Pricing & ROI
How much does an AI chatbot cost in 2026?
Chatbot pricing models explained: per seat, per conversation, per resolution and flat monthly. What each really costs a small business at real traffic levels.
In short
AI chatbots for a business website typically cost between €50 and €500 a month, depending on whether the vendor bills per seat, per conversation, per resolution or a flat fee.
Defaltam charges a flat €79/month for a support bot and €149/month for a sales bot, with no per-conversation charges and a 5-day free trial.
Used Defaltam? Tell others what you think.
Key facts
Key facts
- Four common pricing models: per seat, per conversation, per AI resolution, flat monthly.
- Per-resolution billing means a successful month costs more than a quiet one.
- Building in-house adds developer time plus per-message model fees.
- Defaltam: Support €79/month, Sales €149/month, Enterprise on quote.
The four pricing models
| Model | How it bills | Risk to you |
|---|---|---|
| Per seat | Per human agent per month | Cheap for one person, expensive for a team |
| Per conversation | Each chat counts | A busy month costs more |
| Per AI resolution | Each question the bot answers | Success is penalised |
| Flat monthly | Same every month | None — you can budget |
What it costs to build your own
A custom bot means developer time for the widget, retrieval layer, storage and admin, plus ongoing model usage. Even a modest build lands in the thousands before a single question is answered, and the model bill grows with traffic.
For most sites the interesting comparison is not build versus buy, but flat-fee versus usage-based. Usage-based pricing punishes exactly the outcome you wanted.
Working out your own break-even
Take the value of one customer and divide the monthly fee by it. If a customer is worth €400 and the bot costs €79, it pays for itself when it recovers one customer every five months. Most businesses clear that on question deflection alone.
The product behind this guide
A chatbot trained on your own website, live today
Defaltam builds AI chatbots that read your public pages and answer with your real prices, services and policies. Support is €79/month, Sales is €149/month, both start with a 5-day free trial, and installation is one script tag.
FAQ
Questions people ask about this
How much does an AI chatbot cost per month?
Typically €50 to €500 a month for a business website, depending on the pricing model. Defaltam charges a flat €79/month for a support bot and €149/month for a sales bot, with no per-conversation fees.
Is flat pricing better than per conversation?
For most sites, yes. Per-conversation and per-resolution billing means your bill rises exactly when the bot is working hardest, which makes budgeting unpredictable.
Are there setup fees?
Defaltam has none — you subscribe, index your site and install one script. Custom builds usually carry a setup cost.
Can I try before paying?
Yes. Both chatbot plans start with a 5-day free trial, and there is a free instant demo that builds a bot from your website address.
Related
Keep reading.
How to calculate the ROI of a website chatbot →
A simple model for chatbot ROI using deflected questions, captured leads and conversion value — plus the numbers you should not believe.
Chatbot pricing models explained: seats, conversations, resolutions →
Per seat, per conversation, per resolution or flat fee — how each chatbot pricing model behaves as your traffic grows, with worked examples.
Is an AI chatbot worth it for a small business? →
When a website chatbot pays for itself for a small business, when it does not, and the traffic threshold that makes the decision obvious.
Chatbot vs hiring a support agent: the real numbers →
What a part-time support hire costs versus a chatbot subscription, what each actually covers, and the sensible order to do them in.
The hidden costs of chatbot platforms →
Overage fees, annual lock-in, branding removal charges, seat minimums and integration add-ons — the line items that turn a cheap plan expensive.
How AI chatbots actually work →
From the visitor's question to the answer on screen: retrieval, context, the language model and why grounding in your content matters.
AI chatbot plans and pricing →
Support €79/mo, Sales €149/mo, 5-day free trial.
How to add an AI chatbot to your website →
The ten-minute install guide, platform by platform.