The majority of AI chatbots seem awesome, until you start ramping up usage and their price hit you in the face….
👇 Below, you’ll find a super-clear, side-by-side comparison of today’s best FREE AI chatbot tools for websites, including their key features, pricing, pros & cons, and what makes each unique.
⚠️ We also break down the “fine print” most reviews skip; like brand watermarks, privacy defaults, support problems, and sneaky upgrade traps that could cause headaches for your business later.
Whether you want a no-code setup, deep customization, or just hassle-free live chat, use this guide to find the RIGHT chatbot tool for you—without wasting time or money.
Many free chatbot platforms secretly embed their own brand elements in chatbot windows or responses.
Users on Reddit complain, "It made my site look less professional because I couldn't remove their logo." Watch for hidden brand lock-ins, as they can damage your site's credibility and trust.
Several users on review sites have highlighted that free chatbot tools may be pulled offline for updates without warning or support.
"I lost leads for 2 days—no one replied to my emails," states a G2 reviewer. Check dedicated support channels and community forum activity to gauge the reliability of help and uptime.
Advanced users on forums point out that some free AI chatbots default to sharing or storing user data externally.
A Twitter user warns, "Chatbot stored customer emails offsite—GDPR nightmare." Always examine default privacy settings and data storage locations, especially if you handle sensitive user info.
💡 Honorable mentions: Check for realistic multi-language handling, limits on AI interactions per month, and whether custom domain integration is paywalled.
Tool | Best For | Key Strength | Drawbacks | Pricing |
---|---|---|---|---|
Big Sur AI | Online businesses, customer support, website owners | Ultra-fast integration, custom web indexing, content automation, brand voice matching | Limited advanced integrations, occasional context drift | Free: 1K visitors/mo; Pro: $49/mo; Custom: Contact sales |
Crisp Chat | Small businesses, startups, ecommerce | Multi-channel inbox, live chat with co-browsing, easy translation | Limited advanced chatbot logic, paywalled features, notification delays | Free (2 seats); Pro: $25/mo; Unlimited: $95/mo |
Chatbase | SMBs, marketers, content-heavy sites | No-code, fast custom training, white-label options | Message/training caps, slow data syncing, false positives in answers | Hobby: $19/mo; Standard: $49/mo; Pro: $99/mo; Business: $399/mo |
Tidio AI | SMBs, ecommerce, live chat | Unified omnichannel inbox, easy setup, automated lead routing | Limited automation logic, integrations and customization paywalled | Free (50 chats); Starter: $29/mo; Communicator: $25/mo/seat; Chatbots: $29/mo |
Botsonic | Customer support, easy no-code bots | Simple builder, custom data ingestion, context retention | Limited widget customization, support/integration gaps | Free: 1 bot, 1K msgs; Pro: $49/mo; Business: $99/mo |
Landbot | Lead gen, marketing, interactive web flows | Visual workflow, deep widget customization, conditional logic | API/webhook limits, widget lag at scale, AI intent gaps | Starter: $49/mo; Pro: $99/mo; Business: Custom |
Public reviews: 4.6 ⭐ (G2, Capterra average)
Our rating: 10/10 ⭐
Similar to: ChatBot.com, ManyChat
Typical users: Online businesses, customer support teams, website owners
Known for: Free and easy-to-integrate AI chatbot solutions
Why choose it? No-code setup and great value for small to mid-sized websites
Big Sur AI provides customizable AI chatbots for websites. It lets teams create tailored conversational agents, integrate them seamlessly with existing workflows, and manage real-time user queries without extensive coding or infrastructure.
Big Sur AI integrates seamlessly, automates content workflows, boosts site speed, and adapts to evolving visitor data for smarter engagement and easier management.
✅ Ultra-fast website integration
Embed and launch a conversational assistant on any website in under two minutes.
✅ Custom web data indexing
Pulls and updates content directly from your site to keep answers accurate in real-time.
✅ Seamless brand voice matching
Lets you fine-tune responses to match your website’s messaging and tone automatically.
❌ Limited advanced integrations
Some users have noted that Big Sur AI lacks deeper integrations with niche website tools and enterprise CRM systems.
❌ Occasional context drift
There are reports that the chatbot occasionally loses track of multi-turn website conversations, which can affect continuity.
Big Sur AI’s pricing gives you more volume than Chatbase, and doesn’t have as many volume paywalls that force you to upgrade (more on this below).
Choose from 3 plans:
Public reviews: 4.5 ⭐ (G2, Capterra)
Our rating: 8/10 ⭐
Similar to: Intercom, Tidio
Typical users: Small businesses, startups, ecommerce sites
Known for: Multi-channel messaging, real-time support
Why choose it? Unified inbox and affordable pricing
Crisp Chat is an all-in-one messaging platform for websites, combining live chat, shared inboxes, chatbots, and real-time visitor analytics. It automates support, centralizes conversations, and integrates with popular CRMs and helpdesk tools.
Crisp Chat offers fast integration, multi-channel messaging, and strong automation tools, making it easy to manage customer conversations and boost engagement without tech headaches.
💡 Crisp Chat combines real-time live chat, omnichannel messaging, chatbot workflows, co-browsing, and an integrated knowledge base for communicating with website visitors.
✅ Shared inbox functionality
Centralizes all website conversations (chat, email, Messenger, etc.) into a single unified inbox.
✅ Integrated live translation
Enables real-time, automatic message translation for seamless global website support.
✅ Customizable chatbot automation
Lets you build tailored automation flows—no coding—using their visual workflow editor.
❌ Limited chatbot automation depth
Some users note Crisp Chat’s chatbot builder lacks the flexibility and conditional logic of specialized no-code competitors.
❌ Delayed feature updates for AI-powered tools
AI-based updates and features often trail behind leaders like Big Sur AI, affecting access to cutting-edge automations.
❌ Occasional notification delays with website visitor chats
Reports indicate occasional lags or missed real-time alerts, leading to slower response times for website-initiated conversations.
Crisp Chat uses a tiered subscription model with plans based on features and team size.
Choose between these 3 plans:
💡 As usage scales or feature needs grow, expect to move to a higher-tier plan, especially for larger teams or sophisticated automation.
Public reviews: 4.6 ⭐ (G2, Capterra)
Our rating: 8/10 ⭐
Similar to: Botpress, ManyChat
Typical users: SMB owners, marketers, customer support teams
Known for: Quick custom chatbot creation using your own data
Why choose it? Easy setup, strong integration options, fast responses
Chatbase lets users build custom AI chatbots trained on their own data—like website content or PDF files—and easily embed them on sites for automated, on-brand visitor support and lead capture without coding.
Chatbase lets you train chatbots on your content, supports multiple data sources, and gives advanced analytics so you can refine user interactions quickly and easily.
💡 Summary: Chatbase enables users to create, train, and integrate AI chatbots on websites using no-code tools, custom data sources, multilingual features, and analytics dashboards.
✅ No-code widget integration
Chatbase embeds on any website fast, without technical configuration or developer support.
✅ Custom data training
Upload files or URLs to instantly fine-tune the chatbot’s responses to match your unique business content.
✅ White-label and UX customization
Design the chatbot widget’s look and behavior to match your website’s brand and user experience.
❌ Slow data source syncing
Users report delays when updating website content, causing the bot to serve outdated answers.
❌ Limited deep web integrations
Chatbase lacks out-of-the-box plugins for syncing with advanced site analytics or CRM tools.
❌ Occasional false positives in data extraction
The chatbot sometimes misinterprets web page structure, pulling irrelevant sections into responses.
Chatbase uses tiered monthly pricing based on the number of chatbots and valid messages you need.
Choose between these 4 plans:
💡 You may need to upgrade sooner than expected if your bots get popular, as message limits don’t roll over and there are no pay-as-you-go options.
Public reviews: 4.7 ⭐ (G2, Capterra)
Our rating: 7.5/10 ⭐
Similar to: Intercom, Drift
Typical users: Small businesses, ecommerce stores
Known for: Live chat and AI-powered customer support automation
Why choose it? Easy integration and fast setup for website chatbots
Tidio AI is a chatbot tool for websites that automates customer support and lead capture. It integrates with live chat, uses NLP to answer FAQs, and routes complex queries to humans, streamlining workflows for e-commerce and service-based businesses.
Tidio AI provides fast, seamless chat automation, easy integration with major platforms, and actionable analytics, enabling web teams to enhance customer engagement and support more efficiently.
💡 Summary: Tidio AI offers tools for automating website conversations, including live chat, AI-powered reply generation, message handling across multiple channels, and real-time visitor tracking.
✅ Fast, no-code integration
Tidio’s widget embeds with a snippet, letting websites enable live chat and AI support in minutes.
✅ Unified inbox for omnichannel messaging
Operators manage live chat, email, Messenger, and Instagram messages from a single dashboard.
✅ Automated lead routing and qualification
Custom AI flows capture, qualify, and assign website leads without developer intervention.
❌ Limited advanced chatbot logic
Tidio's flow builder lacks the depth and conditional branching power of more specialized no-code competitors.
❌ Paywall for critical integrations
Key website features like custom domain and premium integrations are locked behind higher pricing tiers.
❌ Restricted widget UI customization
Some users report limited control over the appearance and placement of the chat widget, affecting brand alignment.
Tidio AI uses a subscription-based pricing model with clear plan tiers based on usage and feature needs.
Choose between these 4 plans:
💡Tidio AI is straightforward at first, but growth in users or feature needs can make monthly costs jump quickly.
Public reviews: 4.7 ⭐ (G2, Capterra)
Our rating: 7.5/10 ⭐
Similar to: Chatbot.com, Landbot
Typical users: Customer support and website operators
Known for: Easy drag-and-drop custom chatbot creation
Why choose it? No coding required, fast website integration
Botsonic is a no-code AI chatbot builder that lets you train custom bots using your own data, docs, links, or uploads, without any coding. It's mainly used to automate customer support or lead generation on websites via embeddable widgets.
Botsonic stands out for its no-code setup, custom knowledge base integration, and seamless on-site chat, letting teams deploy tailored support instantly without dev bottlenecks.
💡 Summary: Botsonic’s core features allow website owners to build, train, and deploy multilingual AI chatbots, integrate them across various channels, and manage handovers to live agents without coding.
✅ No-code website integration
Easily embed AI chatbots on your website with a simple, code-free installation.
✅ Custom data ingestion
Upload your own documents or URLs to train the bot with hyper-relevant website content.
✅ Conversational context retention
Botsonic maintains user context for coherent, multi-turn website conversations.
❌ Limited widget customization
Advanced users report restrictions in adjusting the chat widget’s layout, limiting seamless website brand alignment.
❌ Occasional training data mismatches
Some website owners note Botsonic occasionally surfaces outdated or irrelevant answers after knowledge base updates.
❌ Slow support for complex integrations
There are recurring complaints about lagging documentation and limited technical help for integrating with non-standard web stacks.
Botsonic offers simple monthly pricing based on the number of chatbots, team members, and chat interactions.
Choose between these 3 plans:
💡 As your business grows or you need more chat volume, expect higher costs and possible mandatory plan upgrades for key features.
Public reviews: 4.7 ⭐ (G2, Capterra)
Our rating: 8/10 ⭐
Similar to: ManyChat, Tars
Typical users: Customer support teams, marketing teams, SMBs
Known for: No-code chatbot builder with conversational UI
Why choose it? Fast, user-friendly chatbot creation for websites without coding skills
Landbot is a no-code chatbot builder for creating conversational flows for web and WhatsApp. It’s used to automate lead gen, customer support, or survey routes through drag-and-drop logic and easy third-party integrations.
Landbot simplifies building interactive chatbots, lets you deploy without code, and integrates easily with marketing tools for better user engagement and streamlined lead capture.
💡 Summary: Landbot lets users design web chatbots visually, deploy across channels, set conditional logic, connect to third-party tools, and use rich media for interactive conversations.
✅ Visual workflow builder
Landbot’s drag-and-drop chatbot builder lets marketers design web chat flows without writing code.
✅ Native website widget customization
It offers granular control over website widget appearance, behavior, and integration—down to CSS.
✅ Conditional logic for lead routing
Advanced if/then rules route leads and qualify users in real time, powering dynamic website experiences.
❌ API and webhook limitations
Landbot’s webhook and API integrations lack the flexibility and reliability needed for complex website automations.
❌ Slower widget performance at scale
Users report the Landbot widget can cause sluggish page loads or UI lag on content-heavy websites.
❌ Inconsistent AI intent recognition
On public forums, some webmasters note Landbot’s AI struggles with nuanced or less structured website queries.
Landbot utilizes a tiered subscription model based on features, chat limits, and the number of active bots.
Choose between these 3 plans:
💡 As usage or complexity grows, expect to need a higher-tier plan to unlock more bots, chats, and integrations.
Here’s the bottom line on picking the best free AI chatbot for your needs:
If you want to learn more about AI chatbots, check out these guides:
Curious to see how Big Sur AI fits your site? Give Big Sur AI a try for free here.