Best Free Chatbots for Websites in 2026: What Each Free Plan Covers for 500 Chats a Month
Short answer, checked 20 Oct 2026: no free plan here answers all 500 chats a month with AI from your own pages. Typebot has the largest free bot allowance (200 chats, or 40%) but runs scripted flows, and Botpress includes AI in 100 conversations (20%) without saying they renew monthly. Covering all 500 with AI costs $345 a month on Botpress Plus plus extra packs, billed yearly, or $54.17 on tawk.to AI Assist at one reply per chat (our arithmetic).
Eight chatbot and live chat tools compared on free monthly chats, AI allowance, vendor branding and the first paid step, with prices read on vendor pages on 20 Oct 2026.
Every free chatbot plan is free in a different unit, so "free" hides whether an AI answers 40 messages, 100 conversations or 500 chats. This guide prices one site, called S1: 500 visitor chats a month, an AI chatbot that answers from the site's own pages and one PDF, lead capture by email, one website, one operator and no credit card. Toolradar data: of the 95 chatbots we track, 57% are free, freemium or open source, yet among the eleven website-chat vendors whose pricing pages we read for this guide, three offer only a trial or print no prices, and none of the eight free plans includes more than 100 AI conversations or message credits a month.
Where a vendor counts replies, credits, sessions or visitors instead of chats, the table keeps the vendor's own unit and we assume one AI reply per chat as a floor, because the pages do not define a chat in replies. Two other sizes frame the choice: 100 chats a month, which three free plans absorb on their stated allowances, and 2,000 chats a month, which none does. The order follows how many chats a bot can handle each month on the free plan, measured against a 500-chat month. Typebot leads with 200, then Botpress and Landbot at 100 each, the one that includes AI first. tawk.to follows on a small monthly AI allowance, then Tidio with a one-off AI allowance, and last the live chat plans from Crisp, Smartsupp and Freshchat, which carry no bot.
Methodology: from the 95 chatbots in the chatbots category we read the pricing pages of eleven website-chat vendors on 20 Oct 2026 and kept the eight that print a free plan. Chatbase and Chatfuel list a trial rather than a free plan and Voiceflow prints no plan prices, so none of the three is ranked. Every figure comes from the vendor's own pricing or help-center page, each price names its billing period, and the totals are our arithmetic on printed prices. For other angles, see best chatbot builders and cheapest live chat software.
Top Picks
Picked by editorial review, informed by G2 and Capterra review volume and rating and by media mentions, the signals behind our category rankings. How we rate
Free for 200 chats a month, the largest free bot allowance here, as scripted flows; AI answers need your own OpenAI account.
Starting price
Free; Starter $39/mo billed monthly
4.6 (70 reviews)
Best for
Sites that want a scripted lead-capture flow now and can connect an OpenAI account later.
Free for 100 conversations with AI spend included, but the page does not say whether they renew each month.
Starting price
Free; Plus $150/mo billed yearly
4.5 (549 reviews)
Best for
Builders who want AI answers from their own documents on a free plan and accept Botpress branding.
Free for 100 chats a month with no AI chats included, so the free plan runs scripted flows only.
Starting price
Free; Starter $36/mo billed yearly
4.6 (404 reviews)
Best for
Small sites that want a rule-based lead flow free now and can add AI chats later.
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typebot | Free; Starter $39/mo billed monthly | 4.6 70 reviews | Sites that want a scripted lead-capture flow now and can connect an OpenAI account later. |
| Botpress | Free; Plus $150/mo billed yearly | 4.5 549 reviews | Builders who want AI answers from their own documents on a free plan and accept Botpress branding. |
| Landbot | Free; Starter $36/mo billed yearly | 4.6 404 reviews | Small sites that want a rule-based lead flow free now and can add AI chats later. |
| tawk.to | Free; AI Growth $29/mo billed monthly | 4.6 548 reviews | Owners who answer chats themselves and want a small free AI allowance on the side. |
| Tidio | Free; Lyro 500 chats $350/mo monthly | 4.6 2,552 reviews | Owners who answer most chats themselves and want to try the Lyro AI agent first. |
| Crisp | Free; AI from Mini $45/mo | 4.5 350 reviews | Owners who staff the chat themselves and may add AI in the same inbox later. |
| Smartsupp | Free; Mira AI $16 per 100 chats yearly | 4.7 1,419 reviews | Shops with one site that want a small free live chat and may add Mira later. |
| Freshchat | Free; Growth $19/agent/mo billed yearly | 4.3 656 reviews | Teams of several people who answer chats by hand and may add AI later. |
- Starting price
- Free; Starter $39/mo billed monthly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.6 (70 reviews)
Best for: Sites that want a scripted lead-capture flow now and can connect an OpenAI account later.
- Pro: Free plan allows 200 chats a month, 40% of the 500-chat scenario, with unlimited typebots
- Pro: A chat is one started discussion however many messages follow, so the unit maps to a visitor chat
- Pro: Starter includes 2,000 chats, removes Typebot branding and adds file collection from users
- Con: The pricing page lists no AI feature; the OpenAI block in its docs needs an OpenAI account, which Typebot's page does not price
- Con: Typebot branding stays on Free, and removal starts on Starter
Typebot offers a generous Free tier, making it accessible for individuals and small projects.
Watch out
Extra chats at $10 per 500 on Starter
- Starting price
- Free; Plus $150/mo billed yearly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.5 (549 reviews)
Best for: Builders who want AI answers from their own documents on a free plan and accept Botpress branding.
- Pro: Free plan holds 100 conversations, 20% of the 500-chat scenario, with no top-ups or overages
- Pro: Free includes 100MB of vector storage and 100MB of file storage for site content and a PDF
- Pro: Plus includes 250 conversations and $25 of AI usage, at $189 a month billed monthly
- Con: Paid plans are written per month but the Free allowance is not, and the visible text never says it renews, although the page's embedded plan data marks Free as monthly
- Con: Botpress branding stays on webchat until Plus, which adds white-label webchat
Watch out
Overage fees for messages beyond tier limits
- Starting price
- Free; Starter $36/mo billed yearly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.6 (404 reviews)
Best for: Small sites that want a rule-based lead flow free now and can add AI chats later.
- Pro: Free plan includes 100 chats a month, 20% of the 500-chat scenario, with no card and no expiry
- Pro: Starter includes 500 chats and 100 AI chats, at $45 a month billed monthly
- Pro: Extra chats cost $0.05 each and extra AI chats $0.10 each, both printed on the page
- Con: Free includes no AI chats, so it cannot answer from your pages
- Con: Landbot branding stays until Professional, at $88 a month billed yearly
Landbot's pricing is fair for its target market, offering a generous free 'Sandbox' tier.
Watch out
Overage fees for exceeding chat limits
- Starting price
- Free; AI Growth $29/mo billed monthly
- Free plan
- Free to use
- Rating
- 4.6 (548 reviews)
Best for: Owners who answer chats themselves and want a small free AI allowance on the side.
- Pro: Hobby gives 100 message credits a month, about 33 replies on the default Auto model at 3 credits each
- Pro: Growth includes 1,000 credits, 3 AI agents and 500 crawled web pages, at $290 a year
- Pro: Extra credits cost $30 per 1,000 on paid plans, and purchased credits do not expire
- Con: The badge stays on the free widget, and removing it is a paid add-on
- Con: Credits count AI replies rather than chats, so 500 chats at one Auto reply each need 1,500 credits
tawk.to's pricing is incredibly generous, offering a fully-featured live chat solution for free.
- Starting price
- Free; Lyro 500 chats $350/mo monthly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.6 (2,552 reviews)
Best for: Owners who answer most chats themselves and want to try the Lyro AI agent first.
- Pro: Free plan lists 50 billable conversations a month, and Lyro and Flows replies do not count as billable
- Pro: Website scraper and FAQ upload are ticked in the Free column, so a site can train Lyro on the free plan
- Pro: A Lyro conversation is any interaction with at least one AI reply, however many follow, so it maps to one chat
- Con: The 50 Lyro conversations are lifetime, which is 10% of one month of the scenario and nothing after
- Con: Lyro at 500 conversations costs $291.67 a month on the yearly toggle, by our arithmetic from the monthly price
It's best for small to medium businesses prioritizing live chat and chatbot automation, with the Plus plan targeting enterprise-level needs.
Watch out
Conversation limits can lead to overage if not monitored.
- Starting price
- Free; AI from Mini $45/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.5 (350 reviews)
Best for: Owners who staff the chat themselves and may add AI in the same inbox later.
- Pro: Free plan is labelled Free Forever and lists unlimited conversations, 2 seats and a contact form
- Pro: Mini adds the AI agent with about 90 automated conversations and $5 of AI credits
- Pro: Essentials at $95 a month adds AI knowledge training and about 450 automated conversations
- Con: Free carries no AI credits, and the AI Agent row is not ticked
- Con: Free caps customer profiles at 100
Crisp prices per workspace, not per agent.
Watch out
Pricing is per workspace, so separate brands or sites need separate subscriptions
Smartsupp
Free covers 25 conversations a month of live chat for one operator; the Mira AI agent is a separate paid product.
- 4.7 on G2 (1,069 reviews)
- 4.6 on Capterra (343 reviews)
- 4.8 on TrustRadius (7 reviews)
- Starting price
- Free; Mira AI $16 per 100 chats yearly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.7 (1,419 reviews)
Best for: Shops with one site that want a small free live chat and may add Mira later.
- Pro: Free plan includes 25 conversations a month across live chat, WhatsApp and Messenger, for 1 operator and 1 website
- Pro: Mira reads up to 20 pages of your site and costs $16 per 100 conversations on an annual plan
- Pro: Mira can be bought alone while the free live chat stays
- Con: Free shows no automation workflow conversations, so there is no bot until the Plus plan
- Con: Free keeps only 14 days of conversation history
Smartsupp offers a generous Free tier, making it accessible for small businesses.
- Starting price
- Free; Growth $19/agent/mo billed yearly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.3 (656 reviews)
Best for: Teams of several people who answer chats by hand and may add AI later.
- Pro: Free plan covers up to 10 agents, with a chat widget on web and mobile apps, a shared inbox and email
- Pro: Growth includes 500 free Freddy AI Agent sessions, once per account
- Pro: A session covers all AI interactions within 24 hours, so it maps closely to a visitor chat
- Con: Free does not include the Freddy AI Agent
- Con: After the 500 one-off sessions, Freddy costs $49 per 100 sessions, so 500 chats a month add $245
Freshchat's pricing is generally fair, offering a generous Free tier and competitive entry points.
Watch out
Campaign contact limits could lead to overage fees.
Other Chatbots tools worth considering
More published tools from our Chatbots category, ordered by our category ranking. They are not part of the editorial picks above.
What a free website chatbot is
A free website chatbot is a chat widget installed on your site at no monthly charge, where a script, an AI model or both answer visitors inside caps on chats, conversations, message credits or sessions. The cap is the product: it decides how many visitors get an answer before you pay.
Five units appear in this guide. Typebot, Landbot and Smartsupp count chats or conversations, Botpress counts conversations with at least two visitor messages, tawk.to counts message credits (3 per AI reply on its default model), Tidio counts Lyro AI conversations, and Freshchat counts AI sessions of 24 hours. A live chat tool such as Crisp is a different shape: the free plan is an inbox where people answer chats, and the AI is sold on top. See the Crisp alternatives for that side of the market.
Where the free plan stops being enough
The free plan decides the first month and the paid step decides every month after. At 100 chats a month, Typebot (200), Botpress (100, if it renews) and Landbot (100) absorb all of them, though only Botpress puts AI in that allowance. At 500, the largest free bot allowance is Typebot's 40% and the largest with AI is Botpress's 20%, so a paid step cannot be avoided.
At 2,000 chats a month the printed steps are these, all our arithmetic: Typebot Starter at $39 a month billed monthly includes 2,000 chats, Botpress Team costs $1,000 a month billed yearly ($750 plus five packs of 100 at $50), tawk.to Business costs $112.50 a month billed yearly (5,000 credits plus one 1,000-credit pack, at one default-model reply per chat), Smartsupp Mira costs $320 on an annual plan, and Freshchat costs $999 billed yearly for one agent (Growth plus 20 packs of 100 sessions). Tidio prints Lyro steps only up to 1,000 conversations, and Crisp Plus covers about 1,350 automated conversations, so neither prints a price for 2,000.
Key Features to Look For
Free allowance unit (Essential)
AI on the free plan (Essential)
Only Botpress, tawk.to and Tidio put an AI allowance in the free plan. Landbot's page says no AI chats are included, Crisp lists no AI credits on Free, Smartsupp's Mira is a paid product, and Freshchat's Freddy starts on Growth.
Monthly or one-off (Essential)
Tidio's 50 Lyro conversations are lifetime, Freshchat's 500 AI sessions are once per account on a paid plan, and Smartsupp's Mira starts with 10 test conversations plus an onboarding bonus. Botpress's page does not say whether its 100 renew monthly, while Typebot, Landbot and tawk.to print monthly allowances.
Vendor branding (Important)
Typebot removes its branding on Starter, Botpress on Plus, Landbot on Professional and Crisp on Plus. tawk.to and Tidio sell badge removal as an add-on.
Knowledge size (Important)
Botpress Free holds 100MB of vector storage and 100MB of file storage. Smartsupp's Mira reads up to 20 pages, tawk.to Growth crawls 500 pages, and Crisp trains an AI on your content from Essentials.
Billing toggle (Important)
Landbot, Botpress and tawk.to's AI Assist print separate yearly and monthly prices, and Tidio's yearly toggle takes two months off. Typebot bills monthly only, and Crisp lists yearly payment without a price. Read both toggles and label the basis.
Currency view (Nice to have)
Landbot bills in euros for EU billing addresses and in dollars elsewhere, and the two price lists differ, so this guide uses its dollar list.
What to check before you pick a free chatbot plan
-
Chat volume first. Count last month's website chats, since a 100-chat allowance covers a fifth of a 500-chat month.
-
Whether the allowance renews. Tidio's 50 Lyro conversations are lifetime, and Botpress's page does not say.
-
Branding. Six of the eight free plans keep a vendor badge or watermark, and removal runs from an add-on to a higher plan, so price it as well as the cap.
-
The unit you can forecast. A chat or a conversation is easy to count; credits per AI reply and 24-hour sessions need an assumption.
Evaluation Checklist
Write down this month's website chats and the busiest week, then compare both with each free allowance.
Ask whether the AI part is on the free plan, or whether the free plan is a live chat inbox only.
Check whether the free allowance renews monthly or is a one-off.
Find the plan that removes the vendor badge and price it, not only the plan that raises the cap.
Price the paid step on both billing toggles, and note which currency view the page showed you.
Read how the vendor defines a chat, a conversation or a session before you convert it.
Pricing Overview
Typebot Starter
2,000 chats a month, two seats and Typebot branding removed, with extra chats at $10 per 500.
$39 a month billed monthly
Botpress Plus
250 conversations and $25 of AI usage included, white-label webchat, and extra packs of 100 conversations at $65.
$150 a month billed yearly, $189 billed monthly
Landbot Starter
500 chats and 100 AI chats a month, with extra AI chats at $0.10 each and Landbot branding kept.
$36 a month billed yearly, $45 billed monthly
tawk.to AI Assist Growth
1,000 message credits, 3 AI agents and 500 crawled pages, with extra credits at $30 per 1,000.
$29 a month billed monthly, $290 billed yearly
Smartsupp Mira AI Agent
One website, automatic reading of up to 20 pages and a handover to a human agent.
$16 per 100 conversations a month, annual plan
Freshchat Growth
The Freddy AI Agent, with 500 sessions free once per account and then $49 per 100 sessions.
$19 per agent a month billed yearly
Crisp Plus
About 1,350 automated conversations, AI knowledge training and the Crisp watermark removed.
$295 a month billed monthly
Tidio Lyro AI Agent
AI answers inside Tidio's live chat, with a yearly toggle that takes two months off.
$350 a month billed monthly for 500 conversations
Pricing Comparison
| Tool | Free plan allowance (own unit) | Share of 500 chats a bot handles on Free | AI answers on Free? | Vendor branding on Free | Paid step for 500 AI chats a month | Billing basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Typebot | 200 chats a month | 200 of 500 (40%), scripted flows | No AI feature listed; the OpenAI block needs your OpenAI account | Typebot branding stays | Starter, $39 a month (covers 2,000 chats; AI not priced) | Billed monthly; no annual payment offered |
Botpress | 100 conversations, no top-ups or overages | 100 of 500 (20%) if the allowance renews monthly | Yes; the page says AI spend is included | Botpress branding stays | Plus $150 plus 3 packs at $65 = $345 a month | Billed yearly; $384 billed monthly ($189 plus $195) |
Landbot | 100 chats a month | 100 of 500 (20%), rule-based | No; no AI chats included | Landbot branding stays | Starter $36 plus 400 extra AI chats at $0.10 = $76 a month | Billed yearly; $85 billed monthly ($45 plus $40) |
100 AI message credits a month; live chat free with a badge | 33 replies (6.6%) at one reply per chat | Yes, Hobby tier; 3 credits per Auto-model reply | Badge stays; removal is $29 a month | Growth $24.17 plus one 1,000-credit pack at $30 = $54.17 a month | Growth billed yearly ($290); pack bought monthly; $59 if Growth is billed monthly | |
Tidio | 50 Lyro AI conversations once; 50 human-answered conversations a month | 10% of one month, once; 0% after | Once only (50 lifetime) | Tidio branding stays; removal is an add-on | Lyro for 500 conversations, $350 a month | Billed monthly; $291.67 a month on the yearly toggle (our arithmetic) |
Crisp | Unlimited conversations answered by you; 100 customer profiles | 0% by a bot; you answer every chat | No; no AI credits on Free | Crisp watermark stays | Plus, $295 a month (about 1,350 automated conversations) | Billed monthly; yearly payment exists, price not printed |
Smartsupp | 25 conversations a month of live chat, 1 operator | 0% by a bot; 25 of 500 (5%) answered by you | No; Mira AI Agent is a paid product | Not stated on the pricing page | Mira, 5 packs of 100 at $16 = $80 a month | Annual-plan rate; monthly-plan rate not printed |
Freshchat | Up to 10 agents; no chat allowance printed | 0% by a bot; you answer every chat | No; Freddy AI Agent starts on Growth | Not stated on the pricing page | Growth $19 plus 5 packs at $49 = $264 a month (month one: $19) | Billed yearly per agent; 500 free sessions once per account |
Prices read on vendor pages on 20 Oct 2026: Typebot pricing and Typebot OpenAI block, Botpress pricing, Landbot pricing (dollar list; euro list for EU billing addresses), tawk.to pricing, tawk.to add-ons, AI Assist billing and AI Assist credits, Tidio pricing, Crisp pricing, Smartsupp pricing, Freshchat pricing Chatbase pricing, Chatfuel pricing and Voiceflow pricing. Shares divide each free allowance by 500 chats; where a vendor counts replies, credits or sessions, one per chat is assumed.
Mistakes to Avoid
- ×
- ×
Counting a one-off as a monthly allowance. Tidio's 50 Lyro conversations are lifetime, Freshchat's 500 AI sessions come once per account, and Smartsupp's Mira starts with a small test allowance.
- ×
Comparing replies with chats. tawk.to's 100 free credits are about 33 replies on its default model, which is 6.6% of 500 chats at one reply each.
- ×
Mixing billing periods. Landbot Starter is $36 billed yearly and costs 25% more billed monthly, so a yearly figure beside a monthly one misleads.
- ×
Pricing the cap and forgetting the badge. tawk.to sells badge removal as an add-on, and the Crisp watermark goes only on its top listed plan, Plus.
- ×
Trusting a snippet about a free plan. Chatbase's pricing page lists a 7-day trial and no free plan, so a quoted free allowance for it is a lead, not a fact.
Expert Tips
- →
Count last month's website chats before you read any pricing page, and keep that number beside every unit you convert.
- →
- →
Ask what the AI needs from outside the vendor. Typebot's OpenAI block needs an OpenAI account, and that cost sits outside its price.
- →
When a price looks low, check its billing period. Tidio's $24.17 Starter figure is the yearly toggle, not the monthly price.
Red Flags to Watch For
-
A free allowance with no stated renewal. Botpress's Free plan prints 100 conversations without the per-month label its paid plans carry.
-
A unit that is not a chat: credits, sessions, visitors reached or billable conversations all need translating into chats before you compare.
-
A top step with no price. Tidio's Lyro steps stop at 1,000 conversations and Crisp's Plus covers about 1,350, so higher volume means a quote.
-
A price shown in the wrong currency. Landbot shows euros to EU billing addresses, with a list that is not the dollar list converted.
The Bottom Line
Start on Typebot if scripted lead capture is enough, since its 200 free chats are the largest bot allowance here, and on Botpress if the bot must answer from your own documents, after checking whether its 100 free conversations renew. Add tawk.to when you answer chats yourself and want a small AI allowance. For 500 AI chats a month, budget the paid step priced in the table above. Re-read the allowances each quarter, because free limits move.
Cite this: Toolradar, "Best Free Chatbots for Websites in 2026", Oct 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free chatbot for a website in 2026?
It depends on whether you need AI answers. Among the eight free plans read on 20 Oct 2026, Typebot has the largest bot allowance (200 chats a month, 40% of 500) as scripted flows, and Botpress includes AI in 100 conversations (20%) without saying they renew monthly. Landbot allows 100 chats a month with no AI, and tawk.to's Hobby tier gives 100 message credits, about 33 replies on its default model.
Can a free chatbot handle 500 chats a month with AI?
No free plan read here does. The largest AI allowances are Botpress's 100 conversations, tawk.to's 100 credits a month (about 33 replies) and Tidio's 50 Lyro conversations, which are lifetime rather than monthly. The other free plans are live chat inboxes or scripted flows, so reaching 500 AI-answered chats always needs a paid step. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
How much does an AI chatbot cost for 500 chats a month?
On printed prices, billed yearly unless noted, our arithmetic gives Botpress $345, Tidio Lyro $291.67 on its yearly toggle, Freshchat $264 after the first month, Smartsupp Mira $80, Landbot $76 and tawk.to $54.17 at one AI reply per chat. Crisp Plus is $295 billed monthly. Typebot's Starter covers the chats, with the AI supplied by your own OpenAI account. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
Is tawk.to really free?
Its live chat is free for life with a Powered by tawk.to badge, per its pricing page, and removing the badge is the Whitelabel add-on at $29 a month. The AI Assist add-on has a free Hobby tier of 100 message credits a month, about 33 replies on the default Auto model at 3 credits each. Growth, with 1,000 credits, is billed monthly or at $290 a year. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
What are the Tidio free plan limits?
Tidio's Free plan lists 50 billable conversations, 50 Lyro AI conversations that are lifetime rather than monthly, and 100 visitors reached by Flows a month, with Tidio branding kept. A billable conversation includes a message from a human agent, so Lyro and Flows replies do not count. Lyro for 500 conversations is $350 a month billed monthly. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
Does Chatbase have a free plan?
Chatbase's pricing page lists no free plan on 20 Oct 2026. Its Hobby plan is $32 a month billed yearly with 700 message credits a month, and every plan starts with a 7-day trial. A free allowance quoted elsewhere for Chatbase is not on the pricing page, so this guide does not rank it. See Chatbase alternatives for other options.
When does a free chatbot plan stop being enough?
At 100 chats a month, Typebot (200), Botpress (100) and Landbot (100) cover everything, though only Botpress includes AI. At 500, the largest free bot allowance is Typebot's 40%, so a paid step is needed. At 2,000, Typebot's Starter plan includes 2,000 chats, while Botpress Team comes to $1,000 a month billed yearly by our arithmetic. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
Cite this page: Toolradar, "Best Free Chatbots for Websites in 2026: What Each Free Plan Covers for 500 Chats a Month", updated October 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/best-free-chatbots-for-websites
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