A website AI chatbot can cost nothing or several hundred dollars a month. The price depends on three things: how many conversations you have, who sets it up, and what it can do beyond chatting.
The four pricing models
- Free tiers. Usually a small number of AI conversations, with the vendor's branding.
- Do-it-yourself plans. Popular chatbot platforms commonly charge roughly $25 to $150 a month, sometimes with the AI part as an add-on.
- Per-conversation or per-resolution fees. Some charge for every conversation the AI resolves, which adds up as you grow.
- Done-for-you. Someone trains, connects and maintains the agent for you, for a monthly fee.
Hidden costs to check
- Is the AI included, or an add-on?
- What counts as a "conversation", and what happens when you go over?
- Who writes and updates the answers?
- Does it connect to your calendar, email or forms, and does that cost extra?
- Is there a setup fee or long contract?
What we charge
Every 11:11 website includes a free basic AI chat agent (up to 100 conversations a month). Plus is $29 a month, Pro with calendar booking is $79, and Business with social messages and payment links is $149. There are no setup fees, and paying yearly gets two months free.
Estimate your real monthly cost
- Count your monthly website visitors who start a chat. If you don't know, assume a small share of visitors.
- Check each plan's conversation limit and overage price.
- Add any AI add-on, seat fees and connection fees.
- Add your own setup and upkeep time, valued at your hourly rate.
A cheap plan that takes ten hours of your time to set up can cost more than a done-for-you plan.
What is it worth?
Work it backwards: what is one new customer worth to you in a year? If a chatbot helps you win one extra job a month, most plans pay for themselves many times over. If your website has almost no visitors, fix that first with local SEO and your Google Business Profile.
Red flags
- Long contracts for a tool you haven't tested
- Unclear overage charges
- No way to export your conversations and leads
- Promises of guaranteed sales
Questions
Is a free AI chatbot good enough?
For answering basic questions and collecting leads on a small site, yes. Upgrade when you need booking, alerts or more conversations.
Why are some chatbots priced per resolution?
Because the vendor pays for every AI reply. It is fair for big companies, but small businesses usually prefer a flat monthly price.