Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in chatbot software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 11 tools, reviewed
#1 Landbot
Spanish no-code chatbot builder purpose-built for lead qualification and WhatsApp conversion, not support tickets · Spain · landbot.io
Built for lead qualification Native WhatsApp tier Genuine free tier
Spanish no-code chatbot builder purpose-built for lead qualification and WhatsApp conversion, not support tickets. Landbot was built from the ground up as a conversion and lead-generation chatbot builder, not a support-chat tool with a bot bolted on afterwards — the cleanest "conversational marketing" fit of the vendors in this category.
- Pricing: Per seat + conversation volume. Free €0 (100 chats/month, 1 seat). Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Landbot was built from the ground up as a conversion and lead-generation chatbot builder, not a support-chat tool with a bot bolted on after
- Strengths: No-code visual builder for lead-qualification and conversion-focused chat flows; Native WhatsApp Business integration as a paid add-on tier; AI chats metered separately from rule-based chats, so a team can mix both in one flow.
Where it falls short
Chat volume is metered and overage fees (€0.05–€0.10 per chat) add up quickly for a high-traffic site. WhatsApp only ships on the €160/month tier and above, and the vendor discloses little about its founding team beyond "since 2015".
Wrong for
A high-traffic support operation that needs unlimited conversations without per-chat overage should look at Crisp or Smartsupp instead.
Visit Landbot →
#2 Smartsupp
Czech chat and automation platform for online stores, with a product-aware Mira AI agent and unlimited conversations on paid plans · Czech Republic · smartsupp.com
Mira AI shopping agent Unlimited conversations on paid plans EU vendor
Czech chat and automation platform for online stores, with a product-aware Mira AI agent and unlimited conversations on paid plans. Mira learns a catalog of up to 30,000 products and recommends items in chat, while Automation Workflows on Plus and above handle lead collection and FAQs, so a small shop gets a sales-minded bot without paying per conversation for the widget itself.
- Pricing: Flat monthly tiers. Free (1 operator, 25 conversations/month). Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Built for small online stores: the Mira AI agent learns up to 30,000 products and recommends them in chat, and every paid plan includes unli
- Strengths: Automation Workflows: multi-step, multi-language sequences for FAQs, lead collection and upsells (Plus+); Mira AI Agent, priced separately from $16/month, scaling from 100 to 5,000 conversations/month; AI Reply Assistant included in paid plans (50 to 500 monthly assists depending on plan).
Where it falls short
Aimed squarely at small ecommerce stores; routing and reporting stay simple even on the Expert plan.
Wrong for
A B2B software company or a large support team needing deep CRM integrations should look at LiveChat or Intercom instead.
Visit Smartsupp →
#3 Tiledesk
Italian open-source conversational AI platform: build chatbots and AI agents visually, deploy across channels or self-host · Italy · tiledesk.com
Open source, self-hostable Multi-channel flow builder EU vendor
Italian open-source conversational AI platform: build chatbots and AI agents visually, deploy them across web chat and other channels, or self-host the whole stack. Tiledesk is the only tool in this line-up with a genuinely open-source core, so a technical team can run it and keep its conversation data on its own infrastructure instead of depending on a vendor's cloud and export tooling, which no other vendor here offers.
- Pricing: Per seat + AI usage. Pro €149/month (€124/month billed annually) — 3 users, 20 AI agents, 5M AI tokens, 3,000 conversations/month. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Tiledesk is the only tool in this line-up with a genuinely open-source core: a technical team can self-host it instead of trusting a vendor'
- Strengths: Visual Design Studio for building multi-step conversation and automation flows, no code required; Multi-channel deployment: web widget, WhatsApp, Facebook, SMS, email and voice from one flow; Knowledge base with hybrid search that AI agents draw answers from.
Where it falls short
No published free-forever tier; every paid tier is metered by AI tokens and conversations, which takes modelling. The Pro tier's 3,000 conversations and 5M tokens a month can run out quickly, and it is newer and less widely known than Crisp or LiveChat.
Wrong for
A non-technical team that wants a plug-and-play widget with no token budgeting to think about should look at Crisp or Smartsupp instead.
Visit Tiledesk →
#4 Crisp
French all-in-one messaging platform with a no-code AI chatbot builder and flat per-workspace pricing · France · crisp.chat
Flat per-workspace pricing No-code AI chatbot builder EU vendor
French all-in-one messaging platform with a no-code AI chatbot builder and flat per-workspace pricing. Each paid plan includes a block of seats (4 on Mini, 10 on Essentials, 20 on Plus), so a part-time marketer or a developer who occasionally jumps into chat costs nothing extra until that allowance runs out; after that each additional agent is $10 a month, still cheap next to the per-seat tools here.
- Pricing: Flat per workspace. Free (2 seats). Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Flat per-workspace pricing with a block of seats included (4 on Mini, 10 on Essentials, 20 on Plus): a part-time marketer who occasionally j
- Strengths: No-code AI chatbot builder with AI-agent blocks and conditional logic (Essentials+); Proactive chat messages triggered by visitor behaviour (Mini+); MagicBrowse co-browsing sessions (Essentials+).
Where it falls short
The full AI chatbot suite and MagicBrowse co-browsing sit behind the Essentials tier and above. Operator routing and reporting are simpler than a dedicated sales-chat tool like LiveChat, and there is no independent security certification stated on the vendor's own site.
Wrong for
A sales team that needs detailed operator routing, staffing prediction and campaign-conversion reporting should look at LiveChat instead.
Visit Crisp →
#5 LiveChat
Polish sales-chat platform built around targeted campaigns and proactive outreach, not just support queues · Poland · livechat.com
Proactive sales campaigns Campaign conversion tracking EU vendor
Polish sales-chat platform built around targeted campaigns and proactive outreach, not just support queues. Campaign conversion tracking is the clearest "marketing" feature here: it reports how many of the proactive campaigns a visitor saw actually turned into a conversation, which a pure support-chat tool does not measure.
- Pricing: Per seat / month. Starter $19/person/month (annual) or $25 (monthly), 1 user and 1 recurring campaign; Team $49/$59; Business $79/$89; Enterprise quoted; 14-day free trial. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Campaign conversion tracking is the clearest "marketing" feature here: it reports how many of the proactive campaigns a visitor saw actually
- Strengths: Proactive chats: operators can initiate a conversation with a visitor rather than only respond; Recurring and one-time marketing campaigns with customisable eye-catcher notifications; Campaign conversion tracking: reports how many campaigns shown to visitors resulted in a chat.
Where it falls short
Everything is billed per operator, which gets expensive for a team of ten or more. The AI agent is a separately priced sister product (Text AI Agent), not bundled in, and there is no free plan, only a trial.
Wrong for
A small store on a tight budget wanting a free or near-free chatbot should look at Crisp's or Smartsupp's free tier instead.
Visit LiveChat →
#6 Lime Connect (formerly Userlike)
German chat platform, rebranded Lime Connect, with a no-code Workflows builder and paid WhatsApp marketing campaigns · Germany · userlike.com
No-code Workflows builder WhatsApp Campaigns add-on EU vendor
Lime Connect, still widely known as Userlike, is a Cologne chat platform that now operates as "Lime Connect (Userlike) GmbH" within the Lime Technologies group. For lead generation it offers a free plan to start, a no-code Workflows builder for qualifying visitors and routing them to the right person, and WhatsApp Campaigns for outbound follow-up.
- Pricing: Flat tiers + paid add-ons. Free €0 (1 seat, 1 website channel, 200 conversations); Pro from €105/month (€87/month billed annually), minimum 3 seats; Enterprise quoted, minimum 5 seats. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Teams wanting no-code workflows and WhatsApp campaigns on a free-to-start chat platform
- Strengths: Workflows: no-code drag-and-drop automation builder for multi-step conversation flows; WhatsApp Campaigns with audience targeting and interactive media, billed separately plus Meta fees; Connect AI Agent add-on, described by the vendor as reaching a 90% resolution rate.
Where it falls short
Rebranded to "Lime Connect" in 2026; the userlike.com domain now redirects to a Lime Technologies subdomain, which can confuse existing customers. The AI Agent, AI Copilot, Workflows and WhatsApp Campaigns are all separately priced add-ons on top of Pro.
Wrong for
A buyer who wants one flat price with AI included, not a stack of metered add-ons, should look at Crisp instead.
Visit Lime Connect (formerly Userlike) →
#7 Trengo
Dutch omnichannel inbox where website chat sits beside a WhatsApp Business number for outbound marketing · Netherlands · trengo.com
WhatsApp Business inbox Broadcast marketing messages EU vendor
Dutch omnichannel inbox where website chat sits beside a WhatsApp Business number for outbound marketing. Built specifically for the moment a visitor who starts on website chat wants to finish the conversation on WhatsApp — the handoff most single-channel chat widgets do not support.
- Pricing: User bundle + conversation allowance. Boost €299/month billed annually (10 users, 6,000 conversations/year) or €349 monthly (500 conversations/month). Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Built specifically for the moment a visitor who starts on website chat wants to finish the conversation on WhatsApp — the handoff most singl
- Strengths: WhatsApp Business API inbox alongside the website chat widget, in the same team inbox; Broadcast messages for marketing and re-engagement over WhatsApp, sold as a paid add-on on every plan; Chatbots and an AI agent that can collect order details before a person picks up.
Where it falls short
Priced as a bundle of seats and conversations, so a team that only wants web chat ends up buying more than it uses.
Wrong for
A team that only wants a cheap website widget and has no WhatsApp use case should look at Crisp or Landbot instead.
Visit Trengo →
#8 Intercom
US messaging platform built around the Fin AI agent, billed at $0.99 per outcome on top of every seat tier · United States · intercom.com
Fin AI Agent Outcome-based AI pricing Omnichannel
US messaging platform built around the Fin AI agent, billed at $0.99 per outcome on top of every seat tier. Fin is the strongest AI-resolution product on this list, with a vendor-stated 76% average resolution rate, but the bill has three moving parts: seats from $19 a month on annual Essential, Fin outcomes, and add-ons such as Copilot and Proactive Support Plus.
- Pricing: Per seat + AI outcome. Essential $19/seat/month billed annually ($39 monthly). Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: US messaging platform built around the Fin AI agent, billed at $0.99 per outcome on top of every seat tier
- Strengths: Fin AI Agent: vendor states a 76% average resolution rate across its customer base; Proactive Support Plus add-on (from $99 per workspace a month) for Posts, Checklists, Product Tours, Surveys and Series campaigns; Copilot add-on ($29 per agent a month annually, 10 free Copilot conversations per agent a month) with AI auto-translation.
Where it falls short
Pricing is outcome-based on top of the seat fee ($0.99 per Fin outcome on every tier, counted when a customer confirms resolution, stops asking, or Fin completes a workflow including a handoff), which is hard to forecast before launch.
Wrong for
A budget-conscious small business should look at Crisp or Smartsupp, both far cheaper at comparable functionality.
Visit Intercom →
#9 Kindly
Norwegian AI support platform with a 100+ language visual dialogue builder, aimed at high-volume customer service operations · Norway · kindly.ai
100+ language AI agent Deep CRM/helpdesk integration Quote only
Norwegian AI support platform with a 100+ language visual dialogue builder, aimed at high-volume customer service operations. Kindly's 100+ language support is the widest of any vendor in this category, which matters for a retailer or marketplace selling across many language markets from one bot.
- Pricing: Session-based / quote only. Not published; contracts are priced on the number of AI agent sessions expected over the year, agreed upfront and fixed. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Multilingual retailers and marketplaces automating high-volume support across many language markets
- Strengths: Visual, no-code dialogue builder for designing conversation flows; Multilingual AI agent supporting 100+ languages out of the box; Deployed across chat, voice, in-app and messaging channels including WhatsApp.
Where it falls short
No published pricing and no self-serve trial anywhere on the vendor's site; every route in is a consultation with sales.
Wrong for
A small business that needs to see a price before talking to sales, or a team buying mainly for lead capture, should look at Crisp, Landbot or Smartsupp instead.
Visit Kindly →
#10 Zendesk
Messaging and chat bundled inside the Zendesk Suite, not sold as a standalone chat product · United States · zendesk.com
Bundled in Zendesk Suite Omnichannel AI routing Not sold standalone
Zendesk sells messaging and live chat only inside its Suite plans, from Suite Team at $55 per agent a month, so the chat widget arrives with a full help desk, AI agents and reporting attached. For a company already running Zendesk for support, switching on proactive messaging is easy and keeps every conversation in one customer record.
- Pricing: Per agent / month (bundled). Sold as "Messaging and live chat" inside Zendesk Suite plans: Suite Team $55/agent/month; Suite Professional $115/agent/month (annual billing); Suite Enterprise + Copilot quoted. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Messaging and chat bundled inside the Zendesk Suite, not sold as a standalone chat product
- Strengths: AI agents the vendor describes as resolving 80%+ of complex issues across channels; Omnichannel routing by agent status, capacity, skill and ticket priority; Action Builder for multi-step automation flows across Zendesk and third-party systems.
Where it falls short
Messaging is sold as part of the Suite rather than as a cheap standalone widget, so a company that only wants chat pays for a full help desk too. Sales-oriented features such as detailed visitor tracking and proactive greetings are weaker than LiveChat's or Crisp's.
Wrong for
A company that only wants chat and has no plan to run Zendesk's help desk should look at a standalone chat vendor instead.
Visit Zendesk →
#11 Drift
The conversational-marketing category pioneer, now owned by Clari + Salesloft and being sunset in favor of 1mind · United States · drift.com
Category pioneer Being sunset Customers referred to 1mind
The conversational-marketing category pioneer, now owned by Clari + Salesloft and being sunset in favor of 1mind. Clari + Salesloft has announced a gradual sunset of the Drift conversational marketing product and, under an exclusive agreement, refers existing Drift clients to 1mind as the successor. Drift.com now lands on Salesloft's Chat Agents page, which states it has "transitioned from Drift to 1mind".
- Pricing: Quote only. Not published; Drift is being sunset and existing customers are referred to 1mind. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Existing Drift customers planning a move to 1mind or another vendor
- Strengths: Proactive engagement: AI chat agents engage visitors the moment they arrive, a role Salesloft now credits to 1mind; Real-time lead qualification and routing of qualified visitors to sales reps; Personalisation using web activity, CRM data and past conversation history.
Where it falls short
Drift is being sunset: Clari + Salesloft says it will refer existing Drift clients to 1mind, and drift.com now lands on a Salesloft Chat Agents page rather than a Drift product page.
Wrong for
Any new buyer: Clari + Salesloft is sunsetting Drift and referring its customers to 1mind, so evaluate Intercom, Qualified or the other vendors on this page instead.
Visit Drift →
Questions and answers
What is the best chatbot and conversational marketing software in 2026?
Landbot ranks first of 11, best for landbot was built from the ground up as a conversion and lead-generation chatbot builder, not a support-chat tool with a bot bolted on after. Smartsupp is second (built for small online stores: the Mira AI agent learns up to 30,000 products and recommends them in chat, and every paid plan includes unli) and Tiledesk third (tiledesk is the only tool in this line-up with a genuinely open-source core: a technical team can self-host it instead of trusting a vendor'). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
How is this different from live-chat software?
Live-chat software answers a visitor who already reached out; this category is built to start the conversation and qualify the visitor as a lead before a human joins, through proactive triggers, no-code chatbot flows and marketing automation like WhatsApp broadcast campaigns.
Which of these tools are US companies, and does that matter?
Drift (owned by Clari + Salesloft and being sunset), Intercom and Zendesk are all US-incorporated, which puts customer conversation data within reach of US legal process regardless of where a data centre physically sits.
Is there a free chatbot tool in this category?
Crisp, Smartsupp and Landbot all offer a genuine free tier rather than a time-limited trial: Crisp for up to 2 seats, Smartsupp for one operator with 25 conversations a month, and Landbot for 100 chats a month on one seat.
What happened to Drift?
Drift, the company that popularised the term "conversational marketing", was acquired by Salesloft, now Clari + Salesloft.
Is any tool in this category open source?
Tiledesk is the only one. Its core conversational AI platform is open source and can be self-hosted, alongside a hosted cloud version with metered pricing, which is unique among the vendors reviewed on this page.
Which tool is best for WhatsApp-based lead generation?
Landbot and Trengo are the clearest fits on this list. Landbot sells WhatsApp as a dedicated paid tier built around lead-qualification flows; Trengo puts a WhatsApp Business number in the same inbox as website chat and email, with broadcast messages for outbound marketing sold as a paid add-on.
How often is this ranking updated?
Whenever a fact underneath it changes: a pricing update, an acquisition like Drift's, or a product that stops being maintained.
