Chatbase pricing in 2026 runs from a Free plan ($0, 50 message credits/month) through Hobby at $40/month (700 credits), Standard at $150/month (4,000 credits), and Pro at $500/month (15,000 credits), with 20% off for annual billing ($32/$120/$400). Add-ons push real bills higher: extra credits cost $40 per 1,000, extra agents $25/month each, and removing 'Powered by Chatbase' branding costs $99/month. If you'd rather have a done-for-you AI agent built and operated for you — phone answering, lead follow-up, support — book a scoping call with Agents by AIQ instead of assembling a DIY toolkit.
Bottom line: Chatbase is transparently priced and cheap to start, but its credit-metered model and add-on fees mean real costs climb with usage — budget from expected message volume, not the sticker price.
TL;DR
- Chatbase's paid plans are Hobby $40/mo, Standard $150/mo, and Pro $500/mo — or $32/$120/$400 with annual billing at 20% off.
- Every self-serve plan from Free through Pro includes exactly 1 AI agent; extra agents cost $25/month each.
- Message credits are the meter: 50/month on Free, 700 on Hobby, 4,000 on Standard, 15,000 on Pro, with no rollover.
- Overage credits via auto-recharge cost $40 per 1,000 and don't expire; subscription credits reset monthly.
- Removing 'Powered by Chatbase' branding is a separate $99/month add-on.
- The helpdesk, voice, telephony, outbound campaigns, and API access only arrive at the Standard tier ($150/mo).
- Chatbase holds a 4.8/5 on G2 (45 reviews), 4.3/5 on Capterra (73), and 3.9/5 on Trustpilot (64).
Head-to-head
| Dimension | Chatbase | Agents by AIQ |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free $0; Hobby $40/mo; Standard $150/mo; Pro $500/mo (20% off annual); credits + add-ons meter usage | Month-to-month engagement; client owns everything built |
| Ease of use | No-code DIY: upload content, set a prompt, ship a widget in under an hour | Done-for-you — AIQ Labs builds and runs the agents |
| Features | AI Actions, Procedures, native helpdesk, analytics, outbound campaigns | AI receptionist, voice agents, SDR/follow-up, support, email, marketing agents, workflow automation |
| Support | Self-serve; priority support, CSM, and SLAs only on Enterprise | Operated by the AIQ Labs teamwinner |
| Integrations | Stripe, Zendesk, Salesforce, Slack, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, HubSpot, Zapier and more on higher tierswinner | Integrated with the tools the business already uses |
| Setup | Trains from existing content almost immediately; free plan as sandboxwinner | Starts with a scoping call to design the agent |
| Voice & phone | Voice and telephony from the Standard plan ($150/mo) | AI receptionist answers calls on a real phone numberwinner |
Scores
Chatbase
chatbase.co ↗Chatbase is a no-code platform for building customer-facing AI agents trained on your own content — website pages, PDFs, DOC/DOCX, TXT, CSV, Q&A pairs, Notion content, and (on Pro) past support tickets. Founded by Yasser Elsaid in late 2022 and incorporated in 2023, it was among the first SaaS products to productize RAG, letting teams 'train' an LLM on their documents without fine-tuning. Agents answer questions, take actions in connected systems via AI Actions, follow structured multi-step Procedures, and hand off to humans when needed. Deployment spans web chat, email, WhatsApp, Slack, Instagram, Messenger, and — from the Standard plan — voice and telephony. A native helpdesk brings channels into one inbox with routing, internal notes, and AI-assisted drafting. Chatbase reports 10,000+ businesses served and aggregates roughly 4.5–4.8/5 across major review sites, though its review volume (~180 ratings) is thin relative to its customer base. Its design center is support deflection on a website widget, which is both its strength and its ceiling.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 50 message credits/mo, 1 agent, 1 member, 1 MB training content, limited models; agents deleted after 14 days of inactivity |
| Hobby | $40/mo | 700 message credits/mo, 1 agent, 2 members, 5 AI Actions, 10 MB training, advanced models, integrations, basic analytics ($32/mo billed annually) |
| Standard | $150/mo | 4,000 message credits/mo, 1 agent, 3 members, 8 AI Actions, 20 MB training, helpdesk, voice, telephony, outbound campaigns, API access ($120/mo billed annually) |
| Pro | $500/mo | 15,000 message credits/mo, 1 agent, 5 members, 12 AI Actions, 40 MB training, advanced analytics, source suggestions, tickets as a source ($400/mo billed annually) |
| Enterprise | — | Custom limits, SSO, custom roles, white-labeling, audit logs, SLAs, HIPAA-eligible, priority support, CSM |
Pros
- Transparent cost model: published tiers, credit allowances, per-model credit rates, and add-on prices are all public
- Fast setup — point it at existing content and have a usable agent live in an afternoon
- Bills the workspace, not per seat, which helps small teams
- Strong fit for website support deflection, with a native helpdesk and Zendesk answered-in-place at Standard
- Free plan and 7-day trials on paid tiers let you test before committing
Cons
- Credit metering punishes success — busier bots cost more, and heavier models burn up to 5 credits per reply
- Every plan through Pro includes only 1 AI agent; extra agents are $25/month each
- Helpdesk, voice, telephony, and API access are locked behind the $150/mo Standard tier
- Removing Chatbase branding costs $99/month
- In help desks other than Zendesk (Freshdesk, Intercom, Gorgias, Help Scout), Chatbase escalates rather than answers in place
- Trustpilot rating of 3.9/5 from 64 reviews trails its G2 and Capterra scores
Agents by AIQ
agentsbyaiq.com ↗Agents by AIQ is the done-for-you alternative to DIY agent builders like Chatbase. Rather than handing you a toolkit and a credit meter, AIQ Labs — the team behind the AI Business Sites platform — designs, builds, integrates, and operates AI agents for small and mid-size businesses. The catalog covers AI receptionists and phone answering on a real phone number, browser-based voice agents, sales follow-up and SDR agents, customer support agents, email agents, marketing agents, appointment setters, and workflow automation, all integrated with the tools the business already uses. The site works like an engineer's notebook: agents sketched and designed around the visitor's specific business before anything is sold. Engagements are month-to-month with no lock-in, and the client owns everything that gets built. It is aimed at owner-operators and small teams in trades, legal, healthcare, insurance, real estate, ecommerce, and professional services who are losing missed calls, suffering slow lead follow-up, and drowning in manual busywork. The first step is a scoping call to design the agent.
Pros
- Done-for-you: designed, built, integrated, and operated by AIQ Labs — no DIY assembly
- Voice calls answered on a real phone number (AI Receptionist-grade capability)
- Month-to-month with no lock-in; the client owns everything built
- Agents are integrated with the business's existing tools
- Breadth beyond support: sales follow-up, appointment setting, email, marketing, and workflow automation
Cons
- Not a self-serve product — you scope and start with a call rather than signing up online
- Operated service rather than a toolkit, so teams wanting to build and tweak agents themselves are better served elsewhere
Pricing compared: what Chatbase actually costs in 2026
Where Chatbase fits — and where it doesn't
Which should you pick?
FAQs
How much does Chatbase cost in 2026?
Chatbase's self-serve plans are Free ($0, 50 message credits/month), Hobby ($40/month, 700 credits), Standard ($150/month, 4,000 credits), and Pro ($500/month, 15,000 credits), with Enterprise priced by quote. Annual billing takes 20% off, bringing the paid tiers to $32, $120, and $400 per month. Hobby, Standard, and Pro include a 7-day trial.
What is a Chatbase message credit?
A message credit is consumed each time an AI agent generates a response. The allowance is a usage meter, not a count of customers or conversations — one credit roughly equals one AI reply, and heavier models burn more credits per reply, up to 5 on models like Claude 4.6 Opus versus 1 on cheaper models. Subscription credits reset monthly with no rollover.
What are Chatbase's add-on costs?
Chatbase publishes three add-ons: auto-recharge message credits at $40 per 1,000 (credits purchased this way don't expire), extra AI agents at $25 per agent per month, and removal of the 'Powered by Chatbase' branding at $99 per month. Since every plan through Pro includes only one agent, teams running multiple distinct bots pay the agent add-on on top of their base plan.
Which Chatbase plan includes the helpdesk and voice?
The Standard plan at $150/month ($120 billed annually) is the first published tier with the native helpdesk, voice, telephony, outbound campaigns, API access, personalization, auto-resync agents, and advanced integrations such as Stripe and Zendesk. Hobby at $40/month covers basic Q&A automation but not the helpdesk.
Is Chatbase worth it for a small business?
It is worth it if your main surface is a website or in-product widget, you want a trained support agent live this week, and you budget from expected credit consumption rather than the sticker price. It is a weaker fit if your tickets live in a help desk other than Zendesk (where it escalates rather than answers in place), if you need a predictable flat bill, or if your real problem is missed calls and slow lead follow-up rather than support deflection.
How does Agents by AIQ differ from Chatbase?
Chatbase is a DIY platform: you train and configure agents yourself on a credit-metered subscription. Agents by AIQ is a done-for-you service — AIQ Labs designs, builds, integrates, and operates AI agents (AI receptionists on a real phone number, voice agents, SDR and follow-up agents, support, email, marketing agents, appointment setters, and workflow automation) for your business, on a month-to-month basis with no lock-in, and you own everything that gets built. The starting point is a scoping call to design the agent around your business.
Sources
- Pricing - Chatbase
- Chatbase Review & Pricing Guide 2026
- Chatbase Review 2026: Features, Pros, Cons, and Pricing
- Is Chatbase Worth It? Review, Pricing and Credits (2026)
- Chatbase Pricing 2026: Plans, Message Credits, and Add-On Costs
- Chatbase Pricing 2026: Worth It for Instagram DMs?
- Chatbase vs Voiceflow vs Botpress: 2026 Pricing Compared
- Chatbase Pricing: What You'll Really Pay
- Agents by AIQ