An AI chatbot for businesses costs anywhere between € 0 (free website builders) and over € 2,500/month (enterprise platforms). For most small businesses, the relevant range is € 50 to € 500/month. This article shows the real costs of chatbots and AI phone assistants, including the hidden line items that often go unmentioned.
The 3 pricing tiers at a glance
| Segment | Monthly cost | Setup cost | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-service / DIY | € 0–200 | € 0 (self-setup) | Tech-savvy users, simple FAQs |
| Managed service | € 300–800 | € 1,000–3,000 | Small businesses without an IT department who want a personal contact |
| Enterprise / agency | € 500–2,500+ | € 2,000–15,000+ | Large companies with complex requirements |
Self-service vs. managed service: a direct comparison
The price gap between self-service and managed service is significant. The reason is simple: with self-service you pay less money but invest your own time.
Self-service (DIY chatbot)
You sign up with a platform (e.g. Tidio, Chatbase, Botpress), upload your documents and configure the bot yourself. Typical providers cost € 20 to € 200/month.
Advantages: Cheap, quick to set up, full control.
Disadvantages:
- You need technical know-how for setup and configuration
- Ongoing optimisation is on you (adjusting answers, adding new content)
- Support is usually email or chat only, no personal account manager
- Hidden costs: some providers bill per "resolution" (e.g. € 1 per answered question), which adds up quickly with a high volume of enquiries
- GDPR: many platforms are US-based, so data ends up on US servers
Why a chatbot needs ongoing maintenance
A common misconception: set up the chatbot once and you're done. In practice, a chatbot needs ongoing optimisation to stay good:
- New questions come up: customers ask things you didn't think of during setup. Without regularly reviewing conversations, these go unanswered.
- Content changes: prices, opening hours, services, staff. The bot has to grow with your business.
- Correcting wrong answers: every chatbot gives the odd inaccurate answer at first. Without regular review, you only notice when a customer complains.
- AI models keep evolving: new model versions can deliver better answers, but they need to be tested and adjusted first.
With self-service solutions, this work is on you. Budget 2 to 4 hours a month for reviewing conversations, updating content and fixing errors. With a managed service, the provider handles it for you. For more on what ongoing maintenance actually means in practice, see Why ongoing chatbot maintenance matters.
Managed service
You provide your information (FAQs, price list, brochures), and a provider takes care of everything: setup, training, integration, ongoing optimisation and support. The bot gets better every month because real conversations are reviewed and answers adjusted.
Advantages: No technical effort, a personal contact, the bot keeps getting better, nothing for you to worry about.
Disadvantages:
- Higher monthly costs
- A one-off setup fee
- Dependence on the provider
What does an AI phone assistant cost?
AI phone assistants are usually cheaper than chatbots because they perform a clearly defined task: answering calls and standard questions.
| Solution | Cost/month | Typical volume |
|---|---|---|
| AI phone assistant (self-service) | from € 99 | 50–200 minutes |
| AI phone assistant (managed) | From € 99 + € 499 setup | 1,000 minutes |
| Traditional call answering service | € 750–2,500 | 500 calls |
| Part-time employee | From € 1,000 | Office hours |
An AI phone assistant is 50 to 80% cheaper than a traditional call answering service. More on this: AI phone assistant vs. answering machine.
Hidden costs: what to watch out for
The monthly price is not everything. Watch out for these items:
- Price per message or resolution: some providers bill per answered question. At 500 enquiries/month and € 1/resolution, that's € 500 that never shows up in the base price.
- Minutes beyond the free allowance: with AI phone assistants, extra minutes often cost € 0.15 to € 0.50/minute.
- Annual billing: many providers lure you in with low monthly prices but require payment upfront for a full year.
- Integration costs: CRM connections, calendar integration or WhatsApp connections often cost extra.
- Setup and training: one-off costs for setting up and initially training the bot. Can run to several thousand euros for complex setups.
The ROI calculation: is an AI chatbot worth it?
Whether an AI chatbot pays off depends on two questions: how many enquiries does it answer automatically? And what would the alternative cost you?
A real-world example: a driving school in Upper Austria gets around 200 enquiries a month about licence classes, course prices and available slots. The owner answers every enquiry personally, by phone or email. That costs him around 17 hours a month. With an AI chatbot, 80% of these questions are answered automatically. The owner now only checks the complex enquiries and saves over 13 hours a month.
Worked example: a service business with 200 enquiries/month
| Item | Without chatbot | With chatbot |
|---|---|---|
| Manually answered enquiries | 200/month | 40/month (80% automated) |
| Time spent (5 min/enquiry) | ~17 hours | ~3.5 hours |
| Staff costs (€ 50/hr) | ~€ 850 | ~€ 175 |
| Chatbot costs | € 0 | € 499 |
| Total cost | ~€ 850 | ~€ 674 |
| Savings | — | ~€ 176/month |
On top of that come indirect benefits: fewer interruptions, faster response times, 24/7 availability, and the time you get back for your core business.
ServasBot pricing
With ServasBot you build your own chatbot: Chatbot Standard € 49/month, Chatbot Plus € 99/month, each with a 30-day free trial and cancel any time. You register, upload your documents, and tutorial videos show you how to optimise the bot for AI search.
If you'd rather hand off preparation and ongoing maintenance, go for the personally managed service:
| Product | Setup (one-off) | Monthly | Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatbot Standard (Managed) | € 1,500 | € 499 | Setup, training, ongoing optimisation, support |
| Chatbot Pro (Managed) | € 2,500 | € 799 | Everything in Standard plus actions (appointments, CRM, emails), higher quota |
| AI phone assistant (add-on) | € 990 | From € 99 | 1,000 free minutes, 1 phone number, 1 user, all features, EU hosting. 15% discount when bundled with a chatbot plan |
The managed service is currently at capacity; onboarding runs via the waiting list. All prices exclude VAT. With self-service you get a 30-day free trial; with the managed service, a 30-day money-back guarantee applies, including the setup fee. Full details on our pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What does a simple chatbot for a website cost?
A simple FAQ chatbot costs from € 20/month on self-service platforms (e.g. Tidio, Chatbase). With ServasBot, self-service starts from € 49/month and you build the bot yourself. If you'd rather hand off preparation and maintenance, go for the managed service from € 499/month including setup, currently via the waiting list.
Does a free chatbot make sense?
For initial testing, yes. For live use with customer contact, usually not. Free chatbots often have limited features, no EU hosting and no GDPR-compliant data processing. There's also no support if something goes wrong.
Is an AI chatbot worth it for businesses with few enquiries?
If you get fewer than 20 enquiries a month, an AI phone assistant (from € 99/month) is often the better choice. A self-service chatbot pays off from around 20 to 40 recurring enquiries a month; a managed service, because of the higher cost, from around 100 to 150.
Chatbot or phone assistant: which should I choose?
It depends on how your customers reach you. If most of them call: phone assistant. If most come through the website: chatbot. Many small businesses start with the phone assistant (cheaper, faster results) and add a chatbot later. More on this: Does your SME need a chatbot?
Where can I get a GDPR-compliant chatbot with CRM integration built?
From an agency that brings EU hosting, a data processing agreement and interfaces to common systems. With ServasBot you build your own GDPR-compliant chatbot and try it free for 30 days. If you'd rather hand off preparation and maintenance, go for the managed service, currently via the waiting list. The “Chatbot Pro” plan includes the connection to appointments, CRM and email sending (see the table above). EU hosting and a data processing agreement are included in every plan.
Conclusion
The cost of an AI chatbot depends on three factors: self-service or managed, the number of enquiries, and the features you want. For most small businesses, the sweet spot is € 30 to € 500/month. What matters is not the cheapest price but what you get for your money: GDPR-compliant EU hosting, personal support and ongoing optimisation make the difference.
Not sure whether an AI chatbot is worth it for your business? Our AI readiness checklist gives you an assessment in 5 minutes.