I tried 7 top Botpress alternatives to find the best AI chatbot builder in 2025

So, you've hit the Botpress wall. It promises a powerful, open-source platform to build just about any AI agent you can dream up. But if you're here, you've probably discovered the reality: it can be complicated, surprisingly expensive to scale, and often requires a developer to get anything truly useful done.

You're wondering if there’s a better way. Good news, there is.

We’ve gone through the best Botpress alternatives out there, with a sharp focus on platforms that are actually easy to use, connect with the tools you already have, and offer clear, predictable pricing. We'll look at options like eesel AI that are built to solve these exact problems, so you can launch a powerful AI without the usual headaches.

What is Botpress?

Botpress is an open-source platform aimed at developers who want to build and launch AI agents. It has a visual flow builder for mapping out conversations, but its real muscle comes from its custom code options and extensive APIs.

This makes it a super flexible tool for technical teams that have the time and resources to build a chatbot from scratch. But that flexibility comes at a cost, which is why a lot of businesses are looking for Botpress alternatives that get the job done without needing a full-time dev team.

Why people look for Botpress alternatives

While Botpress is powerful, it has a few common issues that send people searching for other tools.

• It’s built for developers, not the rest of us. To really make Botpress sing, you need to be comfortable with JavaScript, APIs, and the logic of conversation design. That leaves out the support, marketing, or sales teams who are actually on the front lines and need the tool the most.

• Setup and upkeep can be a real chore. The "open-source" label sounds great, but it often hides the complexity of getting it up and running. If you self-host, you need serious server knowledge and have to handle security and maintenance yourself, which just isn't practical for most companies.

• The pricing can be unpredictable and high. A pay-as-you-go model mixed with separate charges for "AI spend" and other add-ons can lead to some eye-watering bills. This makes it tough to budget, especially if your team is growing.

• Integrations aren't plug-and-play. Getting Botpress to talk to your other systems usually involves custom API work. That’s a world away from the simple, one-click integrations you get with more modern, no-code platforms.

Our criteria for the best Botpress alternatives

To find the best Botpress alternatives, we focused on what really matters to teams who aren't developers but still need to get results fast.

• Ease of use: How quickly can someone on the support or marketing team get a chatbot running? We looked for truly no-code platforms with intuitive interfaces that you can figure out on your own.

• Integration with existing tools: Does the platform connect directly to your helpdesk (like Zendesk or Freshdesk) and knowledge sources (like Confluence or Google Docs)? No one wants to go through a painful migration.

• Customization and control: Can you tweak the AI's personality, decide exactly which tickets it handles, and hook it up to your business systems without writing code?

• Testing and deployment: Is there a safe way to test the AI on your real data before it talks to a single customer? Features like simulation and gradual rollouts were a must.

• Transparent pricing: Is the cost easy to understand? We favored platforms with clear, all-inclusive subscription plans and no sneaky per-resolution fees.

Botpress alternatives comparison table

Here’s a quick rundown of the top Botpress alternatives we checked out.

Feature	eesel AI	Voiceflow	Rasa	Dialogflow	Chatfuel	Lindy
Ideal For	Customer service teams	Voice & chat designers	Developers	Google Cloud users	Social media marketing	General task automation
Ease of Use	No-code, self-serve	No-code, visual builder	Code-heavy	Low-code, complex	No-code, simple	No-code, simple
Helpdesk Integration	Native, 1-click	API-based	Requires custom dev	API-based	Limited	API-based
Simulation Mode	Yes, advanced	Basic testing	Requires manual setup	Basic testing	No	No
Pricing Model	Predictable subscription	Per seat + usage	Free (open-source) + Enterprise plan	Pay-as-you-go	Subscription	Subscription

The top 7 Botpress alternatives in 2025

After digging in, here are the platforms that really stood out, each with its own clear strengths.

1. eesel AI

Description: eesel AI is our top pick for customer service and IT teams who want a powerful, custom AI agent without the usual complexity. It’s an AI platform made to plug right into your helpdesk and knowledge sources to handle frontline support, help agents with draft replies, and sort tickets automatically.

Why it's a great alternative:

• Go live in minutes, not months. Unlike the long, technical setup for Botpress, eesel AI has a self-serve setup with one-click integrations for helpdesks like Zendesk and Intercom.

• It instantly unifies all your knowledge. The tool automatically learns from your past tickets, internal wikis in Confluence, and documents in Google Docs, making your AI agent smart from day one.

• You can test with confidence. Its simulation mode is a huge plus. You can test your AI on thousands of your past tickets to see exactly how it would have performed and calculate your potential ROI before you ever turn it on for customers.

• Get total control without code. A simple prompt editor lets you shape the AI's tone and personality, while easy-to-set rules give you precise control over which tickets get automated.

Pricing: The pricing is straightforward and predictable. You won’t find any hidden per-resolution fees, so your bill won't be a surprise after a busy month.

• Team: $299/month ($239/month if billed annually) for up to 1,000 AI interactions, 3 bots, and integrations with Slack, your website, and docs.

• Business: $799/month ($639/month if billed annually) for up to 3,000 AI interactions, unlimited bots, and adds the ability to train on past tickets, integrate with Microsoft Teams, use AI actions for triage, and run bulk simulations.

• Custom: Custom pricing for unlimited interactions and advanced features.

Best for: Customer service and IT teams that want to automate support right inside the tools they already use, without needing developers.

2. Voiceflow

Description: Voiceflow is a collaborative platform for designing, prototyping, and launching AI agents for both chat and voice.

Pros: It has an excellent visual flow builder that’s great for teams working together. It’s also quite good for building voice assistants for platforms like Alexa and Google Assistant.

Cons: While it’s strong on the design front, it’s a bit weaker on the backend integrations needed for serious support automation. Users have pointed out that you often need third-party tools for things like Meta app integrations or live chat handoffs, which adds complexity and cost.

Pricing: Voiceflow’s pricing is based on a per-editor (or seat) model, which can get pricey as your team gets bigger. AI usage is handled with a credits system.

• Starter: Free for hobbyists, includes 100 credits.

• Pro: $60/month per editor, includes 10,000 credits.

• Business: $150/month per editor, includes 30,000 credits.

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited usage.

Best for: Teams of conversation designers and product managers who are focused on building complex, multi-turn chat experiences from the ground up.

3. Rasa

Description: Rasa is a popular open-source framework that gives developers total control to build custom AI assistants.

Pros: It’s extremely customizable, can be hosted on your own servers for complete data control, and is backed by a large, active community of developers.

Cons: The learning curve for Rasa is incredibly steep. You need serious technical knowledge of Python, machine learning, and server management. Its training method can also feel like a "black box," making it hard to predict how conversations will flow without a massive amount of high-quality training data.

Pricing: The jump from the free to the paid tier is huge, which can be a shock for growing teams.

• Developer Edition: Free for one bot with up to 1,000 external conversations per month.

• Growth: Starts at $35,000 per year for teams with under 500,000 annual conversations.

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for large-scale use.

Best for: Large companies with dedicated developer and data science teams who need to build a highly customized, on-premise AI solution.

4. Dialogflow (by Google)

Description: Dialogflow is Google's platform for building conversational AI for websites, mobile apps, smart devices, and pretty much anything else.

Pros: It runs on Google's top-notch AI, connects deeply with the Google Cloud ecosystem, and is great for deploying on multiple channels at once.

Cons: The user interface isn't the most intuitive for newcomers. Even more, the pay-as-you-go pricing is very hard to predict. This can create a lot of budget uncertainty, as your costs can shoot up quickly if you have a high volume of conversations.

Pricing: Dialogflow uses a complex, usage-based pricing model. Costs are based on the edition you use (CX or ES) and the type and number of requests.

• Dialogflow CX Text Request: $0.007 per request.

• Dialogflow CX Voice Session: $0.06 per minute.

• Generative AI features cost extra. New customers get a $600 credit to get started.

Best for: Businesses already heavily invested in the Google Cloud ecosystem that have the technical team to manage a complex platform.

5. Chatfuel

Description: Chatfuel is a no-code chatbot builder that focuses on automating marketing and sales chats on Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Pros: It’s incredibly easy to use for what it does. It's great for automating social media campaigns, replying to comments, and handling basic lead generation.

Cons: It’s very limited in scope. This is not a real customer support platform. It doesn't have the deep integrations with helpdesks or internal knowledge bases that you need to provide solid support.

Pricing: Chatfuel has separate plans for Facebook/Instagram and WhatsApp, based on how many conversations you have.

• Business (Facebook & Instagram): Starts at $23.99/month for 1,000 conversations.

• Business (WhatsApp): Starts at $34.49/month for 1,000 conversations.

• Enterprise: Custom plans start from $400/month.

Best for: Small businesses, marketers, and creators who just need a simple bot to manage engagement and sales on Meta’s platforms.

6. Lindy

Description: Lindy is a no-code platform for creating custom AI agents (called "Lindies") that can automate a whole range of business tasks, not just chat.

Pros: It's a flexible tool with a simple interface that’s handy for automating administrative work like researching leads, drafting emails, and scheduling meetings.

Cons: Lindy is a general automation tool, not a specialized customer service AI. It doesn't have the deep, native helpdesk integrations or key support features like ticket simulation and automated triage.

Pricing: Lindy's pricing is based on a credit system, which ties to the number of tasks you can automate.

• Free: 400 credits per month.

• Pro: $49.99/month ($39.99/month if billed annually) for 5,000 credits.

• Business: $159.99/month for 20,000 credits.

Best for: Individuals and small teams looking to automate different admin or sales tasks across a bunch of applications.

7. Kore.ai

Description: Kore.ai is an enterprise-level conversational AI platform for large organizations that need to build and manage secure virtual assistants across many digital and voice channels.

Pros: It comes with a library of pre-built assistants for industries like banking and healthcare, and it has strong security and compliance features, including HIPAA compliance.

Cons: The pricing isn't public, which is usually a red flag if you don't have a massive budget. The platform is likely overkill for small to medium-sized businesses, and the lack of transparent pricing means you have to go through a long sales process just to see if it’s a fit.

Pricing: You have to contact their sales team for a quote.

Best for: Large, highly regulated companies (like in banking or healthcare) that need a very scalable, secure, and industry-specific solution and have a big budget to match.

How to choose the right Botpress alternative

Feeling a bit lost in the options? Here’s a simple way to think about it.

• Start with your main goal. Are you trying to automate customer support, get leads on Instagram, or build a complex voice assistant? A specialized tool will almost always do a better job than a general one. For support, nothing beats a deep, native integration with your helpdesk.

• Be honest about your team's tech skills. If you don't have developers ready to work on this, cross code-heavy platforms like Rasa and even developer-focused ones like Botpress off your list. Look for a solution you can manage yourself.

• Make seamless integration a priority. The best AI tool works with your current systems, not against them. A platform that forces you to ditch your helpdesk will cause a huge mess. Look for one-click integrations that get you started in minutes.

• Demand a safety net. Don't launch an AI agent and just hope for the best. Pick a platform that lets you simulate its performance on your own historical data. This lets you prove the value and fine-tune the AI before customers ever interact with it.

• Figure out the total cost. Don't just look at the monthly price. Add in the cost of developer time, ongoing maintenance, and unpredictable usage fees. A simple, flat subscription is almost always cheaper and easier to budget for.

Get started with better Botpress alternatives today

Botpress is a great tool for developers, but for most businesses, especially busy customer service teams, the complexity and unpredictable costs are major hurdles. Modern Botpress alternatives offer a much smoother path by focusing on what actually matters: being easy to use, integrating deeply with your tools, and providing a safe way to get started.

Stop fighting with complex code and surprise bills. See how eesel AI can plug directly into your helpdesk and start automating support in minutes. You can even simulate its performance on your own data to see the potential ROI for yourself, completely risk-free.

This video ranks top AI chatbots like Botpress and its alternatives to help you make an informed decision for your business website.

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