Cheapest AI chatbot for a small business website

The cheapest AI chatbot for a small business website is a free plan: AcquiChat and Tidio both offer one, with monthly limits. Paid plans start around $24 to $25 a month. But price alone is a poor guide, because the cheapest plan is only a bargain if it captures the leads you want.

Want to try it as you read? Start free and follow along.

Prices are from each company’s pricing page, November 2026. Check them before you buy.

The cheapest options, ranked by price

1. Free plans.
   • AcquiChat: free plan with a monthly message limit. Leads are emailed to you.
   • Tidio: free plan with 50 conversations a month and limited AI use.
2. About $24 to $25 a month.
   • Tidio Starter: about $24 a month.
   • Boei Starter: $25 a month ($19 billed annually), including AI credits.
3. About $40 a month.
   • Hyperleap Plus: $40 for 3,000 AI replies, with leads and summaries emailed.
4. About $79 a month.
   • Footbridge Media Contractor Lead Chat: $79, unlimited chats, done for you.

What the cheap plans leave out

• Limits. Free plans cap conversations. A busy month can use them up.
• Branding. Some remove the “powered by” label only on higher plans.
• Booking and channels. WhatsApp, Instagram and calendar booking usually cost more.
• Support. Free means help articles, not a person.

What to check before you choose

1. Does it capture leads and send them to you? A free chatbot that only chats is a toy.
2. Can you control what it says? An AI that invents prices is expensive.
3. What is the monthly allowance, and what happens when it ends?
4. How long to set up? An hour of your time costs something.

A cheap way to start instantly

With AcquiChat’s free plan you do not even need a website: publish, choose its address in the Install tab, and the hosted chat page is ready to share as a link.

A sensible path

Start free. Write your ten most common answers, add the bot to your site, and watch it for a month. If you hit the limit and the leads are real, upgrade. If not, you spent nothing but time. For setup, see how to add a chatbot to a home service website with no code. For the wider comparison, read the best AI chatbots for home service businesses.

Try AcquiChat’s free plan.

Coming soon. Analytics, a summary of unanswered questions, app integrations and an MCP server for asking ChatGPT or Claude about leads are planned for AcquiChat. Check what each tool offers today before you pay for features that are only promised.