A chatbot for lead gen has one job: turn an anonymous visitor into a qualified conversation, day or night, without a human on standby. The best ones pair an easy builder with AI that can actually answer questions and hand off hot leads. We compared six, ranked by fit for a small team, including two developer-leaning platforms that trade a simple onramp for multi-model flexibility, with clear notes on the metered AI costs that define the real bill.
How the six compare on price and AI metering
| Tool | Cheapest paid price | Free plan | AI metering unit | Best for |
|---|
| Tidio | $24.17/mo billed annually ($29 monthly) | $0 forever: 50 live-chat conversations/mo (resets) plus 50 Lyro AI resolutions (one-time, lifetime) | Conversation cap plus Lyro-resolution cap per plan | Small e-commerce |
| Landbot | $36/mo billed annually ($45 monthly) | $0 forever: 100 chats/mo, 1 seat, web only, no AI chats | Chats/mo plus a separate AI-chat allowance, $0.05 per extra chat | Visual builder and WhatsApp |
| Lindy | $49.99/user/mo (Team plan) | $0: $50 in credits, valid 7 days, no card (a trial, not a lasting free plan) | Credits, 5,000 to 1,750,000/mo depending on plan | Automation past chat |
| YourGPT | $39/mo billed annually ($59 monthly) | None, 7-day trial only, no card | AI Credits, model-weighted (GPT-3.5 about 1x, GPT-4 about 20x) | Training on your own docs |
| Botpress | $150/mo billed annually ($189 monthly) | $0 forever: 100 conversations/mo, 3 seats, 3 bots, no card | Conversations/mo plus a bundled AI-spend dollar credit | Developer-led builds |
| Chipp | $299/mo, one platform plan ($2,500 one-time setup on the configured option) | None shown on its pricing page | AI-usage dollars, tracked in tokens | HIPAA-ready niche builds |
The right pick depends on what “lead gen” means for you.
Tidio is built for small e-commerce and service sites. It’s the quickest to install, its Lyro
AI deflects common questions while capturing leads, and the free tier lets you prove value before
paying. If you run a small store and want chat working this afternoon, start here.
Landbot is for teams who want to design the conversation carefully (quizzes, branching
qualification, multi-step capture) and especially those whose audience is on WhatsApp. The
builder is a pleasure to work in; the catch is that messaging-channel pricing takes modelling.
Lindy stretches beyond chat. If capturing the lead is step one and you also want to route it,
enrich it, or kick off a workflow automatically, Lindy’s agent approach fits, provided you’re
willing to iterate each automation until it’s reliable.
YourGPT is for teams that want a bot trained on their own pages and documents. Essential is $59 a
month ($39 billed annually) for 2 chatbots and 10M AI credits, Professional is $129 ($79 annually)
for 5 chatbots, and credits are weighted by model, so a GPT-4 conversation burns many times more than
a lighter one. There is a 7-day trial with no card and no permanent free plan.
Botpress is for teams who’ve outgrown a no-code widget, or never wanted one. You get a real
code/SDK option, a choice of five LLM families per bot, and one of the broadest channel lists in this
roundup. The free tier is generous (100 conversations/mo, no card), but the jump from Plus to Team
is steep, and reviewers consistently point to the same friction: documentation that lags the
product.
Chipp is the pick only if HIPAA and SOC 2 compliance is the deciding factor and $299/mo fits.
None of the other five tools here lead with healthcare-grade compliance on every plan. Go in
with your eyes open: its pricing page shows one $299/mo price (plus a $2,500 setup fee on the
configured option) and no cheaper tier, and there’s no independent rating on G2, Capterra, or
Trustpilot to check vendor claims against.
Our pick
For most small teams doing lead gen, Tidio is the easiest win. Reach for Landbot if the
conversation design or WhatsApp matters, and Lindy if you need automation past the chat
itself. YourGPT fits when the bot must answer from your own docs and pages. Botpress is
the pick for a team that wants a code option and multi-model choice instead of a locked-in
widget, and Chipp only if HIPAA compliance outweighs the $299/mo price and the lack of any
independent rating to check it against. Each review covers the metered-AI pricing that determines
your real monthly cost.
Deals & price changes
Price changes and deals for AI chatbot builders
One short email when a tool in this guide changes its price or gets a verified deal. At most once a week.
Frequently asked questions
Which of these six chatbot tools is cheapest to start with?
Tidio has the cheapest ongoing plan at $24.17/mo billed annually. Landbot follows at $36/mo billed annually, then YourGPT at $39/mo billed annually, Lindy at $49.99 per user per month, and Botpress at $150/mo billed annually. Chipp is the most expensive way in: its pricing page shows a single $299/mo platform price, with a $2,500 one-time setup fee on its configured-template option.
Which tools here have a genuine free plan, not just a trial?
Tidio, Landbot, and Botpress all offer a $0-forever tier with no card required, though the caps differ: Tidio gives 50 conversations a month plus a one-time allowance of 50 Lyro AI resolutions, Landbot gives 100 web-only chats with no AI, and Botpress gives 100 conversations across 3 bots. YourGPT offers only a 7-day trial with no permanent free plan, and Chipp shows no free plan or trial on its pricing page either. Lindy's Free tier is a relabeled 7-day, $50-credit trial, not a lasting free plan.
Which tool is built for developers rather than no-code marketers?
Botpress. It pairs a visual builder with a full code/SDK option and a choice of five LLM families per bot, the broadest combination in this guide. That flexibility is also why it's the only tool here where documentation and learning curve, not any single feature, show up as the dominant reviewer complaint.
Is there a HIPAA-compliant option for a healthcare intake bot?
Chipp is the only tool in this guide that bundles HIPAA (with a signed BAA) and SOC 2 Type II compliance into every plan, but its single plan costs $299/mo. Weigh that against its thin public track record: there's no usable independent rating for it on G2, Capterra, or Trustpilot.
