Chatbase alternatives
Chatbase starts at $40 a month for 700 message credits, and one answer can use more than one credit depending on the AI model and the actions it runs. These alternatives suit teams that want a bill that doesn't move with the model, a person a click away in the same chat, or a free or open-source start.
By Ashish Rao and Siddarth Sam, co-founders of unclench.ai ยท Published 14 October 2026
Chatbase, Tidio, Crisp and SiteGPT prices checked on 14 October 2026 against each company's own pricing page and docs (Intercom's on 7 October 2026, Chatwoot's on 11 October 2026), in US dollars before tax.
Sources: Chatbase, Intercom, Fin, Tidio, Crisp, SiteGPT, Chatwoot
Quick summary
- unclench.ai: best flat-price option for software companies. Every AI answer counts as one reply, and your team can take over the same chat in one click.
- Intercom with Fin: best if you also want in-app messaging and a help center, priced per seat plus $0.99 per outcome.
- Tidio: best for online stores, with its Lyro AI agent as an add-on.
- Crisp: best low-cost shared chat inbox, free for 2 seats.
- SiteGPT: the closest like-for-like chatbot, priced by messages.
- Chatwoot: best if you want open-source software you can host yourself.
What Chatbase costs
- Hobby: $40 a month, or $32 billed yearly, for 700 message credits, 1 AI agent and 2 team members.
- Standard: $150 a month, or $120 billed yearly, for 4,000 message credits and 3 team members. Adds the Chatbase helpdesk inbox and API access.
- Pro: $500 a month, or $400 billed yearly, for 15,000 message credits and 5 team members.
- Enterprise: custom pricing.
- Add-ons: more credits at $40 per 1,000, extra AI agents at $300 a year each, and $118 a year to remove the "Powered by Chatbase" badge.
Every request to the AI model uses message credits, and how many depends on the model you choose. An answer that runs an action, like checking a calendar, makes more than one request, and voice uses 6 credits a minute on top of the model's credits.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Starting price | How the AI is charged | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| unclench.ai | $49 a month for 2 seats, $99 for 10 | Included: 2,000 or 6,000 AI replies a month | Teams that want an AI agent answering from their own docs, with live handover |
| Chatbase (for reference) | Hobby $40 a month for 700 message credits and 2 members; Standard $150 for 4,000 and 3 members | Message credits per AI request, varying by model; $40 per 1,000 more | An AI agent with actions, voice and an API |
| Intercom | Essential $29 a seat a month billed yearly; Fin with another help desk needs no seats but at least 50 outcomes a month | Fin AI agent, $0.99 per outcome | Chat, a help center and in-app messages in one product |
| Tidio | Starter from $24.17 a month billed yearly, with 100 billable conversations; Growth from $49.17 | Lyro AI: 50 conversations once on Starter; on Growth a paid add-on from $32.50 a month for 50 | Online stores that want live chat with AI on top |
| Crisp | Free for 2 seats; Mini $45 a month for 4 seats; Essentials $95 for 10 | AI credits included: $5 on Mini (about 90 conversations), $25 on Essentials (about 450) | A low-cost shared chat inbox, priced per workspace |
| SiteGPT | Starter $59 a month, or $39 billed yearly, for 1 member; Growth $129, or $79 yearly, for 4 | Messages included: up to 4,000 a month on Starter and 10,000 on Growth with the smaller model | A website chatbot; handoff to people goes through Zendesk, from Growth |
| Chatwoot | Free cloud plan for 2 agents and 500 conversations a month; Startups $19 per agent | 300 AI credits a month on Startups, then $20 per 1,000 | Open source: self-host it or use their cloud |
What a team of 3 pays for 2,000 AI answers a month
Three people means Chatbase Standard, its first plan with a third member. The Chatbase price assumes each answer uses one credit; a larger model, or an answer that runs actions, uses more, so the same plan covers fewer answers.
With 2 people, unclench.ai's Starter plan covers 2,000 replies for $49 a month.
| Tool | Plan that fits | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|
| unclench.ai | Growth: 10 seats, 6,000 AI replies | $99 |
| Chatbase | Standard: 3 members, 4,000 message credits | $150, or $120 billed yearly |
Free and open-source Chatbase alternatives
- Crisp: free for 2 seats, with a shared chat inbox and no AI credits.
- Chatwoot: a free cloud plan for 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, or free to self-host as open source.
- unclench.ai: a 7-day free trial with no card. Or try it on your own website first with the free demo.
How to choose
- You sell software and want AI to answer product and pricing questions from your docs, with a person a click away: unclench.ai.
- You want chat, a help center and messages inside your product in one tool: Intercom with Fin.
- You run an online store: Tidio.
- You want the cheapest shared chat inbox and need little AI: Crisp.
- You want a chatbot priced by messages, like Chatbase: SiteGPT.
- You want to host it yourself: Chatwoot.
If you need an AI agent that takes actions or answers by voice, Chatbase is the better pick.
But if you want an AI agent that answers customers from your own website and docs, says so when your docs don't cover a question, lets your team take over the chat in one click, and one flat monthly price, that's what we built unclench.ai for: $49 a month for 2 seats and 2,000 AI replies, or $99 for 10 seats and 6,000.
When Chatbase is still the right call
If you want the agent to take actions, like booking meetings from a calendar, answer by voice, or work from your own code through an API, Chatbase's Standard plan does more of that than unclench.ai. unclench.ai answers from your content and hands over to your team; it doesn't run actions or voice.
Moving from Chatbase to unclench.ai
- 1
Add your website or docs
unclench.ai reads the same pages you trained Chatbase on and keeps them in sync as they change.
- 2
Test it in the Playground
Ask the questions your customers ask and see which page each answer came from.
- 3
Swap the snippet
Replace Chatbase's embed code with one line of unclench.ai's.
- 4
Watch the gaps
Questions your content doesn't answer collect in one list, counted by how many people asked.
Questions, answered.
- What is the best Chatbase alternative?
- It depends on what you need besides the chatbot. For one flat price and a person a click away in the same chat: unclench.ai. For chat, a help center and in-app messages: Intercom with Fin. For an online store: Tidio. For the cheapest shared inbox: Crisp. To host it yourself: Chatwoot.
- How much does Chatbase cost?
- $40 a month for Hobby (700 message credits), $150 for Standard (4,000) and $500 for Pro (15,000), or $32, $120 and $400 a month billed yearly. Extra credits are $40 per 1,000.
- What is a Chatbase message credit?
- Each request to the AI model uses credits, and the number depends on the model. An answer that runs an action makes more than one request, and voice uses 6 credits a minute plus the model's credits.
- Is there a free Chatbase alternative?
- Crisp is free for 2 seats without AI credits, and Chatwoot has a free cloud plan for 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, or you can host it yourself for free. unclench.ai has a 7-day free trial with no card.
- Can Chatbase hand a chat to a person?
- Yes. Its Escalate to Human action creates a ticket in the Chatbase helpdesk inbox, on Standard and Pro, or in a help desk such as Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk or Help Scout. In unclench.ai, your team takes over the same chat in one click, or replies by email if the customer has left.
- Is unclench.ai cheaper than Chatbase?
- For a team of 2 or 3, yes. unclench.ai is $49 a month for 2 seats and 2,000 AI replies, or $99 for 10 seats and 6,000. Chatbase Standard, its first plan with a third member, is $150 a month for 4,000 credits, and covers fewer answers if your model uses more than one credit each.
See it answer from your own site.
Enter your website and try an AI agent built from your pages, free. Related: Intercom alternatives, Intercom Fin alternative, Zendesk alternatives.