What is per-message pricing?
Per-message pricing means a chatbot tool charges by the number of messages its AI sends, either as a price per message or as a monthly bundle of message credits. The more questions the bot answers, the more messages it uses.
Also called: pay per message, message credits, per-reply pricing.
By Santhul Joseph, AI EngineerUpdated
How per-message pricing works
- The vendor counts messages, usually the replies its AI writes, sometimes every message in the conversation.
- Most plans sell a bundle: a set number of messages or credits each month for a fixed price.
- On some tools one reply can use more than one credit, depending on the setup. Chatbase, for example, sells Hobby at $40 a month for 700 message credits.
- When the bundle runs out, the vendor charges for extra messages, sells a top-up, or stops the bot until next month.
What to check
Counting messages is closer to the real cost of running an AI than counting seats, and it's easy to reason about: you can work out what one answer costs you.
The details matter, though. Ask what counts as a message, whether your team's replies count too, and what happens on the day you run out.
AI replies in SimplyBoost
SimplyBoost is priced on AI replies, a monthly bundle of messages written by the AI agent: 500 on Starter at €39, 2,000 on Growth at €89 and 6,000 on Pro at €169. Replies your team writes don't count. Instagram comment-to-DM messages do.
There's no charge per extra message. You get an email at 80% and at 100%, and at the limit the agent pauses its replies until the allowance resets, or until you upgrade.
Questions people ask
Do customer messages count toward my allowance?
Not in SimplyBoost. Only the replies the AI agent writes count. Other tools define a message or credit differently, so read their pricing page closely.
How many AI replies do I need?
Start with the free trial's 100 AI replies and see how many a week of real conversations uses. A conversation often takes a few replies, so multiply your monthly questions by two or three and pick the plan that covers it.
Is per-message pricing the same as per-conversation pricing?
No. Per-conversation pricing charges once per chat, however long it is. Per-message pricing counts each reply inside the chat.