Chatbase review
AI agents for customer support across chat, WhatsApp and voice
Independent review. If you buy through links on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes our scores — how we test.
ToolsGavel verdict
A capable, model-agnostic AI agent for teams that need real automation across several channels. It earns its price only if you use the AI Actions and channel reach, because the free plan will not carry a real site and credits disappear fast on premium models.
Best for: Support, sales and product teams that want one AI agent handling real work across multiple channels, not just a FAQ widget
What we liked
- Real choice of frontier models: OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral and more, so you are not locked into one vendor's pricing or quality
- AI Actions let the agent do real work, like refunds, bookings and order lookups, instead of only answering questions
- One agent deploys across website, WhatsApp, Slack, Messenger, Instagram, email and voice without rebuilding the flow per channel
- Native integrations with Salesforce, Zendesk, Stripe and HubSpot slot into an existing support stack rather than sitting beside it
What to watch
- Free plan is a trial with no expiry date: 50 credits a month and agents that auto-delete after 14 days of inactivity
- Every plan caps out at a single AI agent; a second one costs $300 a year on top of the subscription
- Credit cost per reply depends on the model, so a premium option like Claude Opus or GPT-5.2 can burn 2 to 5 credits and empty a plan's allowance far faster than the headline number suggests
How much does Chatbase really cost?
| Starting price | $32/mo |
|---|---|
| Permanent free tier | Yes |
| Price last verified | August 7, 2026, against the live pricing page at chatbase.co |
What Chatbase is for
Chatbase builds an AI agent that talks to customers on your website, WhatsApp, Slack, Messenger, Instagram and email, or over voice, then acts on their behalf: looking up an order, issuing a refund, booking a slot. It has moved on from its early pitch as “a custom ChatGPT for your website” toward a full customer-experience agent, with separate setups for support, sales and product-guidance conversations. Chatbase says over 10,000 companies use it, including Dolby, Pearson and Sage.
Where it shines
Model choice is the real advantage. Instead of locking you to one LLM, Chatbase lets you pick from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, Meta, Mistral and others, so you can trade cost against quality per agent rather than accept whatever the vendor bundles. AI Actions turn the bot from an answer machine into something that does work inside your other systems, and native integrations with Salesforce, Zendesk, Stripe and HubSpot mean it slots into an existing support stack rather than sitting beside it. The same agent runs on the website, WhatsApp and Slack without rebuilding the flow for each channel.
Where it frays
The free plan is permanent in name only. Fifty credits a month, one seat and agents that Chatbase deletes after 14 days of inactivity make it a trial with no expiry date, not something you could run a small site on. Every paid tier caps out at a single AI agent, so a business that wants separate support and sales bots pays an extra $300 a year per additional agent. Credit cost is also model-dependent: a standard model spends one credit per reply, but a premium option like Claude Opus or GPT-5.2 can burn two to five, so the same 4,000-credit Standard plan covers fewer conversations once you switch to a stronger model. Model your expected usage before picking a plan by the credit number alone.
Who should buy it
Buy Chatbase if you want one AI agent handling support, sales or product questions across several channels and need it to take real actions inside systems like Salesforce or Stripe, not just answer FAQs. Start with Tidio instead if you run a small site that wants a simple, inexpensive live-chat widget with AI backup; Chatbase’s power, and its pricing, are built for a heavier job.
Pricing note: Free plan is permanent but trial-like: 50 message credits a month, one agent, one seat, limited models only, and agents auto-delete after 14 days of inactivity. Paid tiers bill per account: Hobby is $32/mo billed annually ($40 monthly) for 700 credits and 2 seats; Standard, the plan Chatbase badges as most popular, is $120/mo annually ($150 monthly) for 4,000 credits and 3 seats; Pro is $400/mo annually ($500 monthly) for 15,000 credits and 5 seats. Enterprise is custom. Every tier ships with a single AI agent (extra agents cost $300/yr each), and credit cost per reply varies by model, from 1 credit on standard models up to 5 on premium ones like Claude Opus, so real usage can outrun the plan's headline number fast.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chatbase worth it?
For a support or sales team that needs an AI agent taking real actions, like refunds, bookings or order lookups, across several channels, yes. For a small site that only wants a simple FAQ widget, it is more machine than you need, and something like Tidio gets there for less.
Does Chatbase have a free plan?
Yes, and it costs nothing indefinitely, but treat it as a trial. Fifty message credits a month, one seat and one agent that Chatbase deletes after 14 days of inactivity are enough to test the builder, not to run real support.
Is Chatbase better than Tidio or Intercom Fin?
It depends on the job. Chatbase beats Tidio on model choice, AI Actions and channel reach across WhatsApp, Slack, email and voice, but Tidio's free tier is more usable day to day and gentler on price for a small store. Intercom Fin sits at the other end: deeper native helpdesk tooling built for enterprise support teams, at enterprise pricing to match. Chatbase is the middle ground, more powerful than Tidio and less tied to one helpdesk than Fin.
Bottom line
A capable, model-agnostic AI agent for teams that need real automation across several channels. It earns its price only if you use the AI Actions and channel reach, because the free plan will not carry a real site and credits disappear fast on premium models.
