Chatbase’s Free Plan: Build an AI Chatbot for Free — 100 Chats a Month
Chatbase is a no-code platform that lets you build an AI chatbot trained on your own content — your website, documents, or FAQs — and embed it on your site in minutes. The free plan costs $0 and gives you 100 message credits a month, one AI agent, 400 KB of training data, and up to 10 links to train on. It’s enough to build a working bot and test it with real visitors. Just know that 100 credits disappear fast with anything beyond the lightest traffic, and inactive free agents get deleted after 14 days.
Quick verdict: The fastest free way to test an AI support bot on your own site. Treat the free tier as a prototype allowance — if the bot works, budget $40/month for Hobby before real traffic arrives.
Quick Facts
- What it is: A no-code AI chatbot builder — train a bot on your website, docs, or FAQs and embed it anywhere to answer customer questions automatically.
- Free plan: $0 — 100 message credits per month, 1 AI agent, 400 KB of training data, 10 links to train on, access to basic (fast) models, embeddable on unlimited websites.
- Free limits: 100 credits is roughly 100 basic-model replies (premium models like GPT-4-class burn ~20 credits per response — about 5 replies); agents are deleted after 14 days of inactivity; no AI Actions, no white-label branding, basic features only.
- Paid plans: Hobby $40/month (2,000 credits, 33 MB data, 5 AI Actions); Standard $150/month (12,000 credits); Pro $500/month (40,000 credits).
- Best for: Small businesses, bloggers, and freelancers who want a FAQ bot live in under 15 minutes — and want to test whether visitors actually use it before paying.
What’s Actually Free vs. Paywalled
On the free plan you can build a real, working chatbot: train it on your site’s content (up to 10 links or 400 KB), pick from fast basic models, and embed it on as many websites as you like. Visitors can ask questions and get answers drawn from your content. For a small portfolio site, a local business page, or a blog FAQ bot getting a handful of questions a day, 100 credits can genuinely last the month.
What costs money: volume (2,000+ credits/month starts at $40), training on more than 10 links or 400 KB of data, AI Actions (the bot doing things like creating tickets or checking orders — starts on Hobby), advanced models, removing the “Powered by Chatbase” branding ($39+/month extra), custom domains, and human-agent handoff. Credit-based pricing also gets unpredictable at scale — high-traffic sites can find the meter running faster than expected, and add-ons stack up.
Free vs. Hobby vs. Standard
| Free ($0) | Hobby ($40/mo) | Standard ($150/mo) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Message credits/month | 100 | 2,000 | 12,000 |
| AI agents | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Training data | 400 KB / 10 links | 33 MB / unlimited links | 40 MB / unlimited links |
| AI models | Basic only | Advanced models | All models |
| AI Actions | No | 5 per agent | 10 per agent |
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Genuinely no-code: a working FAQ bot on your site in under 15 minutes, no developer needed.
- The free plan includes a real embeddable bot — not a locked demo.
- Multi-model flexibility (on paid tiers) and AI Actions go beyond simple Q&A.
- SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliance, which matters if customers talk to your bot.
Cons:
- 100 free credits is a prototype allowance, not a production plan — and premium models burn 20x per reply.
- Free agents are deleted after 14 days of inactivity, so side projects need occasional attention.
- Credit pricing turns expensive fast: Hobby starts at $40/month, and branding removal costs extra on top.
- No white-label branding without a $39+/month add-on, even on paid plans.
Who It’s Actually For
Small business owners and bloggers who get the same five questions by email and want a bot to handle them — the free plan proves whether visitors use it. Freelancers and agencies prototyping bots for clients before quoting paid tiers. Marketers and CX teams at SMBs that need a lightweight support deflection tool. Skip it if you need complex multi-step conversation flows (Botpress or Voiceflow are better built for that), if you expect high conversation volume (credit costs get unpredictable), or if you need white-label branding on a budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chatbase free?
Yes — the free plan is $0/month with 100 message credits, 1 AI agent, 400 KB of training data, and 10 links to train on. AI agents on the free plan are deleted after 14 days of inactivity.
How many messages does Chatbase free include?
100 message credits per month. With basic models, one credit is roughly one reply — about 100 conversations. Premium models consume around 20 credits per response, so roughly 5 replies.
Can I put a free Chatbase bot on my website?
Yes — the free plan lets you embed your bot on unlimited websites. The widget will carry “Powered by Chatbase” branding, which requires a paid add-on to remove.
What happens if my free bot runs out of credits?
The bot stops responding until credits reset the next month or you add credits. Paid tiers offer auto-recharge so production bots don’t go silent.
The Bottom Line
Chatbase’s free plan is the quickest free way to get a working AI chatbot on your own site and find out whether visitors actually talk to it. The 100-credit cap and 14-day deletion rule make it a testing tier, not a home — if the bot earns its keep, plan on $40/month Hobby as the real starting point. Verify current credit costs and limits on Chatbase’s pricing page before launch, since credit mechanics change over time.