10 best AI chatbot builders in 2026 (features, pricing, pros and cons)

Key takeaways

Most chatbot builders look the same in a demo. The differences show up after launch: the bot that only follows scripts, the AI that answers from the wrong page, or the bill that grows with every conversation. We compared 10 AI chatbot builders on what they learn from, how you build and test a bot, where it can run, and what it really costs. Each tool gets a best-for line, so you can shortlist two or three in a few minutes.

The best AI chatbot builders at a glance

Tidio is our pick for small businesses and online stores that want AI answers backed by a human inbox, with rule-based flows on top. Chatbase is the fastest route from your help content to a working AI agent. Botpress is the builder for teams with a developer who want full control over the logic.

Chatbot builder	Best for	How you build	Free plan	Paid plans from	G2 rating
Tidio	Small businesses and Shopify stores	AI agent + no-code visual flows + live chat	Yes	$24.17/mo (annual)	4.6 (1,962)
Chatbase	An AI agent trained on your content	AI agent	Yes	$40/mo	No G2 page
Botpress	Custom AI agents built by a technical team	Visual studio + code	Yes	$150/mo (annual)	4.5 (513)
Voiceflow	Agencies and CX teams building complex agents	Visual workflows + AI playbooks	Trial only	Custom quote	4.5 (115)
Landbot	No-code lead-gen flows on web and WhatsApp	Visual flow builder + AI	Yes	€32/mo (annual)	4.7 (334)
ManyChat	Instagram, Messenger and TikTok DMs	Visual flows + Manychat AI	Yes	$14/mo (annual)	4.5 (165)
Intercom Fin	Support teams that want a full help desk	AI agent + workflows	Trial only	$29/seat/mo + $0.99 per outcome	4.5 (3,900+)
HubSpot	Free rule-based bots tied to a CRM	Visual chatflows	Yes	Paid Hubs	4.4 (3,017, Service Hub)
Zapier Chatbots	Bots that trigger automations in other apps	AI bot + Zaps	Yes	$13.33/mo (annual)	4.5 (2,087, Zapier)
Botsonic	Low-cost GPT bot trained on your site	AI agent	Trial only	$16/mo (annual)	4.6 (107)

What is a chatbot builder?

A chatbot builder is software that lets you build a chatbot and put it live without writing the code yourself. You design what the bot says, connect it to your website or messaging apps, and decide when it hands a conversation to a person. You’ll also see these tools called chatbot makers, chatbot generators, bot builders, or chatbot building and development platforms.

In 2026, “AI chatbot builder” covers two different things, and most tools now mix them:

	No-code flow builder	AI agent builder
How it works	You draw the conversation: triggers, questions, buttons, branches	You connect knowledge (web pages, files, help articles) and write instructions
Good at	Lead capture, qualification, fixed processes, offers	Open questions phrased in ways you never scripted
Weak at	Anything you didn’t script	Strict processes, unless you add rules or actions
Examples here	Landbot, ManyChat, HubSpot, Tidio Flows	Chatbase, Botsonic, Intercom Fin, Tidio Lyro

For a wider look at the category, including enterprise tools, see our guide to the best chatbot platforms.

How we chose these chatbot builders

We started from more than 30 tools that appear in current chatbot builder roundups and in AI search answers for “best chatbot for website” and “best chatbots for small business”. We kept 10 that are still sold as they are described, publish enough detail to compare, and let a non-developer launch a customer-facing bot. We dropped tools that have been renamed or folded into another product, and ones with too few reviews to judge.

We compared each builder on six criteria:

1. Build method. Visual flows, an AI agent, or both, and how much you can do without code.
2. What the AI learns from. Web pages, files, help center articles, product catalogs.
3. Testing and handoff. Can you preview answers before customers see them, and pass a chat to a person?
4. Channels and integrations. Website widget, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Shopify, WordPress, CRM.
5. Pricing model. The billing unit, the free plan limits, and the add-ons that change the bill.
6. User feedback. G2 rating and review count, read on 30 September 2026.

Sources: each vendor’s pricing and product pages, their help docs, and G2. We did not run a timed build test in every tool or measure AI accuracy on a shared question set, so treat resolution claims as the vendor’s own. The list is ordered by fit for small and mid-sized businesses and online stores, not by rating.

The 10 best AI chatbot builders in 2026

1. Tidio

Best for: small businesses and Shopify stores that want AI and live chat in one tool

Tidio puts two builders in the same account as its live chat. Lyro is the AI agent: it reads your support content and answers customer questions in natural language. Flows is the no-code visual chatbot builder for rules: greet visitors on a page, collect emails, recover carts, send a discount. Both hand over to a shared inbox where your team takes the chat.

What sets it apart on this list is how much of that works for an online store out of the box. On Shopify, agents see the customer’s cart and order history next to the chat, and on Growth and higher plans they can cancel orders, issue refunds or change a shipping address from the dashboard. Lyro learns from web pages, Q&A pairs, CSV or PDF files, a Zendesk import or your synced product catalog, so it isn’t limited to an FAQ page. Lyro solves up to 67% of customer questions automatically. Test it on your own questions in the Lyro Playground before you go live.

Tidio fits these teams best:

• E-commerce businesses, especially Shopify stores, thanks to native features such as live cart preview and order history.
• Small and medium-sized businesses that want to automate support without a large team.
• Businesses with high support volume that want Lyro to take repetitive questions off the queue.
• Companies across industries (retail, SaaS, services) that talk to website visitors and want faster replies.
• Teams that manage several channels: live chat, email, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp in one inbox.

Key features:

• Lyro AI Agent: answers in 48 languages from your own content and forwards anything it can’t answer to a person.
• Flows: a drag-and-drop editor with 40+ templates and triggers such as first visit, specific page, add to cart on Shopify and exit intent.
• Lyro Actions: ready-made templates such as Shopify order status, Calendly booking and Klaviyo, Mailchimp or HubSpot contacts, plus custom API actions. Your first Action is free; full access comes with a paid Lyro plan.
• Shopify tools: cart preview, order history and order edits from the inbox.
• Lyro Connect: run Lyro inside Zendesk, Salesforce or another help desk (Plus and Premium).

Pros

• No second vendor to wire in: the AI agent and the flows hand chats to the same inbox your team works from.
• Shopify cart and order data sit next to the conversation.
• Lyro learns from more than an FAQ page: URLs, files, Q&A, a Zendesk import and your product catalog.
• A free plan and a 7-day trial of paid features let you test before you pay.

Cons

• Lyro and Flows are priced separately from the help desk plan, so you only pay for the automation you use, but there are a few quotas to keep an eye on: billable conversations, Lyro conversations and Flows visitors.
• Self-serve plans cover up to 10 seats; larger teams move to Plus, set up with Tidio’s sales team.

Pricing:

• Free: $0, 50 billable conversations a month, plus 50 Lyro conversations and 100 Flows visitors to try.
• Starter: $24.17/mo billed annually ($29 monthly), 100 billable conversations.
• Growth: from $49.17/mo billed annually ($59 monthly), from 250 billable conversations.
• Plus: from $300/mo plus usage, with custom seats and limits.
• Premium: custom price, from 3,000 Lyro conversations, with a guaranteed 50% Lyro resolution rate.
• Lyro AI Agent: from $32.50/mo billed annually ($39 monthly) for 50 Lyro conversations, up to 1,000.
• Flows: from $24.17/mo billed annually, from 2,000 visitors reached.
• 7-day free trial on paid plans. See Tidio pricing.

Rating: G2 4.6/5 (1,962 reviews)

2. Chatbase

Best for: turning your help content into an AI agent quickly

Chatbase is built around one job: point it at your content and get an AI agent that answers from it. You can crawl a website, upload files such as PDFs, or paste text as its knowledge. Higher plans add help desk features, voice and outbound campaigns. The ceiling is the inbox: it’s an AI-first tool, so teams with a lot of human chat usually pair it with a help desk.

Key features:

• AI actions per agent to do more than answer, plus integrations with Shopify, Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Calendly and WordPress.
• Model choice: OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and DeepSeek models on paid plans.
• Help desk, voice and API access from the Standard plan.

Pros

• Very short path from existing content to a working bot.
• Wide integration list, including the major help desks.

Cons

• Pricing runs on message credits, so busy months cost more; extra credits are $40 per 1,000.
• Removing “Powered by Chatbase” branding is a $99/mo add-on.

Pricing: Free ($0, 50 message credits a month, 1 member; inactive agents are deleted after 14 days). Hobby $40/mo (700 credits), Standard $150/mo (4,000 credits), Pro $500/mo (15,000 credits), 20% off yearly, 7-day trial. Checked on the Chatbase pricing page.

Rating: no G2 product page found.

3. Botpress

Best for: technical teams building a custom AI agent step by step

Botpress gives you a visual studio plus knowledge bases, tables and code where you need it. That makes it the most flexible builder here for teams with a developer. The trade-off is time: you design more of the agent yourself, and non-technical owners usually need help to keep it running.

Key features:

• Botpress Studio, a visual AI agent builder, plus a natural-language builder.
• Knowledge bases, tables and escalation to a human, with integrations for Intercom, Zendesk, HubSpot and Salesforce.
• White-label webchat on paid plans.

Pros

• Deep control over logic and data for complex use cases.
• Human-assisted and AI-only conversations count the same, which makes costs easy to forecast.

Cons

• The first paid plan starts at $150/mo, a big step up from the free tier.
• Steeper learning curve than the no-code tools on this list.

Pricing: Free ($0, 25 conversations, 3 seats, 3 AI agents). Plus $150/mo billed annually (250 conversations, extra packs of 100 for $65). Team $750/mo billed annually (1,500 conversations, packs of 100 for $50). Enterprise custom. Checked on the Botpress pricing page.

Rating: G2 4.5/5 (513 reviews)

4. Voiceflow

Best for: agencies and CX teams designing complex chat and voice agents

Voiceflow lets you mix “agentic playbooks” with scripted workflows under one set of instructions, and bring the model of your choice. It fits teams that build agents for clients or run large support operations. It has moved upmarket: there is no public price list, so small teams can’t price it without a sales call.

Key features:

• Agent builder that combines AI playbooks and deterministic workflows.
• Model choice: major LLM providers or your own model.
• Voice and chat deployment, with environments for development, staging and production.

Pros

• Strong fit for agencies: multi-client workspaces, white-labeling and client handoff.
• Flexible on models, so you avoid lock-in.

Cons

• No published prices for businesses; you request a quote.
• More than most small websites need.

Pricing: agencies get a free trial with usage-based billing; businesses request pricing. Checked on the Voiceflow pricing page.

Rating: G2 4.5/5 (115 reviews)

5. Landbot

Best for: no-code lead-generation flows on your website and WhatsApp

Landbot is a visual chatbot builder first: you drag blocks to build conversational forms, quizzes and qualification flows, then add AI chats on paid plans. It’s one of the easiest ways to replace a web form with a conversation. It suits marketing teams more than support teams, and WhatsApp is a paid add-on.

Key features:

• Visual builder with templates and A/B tests on paid plans.
• Human takeover through a shared inbox on every plan.
• Integrations with HubSpot, Airtable and webhooks from Professional.

Pros

• Very approachable builder for non-technical marketers.
• Free plan never expires and needs no card.

Cons

• AI chats are capped per plan (100 on Starter, 300 on Professional).
• WhatsApp costs an extra ‚Ǩ100/mo on Professional.

Pricing: Free (€0, 100 chats a month, no AI chats, 1 seat). Starter €32/mo billed annually (€40 monthly), 500 chats, 100 AI chats. Professional €80/mo billed annually (€100 monthly), 2,500 chats, 300 AI chats. Extra chats €0.05. Euro prices as shown on the Landbot pricing page, which bills in euros inside the EU and in dollars elsewhere; check the dollar figure at checkout.

Rating: G2 4.7/5 (334 reviews)

Read more: our Landbot review.

6. ManyChat

Best for: creators and brands selling through Instagram, Messenger and TikTok DMs

ManyChat is the specialist for social DMs: reply to comments and run keyword campaigns that collect emails inside Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and Telegram. Manychat AI is included from the Pro plan. It’s not a website support tool, so pair it with something else if most questions arrive on your site.

Key features:

• Comment reply and keyword automations that open a DM.
• Manychat AI, included on the Pro plan.
• Contact tags and segments for follow-up campaigns.

Pros

• The most focused tool here for social selling.
• Cheap entry: Essential is $14/mo billed annually.

Cons

• Pricing scales with active contacts, so a viral post can push you up a tier.
• The free plan shows “Powered by Manychat” and caps you at 25 active contacts.

Pricing: Free ($0, 25 active contacts, 2 channels). Essential $14/mo billed annually (250 contacts, 14-day trial). Pro $29/mo billed annually (2,500 contacts, includes Manychat AI). Business from $69/mo. Checked on the ManyChat pricing page.

Rating: G2 4.5/5 (165 reviews)

Read more: ManyChat alternatives.

7. Intercom Fin

Best for: support teams that want an AI agent inside a full help desk

Fin is Intercom’s AI agent, sold with the Intercom help desk: shared inbox, tickets, help center and Workflows on the Advanced plan. It’s a strong choice when support is a core function with its own team. The bill has two parts, seats and outcomes, which adds up quickly for small teams with high chat volume.

Key features:

• Fin AI Agent for service, sales and e-commerce questions.
• Workflows automation builder from the Advanced plan.
• Shared inbox, ticketing and help center included.

Pros

• Mature help desk and AI agent from one vendor.
• 14-day free trial includes Fin and add-ons.

Cons

• You pay per seat and per Fin outcome, so costs grow with team size and volume.
• More platform than a small website needs.

Pricing: Essential $29 per seat/mo, Advanced $85, Expert $132, billed annually, plus Fin from $0.99 per outcome. 14-day free trial. Checked on the Intercom pricing page.

Rating: G2 4.5/5 (3,900+ reviews)

Read more: Intercom alternatives.

8. HubSpot

Best for: teams already on HubSpot CRM that want free rule-based bots

HubSpot’s chatbot builder is free with no credit card. You build chatflows that qualify leads and book meetings, or answer common support questions, personalized with contact data from the CRM. It’s the natural choice if HubSpot already runs your marketing and sales. Outside that ecosystem it’s less compelling, and the AI agent sits in paid editions.

Key features:

• No-code chatflows that qualify leads and book meetings.
• CRM personalization and follow-up email sequences after a chat.
• Customer Agent, HubSpot’s AI agent, on Service Hub Professional and Enterprise, at 50 HubSpot Credits (about $0.50) per resolved conversation.

Pros

• Free, and every chat lands in the CRM.
• Easy to set up for existing HubSpot users.

Cons

• AI features cost extra through paid Hubs and credits.
• Rule-based bots only on the free tier.

Pricing: chatbot builder free; more functionality in paid Marketing, Sales, Service and Content Hub editions. Customer Agent needs Service Hub Professional or Enterprise plus credits (50 per resolved conversation). Checked on HubSpot’s chatbot builder, credits and knowledge base pages.

Rating: G2 4.4/5 (3,017 reviews, Service Hub)

Read more: HubSpot alternatives.

9. Zapier Chatbots

Best for: bots that collect data and trigger automations in other apps

Zapier Chatbots is a simple AI chatbot builder attached to Zapier’s automation platform. The draw is what happens after the chat: a lead can land in your CRM, a spreadsheet or Slack through a Zap. As a support bot it’s basic, with small knowledge limits and short conversation history.

Key features:

• Lead and custom info collection passed to Zaps.
• Embed on your website from the Pro plan.
• Keyword actions and a Zap button that run automations from inside the chat.

Pros

• Cheap entry: Pro is $13.33/mo billed annually.
• Connects to the thousands of apps Zapier supports.

Cons

• Conversation history is kept for 7 to 30 days depending on plan.
• The Zapier logo stays until the Advanced plan.

Pricing: Free (2 chatbots, GPT-4o mini and GPT-3.5). Pro $13.33/mo billed annually ($160/yr), 5 chatbots. Advanced $66.67/mo billed annually ($800/yr), 20 chatbots. Checked on the Zapier pricing page.

Rating: G2 4.5/5 (2,087 reviews, Zapier overall)

10. Botsonic

Best for: a low-cost GPT chatbot trained on your website

Botsonic, from Writesonic, trains a GPT-based bot on your site (sitemaps up to 5,000 URLs on Starter) and deploys it on your website, WhatsApp, Messenger or Telegram. It’s one of the cheapest AI-first options to start. Message caps are tight on the entry plan, and there’s no free plan, only a trial.

Key features:

• Sitemap and file training with lead capture forms.
• Agentic actions (3 on Starter, 5 on Professional).
• Channels: website, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, plus Zapier.

Pros

• Low entry price for an AI-first builder.
• Quick setup from a sitemap.

Cons

• Starter includes 1,000 messages and 1 chatbot.
• API access is a $49/mo add-on below the Advanced plan.

Pricing: Starter $16/mo billed annually ($19 monthly), Professional $41/mo ($49), Advanced $249/mo ($299). 7-day free trial. Checked on the Botsonic pricing page.

Rating: G2 4.6/5 (107 reviews)

How to choose a chatbot builder

Every tool above is strong for a specific job. These checks separate the right one from a good demo.

Pick a no-code visual builder, an AI agent, or both

List the 20 conversations you want the bot to handle. If most follow a fixed path (book a demo, collect an email, send a discount), a visual flow builder is enough. If most are open questions (“does this fit a size 10 foot?”), you need an AI agent. Most teams need both, which is why builders now combine them. For the agent side in depth, see our guide to the best AI agent builders.

Check what the AI learns from

Write down where your answers live today: help center, product pages, PDFs, past tickets, a product catalog. Then confirm the builder can import each one and keeps it in sync. Poor source content gives poor answers, whatever the tool. Our guide to knowledge base chatbots covers how to prepare it.

Test before launch, and test the handoff

Run your top 20 real questions in the builder’s preview or playground before any customer sees the bot. Then ask something it can’t know and check that it hands the chat to a person with the history attached. A bot that can’t escalate costs you more than it saves.

Match the channels and integrations you already use

Check the channels your customers message you on (website, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email) and the tools the bot must read or write: Shopify, WordPress, your CRM, your help desk. Native integrations beat a webhook you maintain. If you’re setting up on a site for the first time, follow our step-by-step guide to creating a chatbot for your website.

Price the billing unit, not the headline

List price is never total cost. Estimate one month of conversations, then price it in each tool’s unit:

Billing unit	What counts	Tools here
Conversation	One chat, however many messages	Tidio (Lyro conversations), Botpress, Landbot (chats)
Message credit	Each AI reply	Chatbase, Botsonic (messages)
Active contact	Each person you message in a month	ManyChat
Outcome or resolution	Each chat the AI resolves	Intercom Fin, Tidio Premium
Seat	Each teammate	Intercom, Botpress and Landbot (included seats)

For worked cost examples across more vendors, see our chatbot pricing guide.

Free chatbot builders: what you get before you pay

Seven of the 10 builders have a free plan, but the limits differ a lot. This is what each one gives you at $0, as listed on 30 September 2026.

Builder	Free plan includes	What pushes you to pay
Tidio	50 billable conversations a month; 50 Lyro conversations and 100 Flows visitors to try (one-off)	Ongoing Lyro and Flows volume
Chatbase	50 message credits a month, 1 member	Credits run out fast; inactive agents deleted after 14 days
Botpress	25 conversations, 3 seats, 3 AI agents	No top-ups on the free plan
Landbot	100 chats a month, 1 seat	No AI chats included
ManyChat	25 active contacts, 2 channels	Branding on messages, contact cap
HubSpot	Rule-based chatflows	AI agent in paid editions
Zapier Chatbots	2 chatbots, basic models	Website embed needs Pro
Intercom, Voiceflow, Botsonic	Trial only (14 days for Intercom, 7 days for Botsonic)	Everything after the trial

Which chatbot builder should you pick?

Start from your situation:

• You run a Shopify store → Tidio Growth with Lyro. Lyro answers product and order-status questions while Flows recovers carts. Your team sees the cart and order history in the inbox. For a pure help desk built only around Shopify tickets, Gorgias is the specialist alternative.
• You’re a small business with a website and a small team → Tidio Starter or Growth, plus Lyro. Lyro and Flows run in the same account as your live chat, and the free plan lets you start before you pay.
• You want an AI agent built from your existing docs ‚→ Chatbase, if you don’t need a full human inbox.
• You have a developer and a complex use case ‚→ Botpress, or Voiceflow if you’re an agency building for clients.
• Your customers are on Instagram and Messenger ‚→ ManyChat.
• You run HubSpot and want free lead-qualification bots → HubSpot.
• Your support team is growing past 10 agents ‚→ Tidio Plus for AI and human conversations billed separately at volume rates, or Intercom Fin if you want Intercom’s help desk.

Frequently asked questions