Best AI Chatbots for Customer Service in 2026: 12 Tools and What They Really Cost

Updated 2 November 2026. Prices checked on each vendor's pricing page that day.

The best AI chatbot for customer service comes down to one practical question before any feature list: do you already pay for a helpdesk? If your team lives in Intercom, Zendesk or HubSpot, their own AI agent is the simplest route. You pay for it per resolved conversation on top of your seats. If you don't, a tool that includes the AI, the live chat inbox and human handoff in one flat plan will cost a fraction of that.

We wanted to show the difference in dollars, not adjectives, so we priced 12 tools for the same small business in the same month. The bills ran from $39 to $1,318.

Before you read on, one fair disclosure: we make AssistLoop, one of the 12. To keep the comparison grounded, every price comes from the vendor's own pricing page, checked on 2 November 2026, and we show the maths for every total so you can run it again with your own numbers.

The short answer

What one month really costs

Here is the test month we used for every tool:

• A small business with 2 people answering chats.
• 1,000 customer chats a month on its website.
• The AI answers every chat first. It resolves 600 on its own and hands 400 to a person.
• The AI sends about 3 replies in each chat.
• Monthly billing, list prices in US dollars, the cheapest plan that covers it.

A few things can move these numbers, so it helps to know what pushes them up or down:

• If your AI resolves fewer chats, the per-resolution tools (Intercom, Zendesk, HubSpot, LiveChat) get cheaper, because they only charge when the AI succeeds. Credit-based tools cost the same either way.
• If your AI writes longer conversations or you pick a premium model, credit-based tools cost more. On AssistLoop, the same month on a 2-credit model uses 6,000 credits: $39 plus two $10 top-ups, so $59.
• Branding, onboarding and contracts sit outside the totals above. Chatbase charges $99 a month to remove its branding and Tidio $20. HubSpot adds a $1,500 one-time onboarding fee and asks for an annual commitment.

How AI chatbots charge for answers

Most of the gap in that table comes from the pricing model. The AI itself is only part of the bill. There are four in use today.

Per resolution. You pay each time the AI fully answers a customer without a person stepping in. Intercom calls it an outcome ($0.99), Zendesk an automated resolution ($1.50 committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go), HubSpot a resolution ($0.50) and LiveChat a resolution ($0.99 in packs of 50). It is a fair model, because you pay nothing when the AI fails. The catch is that your bill rises as the AI gets better, and it sits on top of per-seat helpdesk prices.

Per conversation or session. You pay for every chat the AI takes part in, resolved or not. Tidio sells Lyro conversations in packages, Botpress counts conversations with at least two customer messages, and Freshworks counts 24-hour chat sessions. It is predictable, but a chat that ends with a person still counts.

Per message credit. You buy a monthly allowance of credits, and each AI reply uses one or more depending on the model. That is how AssistLoop, Chatbase and Crisp work. A credit is not a conversation, so check how many replies your chats usually need. The upside is a fixed bill: on AssistLoop, when credits run out the AI stops until you top up, with no automatic overage.

Per ticket. Gorgias prices its helpdesk by ticket volume and adds a fee for each AI interaction, and an AI interaction also counts as a ticket.

The 12 tools, one by one

Each entry explains what the tool is, what it costs, how its AI is billed and who it is likely to suit. Prices are monthly billing unless we say otherwise.

1. AssistLoop

AssistLoop is an AI agent for customer support. It answers from your website, files and Q&A pairs, and hands the chat to your team when needed. It works on your website, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram.

• Price: Free plan, then Starter $39, Standard $140 and Professional $390 a month.
• AI billing: message credits per AI reply, at a rate set by the model you pick (1 or more credits per reply). Starter includes 3,000 credits, and a top-up of 1,500 costs $10.
• Included on every paid plan: live chat inbox, human handoff, tickets, branding removal and the public API.
• Good for: small teams that want answers, handoff and an inbox for one predictable price.
• Watch out for: 1 to 6 team members depending on the plan (extra seats are $12 a month), no voice channel, no Zendesk or Salesforce integration, and you retrain the agent yourself when your site changes.

2. Chatbase

Chatbase is an AI agent platform with a wide choice of models and integrations.

• Price: Hobby $40, Basic $150, Business $500 a month. Yearly billing is 20% cheaper.
• AI billing: message credits per AI reply, by model. Most models use 1 or 2 credits; some top models use 4 or 5. Extra credits cost $40 per 1,000.
• Good for: teams that want to pick from many AI models and connect actions to other tools.
• Watch out for: the helpdesk inbox starts on Basic, removing "Powered by Chatbase" costs $99 a month, and extra agents are $25 a month each.

3. Crisp

Crisp is a shared inbox with live chat and an AI agent called Hugo, priced per workspace.

• Price: Free, Mini $45, Essentials $95, Plus $295 a month.
• AI billing: included AI credits on paid plans. Crisp estimates the Mini allowance at around 90 AI conversations, Essentials at 450 and Plus at 1,350.
• Good for: growing teams that want many seats and a generous AI allowance on one flat plan.
• Watch out for: the free plan has no AI, removing the Crisp watermark needs Plus, and when credits run out Hugo stops unless you turn on pay-as-you-go, whose rate isn't published.

4. HubSpot customer agent

HubSpot's AI agent works inside Service Hub, next to its CRM.

• Price: Service Hub Professional is $100 a seat a month with an annual commitment, plus a $1,500 one-time onboarding fee.
• AI billing: $0.50 per resolution, paid in HubSpot credits. A conversation counts as resolved when it isn't handed to a person for 72 hours. Professional includes 3,000 credits a month, enough for about 60 resolutions.
• Good for: businesses that already keep their customers in HubSpot.
• Watch out for: the Free and Starter editions don't include the Customer Agent.

5. Freshchat with Freddy AI

Freshchat is Freshworks' live chat product, with the Freddy AI Agent sold in session packs.

• Price: Growth $23, Pro $59 a month per agent.
• AI billing: $49 per 100 sessions. A chat session lasts 24 hours from its start. Each account gets 500 sessions free, once.
• Good for: teams already using Freshworks.
• Watch out for: when sessions run out, the AI stops answering. In Freshdesk itself the chat AI agent needs the Omni plans.

6. LiveChat

LiveChat (now sold as Text) is a long-standing live chat tool with an AI agent priced per resolution.

• Price: Essential $25, Growth $99 a month per user.
• AI billing: Essential includes 10 AI resolutions a month and Growth 200. Each extra 50 cost $49.50. Several questions in one chat count as one resolution.
• Good for: teams whose people answer most chats and want AI to take the simple ones.
• Watch out for: there's no free plan, only a 14-day trial.

7. Intercom Fin

Intercom is a full helpdesk with live chat, ticketing and a help centre. Its AI agent, Fin, is billed per outcome.

• Price: Essential $39, Advanced $99 a month per seat. New customers get a discount on Essential.
• AI billing: $0.99 per outcome, charged at most once per conversation. If Fin can't answer, or the customer asks for a person, you pay nothing.
• Good for: teams that want a complete helpdesk and are happy to pay per AI resolution.
• Watch out for: there's no free plan, and Fin with a different helpdesk has a 50-outcome monthly minimum.

8. Botpress

Botpress is a platform for building your own AI agents, aimed at teams with developers.

• Price: Free, Plus $189, Team $939 a month.
• AI billing: per conversation (any exchange with at least two customer messages), plus AI usage at cost. Plus includes 250 conversations and $25 of AI usage; extra packs of 100 conversations cost $65.
• Good for: developers who want full control over how the agent behaves.
• Watch out for: conversation packs are added automatically at 95% of your quota, and you can't turn that off.

9. Tidio (Lyro)

Tidio is a live chat tool for small businesses, with an AI agent called Lyro sold as a separate package.

• Price: Free, Starter $29, Growth from $59 a month. Lyro starts at $39 for 50 conversations and reaches $700 for 1,000.
• AI billing: per Lyro conversation, however many replies Lyro sends.
• Good for: small shops where people answer most chats and AI handles a set number.
• Watch out for: the free plan's 50 Lyro conversations are once per lifetime, rather than monthly, and removing Tidio branding is a $20 add-on.

10. Gorgias

Gorgias is a helpdesk for online shops, priced by ticket volume, with an AI Agent add-on.

• Price: Starter $10 (50 tickets), Basic $60 (300 tickets), Pro $360 (2,000 tickets) a month.
• AI billing: an AI Agent add-on with included interactions, then a fee per interaction. Its FAQ says $1.00 on monthly plans and $0.90 on annual plans, while its plan cards show $1.50 past the limit. Each AI interaction also counts as a ticket.
• Good for: online shops that want the helpdesk and the AI priced around their ticket volume.
• Watch out for: three different AI rates on one pricing page, so ask Gorgias which applies to you.

11. Zendesk AI agents

Zendesk's AI agents answer through Zendesk messaging and are billed per automated resolution.

• Price: Suite Team $69, Suite Professional $149 a month per agent.
• AI billing: 5 automated resolutions per agent a month are included on Suite Team (10 on Professional). After that, $1.50 each committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go. You pay only when a request is resolved without a person.
• Good for: teams already running Zendesk.
• Watch out for: Zendesk's help centre describes a newer resolution-tier model, so confirm which one you'd be on.

12. Salesforce Agentforce

Agentforce is Salesforce's AI agent platform, built into Service Cloud.

• Price: Service Cloud Advanced is $395 a user a month on an annual contract and lists an AI agent for customer service.
• AI billing: Flex Credits at $500 per 100,000. Salesforce's rate card puts an Agentforce action at 20 credits.
• Good for: larger teams already on Salesforce.
• Watch out for: Digital Channels is a paid add-on with no public price, and the page doesn't say exactly what web chat needs, so we couldn't total it.

How to choose

Run through these checks before you sign up for anything:

1. Count your chats. Pull last month's chat volume and how many were simple questions. That number drives every bill above.
2. Decide if you need a new helpdesk. If you already pay for one, its built-in AI is usually simplest. If you don't, a tool with the inbox included saves you a second subscription.
3. Check the unit. Per resolution, per conversation, per credit or per ticket: work out your month in that unit before comparing prices.
4. Look for the extras. Branding removal, onboarding fees, annual contracts and seat limits can change the total more than the AI price.
5. Make sure a person can take over. Check that the plan you're pricing includes the inbox and handoff, because on some tools they start a tier up. Our guide to chatbot to human handoff covers what to test.
6. Test with your own questions. Train each shortlisted tool on your site and ask it what your customers really ask. Most offer a free plan or trial.

If you're still deciding between a simple chatbot and something that can take actions, read AI agent vs chatbot first.

FAQ

How much does an AI chatbot for customer service cost?

For a small business with 1,000 chats a month and 2 people, our comparison ran from $39 to $1,318 a month. Flat plans with included credits were at the low end. Helpdesks that charge per seat and per AI resolution were at the high end.

What is per-resolution pricing?

You pay each time the AI fully answers a customer without a person stepping in. Intercom charges $0.99 per outcome, Zendesk $1.50 to $2.00 per automated resolution, HubSpot $0.50 and LiveChat $0.99. You pay nothing for chats the AI hands over.

Which AI chatbot for customer service is the cheapest?

In our test month, AssistLoop's Starter plan at $39 was the lowest total, followed by Chatbase Basic at $150 and Crisp Plus at $295. The cheapest for you depends on your chat volume, how many replies your chats need and how many seats you need.

Is a per-resolution AI agent worth it?

It can be, if you already run that helpdesk and your AI resolves a high share of chats you'd otherwise staff. At 600 resolutions a month, the AI fees alone were $594 on Intercom and $1,180 on Zendesk pay-as-you-go, before seats.

Do I need a helpdesk to use an AI chatbot?

No. Tools like AssistLoop, Chatbase, Crisp and Tidio include their own inbox where your team picks up handed-over chats. You only need a separate helpdesk if you want one for email ticketing or already use one.

How does AssistLoop charge for AI answers?

AI replies use credits at a rate set by the model you choose. A credit isn't a conversation. Starter includes 3,000 credits a month, live chat, human handoff and 2 team members for $39, and the AI stops when credits run out, with no automatic overage. See the pricing page for every plan.

Sources

All prices in US dollars, monthly billing unless stated, checked on 2 November 2026:

• AssistLoop pricing: assistloop.ai/pricing
• Intercom pricing: intercom.com/pricing, and Fin: fin.ai/pricing
• Zendesk pricing: zendesk.com/pricing
• HubSpot Service Hub pricing: hubspot.com/pricing/service
• Salesforce Agentforce pricing: salesforce.com/agentforce/pricing, and Service Cloud: salesforce.com/service/pricing
• Freshchat pricing: freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing
• Gorgias pricing: gorgias.com/pricing
• LiveChat pricing: livechat.com/pricing
• Tidio pricing: tidio.com/pricing
• Chatbase pricing: chatbase.co/pricing
• Botpress pricing: botpress.com/pricing
• Crisp pricing: crisp.chat/en/pricing