How much does an AI chatbot cost? What drives the price
«Just tell me the price» is the most common question about chatbots. The honest answer depends on four things. Here they are, so you can estimate your own project before the first call.
Short answer. The price of a chatbot is driven by four things: what it must do, how many channels it works in, which systems it connects to, and how many conversations it handles. A button-menu bot on a builder platform is the smallest project. An AI assistant that books appointments, takes payments and works across several messengers is a real software project. On top of the build there are monthly running costs: hosting, AI usage, messenger fees and support.
The four cost drivers
- Scope. Answering FAQs is simple. Booking, taking orders, checking payments and handling voice messages each add logic and testing.
- Channels. Website chat, WhatsApp, Telegram and Instagram all work differently. Each extra channel is extra work, not a checkbox.
- Integrations. Writing to a spreadsheet is easy. Writing to your CRM or booking system — and checking that two customers do not get the same slot — is a separate task.
- Volume. Ten conversations a day and several hundred need different monitoring, queues and AI cost control.
Rough project sizes
| Bot | What it does | Relative size |
|---|---|---|
| FAQ / menu bot | Buttons, prices, contact, "call a human" | Small |
| Booking bot | Services, staff, free slots, reminders | Medium, grows with integrations |
| AI assistant | Free-text and voice answers from your knowledge base, hands over to a human | Medium to large |
| AI front desk | Booking, orders, payments, CRM, several channels | Large |
| Multi-channel AI system | Hundreds of conversations a day, analytics, follow-ups | Separate project |
Monthly running costs
- Hosting — usually modest.
- AI usage — billed by volume: more and longer conversations cost more.
- Messenger fees — the official WhatsApp platform charges per conversation.
- Support — fixes when platforms change rules, knowledge base updates.
The most common way to overpay is to order everything at once. Launch on one task and one channel, read real conversations for two weeks, then add features.
Answer these before asking for a quote
- What should the bot do: answer, qualify, book, sell?
- Which channels: WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, website?
- Where should data go: spreadsheet, CRM, booking system?
- Do you need payments?
- Free-text AI answers or buttons?
- Roughly how many conversations a day?
With these answers we can give a precise written scope and price after one call. See what we build on AI chatbots.
Tell us about your project
Describe what you have now and what you want to achieve. We will review your setup, name the root cause and propose a plan in writing before any work starts.
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- Emailkkconsulting2024@ya.ru