In this guide
AI chatbots bill on one of four units: credits, conversations, resolutions or replies. Chatbot pricing per message only tells you the real cost once you know which unit a vendor uses and how many of them one customer question uses up. Below we cost the same month, 1,000 customer questions, under each model with vendor prices as of October 2026.
We sell one of these models, replies, so treat what follows as a vendor's explainer. We've tried to make it useful anyway. That includes saying plainly where our prices lose.
The four units vendors bill on
Every chatbot price page is a number of something per month. The something changes from vendor to vendor:
| Unit | What gets counted | Who uses it (as of October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Credits | A pool of points; each answer uses one or more, depending on the AI model and features | Chatbase, Chatling |
| Conversations | A whole chat session, however many questions it holds | Tidio (Lyro) |
| Resolutions (outcomes) | A chat the AI is judged to have resolved | Intercom (Fin) |
| Replies or messages | One answer to one question | Us, Botsonic, SiteGPT (on its cheaper model) |
None of these is a scam, and none is automatically cheaper. They put the uncertainty in different places. With credits, you don't know in advance how many answers you'll get. With conversations, you don't know how many questions fit in one. With resolutions, you don't know what share of chats will count. With replies, the uncertainty is mostly gone, but the price per unit has to cover the vendor's worst case. That's one reason our per-reply price isn't the lowest.
Credits and multipliers
A message credit is a unit of allowance, not an answer. The vendor sets how many credits each answer uses, and the number usually depends on which AI model you pick.
Chatbase is the best-known example. As of October 2026 its plans are $40 a month for 700 message credits, $150 for 4,000 and $500 for 15,000 (Chatbase pricing). Its own FAQ says each response uses credits based on the AI model, from 1 credit on the most economical models up to 5 on the most expensive. So 700 credits could be 700 answers on a 1-credit model, 350 on a 2-credit model, or 140 on a 5-credit model.
Chatling works the same way: $25 a month for 1,750 credits, $75 for 6,000 and $295 for 35,000 as of October 2026, with credits per reply set by the model (Chatling pricing).
Here's how to read a credit plan:
- Find the per-model credit table and note the cost of the model you'd actually use.
- Check that the plan includes the features you need, like lead capture, and ask whether anything besides the model changes the credits per answer.
- Divide the allowance by your real cost per answer. That's your answer allowance. The headline number isn't.
Credits aren't bad. If a cheap model answers your questions well, they can be very good value. They just make the sticker price a poor guide to the bill. For a worked example on one vendor, see what 700 Chatbase credits buys in practice.
Conversations
A conversation is one chat session, whether it has one question or ten. Tidio bills its Lyro AI agent this way. As of October 2026 Lyro starts at $32.50 a month for 50 conversations (Tidio pricing).
The important detail is what counts. Tidio's pricing page says a Lyro conversation is any interaction that has at least one reply from the AI agent. It counts once even if the AI replies many times. So a chat counts whether or not the bot solved anything. A visitor who asks one question, gets an answer they didn't want and closes the window has used one conversation.
Billing per conversation works in your favor when visitors ask several questions per chat, because the extra questions cost nothing. It works against you when most chats are one quick question, because each of those costs a full conversation.
Resolutions
Per resolution pricing charges only when the AI is judged to have solved the problem. Intercom's Fin AI agent is the main example: as of October 2026 it costs $0.99 per outcome, and the helpdesk seats it sits on start at $29 a month (Intercom pricing).
Intercom's page counts an outcome when a customer confirms their issue is resolved, when they don't ask for more help after Fin responds, or when Fin completes a workflow, handoffs included. You're charged at most once per conversation.
Intercom's own explainer, per-resolution vs per-conversation AI pricing, argues that this is fairer than paying for activity. Bear in mind it comes from the vendor that sells per-resolution pricing. The argument holds up as far as it goes: you don't pay for chats that went nowhere. The catch is the other side of that. The better the bot works, the bigger the bill, and "didn't ask for more help" counts as resolved even when the visitor just gave up.
Replies: chatbot pricing per message
A reply is one answer to one question. That's how we bill: one answer is one reply, whichever AI model produced it and whether or not it offered a lead form. Botsonic and SiteGPT also sell plans in messages.
On our plans, as of October 2026:
| Plan | Price | Replies a month | Cost per reply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $49/mo | 1,000 | 4.9¢ |
| Growth | $149/mo | 5,000 | about 3¢ |
| Scale | $449/mo | 20,000 | about 2.2¢ |
The details are on our pricing page. Paying yearly gets you 12 months for the price of 10, and new monthly plans get 30% off for the first three months.
Now the part a vendor usually leaves out. Per message, we're not the cheapest. As of October 2026:
- Botsonic is $19 a month for 1,000 messages, about 1.9¢ each (Botsonic pricing).
- SiteGPT is $59 a month for 4,000 messages on its cheaper model, about 1.5¢ each. Messages on its better model cost ten times as much (SiteGPT pricing).
- Chatling is $25 for 1,750 credits, about 1.4¢ per reply on a one-credit model (Chatling pricing).
All three beat our 4.9¢ on the sticker. Our case rests on what the price includes, covered under hidden fees below.
One month costed four ways
Here's the scenario: a small shop gets 1,000 customer questions in a month. To cost the conversation and resolution models we need two more numbers. Both are assumptions for this example, not industry figures. Check your own chat history.
- Those 1,000 questions arrive in 400 chats, an average of 2.5 questions each.
- The AI fully resolves half of those chats, so 200.
- The shop wants lead capture on, so the bot can take contact details when it can't help.
All prices are as of October 2026, from each vendor's pricing page linked above.
| Model | Vendor | What 1,000 questions uses | Plan needed | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits | Chatbase, 1-credit model | about 1,000 credits | Standard (4,000 credits) | $150 |
| Credits | Chatbase, 5-credit model | about 5,000 credits | Pro (15,000 credits) | $500 |
| Conversations | Tidio Lyro | 400 conversations | Above the 50-conversation entry tier | From $32.50 for the first 50; price the rest on Tidio's calculator |
| Resolutions | Intercom Fin | 200 outcomes + 1 seat | Essential seat | $198 + $29 = $227 |
| Resolutions | Intercom Fin, if every chat resolves | 400 outcomes + 1 seat | Essential seat | $396 + $29 = $425 |
| Messages | Botsonic | 1,000 messages | Lowest plan | $19 |
| Messages | SiteGPT, cheaper model | 1,000 messages | Lowest plan (4,000) | $59 |
| Replies | Us | 1,000 replies | Starter | $49 |
A few things fall out of this:
- Chatbase moves the most. The same 1,000 questions cost $150 or $500 depending on model choice. Even on a 1-credit model, 1,000 credits is past the 700 that Hobby covers.
- Tidio's entry tier is for low volume. 400 conversations is eight times the 50 in its starting price.
- Intercom's cost scales with success. If more chats resolve, the bill goes up. If your visitors ask one question per chat, it heads toward the $990 that 1,000 separate outcomes would cost.
- Botsonic is the cheapest line in the table. That's before removing its logo, which comes next.
To run this with your own numbers, use our chatbot cost calculator.
Hidden fees: branding, seats and overages
The unit price is half the bill. These are the other half.
Branding
Most chatbot vendors put their logo in your chat window and charge to remove it. As of October 2026:
| Vendor | Branding removal |
|---|---|
| Chatbase | $1,188 a year ($99 a month) |
| Botsonic | $49 a month |
| SiteGPT | $39 a month |
| Chatling | $35 a month (Chatling's page shows it included on its Scale plan) |
| Us | No fee on any plan |
Add those fees back and the 1,000-question month changes. Botsonic goes from $19 to $68, and Chatbase Standard from $150 to $249. SiteGPT is $98 for 4,000 messages, which is still cheaper per message than our Growth plan. We go through the full math in what it costs to remove the "Powered by" logo.
Seats
Helpdesks charge per person. Intercom starts at $29 per seat as of October 2026, on top of outcomes. If one person runs the shop that's one seat. If three people need inbox access, it's three.
Multipliers
A better model that uses more credits per answer (1 to 5 at Chatbase, ten times the cheaper model at SiteGPT) is a kind of hidden fee. The plan doesn't change. What you get for it shrinks.
Overages
Find out what happens when you run out: whether the bot stops, charges more, or upgrades you automatically. On our plans, once you reach your monthly replies, visitors see the lead form instead of an answer. They can still reach you, and you aren't charged more. Ask every vendor the same question.
Which model suits which shop
| Your situation | Model that tends to fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Low volume, logo doesn't bother you, cheap model is good enough | Messages or credits (Botsonic, SiteGPT, Chatling) | Lowest price per message as of October 2026 |
| You have a support team that lives in a helpdesk | Resolutions (Intercom) | You're buying the inbox and workflows; Fin is one part of it |
| You or your staff want to chat with customers live | Conversations (Tidio) | It's a live chat product first; see our Tidio comparison |
| You want to choose your AI model and wire up custom actions | Credits (Chatbase) | Flexibility is what the multipliers pay for |
| You want leads, no vendor logo, and a bill you can predict | Replies (us) | One answer is one reply, lead capture from Starter, no branding fee |
If you're weighing a helpdesk against a plain website chatbot, our Intercom comparison sets out who should stay with Intercom. If you have a support team, that's probably you.
When we're not the right choice
- You only care about price per message and don't mind the vendor's logo. Botsonic at $19 for 1,000 messages as of October 2026 costs less than our $49.
- You need high volume on a budget model. SiteGPT's cheaper model and Chatling's credits give you more answers per dollar.
- You want live chat with humans. We answer and then take contact details for you to follow up. We don't run an inbox.
- You need the bot to look up orders or book appointments. Ours can't see orders and doesn't book.
Frequently asked questions
What is a message credit?
A message credit is a unit of allowance that a chatbot vendor deducts each time the bot answers. How many credits one answer uses depends on the vendor, the AI model and sometimes the features in use. At Chatbase, a reply uses 1 to 5 credits depending on the model as of October 2026, so a credit isn't the same thing as an answer.
Does a conversation count if the bot didn't solve anything?
On conversation-based pricing, usually yes. Tidio's pricing page counts a Lyro conversation once the AI has replied at least once, whatever the outcome. Per-resolution pricing like Intercom's Fin only charges when the chat counts as resolved.
What counts as a "resolution"?
Each vendor sets its own definition. Intercom counts an outcome when the customer confirms the issue is resolved, when they don't ask for more help after Fin responds, or when Fin completes a workflow, including a handoff. Read the definition before you budget, because "didn't ask for more help" can include visitors who simply left.
Which chatbot pricing is cheapest?
Per message on the sticker, Botsonic ($19 for 1,000), SiteGPT on its cheaper model ($59 for 4,000) and Chatling ($25 for 1,750 credits) are cheaper than our Starter plan as of October 2026. Once you add branding removal and price the model you actually want, the order can change. Cost your real volume with every fee included before deciding.