How much does an AI chatbot for a website cost?
A custom AI chatbot for your website costs between €1,490 and €7,500 one-off, up to about €20,000 with many channels and integrations. Running costs are roughly €30 to €200 per month for operation and the language model, depending on the number of conversations. One conversation usually costs only one to three cents in model fees.
What it costs, one-off
Starter
Businesses that want to answer questions about services, prices and processes automatically
- Chatbot based on your website content
- Custom chat widget in your design
- Enquiries by email
- AI disclosure under the EU AI Act
Business
Companies with documents, a team and sales
- RAG on your documents (PDF, Word, knowledge base)
- Handover to live chat with your team
- Lead capture and booking
- Conversation analytics
Custom
Several channels, systems and workflows
- WhatsApp, Instagram and email
- CRM, shop or ticket system integration
- Agent features (e.g. order status, quotes)
- Permissions and multiple languages
Guide values. You receive a binding fixed price in writing after a short call. No VAT is charged under § 19 UStG.
What drives the price
Knowledge base
Website content alone is connected quickly. Many documents, frequent changes or permissions make a RAG architecture more complex.
Live chat and handover
If your team should take over in the same chat with phone notifications, staff need an interface – the main difference between Starter and Business.
Channels
Each additional channel such as WhatsApp or Instagram brings its own interfaces, approvals and rules.
Integrations and actions
Booking appointments, checking order status or creating quotes means the bot accesses your systems. That costs more than answering alone.
Conversation volume
Mainly determines running costs for the language model – for typical SME websites usually a double-digit amount per month.
Example: plumbing business with 400 chats per month
| Chatbot on website and service documents (RAG) | €2,400 |
| Live chat handover with phone push | €1,200 |
| Booking in the chat | €600 |
| Total | €4,200 one-off |
Running: operation €49 plus model costs of about €8–12 per month at 400 conversations. Prices without VAT under § 19 UStG.
What comes after launch
Operation, hosting, updates Depending on package and channels | €29–149 / month |
Language model (usage) About €10–30 per month at 1,000 conversations | approx. 1–3 cents / conversation |
Knowledge base upkeep New content from website and documents is picked up automatically | included or €65 / hour |
What the market charges
Chatbot builder (SaaS)
Quick to set up, but a permanent subscription, often US hosting and little customisation
Custom AI chatbot
Tailored to your content and workflows, EU hosting, yours to keep
Staff on the phone
Personal, but not around the clock and expensive for recurring questions
Frequently asked
What does an AI chatbot cost per month?
About €30 to €200 – operation and hosting plus usage costs for the language model. A single conversation usually costs one to three cents in model fees.
Is there a cheaper AI chatbot?
Yes, as a subscription builder from about €30 per month. These often answer less precisely, run in the US and are hard to integrate. After about two years a custom solution is often cheaper.
Does a chatbot pay off for a small business?
If the same questions come in daily by phone or email, or enquiries outside business hours get lost, usually yes. If it saves an hour of phone time a day, it pays for itself within months.
Does the EU AI Act add costs?
No separate ones. The required disclosure that an AI is answering is included in every package.
Do I pay for the language model myself?
As you prefer: through your own account with OpenAI, Anthropic or Mistral – so you see every cent – or billed as a flat fee through me.
Want a fixed price for your project?
Describe briefly what you need. You get an honest estimate of effort, duration and cost – in writing.
No obligation · Reply the same working day