Disclosure: Dante AI publishes this guide. Dante AI figures come from our own pricing page, checked on 31 October 2026. We quote no agency's or other vendor's prices: quotes vary by scope and region and we only publish figures we can check. Every quote figure below is a labelled assumption you should replace with your own.
Chatbot agency pricing almost always has three parts: a one-time setup fee, a monthly retainer for upkeep, and the platform subscription underneath, which is often passed on to you. Building it yourself on a no-code platform removes the setup fee and the retainer, leaving the plan price and your own time. On Dante AI, plans run from $0 to $400 a month.
In this article
How do chatbot agencies price their work?
Most chatbot agencies and freelancers split their price into the same three lines, even when the quote shows one number. Asking for them separately is the fastest way to compare quotes.
- Setup fee (one time): planning, gathering your content, writing answers, connecting your website and tools, testing and launch. Usually priced as a fixed project or as hours times a day rate.
- Monthly retainer: keeping answers current, reading transcripts, small changes and reports. Some agencies bundle hosting into it.
- Platform subscription: the chatbot software itself. Many agencies build on an existing platform and either pass the plan price on to you or mark it up inside the retainer.
A fourth line appears on some quotes: usage. If the platform charges per conversation, per resolution or by message credits, ask who pays when traffic grows. Our chatbot pricing comparison explains how each of those models moves your bill.
Agency vs freelancer vs DIY: how do the build paths compare?
| Build path | What you pay for | Who does the work | Who owns the account | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatbot agency | Setup fee + monthly retainer + platform plan | The agency team | Often the agency; ask | Complex integrations, many languages or brands, no time in house |
| Freelancer | Fixed project or hourly setup, sometimes a small retainer | One specialist | Usually you, if you set it up | A single site with a clear scope |
| DIY on a no-code platform | Platform plan only, plus your own hours | You or your team | You | Small and mid-size businesses with their content on a website or in files |
| Custom code build | Developer time, AI model usage, hosting and upkeep | Your developers or a software house | You | Unusual workflows no platform supports |
The gap between paths is mostly labour, not software. An agency is paid for hours you would otherwise spend yourself, so the honest comparison is the agency's fee against the value of your own time. For the full build vs buy picture, including custom code, see how much does a chatbot cost.
What should a chatbot agency quote include?
- Scope: which pages, files and channels the chatbot covers at launch, and in how many languages.
- Integrations: which tools it connects to (calendar, CRM, help desk) and who maintains those connections.
- Human handover: how a visitor reaches a person and who answers.
- Platform and usage: the plan name, the plan price, and what happens when you pass its limits.
- Retainer hours: how many hours a month of changes the retainer buys.
- Exit terms: who owns the account, the content and the conversation history if you part ways.
What does a first year cost? A worked example
Take a business with one website that wants an AI chatbot answering customer questions with a human handover. The agency figures are illustrative assumptions, not market prices; replace them with your real quotes.
| Line | Agency (assumed quote) | DIY on Dante AI Advanced |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | $2,000 one time (assumed) | 10 of your hours at an assumed $40 an hour = $400 |
| Retainer | $300 a month (assumed) | $0; you review transcripts yourself |
| Platform | $120 a month (Dante AI Advanced, passed on) | $120 a month (Dante AI Advanced) |
| First-year total | $2,000 + 12 x ($300 + $120) = $7,040 | $400 + 12 x $120 = $1,840 |
In this example the agency costs $5,200 more in year one. That premium buys the agency's hours and experience; it is worth paying when those hours would cost you more, or when the build needs skills you do not have. Put your own quotes into the calculator below and run it once per option.
When is a chatbot agency worth the money?
- Worth it: several brands or sites, custom integrations into internal systems, regulated content that needs careful review, or nobody in house with a few hours a month to spare.
- Usually not needed: one website, answers that already live on your pages or in documents, and someone who can read a week of transcripts and fix weak answers.
A middle path works well: build it yourself on a free plan, then hire a freelancer for a fixed number of hours to review and tune it. You keep the account and pay only for expertise. A no-code chatbot platform is what makes that split possible.
How do you compare chatbot agency quotes?
- Ask every agency for setup, retainer, platform and usage as separate lines.
- Price the same scope on a no-code platform yourself, using its public pricing page. Dante AI lists Free $0, Starter $40, Advanced $120 and Pro $400 a month on the Dante AI pricing page.
- Add your own hours to the DIY option at an honest hourly value.
- Compare first-year totals, then the monthly cost from year two, when setup is gone.
- Check exit terms: an account you own is cheaper to change later.
The quickest way to see what you would get before you pay anyone is to get started free on dante-ai.com, train an agent on your own website and read its answers.
Sources
- Dante AI plan prices, credits, AI agents and human handover: dante-ai.com/pricing, checked 31 October 2026.
- Agency setup fee, retainer and your hourly value in the worked example are illustrative assumptions stated in the text, not market data.