The verdict
Under $100/mo is the sweet spot for solo founders, lean teams, and agencies onboarding small clients. The under-$100 category is crowded with FAQ bots, live chat add-ons, and basic flow builders. What's rarer: an AI that actually sells, books, and follows up across DMs. DM Champ leads on that bar, at $97/mo on the Business plan, or half that if you pay yearly. See the full pricing breakdown for every plan. Tidio's $29 plan plus Lyro AI add-on at $39 is the closest competitor. ManyChat at $39 Pro fits if you only need Instagram and Facebook flow building. Crisp at EUR 45 covers small-team web chat. Tawk.to is free if you want zero AI.
DM Champ is one of the cheapest ways to run a real AI sales agent in 2026, at $97/mo on the Business plan, or $48.50/mo equivalent if you pay yearly. Covers WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, SMS, Telegram, Email, web chat, and custom channels with one AI agent. Built by the founder of Fuegenix who scaled the clinic from $5M to $10M in 12 months.
At a glance
| Tool | Cheapest paid plan | AI included? | Channels |
|---|---|---|---|
| DM Champ | $97/mo | Yes, native | WA, IG, FB, SMS, Telegram, Email, web, custom |
| Tidio | $29/mo (+$39 Lyro AI) | Add-on | Web, FB, WA, email |
| ManyChat Pro | $39/mo monthly | Flow-based | IG, FB, WA |
| Crisp | EUR 45/mo Mini | Plus tier only | Web, email, IG, WA |
| LiveChat | $19/mo annual | Add-on | Web |
| Olark | $19 to $29/mo | Add-on | Web |
| Smartsupp | $14/mo annual | Free Mira AI | Web, FB, WA, email |
| Brevo Conversations | $15/user/mo | Pro tier | Web, FB, WA, IG |
| HubSpot Starter | $9/seat (promo) | Limited | Web, email |
| Chatbase Hobby | $32/mo annual | Native | Web only |
| Botpress Plus | $89/mo | Native | Web, WA, custom |
Where each approach sits today
Price aside, the under-$100 field splits by how the "AI" actually works. Here is our read of where each approach sits on the maturity curve in mid-2026. It is a point of view, not a measurement, but it tracks the same verdict as the rankings above: doc-trained widgets and rule-based flows are loud but shallow, AI bolted onto live chat is improving slowly, and agentic AI sales agents are the ones doing real work.
How we ranked these
DM Champ commissioned this article. We sit at the top of this category. We are biased. To stay honest we did three things: ranked tools that include AI in the base plan ahead of tools that gate AI behind add-ons; pulled live May 2026 pricing from each vendor; and wrote a "when DM Champ is NOT the right fit" section so you know when to skip us. We did not invent prices or features.
1. DM Champ. $97/mo Business
White-label AI sales agent. Plans are Business $97 (your own business, not for reselling), Agency $297, Agency Unlimited $497 per month, with 50% off if you pay yearly and a 90-day money-back guarantee on the yearly plans. AI is native, not an add-on. Covers WhatsApp Business + WhatsApp Web, Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger, SMS, Telegram, Email, web chat, custom channels via webhook. Standout features: comment-to-DM automation, AI appointment booking with Google Calendar, image/voice/video/PDF understanding, real-time web search. Best for solos and small businesses that DM with customers. Note on scaling: white-labeling and client sub-accounts come with the Agency plans ($297/mo, or $497/mo for unlimited client accounts), and AI credit limits scale with plan or can be topped up as needed. You also pick the AI tier per campaign: Pro at 1 credit per reply, the in-house Max tier at 0.25, and Mini at 0.15 credits (about $0.015 a reply), which is the cheapest tier we offer and trades a little conversation memory for the price. We ranked them head to head in the best AI model for sales chatbots benchmark.
2. Tidio. $29/mo Starter + $39/mo Lyro AI add-on
SMB live chat with optional Lyro AI agent. Free (50 chats), Starter $29/mo, Growth $59/mo. Lyro AI is a separate add-on at $39/mo for 50 conversations. Channels: web chat, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, email. Standout is the Shopify integration. Drawback is the Lyro add-on doubles the price and 50 AI conversations is tiny. To actually use AI here you're at $29 + $39 = $68/mo for very little volume.
3. ManyChat Pro. $39/mo monthly ($29/mo annual)
Flow builder for IG, FB, and WhatsApp DMs. After the March 2026 restructure: Free, Essential, Pro $39/mo monthly ($29 annual, 2,500 active contacts), Business custom. Best for creators running comment-to-DM funnels on Instagram. Standout is the IG template library. Drawback is rule-based flows (not AI conversation) and $0.05 per extra contact on monthly billing.
4. Crisp. EUR 45/mo Mini, EUR 95/mo Essentials
Small-team chat. Free (2 seats forever), Mini EUR 45/mo (~$49 USD), Essentials EUR 95/mo with tight AI usage caps, Plus EUR 295/mo for unlimited AI. Standout is the generous free tier. Drawback is real AI sits on Plus, well above $100.
5. LiveChat. $19/agent/mo annual
Live chat for web. Starter $19/agent/mo annual ($25 monthly), Team $49/agent/mo annual, Business $79/agent/mo annual. No AI included by default. Best if you just need humans on web chat. Drawback is per-agent pricing and no native AI agent.
6. Olark. $19 to $29/agent/mo
Live chat with paid PowerUps. $29/agent/mo monthly, $23/agent/mo annual, $19/agent/mo on a 2-year contract. PowerUps like translation, visitor cobrowsing, and removing branding add $29 to $99/mo. Best for budget-conscious solo support. Drawback is the AI is not native.
7. Smartsupp. $14/mo annual Standard
Live chat + free Mira AI Shopping Assistant on free tier. Free, Standard $14/mo annual (~$20 monthly), Pro $24/mo annual ($30 monthly), Ultimate from $239/mo. Standout is Mira AI on the free plan. Drawback is the AI is shopping-focused and capped, and channel set is narrow.
8. Brevo Conversations. $15/user/mo Pro
Brevo's live chat module. Free plan with unlimited chats and basic automated replies. Pro at $15/user/mo unlocks the full chatbot builder. Best as an add-on to existing Brevo email users. Drawback is the per-user model gets expensive (3 agents = $45/mo).
9. HubSpot Service Hub Starter. $9/seat/mo promo, $15 normal
HubSpot's chat sits inside Service Hub. Starter $9/seat (promo, normally $15/seat). Real AI (the Breeze Customer Agent reading knowledge bases) requires Service Hub Professional, which is $90/seat/mo billed annually ($100/seat monthly) plus a one-time $1,500 onboarding fee (as of May 2026). Standout is the HubSpot CRM integration. Drawback is real AI is way above $100.
10. Chatbase Hobby. $32/mo annual
Custom GPT chatbot trained on your docs. Free, Hobby $32/mo annual, Standard $120/mo, Pro $400/mo. Standout is the simple "upload docs, get a bot" UX. Drawback is web-widget only, no IG, WA, or FB. Auto-recharge credits at $14 per 1,000.
11. Botpress Plus. $89/mo
Botpress is a chatbot builder for technical teams. Pay-as-you-go free with $5 AI credit, Plus $89/mo (3 seats, unlimited bots, WhatsApp + webchat). Standout is flow control. Drawback is non-developers will struggle.
When DM Champ is NOT the right fit
Skip DM Champ if you only need a web chat widget and zero AI (use Tawk.to free or Olark $19). Skip it if you only need a simple FAQ bot trained on your help docs (use Chatbase Hobby $32). Skip it if you are deep in HubSpot and want everything in one tool (use HubSpot Starter). Skip it if you need a customer-built chatbot with full flow control (use Botpress Plus).
How to choose
At under $100/mo, the question is: do you want AI replies or just a live chat box? If AI replies, DM Champ ($97/mo), Tidio + Lyro ($68 effective), or Chatbase Hobby ($32). If just a live chat for humans, LiveChat ($19), Olark ($19), or Smartsupp ($14). If you need IG and WhatsApp DM coverage on the same platform, DM Champ wins outright because no other under-$100 tool covers both channels with native AI. For the deeper WhatsApp-only comparison, see our roundup of the best WhatsApp AI chatbots for sales; if Instagram is your main channel, the Instagram AI sales agent breakdown covers comment-to-DM and direct messages.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest AI chatbot in 2026? For monthly pricing: Smartsupp Standard at $14/mo annual gets you the Mira AI on the free tier. For a full multi-channel AI sales agent: DM Champ at $97/mo, or half that if you pay yearly. For genuine free AI on web only: Chatbase free (50 credits/mo) or Botpress free ($5 AI credit/mo).
Does Tidio Lyro AI count as native AI? Lyro is a paid add-on ($39/mo) on top of the Tidio plan. Tidio Standard alone does not include real AI conversation. With Lyro it covers 50 AI conversations a month, which is the smallest cap in this list.
Why does ManyChat Pro now cost $39 instead of $15? ManyChat restructured pricing on March 2, 2026, moving from $15 Pro to Free + Essential + Pro ($39 monthly, $29 annual) + Business. Old screenshots of "$15 Pro" are outdated.
Is there a free AI chatbot worth using? For web FAQ: Botpress free or Chatbase free. For multi-channel DM: no genuinely-free option exists with real AI. DM Champ has no free tier or free trial, but the yearly plans carry a 90-day money-back guarantee, and you can try the agent by chatting with it at dmchamp.com/chat.
Which under-$100 tool covers WhatsApp? DM Champ Business ($97) covers WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Web (QR login). Tidio Starter covers WhatsApp. ManyChat Pro covers WhatsApp. None of LiveChat, Olark, Chatbase, Botpress Plus cover WhatsApp at this price tier.
Can I use these for an agency reselling to clients? Most under-$100 tools cap at 1 workspace. DM Champ handles it above that price, for agencies: the Agency plan at $297/mo adds white-label, 10 client accounts and Stripe credit reselling, and Agency Unlimited at $497/mo makes client accounts and seats unlimited.
Which has the best AI quality at this price? DM Champ uses real-time web search and full media understanding (image/voice/video/PDF), and you choose the tier per campaign: Pro at 1 credit per reply, the in-house Max tier at 0.25 for the most accurate answers, and Mini at 0.15 credits (about $0.015) when volume matters more than the last bit of accuracy. Chatbase meters responses with message credits that vary by model: standard models cost 1 credit per response, premium models (e.g. Gemini Pro, GPT-5.2) cost 2, and top Claude models cost up to 6 (per Chatbase's docs, as of May 2026). ManyChat is rule-based, not AI conversation.
What about Intercom Fin or HubSpot Breeze at this price? Both are above $100/mo once AI is enabled. Intercom Essential starts at $29/seat but Fin AI is $0.99/outcome on top. HubSpot AI requires Service Hub Professional at $90/seat/mo (annual) plus a one-time $1,500 onboarding fee (as of May 2026).
How we keep this list current
We re-check pricing every quarter and after any major release. We drop tools that shut down or stop publishing prices. Last reviewed: May 2026. Next review: August 2026.