs $129 a month on monthly billing, or $1,548 a year. On yearly billing it costs $948 a year, which saves $600, or 39%. The cost per conversation is $0.06 on monthly billing and $0.04 on yearly billing.
- Bill grows when: message volume passes the plan allowance. Each extra 5,000 messages adds $59 a month.
- Watch for: the allowance counts GPT-4.1-mini messages. A GPT-4.1 message uses ten times as much, so Growth covers 1,000 of those. There is no free plan. The 7-day trial needs a credit card. Chat integrations start on Growth, and Starter has none.
- Best for: a predictable bill when the chatbot answers from your own website, documents and help center.
SiteGPT is a content-trained answer layer. It has no ticketing system of its own and no Intercom or HubSpot integration. A team that needs a full helpdesk pairs it with one.
3. Per resolution or outcome: Fin
Per-resolution pricing charges a fee each time the AI resolves a customer issue. A conversation the AI hands to a person without resolving costs nothing.
Fin charges $0.99 per outcome. Used with another helpdesk, it has a minimum of 50 outcomes a month. Used with the Intercom helpdesk, each agent also needs a seat: Essential at $29, Advanced at $85 or Expert at $132 per seat a month, billed annually.
Worked example. 1,000 outcomes cost 1,000 x $0.99 = $990 a month. Three Essential seats add 3 x $29 = $87. The total is $1,077 a month, or $12,924 a year. Without Intercom seats, Fin alone is $990 a month, or $11,880 a year.
- Bill grows when: the AI gets better. A resolution rate that climbs from 50% to 70% raises the Fin line from $990 to $1,386 a month.
- Watch for: the definition of an outcome. Fin bills when it resolves the issue, and also when it completes a configured procedure that ends in a handoff. Set a usage limit before launch.
- Best for: teams that want to pay only when the AI works and can absorb a bill that moves each month.
The break-even against a flat plan is simple. A $129 flat plan costs the same as 130 Fin outcomes. The Zendesk vs Intercom comparison goes deeper on the two helpdesk models.
4. Per conversation: Botpress
Per-conversation pricing charges for every conversation the chatbot has, resolved or not. The plan includes a block of conversations and sells more in packs.
Botpress includes 100 conversations on Free, 250 on Plus at $150 a month and 1,500 on Team at $750 a month. Both paid prices are billed annually. Extra packs of 100 conversations cost $65 on Plus and $50 on Team.
Worked example. Team includes 1,500 conversations. The other 500 need five packs: 5 x $50 = $250. The total is $1,000 a month, or $12,000 a year, which is $0.50 per conversation. Plus would cost more: $150 plus 18 packs at $65 is $1,320 a month.
- Bill grows when: conversation volume rises. Botpress adds a pack automatically at 95% of quota, and that setting cannot be turned off.
- Watch for: a conversation counts once the user sends two messages. Human-assisted conversations count the same as AI-only ones.
- Best for: developer-built agents with steady, forecastable volume.
5. Usage or credits: Chatbase
Credit pricing sells a monthly pool of credits, and each AI reply spends from the pool.
Chatbase includes 700 credits on Hobby at $40 a month, 4,000 on Standard at $150 and 15,000 on Pro at $500, all on monthly billing. Yearly billing takes 20% off. Extra credits cost $40 per 1,000 through auto-recharge.
Worked example. This example assumes one credit per AI reply, so the workload needs 10,000 credits. Standard covers 4,000. The other 6,000 cost 6 x $40 = $240. The total is $390 a month, or $4,680 a year, which is $0.20 per conversation. Pro at $500 a month is cheaper only above 12,750 credits.
- Bill grows when: the number of AI replies increases.
- Watch for: credits per reply and add-ons. Confirm how many credits one reply uses on the model you choose. Removing the Chatbase branding costs $99 a month. Each extra AI agent costs $25 a month.
- Best for: low or uneven volume, where a small plan plus occasional top-ups beats a larger fixed tier.
6. Custom contract: Ada
Custom-contract pricing has no public price. The vendor quotes an annual commitment after a sales process, based on volume, channels and integrations.
Ada publishes no prices. Vendr, a software buying marketplace, reports a median Ada contract of $72,000 a year across 117 purchases. Its range runs from $36,158 to $295,400, and buyers negotiated 17% off on average.
Worked example. A $72,000 contract is $6,000 a month. At 2,000 conversations that is $3.00 per conversation. At the enterprise workload of 20,000 conversations it falls to $0.30. Custom contracts are priced for the larger volume. If Ada is on your shortlist, the Ada review covers its features, ratings and the questions to ask sales before a quote.
- Bill grows when: contracted volume is exceeded, or new channels and integrations are added at renewal.
- Watch for: implementation fees, overage rates and multi-year terms. Ask for each one as a separate line.
- Best for: enterprises that need a security review, a negotiated agreement and a named account team.
The ranked list of platforms in this tier is in the guide to enterprise AI chatbot solutions.
How do the six pricing models compare at the same volume?
The six pricing models produce monthly bills from $129 to $6,000 for the same 2,000 conversations. The flat plan is the lowest published price at this volume, and the custom contract is the highest.
Vendor and model | Monthly cost | Annual cost | 3-year cost | Cost per conversation |
SiteGPT Growth, flat plan, billed yearly | $79 | $948 | $2,844 | $0.04 |
SiteGPT Growth, flat plan, billed monthly | $129 | $1,548 | $4,644 | $0.06 |
Zendesk Suite Team, per seat, seats only | $165 | $1,980 | $5,940 | $0.08 before AI resolutions |
Chatbase Standard, credits | $390 | $4,680 | $14,040 | $0.20 |
Botpress Team, per conversation | $1,000 | $12,000 | $36,000 | $0.50 |
Fin with 3 Essential seats, per outcome | $1,077 | $12,924 | $38,772 | $0.54 |
Ada, custom contract, Vendr median | $6,000 | $72,000 | $216,000 | $3.00 |
The Zendesk row covers seats only. Its AI resolution price is not published, so the real bill is higher than the seat cost shown.
These vendors do different jobs. Zendesk and Intercom are full helpdesks with ticketing. Botpress is a builder for custom agents. SiteGPT and Chatbase answer from content you supply. The table compares pricing models, and the products are not interchangeable.
What does an AI chatbot cost for an enterprise compared with a small business?
An enterprise pays about 9 to 17 times more than a small business on five of the six pricing models, because volume and seats scale together. At 20,000 conversations a month, published list prices run from $1,137 to $12,025 a month.
Vendor and model | Small and mid-sized workload | Enterprise workload | How the enterprise figure is built |
SiteGPT, flat plan | $129 a month | $1,137 a month | Scale at $429 billed monthly plus 12 packs of 5,000 messages at $59 |
Zendesk, per seat | $165 a month | $2,875 a month | 25 Suite Professional seats at $115 billed yearly, AI resolutions on top |
Chatbase, credits | $390 a month | $3,900 a month | Pro at $500 plus 85,000 extra credits at $40 per 1,000 |
Ada, custom contract | $6,000 a month | $6,000 a month | Vendr median of $72,000 a year |
Botpress, per conversation | $1,000 a month | $10,000 a month | Team at $750 plus 185 packs of 100 at $50 |
Fin, per outcome | $1,077 a month | $12,025 a month | 10,000 outcomes at $0.99 plus 25 Advanced seats at $85 |
List prices stop being the real price at this size. SiteGPT Scale includes 10 team members, so 25 agents need the Enterprise plan, which is quoted. Botpress, Chatbase and Zendesk each have an enterprise tier with custom pricing. Treat the enterprise column as a ceiling to negotiate down from.
Three things change between the two tiers:
- How you buy. Small businesses pay by card and can cancel. Enterprises sign an annual or multi-year contract.
- What is gated. SSO, audit logs, a signed DPA and a HIPAA BAA usually sit on the top tier.
- Who is involved. Enterprise deals add security questionnaires, legal review and procurement, which add weeks before launch.
For platforms sorted by use case, see enterprise AI chatbots for customer service and lead generation.
What drives the total cost of ownership of an AI chatbot?
Five cost lines drive the total cost of ownership of an AI chatbot: the plan fee, overages, add-ons, human seats, and the time spent on setup and maintenance. The plan fee is the only one printed in large type on a pricing page.
Cost line | What it covers | Published example |
Plan fee | The base subscription | SiteGPT Growth at $129 a month billed monthly |
Overages | Volume above the plan allowance | Botpress packs of 100 conversations at $50 or $65 |
Add-ons | Branding removal, extra bots, channels | Chatbase branding removal at $99 a month. SiteGPT branding removal at $39 a month billed yearly |
Human seats | Agents who take handoffs | Zendesk Suite Team at $55 per agent a month billed yearly |
Setup and maintenance | Preparing content, testing answers, keeping sources current | Staff time. No vendor fee on self-serve plans |
What does AI chatbot maintenance cost?
AI chatbot maintenance costs staff time more than money on a self-serve plan. The recurring work is keeping the source content current and reviewing the questions the chatbot could not answer.
Automatic re-syncing reduces that time. SiteGPT refreshes sources monthly on Growth and weekly on Scale, and Scale adds a daily scan for new or removed URLs. Starter refreshes are manual. Chatbase lists auto-resync from its Standard plan. A chatbot that answers from retrieved content is only as current as its last sync, as the guide to retrieval-augmented generation explains.
How does compliance change the price?
Compliance changes the price because the documents a regulated buyer needs are usually on the highest tier. A hospital or a university cannot buy the entry plan if procurement requires a BAA or a signed DPA.
- SiteGPT: a HIPAA BAA and a signed DPA are available on the Enterprise plan only. Starter, Growth and Scale do not include them. A covered workspace is also narrower, with connected apps and chat integrations off by default. The HIPAA page describes the program.
- Intercom: HIPAA support is listed on the Expert plan, at $132 per seat a month billed annually.
- Chatbase: "HIPAA-eligible" appears on the Enterprise plan, which is quoted.
The guide to choosing a HIPAA-compliant AI chatbot compares vendors on BAA terms.
How does AI chatbot cost compare with a live agent?
An AI chatbot plan costs less than one live agent's wage in five of the six examples above. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the 2025 median pay for customer service representatives at $44,770 a year, or $21.53 an hour.
That wage is $3,731 a month before benefits, software and management. The flat plan in the example costs $129 a month, which is 3.5% of that figure. The outcome-based example costs $1,077 a month, which is 29%.
A chatbot does not replace the agent in these examples. Half of the 2,000 conversations still reach a person. The comparison shows what the automated half costs, and it helps set a ceiling for what a resolution is worth paying for.
Which AI chatbot pricing model should you choose?
Choose the pricing model that matches how predictable your volume is and where the AI needs to answer. The table maps common situations to a model.
If you need | Pick | Why |
A bill that does not change month to month | Flat plan, such as SiteGPT | The fee is fixed, and overage packs have a published price |
AI inside the helpdesk your agents already use | Per seat with per resolution, such as Zendesk | No second tool for agents to learn |
To pay only when the AI resolves an issue | Per outcome, such as Fin | Unresolved conversations cost nothing |
A custom agent built by developers | Per conversation, such as Botpress | AI usage is included and the bill is known ahead of the month |
To start small with uneven traffic | Credits, such as Chatbase | A small plan plus top-ups costs less than a larger fixed tier |
A BAA, a signed DPA, SSO or a security review | Enterprise tier or custom contract | Those terms are gated to the top tier at most vendors |
Five questions to ask before you sign
- What counts as one billable unit, and does a handoff to a person count?
- What happens at the plan limit: a pause, an automatic pack, or a higher tier?
- Which add-ons does the listed price leave out?
- Is the quoted price for monthly or annual billing?
- Which plan includes the compliance documents procurement will ask for?
If answers from your own content are the job, the flat plan is the simplest place to start. See SiteGPT plans and start the 7-day trial.
Frequently asked questions
Cost basics
How much does an AI chatbot cost per month?
An AI chatbot costs $39 to $500 a month on published self-serve plans. SiteGPT starts at $39 a month billed yearly, Chatbase Hobby is $40 a month, and Botpress Plus is $150 a month billed annually. Enterprise contracts are quoted. Vendr's Ada data starts at $36,158 a year, which is about $3,013 a month.
What is the average cost of an enterprise AI chatbot?
There is no single published average. Vendr reports a median Ada contract of $72,000 a year across 117 purchases, with a range from $36,158 to $295,400. Most enterprise vendors publish no prices.
Is there a free AI chatbot?
Some vendors have a free plan with tight limits. Botpress Free includes 100 conversations, and Chatbase Free includes 50 message credits. SiteGPT has no free plan. It has a 7-day trial that needs a credit card.
Pricing models
Do AI chatbot platforms charge per seat?
Helpdesk platforms do. Zendesk charges $19 to $115 per agent a month billed yearly, and Intercom charges $29 to $132 per seat a month billed annually. Content-trained chatbots such as SiteGPT and Chatbase include a set number of team members in each plan.
What is per-resolution pricing?
Per-resolution pricing charges a fee each time the AI resolves an issue without a person. Fin charges $0.99 per outcome. The bill rises as the AI resolves more, so a usage limit matters.
Which pricing model is cheapest?
At 2,000 conversations a month, the flat plan is the cheapest published option at $129 a month. At very low volume a credit plan can cost less. Chatbase Hobby is $40 a month for 700 credits.
Enterprise and total cost
How do you calculate the total cost of ownership for an AI chatbot?
Add five lines over three years: plan fee, overages, add-ons, human seats, and staff time for setup and maintenance. In the examples above, three-year plan costs run from $2,844 on a yearly flat plan to $216,000 on a median custom contract.
What is the difference between SMB and enterprise AI chatbot pricing?
Small and mid-sized businesses buy published plans by card. Enterprises sign quoted annual contracts that add SSO, audit logs, security review and compliance documents. Higher volume also multiplies any per-unit fee.
Does a HIPAA BAA cost extra?
A HIPAA BAA usually requires the top plan. SiteGPT offers a BAA on Enterprise only. Intercom lists HIPAA support on Expert at $132 per seat a month billed annually. Chatbase lists HIPAA eligibility on Enterprise.
Sources
All sources were opened and checked on 4 October 2026.
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