WhatsApp Chatbot price: how much does it cost to implement it?

In the world of e-commerce or digital commerce, chatbots have become powerful allies to automate responses, generate leads, and close more sales. If you are considering one for your business, surely the first thing you are asking yourself is How much does a WhatsApp chatbot cost? 🤖

Today I will tell you what the cost of a WhatsApp chatbot depends on. We will look at the main alternatives to obtaining a chatbot (not all are the same!), the costs of implementing each type of chatbot along with their pros and cons, so you can choose the one that best suits your business.

Factors to consider in the price of your chatbot 

The prices of a WhatsApp chatbot in Latin America can reach up to USD 15,000 approx. Everything depends on your business needs. That is why, to understand how much a chatbot will cost you, you must consider these aspects that influence its price:

1. Features

What do you expect your chatbot to do? Do you want it to answer basic questions? Do you expect it to make sales or schedule appointments? Is it necessary for it to refer conversations to a human agent? Keep in mind that the more advanced and complex the interactions with the user are, the higher the cost of technology will be.

2. Level of customization

Here your brand identity comes into play. Do you want a chatbot that displays your logo and colors or a generic one? Do you want its responses to adapt to your brand voice? The customization of your chatbot involves adjustments that increase the price but achieve differentiation and increase the trust of your users in each conversation.

3. Message volume

If you frequently receive thousands of chats per month, consider that some providers charge based on the number of messages processed by the chatbot. 

👉 Watch out! Even if the chatbot provider offers you an attractive price, remember that WhatsApp has its own fees for using its API. These costs can vary according to the country, message volume, and functionalities used, and you must consider them in the final price.

4.- Integrations

Do you need to connect the chatbot with your CRM, online store, or database? Each integration may require specific developments or paid access that influence the cost of the chatbot.

5.- Flow configuration

Whether you do it yourself or a provider, defining use cases, conversational flows, and configuring responses demands hours of work that also count towards the price.

But, how much does it cost to implement a chatbot?

Now that you have this vision of the factors that influence the price, you should know that there are different types of chatbot and depending on their characteristics, the prices will vary.

How much does a WhatsApp chatbot cost? Real prices of chatbot for your business

Here I will show you which alternatives exist to get a WhatsApp chatbot, their real costs in the market, and the pros and cons of each option so you can guide yourself in making a decision.

3.1 In-house chatbot development

If you handle code and have a technical team at your disposal, developing your own in-house chatbot could be the option for you.

Advantages

• You have the control to customize it to the maximum (brand image, integrations, functionalities)

• It may be more economical in the long term (if you have the team and the time).

Disadvantages

• You require considerable time in development (even more than the other options), which can delay the implementation of the chatbot.

• There is a high initial investment in development and maintenance.

• You need a specialized technical team with knowledge in data, AI, and programming.

Estimated cost of making an in-house chatbot

To calculate the costs, I have gathered the average salaries reported by 2024 from Getonboard and Glassdoor for each role of a team developing chatbots in LATAM.

To implement an in-house chatbot, you require: Project manager (USD 2,100), full-stack developer (USD 2,108), Machine learning engineer (USD 2,859), Data scientist (USD 2,550), Conversational designer (USD 1,575), UI designer (USD 1,822), and QA tester (USD 1,950), giving a total approximate of USD 14,964 /month or even higher amounts if you need advanced AI.

3.2 Chatbot with artificial intelligence from a provider

If you don't have your own development team or want a faster and scalable solution, the chatbots with artificial intelligence (AI) offered by providers are an excellent option.

Advantages

• You don't need technical knowledge to implement it.

• You get advanced AI functionalities for natural dialogue and continuous learning.

• Allows integration with other tools of your business (CRM, e-commerce).

• Ensures scalability to adapt to your company's growth.

Disadvantages

• Lack of deep knowledge of your business, so you must get involved and convey information about your processes throughout the development and implementation.

• Customization may be limited by the provider's plans.

Estimated cost of a chatbot with AI

Prices vary a lot according to functionalities, but you can find options from USD 10 per month (the most basic and limited) to plans above USD 3,215 monthly. 

You may be interested: The best WhatsApp chatbots

For example, Sendpulse offers a plan where you can integrate ChatGPT into your automatic responses and use AI to recognize voice messages from your customers. In this case, you must drag and build your conversational flows on their platform as you see in the image below. 

The average price is USD 40 per month for a maximum of 5,000 subscribers in your chatbot (does not include OpenAI token costs)

On the other hand, if your business is online commerce and you want a chatbot to sell more via WhatsApp, YaVendió! is your chatbot with Artificial Intelligence specialized in sales. 

The best part is that you won't have to build flows or deal with the tedious part of development, because the team at YaVendió! implements the chatbot for you in just 14 days. 

The plans range from USD 49 per month and already include the cost of AI, WhatsApp API, platform service, support, and continuous optimization. Find out how much it costs to implement a chatbot with YaVendió!

3.3 Traditional button-based chatbot

Traditional chatbots (those based on menus or buttons) are a basic and functional option for responding to frequently asked questions from your business or guiding clients through a process. They do not have the flexibility to answer queries you have not configured, but they are easy to use.

Advantages

• Ideal for basic functions such as predefined responses.

• Relatively easy to implement and configure without technical knowledge.

Disadvantages

• They do not have the ability to learn from past conversations or generate natural dialogue like chatbots with AI.

• Can be limited for complex sales or customer service processes.

Estimated cost of a traditional chatbot

For traditional menu-based chatbots, you can find free solutions up to average costs of USD 450/month. 

These prices are for platforms where you or your team must build the entire chatbot, which also implies time costs and a learning curve to understand how to use each functionality.

Some examples are Kommo or Whaticket with a trial period, or Landbot with a free plan, but limited to chats on your website.

Chat for free with an AI chatbot

If you are interested in the option with artificial intelligence, at YaVendió! we have our own AI chatbot that you can chat with (and test the power of our technology). Chat with YaVendiosita on WhatsApp now and get a free demo 🎁