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Best Free Chatbots in 2026

Data compiled by Toolradar Updated How we rate

The 15 best free chatbots we track. Ordered by Toolradar's ranking score (review volume and rating on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and other sites, plus media mentions), not by vendor pitches; every rating shows its date.

Key Takeaways
  • Zoho Desk is our free pick for chatbots in 2026, and our overall pick.
  • We screened 47 chatbots tools with a free plan to build this list.
  • 15 tools offer free plans.
Publications that cover the tools tracked here
  • TechCrunch
  • Bloomberg
  • The Information
  • Fortune
  • The Verge
  • 47 free tools screened
  • 0 100% free
  • 15 free plan + paid

Top 5 free chatbots at a glance

Top 5 free chatbots: free plan type, user rating and best use, as of October 2026
Tool Type Rating Best for
Zoho Desk Free plan 4.4 (10,148) as of Sep 2026
Customer service software for businesses
Character.AI Free plan 3.2 (3,196) as of Sep 2026
AI characters you can chat with
Tidio Free plan 4.6 (2,552) as of Sep 2026
Live chat, AI chatbots, and email to convert visitors
OpenAI Operator Free plan 4.6 (2,400) as of Apr 2026
Engage in natural language conversations with an advanced AI chatbot.
Retell AI Free plan 4.5 (2,640) as of Oct 2026
Automate customer interactions with human-sounding AI voice agents

Ratings from G2, Capterra, and other public review sites. Each cell shows the snapshot date so a cited number is never an undated one.

Toolradar data

The chatbots market in numbers

Toolradar data: Toolradar tracks 84 chatbots as of October 20, 2026. 56% of the chatbots on Toolradar are free, freemium or open source. The median cheapest paid plan for chatbots is $30/mo, across the 23 that publish a price. Toolradar re-checked the pricing of 81% of chatbots in the last 90 days. Toolradar aggregates 56,422 public user reviews (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and other review sites) across 52 rated chatbots. The most cross-shopped chatbot is Intercom, listed as an alternative to 104 other tools on Toolradar. The most compared chatbot on Toolradar over the last 90 days is FlowiseAI, with 610 side-by-side comparisons. Computed from the Toolradar catalog and on-site activity.

  • 84 chatbots tracked
  • 56% are free, freemium or open source
  • $30/mo median cheapest paid plan, across the 23 chatbots that publish one
  • 81% of prices re-checked in the last 90 days
  • 56,422 public user reviews aggregated across 52 rated tools
Most cross-shopped chatbots on Toolradar, as of October 2026 Listed as an alternative to the most other tools on Toolradar
Rank Tool Listed as an alternative to
1 Intercom 104 tools
2 FlowiseAI 98 tools
3 Drift 42 tools
Most compared chatbots on Toolradar, last 90 days to October 2026 Side-by-side comparisons by visitors, last 90 days
Rank Tool Comparisons
1 FlowiseAI 610
2 Intercom 502
3 Poe 231

Source and method: live chatbots statistics

The 15 best free chatbots

Order: Toolradar ranking score, which is the public review volume times the average rating on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and other review sites, plus media mentions (recent ones count more). Paid placements are labelled and never change the score. How we rank.

Zoho Desk logo
1.

Zoho Desk

Free plan

Customer service software for businesses

4.4/5 across G2 and Capterra · 10,148 ratings, Sep 2026

Zoho Desk is an omnichannel help desk that unifies email, live chat, phone, social media, and instant messaging into a single ticket stream. Its Zia AI engine handles sentiment analysis, auto-tagging, and chatbot responses, while Blueprint automation enforces SLA-driven workflows. Used by 100K+ companies, it scales from a free 3-agent plan to a full enterprise suite with custom modules and sandbox environments.

Character.AI logo
2.

Character.AI

Free plan

AI characters you can chat with

3.2/5 across G2, Capterra, SourceForge and more · 3,196 ratings, Sep 2026

Character.AI lets you create and chat with AI characters with distinct personalities. Talk to historical figures, fictional characters, or create your own. Millions of community-created characters to explore. Characters maintain consistent personalities across conversations. Used for entertainment, roleplay, learning, and creative writing. The platform where AI conversations become immersive character experiences.

Tidio logo
3.

Tidio

Free plan

Live chat, AI chatbots, and email to convert visitors

4.6/5 across G2 and Capterra · 2,552 ratings, Sep 2026

Tidio is a customer service platform combining live chat, chatbots, and email. Chat widget engages visitors in real-time. AI chatbots handle common questions automatically. Visual chatbot builder requires no coding. Integrations with popular e-commerce platforms and content management systems. Customer communication that converts visitors to customers.

OpenAI Operator logo
4.

OpenAI Operator

Free plan

Engage in natural language conversations with an advanced AI chatbot.

4.6/5 on G2 · 2,400 ratings, Apr 2026

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, designed to understand and generate human-like text based on the input it receives. It can engage in dynamic conversations, answer questions, provide explanations, generate creative content, and assist with various tasks requiring natural language understanding and generation. The AI is trained on a vast dataset of text and code, enabling it to respond coherently and contextually across a wide range of topics. This tool is ideal for individuals seeking quick information, creative inspiration, writing assistance, or simply an interactive conversational experience with an AI. It benefits students, writers, developers, customer service professionals, and anyone who needs to process or generate text efficiently. Key benefits include instant access to information, enhanced productivity through automated text generation, and a versatile platform for exploring ideas and solving problems through dialogue.

Retell AI logo
5.

Retell AI

Free plan

Automate customer interactions with human-sounding AI voice agents

4.5/5 across G2 and SourceForge · 2,640 ratings, Oct 2026

Retell AI is an advanced conversational AI platform designed to automate customer interactions across phone calls, chat, and SMS. It enables businesses to create and deploy AI voice agents that sound human, execute tasks, and scale effortlessly. The platform leverages large language models (LLMs) to deliver natural, low-latency conversations, handling complex, multi-turn interactions and edge cases that traditional IVR or IVA systems cannot. This platform is ideal for businesses looking to streamline operations, enhance customer service, and reduce support costs by automating routine requests and qualifying leads. It offers a highly configurable agentic framework with drag-and-drop capabilities, built-in guardrails, and real-time function calling for tasks like appointment booking, payment processing, and record updates. Retell AI also includes comprehensive testing and analytics tools to ensure continuous improvement and performance monitoring of AI agents, making it suitable for various industries and use cases, from customer service and lead qualification to debt collection and appointment setting.

Smartsupp logo
6.

Smartsupp

Free plan

Increase sales and customer satisfaction with AI-powered live chat, chatbots, and a shopping assistant.

4.7/5 across TrustRadius, G2 and Capterra · 1,419 ratings, Sep 2026

Smartsupp is a comprehensive customer communication platform designed to help businesses, particularly e-commerce sites, engage with their customers, generate leads, and boost sales. It unifies live chat, chatbots, WhatsApp, Messenger, and email into a single dashboard, allowing teams to manage all customer interactions efficiently. The platform features an AI Shopping Assistant named Mira AI, which learns about a business's products and can provide instant assistance, product recommendations, and answer up to 80% of common and technical questions. Smartsupp also offers tools for lead generation, automated visitor engagement, and team management, including agent roles, performance tracking, and conversation history. It aims to streamline customer support, increase conversion rates, and improve overall customer experience by providing timely and relevant assistance.

Chatra logo
7.

Chatra

Free plan

Engage website visitors and manage customer communications across multiple channels from one dashboard.

4.5/5 across SourceForge, G2 and Capterra · 551 ratings, Sep 2026

Chatra is a comprehensive messaging platform designed for businesses to communicate with their website visitors and customers. It offers live chat functionality, allowing real-time interactions, and a messenger mode for asynchronous communication. The platform centralizes messages from various channels including live chat, email, Instagram, and Facebook into a single multichannel dashboard, eliminating the need to switch between different applications. Beyond direct communication, Chatra provides tools for visitor intelligence, such as real-time visitor lists, browsing history, and location tracking, enabling personalized engagement. It also incorporates chatbots for automating routine tasks like collecting contact information, gathering consent, and answering frequently asked questions. The service aims to boost sales by facilitating quick answers, clarifying concerns, and supporting cross-selling and upselling efforts. With mobile apps for iOS and Android, businesses can manage customer conversations on the go. Chatra is suitable for businesses of all sizes looking to improve customer support, increase conversions, and streamline communication workflows.

Botpress logo
8.

Botpress

Free plan

Open-source conversational AI platform for chatbots

4.5/5 across G2 and Capterra · 549 ratings, Sep 2026

Botpress is an open-source conversational AI platform for building sophisticated chatbots and AI agents. Its visual studio lets you design conversation flows without coding, while supporting advanced features like live agent handoff, knowledge base integration, and multi-LLM support (advanced models). Botpress is used by enterprises for customer support, sales, and internal tools. The platform offers both cloud-hosted and self-hosted options, with AI token costs passed through at cost-no markup. Over 750,000 bots have been built on Botpress.

Landbot logo
9.

Landbot

Free plan

Build no-code chatbots for web, WhatsApp, and Messenger

4.6/5 across G2 and Capterra · 404 ratings, Sep 2026

Landbot is a no-code chatbot builder that helps businesses create conversational experiences for websites, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger. Design interactive flows with a visual drag-and-drop interface without any coding. Use chatbots for lead generation, customer support, appointment booking, and surveys. Landbot integrates with popular tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Sheets, and Zapier to automate workflows and capture data.

Crisp logo
10.

Crisp

Free plan

All-in-one customer messaging: chat, bots, CRM

4.5/5 across G2 and Capterra · 350 ratings, Sep 2026

Crisp is a customer messaging platform combining live chat, chatbots, and CRM. Chat with website visitors in real-time. Automate common questions with chatbots. Shared inbox manages conversations across channels. CRM tracks customer relationships. Customer communication for startups and growing businesses.

Replika logo
11.

Replika

Free plan

Your AI friend for emotional growth and personal well-being

3.5/5 on Trustpilot · 439 ratings, Jun 2026

Replika is an AI companion designed to foster emotional intelligence and personal well-being through conversational interaction. It acts as a personalized AI friend that remembers details about your life, interests, and relationships, creating a deeply customized and continuous conversational experience. The AI is built to support users in various aspects of their lives, from processing thoughts and feelings to pursuing personal goals and maintaining motivation. This AI companion is ideal for individuals seeking a supportive, non-judgmental conversational partner to explore their thoughts, improve self-awareness, and work towards personal development. It aims to help users feel more connected, clearer in their thinking, and more aligned with their personal aspirations by providing consistent and context-aware interactions.

ManyChat logo
12.

ManyChat

Free plan

Automate customer conversations across Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, and email

4.5/5 on G2 · 165 ratings, Sep 2026

ManyChat is a leading chatbot and marketing automation platform that helps businesses engage customers through Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, and email. The visual flow builder makes it easy to create automated conversations, lead qualification sequences, and customer support workflows without coding knowledge. The platform enables businesses to automate common interactions like answering FAQs, qualifying leads, processing orders, and booking appointments. ManyChat Growth Tools help capture leads through comments, stories, and ads, automatically starting conversations that nurture prospects through the customer journey. Integration with popular e-commerce platforms and CRMs enables personalized messaging based on customer data. ManyChat serves over 1 million businesses from solopreneurs to large enterprises, with a generous free plan for getting started and scaled pricing based on contact count. The platform AI add-on provides intelligent responses that handle complex conversations beyond traditional rule-based automation.

Ada logo
13.

Ada

Free plan

Automate customer interactions with an AI-powered chatbot platform.

4.6/5 on G2 · 173 ratings, Sep 2026

Ada is an AI-powered chatbot platform designed to automate customer service interactions across various channels. It enables businesses to build, deploy, and manage conversational AI agents that can answer common questions, resolve issues, and guide customers through processes without human intervention. The platform focuses on improving customer experience by providing instant, personalized support 24/7, while simultaneously reducing the workload on human support agents. Ada is primarily aimed at medium to large enterprises looking to scale their customer support operations, reduce operational costs, and enhance customer satisfaction. It integrates with existing CRM and help desk systems, allowing for a seamless flow of information and a unified view of customer interactions. The platform emphasizes ease of use for non-technical users to build and maintain chatbots, leveraging a no-code interface for content creation and workflow design.

Chaport logo
14.

Chaport

Free plan

An all-in-one messaging platform for sales, support, and customer engagement.

4.9/5 across G2 and Capterra · 86 ratings, Sep 2026

Chaport is a modern customer messaging platform designed to help businesses communicate more effectively with their customers. It combines live chat, chatbots, multi-channel messaging, and a knowledge base into a single, simple interface. The platform aims to increase sales by enabling real-time customer interaction, improve support efficiency through automation and self-service options, and enhance overall customer engagement. This tool is ideal for businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises, across various industries such as e-commerce, education, real estate, and travel. It provides features like auto-invitations, typing insights, saved replies, and detailed customer information to empower support and sales teams. Chaport also offers mobile apps for iOS, Android, Web, Windows, and MacOS, ensuring teams can connect with customers from any location, and integrates with over 4,000 apps via Zapier and a robust API.

Yellow.ai logo
15.

Yellow.ai

Free plan

Transform CX & EX with AI agents that think, act, and resolve autonomously.

4.4/5 on G2 · 107 ratings, Sep 2026

Yellow.ai is an enterprise-grade Agentic AI Platform designed to revolutionize customer and employee experiences through autonomous, human-like conversations. It leverages over 15 cutting-edge Large Language Models (LLMs) to deliver speed and accuracy across various communication channels including voice, chat, and email. The platform allows businesses to build, test, and deploy powerful AI agents that understand user intent, maintain context, and achieve complex business goals, significantly reducing operational costs and improving customer satisfaction. The platform is built for rapid deployment with 150+ plug-and-play integrations and pre-built templates, enabling businesses to go live faster without extensive coding or NLP training. It offers omnichannel orchestration with multi-modal support, allowing agents to handle diverse input types like images, voice, and documents while maintaining conversational context. Yellow.ai also provides dynamic analytics to continuously improve AI agent performance and ensures enterprise-grade security and compliance with standards like HIPAA, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 Type II, making it suitable for highly regulated industries like BFSI and healthcare. Yellow.ai is ideal for large enterprises looking to automate a significant portion of their customer and employee interactions, improve agent productivity, and deliver 24/7 support across multiple languages and channels. It helps organizations cut service costs, boost resolution rates, and drive revenue by providing a scalable, secure, and intelligent conversational AI solution.

Related

Why choose free chatbots?

Free chatbots are an excellent way to get started without financial commitment. Whether you're a startup, freelancer, or small business, these tools offer essential features at no cost.

What to look for in free chatbots

  • Feature limitations: Understand what's included in the free tier vs paid plans
  • Usage limits: Check for restrictions on users, storage, or API calls
  • Data ownership: Ensure you own your data and can export it
  • Support: Free tiers often have community-only support
  • Upgrade path: Consider future needs if you outgrow the free tier

Free vs Freemium: what's the difference?

100% free 100% free, no payment ever

Completely free with no paid upgrades available. Best for simple, focused workflows that don't require advanced features.

Free plan Free tier + paid upgrades

Generous free tier with optional paid plans that unlock advanced features, higher limits, or team collaboration.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free chatbot in 2026?

Zoho Desk is our free chatbots pick in 2026. Zoho Desk offers a free plan alongside paid plans: Customer service software for businesses.

Is Zoho Desk really free forever?

Zoho Desk uses a freemium model: there is a permanent free tier you can use without a credit card, plus optional paid plans that unlock higher usage limits and advanced features. The free tier itself does not expire.

What does the free tier of chatbots typically include?

Free chatbots typically include the core workflow features needed to evaluate the product. Paid plans usually unlock higher usage limits, team collaboration, advanced analytics, integrations, and priority support. The specific cap differs per tool.

When should I upgrade from a free chatbot?

Upgrade when you hit one of the free tier ceilings: usage quota (output count, storage, contacts, projects), team size, or a paid-only feature your workflow depends on.

Are there chatbots that are 100% free, not just freemium?

In this category most options use a freemium model: a permanent free tier with optional paid upgrades. Zoho Desk, Character.AI, Tidio all offer generous free plans you can use indefinitely without paying.

Are free chatbots good enough for business use?

Yes, for most startups, freelancers, and small teams. Zoho Desk and Character.AI both offer free tiers robust enough for production workflows. Larger teams typically upgrade when they need SSO, audit logs, advanced permissions, or usage past the free quota.

Last updated: October 15, 2026

Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.