What is the total cost of ownership of a chatbot?
The total cost of ownership (TCO) of a chatbot is everything you pay to run it over a year: the plan, seats, usage fees and add-ons, plus the time your team spends setting it up and keeping its answers current. It's usually higher than the price on the pricing page.
Also called: chatbot TCO, total cost of a chatbot, true cost of a chatbot.
By Santhul Joseph, AI EngineerUpdated
What goes into it
- The plan or base fee, monthly or yearly.
- Seats for everyone who answers customers.
- Usage: AI resolutions, messages, conversations or contacts, including any overages.
- Add-ons, such as AI help for agents or extra AI conversations.
- Time: setting it up, adding knowledge, checking questions it couldn't answer and handling handovers.
How to estimate it
- Start from your busiest month, not an average one.
- Count everyone who will answer customers, part-timers included.
- Check how the vendor counts usage: replies, conversations, resolutions or contacts.
- Add every add-on you need on day one, then multiply by 12 and compare yearly totals.
A worked example with SimplyBoost
Take a team of three with about 500 AI-handled conversations a month. On Intercom, using its published annual prices, three Essential seats at $29, 500 Fin resolutions at $0.99 and Copilot for three agents at $29 come to $669 a month, before WhatsApp or SMS fees.
On SimplyBoost the owner and 2 teammates are included on every plan. Starter is €39 a month for 500 AI replies, and since a conversation often takes more than one reply, a team with 500 conversations will likely want Growth: €89 a month for 2,000 AI replies, or €71 a month billed yearly. Every channel is included and there are no seat, resolution or overage fees.
Questions people ask
What is the biggest hidden cost of a chatbot?
Usually fees that grow with volume, such as per-resolution or per-contact charges, and seats that grow with your team. Both are easy to miss when you compare starting prices.
How much does a chatbot cost per year?
It depends on the pricing model and your volume. SimplyBoost Starter costs €468 a year on monthly billing, or €372 billed yearly, with 500 AI replies a month and every channel included.
Does a cheaper plan mean a lower total cost?
Not always. A cheap base plan with paid seats, add-ons and overages can cost more over a year than a higher flat plan. Add up a full year, including your team's time.