10 best AI chatbot development services in 2026 (rates, ratings, pros and cons)

Key takeaways

Two chatbot agencies can quote $5,000 and $50,000 for what looks like the same project, and their portfolios read almost alike. The difference is usually who the company builds for, which stack it uses and how much of the work is your problem after launch. We compared 10 chatbot development services, nine agencies and Tidio, on what they build, what they say it costs, what clients say about them on Clutch and what you would need to bring. Rates and ratings are from Clutch and each company’s own site, read in October 2026.

The list runs from the lowest minimum project size to the highest, so Tidio, which you can start on a free plan, comes first. Every company gets the same criteria and its real drawbacks.

The best chatbot development services at a glance

Tidio is our pick for small businesses and online stores that want a working AI agent without a six-figure project; it can also build one for you. Anglara is the cheapest way to test a custom build, with a one-week pilot and a $5,000+ minimum on Clutch. Itransition and ITRex are the safer picks when the chatbot touches regulated data.

Company	Best for	Chatbot focus	Clutch rate / min. project	Clutch rating
Tidio	Small businesses and Shopify stores	Lyro AI agent, custom AI agents, done-for-you setup	No project minimum; free plan	G2 4.6 (1,962)
Anglara	A low-cost custom chatbot pilot	Chatbots on your own data, consulting	Under $25/hr · $5,000+	4.8 (17)
SoftTeco	RAG chatbots with a quick proof of concept	RAG, GPT and Claude chatbots	$25 to $49/hr · $10,000+	4.8 (14)
Eliftech	A chatbot inside a larger software project	LLM chatbots, LangGraph	$25 to $49/hr · $10,000+	4.9 (61)
LeewayHertz	GPT bots wired into CRM or ERP	GPT-based, voice and transactional bots	$50 to $99/hr · $10,000+	4.7 (9)
SCAND	Private-LLM and messenger bots	LLM and RAG, WhatsApp and Telegram bots	Not listed	No Clutch profile found
Itransition	Chatbots in regulated industries	RAG, voice, multimodal chatbots	$25 to $49/hr · $25,000+	4.9 (42)
ITRex	Healthcare and life science assistants	Gen AI chatbots and agents	$50 to $99/hr · $25,000+	4.9 (17)
Master of Code	Enterprise conversational AI across channels	Conversational AI, AI agents	$50 to $99/hr · $25,000+	4.7 (37)
Appinventiv	Enterprise chatbots with a $50,000+ budget	Enterprise chatbots, voice, AI agents	$25 to $49/hr · $50,000+	4.6 (90)

Hourly rates, minimum project sizes, ratings and review counts are as listed on each company’s Clutch profile in October 2026; Tidio’s rating is from G2. Clutch rates are bands, not quotes.

How we chose these chatbot development companies

We started from 18 companies: the ones that rank on Google in the US for “chatbot development services” and “ai chatbot development company” in October 2026, and the ones in the previous version of this list. We kept nine agencies and Tidio. We dropped companies whose site no longer works, that don’t sell chatbot development, or that we couldn’t verify from their own pages.

We compared each one on six criteria:

1. Chatbot focus. A dedicated chatbot service page and at least one chatbot case study.
2. Stack. Which models, frameworks and channels it names, and whether it builds on your own content (RAG).
3. Proof. What results it states, and whether the client is named.
4. Cost signals. The hourly rate and minimum project size on Clutch, and any published price.
5. Reviews. Clutch rating and review count, read in October 2026.
6. Fit. Whether it suits small businesses, mid-market firms or enterprises.

Sources: each company’s service pages and case studies, and Clutch. We didn’t hire any of them or speak to their clients, so case-study results are the companies’ own claims. The list is ordered by minimum project size, lowest first, not by rating.

The 10 best chatbot development services in 2026

1. Tidio

Best for: small businesses and Shopify stores that want a chatbot live now, or built for them

Tidio is a platform first: the AI agent (Lyro), the visual flow builder and the live chat inbox sit in one account, so you can launch a bot yourself in an afternoon. The services route is for teams that would rather not. On its custom AI agents page, the team that built Tidio and Lyro offers to design an agent around what you need, for sales, support automation, AI search or back-office work. On the Premium plan, Tidio’s team also configures and tests Lyro with your support content.

That makes it the one option here where a single company sells the software, sets it up and builds the custom part. It is also the only one you can try on a free plan before you talk to anyone. Tidio says Lyro can resolve up to 75% of support requests automatically; test it on your own questions in the Lyro Playground before you rely on that figure.

Tidio fits these teams best:

• Online stores, especially Shopify, where agents see the cart and order history beside the chat.
• Small and mid-sized businesses that want AI support without a big team or a long project.
• Teams with a high volume of repeat questions that want Lyro to take them off the queue.
• Companies in retail, SaaS and services that talk to website visitors and want faster replies.
• Teams that handle several channels in one inbox: live chat, email, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Key features:

• Lyro AI Agent: answers from your own content and hands the chat to a person when it can’t.
• Custom AI agents: built by Tidio’s team and booked through a short form on tidio.com.
• Done-for-you setup: on Premium, the team configures and tests Lyro with your support content.
• Shopify tools: cart preview and order history in the inbox.

Pros

• You can start on a free plan, then move to a managed setup without changing vendors.
• The AI agent, the flows and the human inbox share one account.
• Premium includes a dedicated success manager and a guaranteed Lyro resolution rate.

Cons

• Custom AI agents are quoted per project, and the page shows no price, so you request a call to get a number.
• The platform has a few quotas to keep an eye on: billable conversations, Lyro conversations and Flows visitors.
• It is built around customer service and sales chat, so a bespoke system on your own stack is a better fit for an agency.

Skip Tidio if you need a chatbot built into your own backend with regulated data flows. The enterprise firms below do that kind of project.

Pricing:

• Free: $0.
• Starter: $24.17/mo billed annually, 100 billable conversations.
• Growth: from $49.17/mo billed annually, from 250 billable conversations.
• Plus: from $300/mo plus usage.
• Premium: custom price, from 3,000 Lyro conversations, with a guaranteed 50% Lyro resolution rate.
• Custom AI agent: quoted after a call; no price published.
• 7-day free trial on Starter and Growth. See Tidio pricing.

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

2. Anglara

Best for: small and mid-sized firms that want a low-cost chatbot pilot

Anglara is a small studio from Ahmedabad, India, founded in 2017, and it has the lowest minimum project size on this list at $5,000+ on Clutch. It builds chatbots on a company’s own data for support, sales or internal questions, and it offers a one-week pilot. It lists consulting, CRM and ERP integrations, WhatsApp and Slack deployment and GDPR- and HIPAA-compliant builds.

The catch is proof. Its portfolio leans toward web design, and we found no named chatbot case study with results, only an unnamed healthcare scheduling project with no figures.

Key features:

• Chatbots on your own data for support, sales or internal questions.
• A one-week pilot before you commit to a full build.
• Omnichannel deployment across WhatsApp, Slack, web and CRM.

Pros

• The lowest listed minimum project size here, at $5,000+.
• It names its stack, from several LLMs to LangChain, Rasa and vector databases.

Cons

• A small team (10 to 49 people on Clutch), so check who would work on your project.
• No named chatbot case study with results.

Rates: under $25/hr, $5,000+ minimum on Clutch. No published prices.

Rating: Clutch 4.8/5 (17 reviews). Anglara

3. SoftTeco

Best for: mid-sized firms that want a RAG chatbot and a quick proof of concept

SoftTeco is a Warsaw-based software house founded in 2008 that builds chatbots on GPT, Claude and LLaMA with retrieval-augmented generation. It publishes timelines: two to six weeks for a proof of concept and two to four months for an MVP. Its lead case study is its own website bot, which it says made customer service twice as fast and generated 14% more leads.

That is a self-reported result on its own site; ask for a client reference.

Key features:

• RAG knowledge chatbots trained on your documents.
• System-specific bots for ERP, CRM and HR tools.
• Voice and social channels, including Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Pros

• Published timelines for a proof of concept and an MVP.
• A $10,000+ minimum on Clutch and a 4.8 rating.

Cons

• The lead chatbot case study is its own website, not a client project.
• A general software outsourcer with only 14 Clutch reviews.

Rates: $25 to $49/hr, $10,000+ minimum on Clutch. No published prices.

Rating: Clutch 4.8/5 (14 reviews). SoftTeco

4. Eliftech

Best for: teams that want a custom LLM chatbot built inside a larger software project

Eliftech is a software engineering firm in Lviv, Ukraine, with a 4.9 rating from 61 Clutch reviews, the most reviews on this list apart from Appinventiv. Chatbots are not its main line. Its clearest example is a chatbot for a US freight carrier that turns plain-English questions into safe read-only SQL against internal databases.

It suits a team that needs the chatbot, the data pipeline and the web app from one vendor, and less a team that wants only a customer-facing bot.

Key features:

• ChatGPT and custom chatbot development, built with LangGraph and vector search.
• AI MVP development for a first version.
• Team extension and dedicated team models.

Pros

• A 4.9 Clutch rating on 61 reviews, the strongest sample among the lower-minimum firms.
• A concrete chatbot case that connects to real internal data.

Cons

• Chatbots are a small slice of a broad software portfolio.
• The freight case study states no result.

Rates: $25 to $49/hr, $10,000+ minimum on Clutch. No published prices.

Rating: Clutch 4.9/5 (61 reviews). Eliftech

5. LeewayHertz

Best for: companies that want a GPT-based bot connected to CRM or ERP

LeewayHertz, founded in 2007 and based in Gurugram, India, builds GPT-based, voice, transactional and retrieval-based chatbots and integrates them with CRM and ERP systems. It also owns the ZBrain platform, and it is now part of the Hackett Group, which matters if you want an independent boutique. Its only named chatbot case is a dealer-support bot for URC, with no figures stated.

Key features:

• Custom chatbot design and development across GPT-based, voice and transactional bots.
• Integration with CRM and ERP systems.
• Maintenance and support after launch.

Pros

• It lists many bot types, from voice to retrieval-based, so a mixed project fits.
• A $10,000+ minimum on Clutch.

Cons

• Only nine Clutch reviews, so the 4.7 rating rests on a small sample.
• The named case study states no result.

Rates: $50 to $99/hr, $10,000+ minimum on Clutch. No published prices.

Rating: Clutch 4.7/5 (9 reviews). LeewayHertz

6. SCAND

Best for: teams that want a private-LLM or messenger bot from a long-established outsourcer

SCAND is a custom software outsourcer with more than 25 years of history and offices in New York and Warsaw. Its chatbot work covers LLM and RAG bots, WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger and Slack bots, and a private-LLM option built with LangChain and Ollama on local models. We found no Clutch profile for it, so there is no independent rating to cite.

Key features:

• Private RAG chatbots on local LLMs for internal knowledge bases.
• Messenger bots for WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger and Slack.
• CRM and ERP integration with Salesforce, HubSpot, SAP and Oracle.

Pros

• A private-LLM route for companies that can’t send data to external APIs.
• Dedicated team and outstaffing models listed on its site.

Cons

• No Clutch rating found, so reviews are harder to check.
• A general outsourcer, so chatbots are a side line.

Rates: not listed. No published prices.

Rating: no Clutch profile found in October 2026. SCAND

7. Itransition

Best for: mid-sized or enterprise firms that need chatbots in regulated industries

Itransition, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Decatur, Georgia, is a large IT vendor with a 4.9 rating from 42 Clutch reviews. It builds regulation-compliant chatbots and LLM assistants, with RAG, voice and multimodal options, on Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock and other stacks. Its chatbot page includes a US household-goods store whose Shopify-integrated shopping assistant fully handles 30% of conversations and saves 50% of manpower effort, as the company reports.

Its chatbot clients are unnamed, so the results are hard to check.

Key features:

• Consulting and ROI analysis before a build.
• RAG, voice and multimodal chatbots in several languages.
• Omnichannel integration, including Shopify.

Pros

• A 4.9 Clutch rating on 42 reviews.
• Specific, stated results for a shopping assistant and an onboarding assistant.

Cons

• A $25,000+ minimum on Clutch.
• Chatbot clients are unnamed.

Rates: $25 to $49/hr, $25,000+ minimum on Clutch. No published prices.

Rating: Clutch 4.9/5 (42 reviews). Itransition

8. ITRex

Best for: healthcare and life science teams that need a custom Gen AI assistant

ITRex is an applied AI firm, founded in 2009 and based in Aliso Viejo, California. Its sharpest chatbot example is a Gen AI chatbot for the Ratner Early Detection Initiative that answers cancer screening and risk questions, built on Chatling.io with Claude 3.5 and delivered in a three-week sprint. Most of its stated work sits in digital health and life science.

Key features:

• Gen AI and LLM development, including fine-tuning and RAG as a service.
• AI agents and integration with existing systems.
• Testing and LLMOps for a bot that stays accurate.

Pros

• A named healthcare case study with a stated delivery time.
• A 4.9 Clutch rating.

Cons

• A $25,000+ minimum on Clutch and only 17 reviews.
• A broad AI, data and IoT firm, so chatbots are only part of what it sells.

Rates: $50 to $99/hr, $25,000+ minimum on Clutch. No published prices.

Rating: Clutch 4.9/5 (17 reviews). ITRex

9. Master of Code

Best for: enterprise brands that need a conversational AI assistant across channels

Master of Code is a conversational AI firm founded in 2004 in Winnipeg, Canada. It builds AI chatbots, voice bots and AI agents for enterprise brands, and sells an AI Pilot with a fixed budget and fixed timeline, with no amount stated. Its featured case is a Facebook Messenger concierge for Burberry, which predates today’s LLM stack. Its own July 2026 cost guide puts a scripted bot at $15,000 to $30,000 and an AI bot on your own content at $75,000 to $150,000.

Key features:

• Conversation design and generative AI integration.
• AI Pilot with a fixed budget and fixed timeline.
• Channels including Messenger, Apple Messages and RCS.

Pros

• A published cost guide with dollar ranges.
• A 4.7 Clutch rating on 37 reviews.

Cons

• A $25,000+ minimum on Clutch.
• The featured Burberry case uses older Messenger technology and states no figures.

Rates: $50 to $99/hr, $25,000+ minimum on Clutch. No price list.

Rating: Clutch 4.7/5 (37 reviews). Master of Code

10. Appinventiv

Best for: enterprises that need compliant, integrated chatbots with a $50,000+ budget

Appinventiv is one of the largest firms here, with 1,700+ engineers by its own count, and the one with the most Clutch reviews: 90, at 4.6. It builds enterprise chatbots for banking, healthcare, e-commerce and other industries, with integrations into CRM, ERP and payment systems. Its case with stated results is a multilingual chatbot for a European bank, alongside forecasting work: 20% higher customer retention and 35% fewer manual processes, as the company reports.

Chatbots sit next to mobile apps and ERP work in its portfolio. Its cost guide from January 2026 puts a scripted bot at $40,000 to $80,000 and an AI bot on your own content at $80,000 to $200,000.

Key features:

• Consulting, conversation design and architecture before development.
• Integrations with CRM, ERP and payment systems.
• Voice, multilingual and lead generation bots, plus RAG and AI agents.

Pros

• The largest review base on this list, with 90 Clutch reviews.
• Stated results on a bank project.

Cons

• A $50,000+ minimum on Clutch, the highest here.
• Chatbots are a minor part of a wide service list, and no prices are published.

Rates: $25 to $49/hr, $50,000+ minimum on Clutch. No published prices.

Rating: Clutch 4.6/5 (90 reviews). Appinventiv

How much does chatbot development cost?

A custom chatbot typically costs $5,000 to $15,000 for a scripted bot, $30,000 to $120,000 for an AI chatbot that answers from your own content, and $80,000 to $250,000 for an enterprise AI agent that takes actions in your systems. Those are the median ranges in Tidio’s 2026 build-cost benchmark of 11 published estimates from development firms. Keeping it running adds 15% to 20% of the build cost a year.

Build type	Median low	Median high	Widest range quoted	Estimates
Scripted, rule-based bot	$5,000	$15,000	$2,000 to $80,000	11
AI chatbot on your own content (LLM, RAG or NLP)	$30,000	$120,000	$20,000 to $250,000+	11
Enterprise AI agent that takes actions	$80,000	$250,000	$50,000 to $500,000+	8

Tidio 2026 build-cost benchmark, compiled in September 2026 from published estimates by RaftLabs, Debut Infotech, Kellton, TheCrunch, Yu SMP Group, Perimattic, Treesha Infotech, Master of Code, Appinventiv, Easycomm and Softices. Median of the low and high ends each firm publishes; where a firm writes “$X+”, we used $X. All are firms that sell chatbot development, so treat the ranges as quotes, not audited costs. The full method is in our chatbot pricing guide.

A firm’s rate moves the price as much as the bot does: in the benchmark, RaftLabs budgets engineers at $35 to $40 an hour and Debut Infotech lists senior US LLM engineers at $140 to $260. On Clutch, the nine agencies above list bands from under $25 an hour to $99 an hour, and minimum projects from $5,000 to $50,000+.

How to choose a chatbot development company

Decide whether you need a custom build at all

Most small and mid-sized businesses don’t. A platform like the ones in our chatbot builder roundup goes live in days for a monthly fee; managed setup sits in between. A custom build pays off when the bot must run on your own systems, handle regulated data or take actions a platform doesn’t support. If you want to try the do-it-yourself route first, see how to create a chatbot for your website and our guide to developing a chatbot.

Match the company’s size to your budget

A $50,000 minimum tells you who the company builds for. A small studio may treat a $10,000 project as a priority; an enterprise vendor may not take it. Our guide to enterprise chatbots covers what large organizations should ask for.

Ask what the bot learns from and how it hands off

Ask where the answers come from (help center, product catalog, tickets or a database), how often they update and what happens when the bot can’t answer. A good proposal names the sources, the handoff to a person and how accuracy is tested before launch.

Check the integrations you need

List the systems the bot must read or write to, such as Shopify, a CRM or a payment system, and ask for an example in your stack.

Read the case studies for numbers, not logos

Look for a named client, a stated result and a date. Many chatbot case studies leave the client unnamed, so ask for a reference you can call. Weigh the Clutch review count as well as the rating: a 4.9 from 17 reviews says less than a 4.6 from 90.

Get the pricing model and the upkeep in writing

Ask whether the price is fixed, hourly or a dedicated team, what a pilot costs and who pays for model usage and hosting after launch. Maintenance usually runs 15% to 20% of the build cost a year. Our guide to chatbot implementation covers the rollout.

Which chatbot development service should you pick?

Start from your situation:

• You run a Shopify store and want a bot live this month → Tidio Growth with Lyro. Lyro answers order and product questions, and your team sees the cart and order history in the inbox. If you want a bespoke assistant on your own storefront code, Itransition has built a Shopify-integrated shopping assistant.
• You want AI to handle a large share of support, with the setup done for you → Tidio Premium, where the team configures and tests Lyro with your support content.
• You want to test a custom chatbot for as little as possible → Anglara, with a $5,000+ minimum and a one-week pilot.
• You need a RAG chatbot on your documents, fast → SoftTeco, which publishes timelines, or SCAND if the data must stay on a private LLM.
• The chatbot is one part of a bigger software project → Eliftech or LeewayHertz.
• You work in healthcare or another regulated industry → ITRex or Itransition.
• You are an enterprise brand with several channels and a six-figure budget → Master of Code or Appinventiv.

Frequently asked questions