Buyer's guide

The best WhatsApp AI chatbots in 2026

Compare seven WhatsApp AI chatbot tools and see how ChatbotGen answers 24/7, captures leads and hands them to your team from $29 a month, on your website and WhatsApp. This guide is written by ChatbotGen; pricing, limits and vendor sources are below.

Prices and WhatsApp details read from each vendor's own site in November 2026.

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The short answer

For small businesses that want a fixed monthly price, we recommend ChatbotGen, our product. Starter costs $29 a month and includes 2,000 AI messages, and it connects through the official WhatsApp Business Platform.

With ChatbotGen, train an agent on your website and documents, collect each enquiry's details and let your team take over when needed. Starter includes lead capture and human handoff, with a fixed message allowance and no per-seat charge. Build and test your agent without a card before starting the 7-day Starter trial.

How we selected these tools

We include ChatbotGen, our product, alongside six alternatives for different needs. The order is not a price ranking: currencies, billing periods and AI units differ. We used four selection criteria:

It answers on WhatsApp with AI from your own content, beyond fixed menus.
It offers a connection through Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform, subject to its terms and messaging rules.
It publishes a price you can pay without talking to sales.
It publishes pricing, usage and integration details on its pricing page or in its documentation. We link those sources below.

All seven, side by side

Monthly prices, read in November 2026. AI units differ between vendors, so read that column with care.

Tool	Focus and setup	Pricing model	Reference price for AI on WhatsApp	AI included at that price	WhatsApp connection	Main limitation
ChatbotGen	Small businesses that want an AI agent on WhatsApp and their website at a flat price	Flat plan with a message allowance	$29, billed monthly	2,000 AI messages	Official WhatsApp Business Platform	The bot stops at the allowance; no free plan
Chatbase	Support teams that want to choose the model	Credits per reply, 1 to 5 by model	$32 billed yearly, $40 billed monthly	700 credits (140 to 700 replies)	Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform	The agent stops without credits, unless auto-recharge is on
WATI	Businesses focused on broadcasts and a shared inbox	Plan, AI credits and messaging fees	€59 billed yearly; varies by region	2,000 AI credits	Meta's WhatsApp Business API	Growth includes 3 users; extra users cannot be added
Tidio	Teams already answering chats by hand that want to add AI	Plan by conversations plus an AI add-on	Lyro from $32.50; confirm the WhatsApp plan	50 Lyro conversations	Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform	AI is metered and paid for apart from conversations
Botpress	Teams with a developer building custom agents	Plan by conversations plus AI usage	$150 billed annually	250 conversations and $25 of AI usage	Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform	A high entry price, charged by the conversation
respond.io	Mid-size teams with high volume across channels	Plan by monthly active contacts	$159 billed yearly, $199 billed monthly	AI agents, from 10,000 credits	Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform	AI agents start at Growth, above Starter
Landbot	Teams that want to draw each conversation as a flow	Plan by chats plus AI chats	€160 billed annually	500 AI chats	Meta's WhatsApp Business API	WhatsApp on your own number starts at Professional

Read from each vendor's own site in November 2026. Prices change; verify before you decide. No price includes what Meta charges for WhatsApp messages.

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Test answers based on your own content. ChatbotGen answers 24/7, captures leads and hands enquiries to your team.

All seven, one by one

1. ChatbotGen

We make this one

Focus and setup: Small businesses that want an AI agent trained on their website and documents, on WhatsApp and on the web, at a price they can budget, in English or Spanish.
Pricing: $29, $79 or $199 a month for 2,000, 10,000 or 30,000 AI messages, billed monthly. Lead capture and human handoff from Starter. There is no free plan: you can build and test without a card, then use a 7-day free Starter trial with a card.
WhatsApp: Connects through the official WhatsApp Business Platform: a guided connection that follows Meta's account and number requirements. Meta's messaging rules still apply.
Limitation: At the allowance, the bot stops until the next period or until you upgrade, and we do not sell extra messages. There is also no SMS, voice or visual flow builder.

2. Chatbase

Focus and setup: Support teams that want to choose the model and connect Zendesk or Salesforce, with someone to watch the credits.
Pricing: Hobby $40, Basic $150 and Business $500 a month billed monthly, or $32, $120 and $400 billed yearly. They include 700, 4,000 and 15,000 credits. Each reply spends 1 to 5; extra credits cost $40 per 1,000.
WhatsApp: Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform, included on all plans. The number is reserved for the agent unless you use its coexistence option with the WhatsApp Business app. Past 1,000 free messages a month it needs a payment method with Meta.
Limitation: Each plan includes one agent and each extra costs $25 a month. Removing its branding costs $99 a month.

3. WATI

Focus and setup: Businesses whose main WhatsApp job is broadcasts and a shared inbox, with AI in support.
Pricing: The pricing page we checked shows Growth at €59, Pro at €119 and Business at €279 a month billed annually. They include 2,000, 5,000 and 20,000 AI credits. Messaging fees are separate; confirm the currency and rates for your region.
WhatsApp: Meta's WhatsApp Business API. Its pricing page shows an Official Meta Business Partner badge and no setup fee.
Limitation: Messaging fees and extra AI credits are billed separately. Growth includes 3 users and does not allow extra users.

4. Tidio

Focus and setup: Teams that already answer chats by hand and want AI to take the easy questions inside that same inbox.
Pricing: There is a free plan with 50 conversations. On the annual option (2 months free), Starter shows at $24.17 a month and Growth from $49.17. Lyro starts at $32.50 a month for 50 conversations and is also sold on its own. Confirm which plan you need to use it on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp: Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. It needs Facebook Business Manager and a company-owned number, and the integration comes with every plan. A number already in the WhatsApp app has to be removed first.
Limitation: AI conversations are metered apart: Lyro's 50 free ones are lifetime, and Starter's 50 are one-off.

5. Botpress

Focus and setup: Teams with a developer or bot builder who needs custom logic and has the time to give it.
Pricing: Free with 100 conversations a month. Plus is $150 a month billed annually, with 250 conversations and $25 of AI usage; Team is $750 with 1,500 conversations and $150 of AI usage. Packs of 100 conversations cost $65 on Plus and $50 on Team.
WhatsApp: Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform, included in Plus. You install it from its Hub or with your own Meta app, and Meta then verifies your business.
Limitation: Plus starts at $150 a month billed annually. Conversations and AI usage beyond the allowance are billed separately.

6. respond.io

Focus and setup: Mid-size teams handling high volume across channels from one inbox.
Pricing: Starter $99, Growth $199 and Advanced $349 a month billed monthly, or $79, $159 and $279 billed yearly, depending on active contacts. AI agents start at Growth. WhatsApp fees are not included, and respond.io says it adds no markup to them.
WhatsApp: Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform, with a coexistence option for the WhatsApp Business app where Meta allows it.
Limitation: AI agents are not in Starter, so the real price starts at $159 a month, and extra active contacts are charged in blocks.

7. Landbot

Focus and setup: Marketing teams that want to draw each step of a conversation in a visual builder and maintain it by hand.
Pricing: Published in euros. Starter €32 and Professional €80 a month billed annually (€40 and €100 struck through as the regular rate). WhatsApp on your own number is added from Professional for €100 a month, or through Professional WA at €160. Each extra AI chat costs €0.10.
WhatsApp: Meta's WhatsApp Business API, on the cloud. The number cannot stay active in the WhatsApp app. Landbot adds €0.003 per service message past 10,000 a month.
Limitation: WhatsApp on your own number is not included in Starter. Budget for the WhatsApp plan and its AI chat allowance.

What Meta charges on top

All seven tools use the official WhatsApp Business Platform. Meta's fees depend on the message category, the recipient's country and applicable free allowances. These fees are separate from your ChatbotGen plan. When comparing vendors, check for any messaging markup too.

What to check before you pay

What counts as one AI unit: a message, a credit, a chat and a 24-hour conversation are different measures.
What happens at the limit: whether the bot stops, whether you can recharge and at what price.
What your number needs: some tools require it to leave the WhatsApp app. Ask before you connect it.
Who will maintain it: a flow builder or a custom agent needs someone with time every week.

WhatsApp chatbots

What people ask most

What is the best WhatsApp chatbot?

We recommend ChatbotGen for small businesses that need 24/7 answers on their website and WhatsApp, lead capture and human handoff. Starter costs $29 a month and includes 2,000 AI messages, lead capture and handoff to your team. Build an agent from your website and test its answers before starting the 7-day Starter trial.

Is there a free WhatsApp AI chatbot?

There are free plans with limits. Tidio's includes WhatsApp and 50 lifetime AI conversations. Landbot's gives you a test number and no AI chats. ChatbotGen has no free plan: you can build and test without a card, then use a 7-day free Starter trial with a card.

Do these tools use the official WhatsApp API?

Yes, all seven connect through Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. That sets them apart from tools that link a phone through unofficial workarounds and gives none of the seven an edge.

Can my number get banned?

Any number can be restricted if it breaks Meta's messaging rules, on any tool. Meta's terms apply. Obtain customer consent and use approved templates where required; no tool can guarantee that a number will never be restricted.

How much does a WhatsApp AI chatbot cost?

ChatbotGen Starter costs $29 a month for 2,000 AI messages. Alternatives use different allowances and billing models. Compare messages, credits and conversations separately, then add any applicable WhatsApp fees.

Why choose ChatbotGen for WhatsApp?

ChatbotGen combines 24/7 answers, lead capture and human handoff in a plan from $29 a month. The product, documentation and support are available in English and Spanish. Build and test your agent without a card, then start the 7-day Starter trial when you are ready to go live.

Which one works best in Spanish?

ChatbotGen offers its dashboard, documentation and support in English and Spanish, and the agent replies in the customer's language. Build an agent from your website and test your customers' real questions in Spanish before going live.

Turn customer questions into leads for your team

Paste your website URL and test how your agent answers customers. Build and test without a card. To go live, start the 7-day Starter trial with a card. It is $29 a month after the trial; cancel before it ends to avoid the subscription charge.

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