How much does a chatbot cost? On a no-code AI platform, from $0 to a few hundred dollars a month: Dante AI lists $0, $40, $120 and $400 a month. An agency or in-house build adds an upfront project fee or engineering time, then hosting, model usage and upkeep. What you pay depends on the pricing model and your monthly question volume.

Published price ranges vary so widely that an average tells you little. This guide explains the five pricing models you will meet, what agencies charge for, why some plans pass $200 a month, which options are free, how call center software compares with an AI agent, and one worked example with every assumption visible.

Key takeaways

  • Vendors package the same cost lines in five ways.
  • A chatbot agency usually charges in two parts: a one-off build fee for scoping, setup, content and testing, then a monthly retainer for changes and upkeep.
  • There is no useful single average.
  • Higher tiers pay for capacity, not a better chat window.
  • Most no-code platforms offer a free plan that caps volume and features rather than time.

How much does a chatbot cost?

Every chatbot, however it is built, has the same three cost lines:

  • Setup: connecting your content, writing instructions, testing answers and adding the chat to your website. On a platform this is your own hours; on a build it is a project fee or paid engineering days.
  • Monthly running bill: a plan on a platform, or hosting plus AI model usage on a build. Either way it grows with the number of questions answered.
  • Upkeep: keeping answers accurate when prices, opening hours or policies change, and reviewing conversations.

The biggest single driver is volume: how many customer questions it answers each month. Count that before you collect any quotes.

What pricing models do chatbots use?

Vendors package the same cost lines in five ways. The table compares the models, not vendors: get a real quote for any option you shortlist.

Pricing modelWhat you pay forCost grows withWatch out forBest fit
Per seatEach person who logs in, per monthTeam sizePaying for seats when the AI does most of the answeringTeams where people answer most chats
Per resolutionEach conversation the AI closes without a personSuccessful answersHow a resolution is defined and countedHigh volume with a clear success measure
Per message or creditEach answer, weighted by the AI model usedQuestions and model choiceHeavier models using several credits per answerVariable volume you want to control
Flat planA monthly tier with a message allowanceMoving up a tier or adding credit packsWhat happens when the allowance runs outSmall businesses with steady volume
Agency build feeA one-off project fee, often plus a retainerScope and changesSoftware and hosting billed on top of the feeYou want it built for you

Dante AI uses a flat plan with credits: each plan includes a monthly credit allowance, one answer costs 1 credit on the light AI models, about 10 on standard and 25 on premium, and 1,000 extra credits cost $20 a month on any paid plan. To set plans side by side by pricing model, read our chatbot pricing comparison 2026.

Dante AI planMonthly priceBilled yearlyCredits a monthAI agentsTeam seats
Free$0, no cardNot applicable10011
Starter$40$400 a year2,00012
Advanced$120$1,200 a year8,00033
Pro$400$4,000 a year30,000105

Another AI agent costs $20 a month on any paid plan. Credits reset monthly and do not carry over. Check the Dante AI pricing page for current figures before you budget.

What does a chatbot agency charge?

A chatbot agency usually charges in two parts: a one-off build fee for scoping, setup, content and testing, then a monthly retainer for changes and upkeep. The software itself, a platform plan or hosting and model usage, is often billed on top. Rates vary by country, scope and supplier, so we do not quote a market figure.

Ask every agency for a written quote that splits three lines: the build fee, the retainer, and the software cost you will pay each month. Then ask what happens to the chatbot and its content if you stop the retainer. For agency, freelancer and in-house build costs in depth, read our guide to chatbot agency pricing.

What is the average price of a chatbot?

There is no useful single average. A free plan, a $400 a month plan and a custom build all count as a chatbot, so an average of them describes none. A better number is your own first-year cost: 12 times the monthly cost plus setup, for two or three options that fit your volume. The worked example below does this for one small business, and the calculator does it for your figures.

Why do some chatbot plans cost more than $200 a month?

Higher tiers pay for capacity, not a better chat window. The usual reasons are:

  • Volume: a larger monthly allowance of messages or credits.
  • Heavier AI models: premium models use more credits per answer, so the same traffic needs a bigger allowance.
  • More AI agents and seats: separate agents for sales, support or each brand, and more people in the inbox.
  • Features: human handover, white-label branding and integrations tend to sit on higher tiers.

On Dante AI, Pro is $400 a month for 30,000 credits, 10 AI agents and 5 team seats, and human handover is included on Advanced and Pro. If your volume fits a lower tier, pay for that tier and add a $20 credit pack in a busy month instead.

Which chatbots are free to use?

Most no-code platforms offer a free plan that caps volume and features rather than time. Dante AI's free plan includes one AI agent trained on your website and up to 100 messages a month, with no card needed. That is enough to ask it your real customer questions and judge the answers before you pay. When comparing free plans, check the message cap, whether branding can be removed and which AI models are allowed. For more, read what you can build with a free AI chatbot.

How does call center software cost compare with an AI agent?

They price different things. Call center and contact center software is usually billed per seat, sometimes with per-minute charges for calls, so the bill follows how many people are answering. An AI agent on a flat plan is billed by message volume, so the bill follows how many questions it answers. An AI agent does not replace the phone system; it takes the repeat questions off it.

To compare fairly, take one month of questions and price both: seats times the per-seat quote for the software, and the plan tier that covers the same questions for the AI agent. For per-seat, per-minute and per-conversation pricing in depth, see our guide to contact center AI pricing, and for building on raw model APIs, API costs for AI agents in a contact center.

Build vs buy: what does a worked example show?

Take a small business that handles about 1,500 customer questions a month and wants them answered on its website. The platform figures use Dante AI's listed Starter price. Every build figure is an illustrative assumption, not a market rate: swap in the quotes you receive.

First-year lineBuy: Starter planIn-house buildAgency build
Setup6 hours of your time at $30 = $18015 developer days at $500 = $7,500Build fee, assumed $5,000
Monthly running cost x 12$40 x 12 = $480Hosting and model usage, assumed $60 x 12 = $720Retainer, assumed $300 x 12 = $3,600
Upkeep2 hours a month at $30 = $7202 developer days a quarter at $500 = $4,000Assumed inside the retainer
First-year total$1,380$12,220$8,600

1,500 questions fit inside Starter's 2,000 credits a month on the light AI models. If volume doubled, the platform cost would move up to Advanced at $120 or add $20 credit packs, while the build paths would see their usage line grow.

The shape matters more than the exact numbers: a build front-loads cost and keeps an upkeep line, so it wins only when you need something a platform cannot do. The calculator below turns any path's figures into a first-year cost and a payback period. For the benefit side, see our chatbot ROI guide.

How do you price your own chatbot?

  1. Write the job in one line.
  2. Count your monthly customer questions across chat, email and phone.
  3. Pick the pricing model that fits your volume and team.
  4. Price the setup: your hours for a platform, a written quote for a build.
  5. Price the monthly bill and upkeep, then put each path through the calculator with the same benefit figures.

The quickest way to replace every assumption on this page with your own data is a week of real conversations: get started on dante-ai.com, train an AI agent on your website, and read what customers actually ask before you pay for any tier.

Sources

  • Dante AI plan prices, credit allowances, AI agents, team seats and add-ons: dante-ai.com/pricing, matching the plan definitions in the product, checked 1 November 2026.
  • Pricing model descriptions are general and name no vendor. Build-path figures in the worked example are illustrative assumptions stated in the text, not market data.