A support bot has two jobs: answer from your own help content, and hand the customer to a person cleanly when it cannot. So check where handoff goes, whether the inbox is built in, and what the vendor counts as a billable conversation or resolution.
The deciding criterion is the billing unit. Per-resolution and per-outcome prices look simple until you read what counts as resolved, so read each definition before comparing prices. What counts as a conversation explains the differences.
Quick picks
- Funded support team: Intercom Fin — AI agent, inbox and ticketing in one product, at $0.99 per outcome.
- Small team: Tidio Lyro — Lyro tiers from $39 a month, and a free plan with an inbox.
- Custom agent with a developer: Botpress — SDK and APIs plus its own helpdesk, Desk.
- Already on HubSpot: HubSpot Chatbot Builder — $0.50 per resolution, with tickets landing in the CRM.
The ranking
Intercom Fin
Funded support teams that want an AI agent, a shared inbox and ticketing in one tool8.2- Paid plans from
- $0.99 per resolution
- Pricing model
- Mixed
- Free plan
- No
- Channels
- Website widget, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, SMS, Email, Voice, Slack
Fin is an AI agent that answers customer-service questions from your own help content, sold inside the Intercom helpdesk (which also holds the visual Workflows bot builder) or on top of another helpdesk such as Salesforce or HubSpot. It is built for funded support teams: you pay per helpdesk seat, plus $0.99 for each conversation that ends in a billable outcome. The vendor renamed itself from Intercom to Fin on May 12, 2026, and has been part of Salesforce since September 10, 2026.
The catch: The visual Workflows builder is not in the entry plan: the Workflows FAQ says you must be on Advanced, at $99 per seat a month, or higher.
Botpress
Support teams with a developer on hand that want agent building and a helpdesk in one tool8.0- Paid plans from
- $150 per month
- Pricing model
- Plan plus usage meter
- Free plan
- Yes
- Channels
- Website widget, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, SMS, Email, Slack, Voice
Botpress is a cloud platform for building AI agents: a visual Studio, LLM-driven steps the docs call Autonomous Nodes, a code SDK and, since May 2026, its own helpdesk called Desk. It is built for support teams that have someone technical on hand. Workspaces created after May 14, 2026 pay a flat plan fee for a monthly conversation allowance, and extra conversations are bought automatically in packs of 100.
The catch: On paid plans you cannot switch off overage: at 95% of your allowance Botpress buys a pack of 100 conversations for you, and that pack stays on the bill every month until you remove it.
HubSpot Chatbot Builder
Teams already running sales or support in HubSpot that want a bot writing straight into their CRM7.7- Paid plans from
- $20 per seat per month
- Pricing model
- Free tool, paid seats
- Free plan
- Yes
- Channels
- Website widget, Messenger, WhatsApp, Email
HubSpot's chatbot builder is a visual, rule-based bot tool (HubSpot calls the bots chatflows) that comes free with HubSpot's CRM, with the Breeze Customer Agent as a separate AI option. It is built for teams that already keep contacts, tickets and meetings in HubSpot. The builder itself costs nothing; you pay for seats to remove branding and unlock branching, and for HubSpot credits each time the AI agent resolves a conversation.
The catch: Free and Starter accounts cannot add if/then branches to a bot, so the first tier with real conversation logic is Professional at $100 per seat per month plus a required one-time $1,500 onboarding fee.
Tidio Lyro
Small online shops and support teams that want an AI agent, simple automations and a shared inbox from one vendor, with published self-serve prices7.5- Paid plans from
- $29 per month
- Pricing model
- Mixed
- Free plan
- Yes
- Channels
- Website widget, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Email
Tidio is a live-chat and help-desk suite for small and mid-sized online businesses, with two kinds of bot: Flows, a no-code rule-based builder, and Lyro, an AI agent that answers from your own support content. It is built mainly for e-commerce and support teams that want the bot and the human inbox in one tool. It charges flat monthly fees on three separate meters: human-answered conversations, Lyro AI conversations and unique visitors reached by Flows.
The catch: The $29 Starter plan buys human-answered conversations, not a working AI agent: its 50 Lyro conversations are a one-off allowance that never resets, and a renewing Lyro quota is a separate purchase starting at $39 a month.
Voiceflow
Technical CX teams and agencies that want a voice and web-chat agent with model choice, staging environments and code6.6- Paid plans from
- $60 per month
- Pricing model
- Credits
- Free plan
- Partly
- Channels
- Website widget, Voice, SMS
Voiceflow is a visual platform for building AI agents that answer customers by web chat, phone and SMS, with code, APIs and environments for developers. It is built for customer-experience teams and agencies with technical staff, not for a small business that wants a bot running in an afternoon. It charges a monthly plan fee that includes a pool of credits, and every user message, AI model call and phone minute uses credits.
The catch: Voiceflow's pricing page shows no plan prices, and a credit is not a conversation: every user message costs a credit before the AI model's own credit charge is added.
Comparison table
| Product | Score | Type of tool | Paid plans from | Free plan | What the bill grows with | EU data hosting | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intercom Fin | 8.2 | AI agent for support | $0.99 per resolution | No | resolutions | Partly | Funded support teams that want an AI agent, a shared inbox and ticketing in one tool |
| Botpress | 8.0 | Agent-building platform | $150 per month | Yes | conversations | Partly | Support teams with a developer on hand that want agent building and a helpdesk in one tool |
| HubSpot Chatbot Builder | 7.7 | Bot bundled with a CRM | $20 per seat per month | Yes | resolutions | Partly | Teams already running sales or support in HubSpot that want a bot writing straight into their CRM |
| Tidio Lyro | 7.5 | AI agent for support | $29 per month | Yes | conversations | Yes | Small online shops and support teams that want an AI agent, simple automations and a shared inbox from one vendor, with published self-serve prices |
| Voiceflow | 6.6 | Agent-building platform | $60 per month | Partly | credits | Not documented | Technical CX teams and agencies that want a voice and web-chat agent with model choice, staging environments and code |
What it costs at three volumes
| Product | What the bill grows with | 100 | 1,000 | 5,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intercom Fin | resolutions | $99 | $990 | $4,950 |
| Botpress | conversations | $150 (Plus) | $750 (Team) | Custom quote |
| HubSpot Chatbot Builder | resolutions | $50 | $500 | $2,500 |
| Tidio Lyro | conversations | $75 (Lyro AI Agent 100) | $700 (Lyro AI Agent 1,000) | Custom quote |
| Voiceflow | credits | $60 (Pro) | $60 (Pro) | $60 (Pro) |
How to choose
If you run a support team with a budget and want one product for the AI agent, inbox and tickets, pick Intercom Fin because its outcome billing and testing tools are documented in the most detail.
If you are a small team and want AI answers without a seat bill, pick Tidio Lyro because self-serve plans include up to 10 seats and Lyro is sold in published tiers. See Tidio Lyro vs Intercom Fin.
If your tickets and contacts live in HubSpot, pick HubSpot's chatbot builder because its agent writes straight into HubSpot's tickets. HubSpot vs Intercom Fin compares the two.
If you have a developer and the bot must call your own systems, pick Botpress because it combines a visual Studio, a code SDK and a helpdesk in one product.
If you need phone support and fine control over the agent, pick Voiceflow because it has the deepest builder we score and documents phone and SMS channels. Plan to connect your own helpdesk for handoff.
Verdict
Intercom Fin is the default pick for a support team: it scores highest, keeps the agent, inbox and tickets in one product, and defines what it bills. Ignore it if you are a small team counting every seat, where Tidio Lyro's self-serve plans include up to 10 seats, or if your support already runs in HubSpot.
For buyers in the United States
No federal law is written for chatbots, but three rules do most of the work. Some states make you say the bot is a bot: California when a bot is used to sell, Maine for any chatbot in commerce, and Colorado for public-facing conversational AI from January 1, 2027. Marketing texts need prior express written consent under the TCPA. And what your bot tells a customer falls under the FTC Act and state consumer-protection law, the same as any other statement you make.
Vendors in this category publish prices in US dollars, a few in euros; this site shows the published currency and never converts. There is no US cookie-consent law for a chat widget, but California chat-wiretap suits make a short notice above the chat box worth adding. If you serve customers in the EU or UK, check that the vendor documents EU or UK data hosting and offers a data processing agreement. If your customers also write in Spanish, check that the vendor documents AI answers in that language rather than assuming it.
Chatbots and the law in the United States
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI chatbot for customer support?
Intercom Fin is our default pick for customer support: it has the highest score on our rubric and keeps the AI agent, inbox and tickets in one product. Small teams should look at Tidio Lyro, and teams already in HubSpot at HubSpot's Breeze Customer Agent.
What is the difference between a resolution and a conversation?
A conversation is usually any exchange with the bot, while a resolution or outcome is a conversation the vendor counts as solved, and each vendor defines that differently. Intercom Fin charges per outcome and HubSpot per resolution, while Tidio Lyro and Botpress count conversations. Read what counts as a conversation before comparing prices.
Which support chatbots have a built-in inbox?
Intercom Fin, Tidio Lyro, HubSpot's chatbot builder and Botpress all document a built-in inbox for human handoff; for Botpress it is the Desk helpdesk. Voiceflow does not have one: its handoff step passes chats to tools such as Zendesk, Genesys or Dixa.
How much of our support can a chatbot handle?
Vendors publish their own figures, such as 76% for Intercom Fin and 67% for Tidio Lyro, but each vendor measures differently, so the numbers are not comparable. Your own rate depends on your questions and your help content. Containment rate explained shows how to read these claims.
Keep reading
- Best chatbot buildersbest list
- Best chatbot builders for small businessbest list
- Best chatbots for ecommercebest list
- Best chatbot builders for lead generationbest list
- Best chatbot builders for WhatsAppbest list
- Best chatbot builders for Instagram and Facebook Messengerbest list
- Best free chatbot buildersbest list
- Best open-source and developer chatbot platformsbest list
- What is the difference between a chatbot and an AI agent?guide
- How is chatbot software priced?guide
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Researched and drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed on this page. We have not built or tested bots on these platforms yet. Method: How we review