What actually drives the price
There's no honest flat price for "a chatbot," because a simple FAQ bot and a deeply integrated assistant are different projects. Cost tracks with scope: how complex the conversations are, how many systems it touches, and how much custom logic and content work is involved.
Anyone quoting a firm number before understanding your needs is guessing. We price after we understand what you're actually building.
- Scope: a simple FAQ bot vs. a multi-step, logic-heavy assistant
- Integrations: each connected system (CRM, calendar, store, database) adds work
- Knowledge setup: preparing and grounding your content
- Custom design: bespoke UI and brand vs. a standard widget
- Compliance needs: privacy, security, and regulated-industry requirements
- Ongoing costs: hosting, AI model usage, and maintenance
One-time build vs. ongoing costs
A chatbot has two cost sides. There's the one-time build — design, integration, and testing — and there's the running cost: hosting, the AI model's per-usage fees, and maintenance as your content and systems change.
We're upfront about both so there are no surprises. AI usage in particular scales with volume, so we help you understand and control it.
- One-time: discovery, design, build, integration, and testing
- Ongoing: hosting and infrastructure
- Ongoing: AI model usage, which scales with conversation volume
- Ongoing: maintenance, content updates, and improvements
- Optional: support and monitoring on a retainer
How we scope and price your project
We start with a free consultation to understand your goals, then scope the project into clear phases. That lets us give you a real, itemized estimate instead of a number pulled from the air, and lets you start small and expand.
You'll know what you're paying for and why before any work begins.
- Free consultation to understand goals and constraints
- Written scope broken into phases you can approve
- Itemized estimate tied to specific deliverables
- Option to start with a focused pilot and grow
- Transparent ongoing-cost estimate, not just the build
More on ai chatbots & assistants
Frequently asked questions
Can you just tell me a ballpark price?
Not honestly, not without knowing your scope — a basic FAQ bot and an integrated assistant can differ by an order of magnitude. What we can do quickly is understand your needs in a free consultation and give you a real, itemized estimate.
Why are there ongoing costs and not just a one-time fee?
Because the bot runs on infrastructure and on AI models that charge per usage, and because your content and systems change over time. We spell out both the build cost and the running cost so nothing is hidden.
How can I keep the cost down?
Start focused. A well-scoped pilot that solves one high-value problem costs less, proves value, and gives you a foundation to expand. We'll help you pick the highest-impact starting point.