What is Dante AI?
Dante AI is a no-code AI agent builder for small businesses. You point it at your website and files, and it builds one "AI brain" that answers on website chat, a voice agent, WhatsApp and a lead form. I covered the product in depth in my Dante AI overview and the hands-on Dante AI review. This post is only about the money.
Dante relaunched its platform in mid-2026, and the pricing changed with it. Everything below comes from the live pricing page, the plan comparison grid and Dante's own help center, checked on October 2, 2026.
How much does Dante AI cost?
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (per month) | Yearly total | Credits / month | AI agents | Seats | Knowledge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | n/a | n/a | 100 | 1 | 1 | 150K characters |
| Starter | $40 | $33 | $396 | 2,000 | 1 | 2 | 25M characters |
| Advanced ("Most chosen") | $120 | $100 | $1,200 | 8,000 | 3 | 3 | 50M characters |
| Pro | $400 | $333 | $3,996 | 30,000 | 10 | 5 | 200M characters |
A few rules sit around that table:
- Prices are in US dollars and exclude sales tax, which is added at checkout.
- Yearly billing saves $84 on Starter, $240 on Advanced and $804 on Pro a year. Dante shows only the per-month figure; the totals are my arithmetic.
- You can cancel any time and keep the plan until the paid period ends.
- The free plan never expires and needs no card. Its credits reset on the 1st of each month.
What do you get on each Dante AI plan?
The headline prices hide most of the decision. The features that matter for a support team are spread across the top three plans, and the grid below is built from the plan-by-plan list on Dante's homepage and compare page.
| Feature | Free | Starter | Advanced | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website chat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI models | GPT-4o mini, GPT-5.4 nano | All | All | All |
| Zapier (9,000+ apps) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Realtime voice in the browser | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rented phone numbers | No | No | 1 | 3 |
| Human handover (Inbox) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Lead capture list | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge auto-update | No | No | Weekly | Daily |
| Top questions and knowledge gaps | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Remove Dante branding | No | $50/mo add-on | Included | Included |
| Custom CSS | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| API access | No | No | No | Yes |
| Usage cap controls | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Onboarding call | No | No | No | Yes |
The pattern is clear. Starter is a website chatbot; Advanced is where it becomes a support tool. Without handover, a visitor who needs a person has nowhere to go but your contact page, which is the main reason I'd budget for $120, not $40. Advanced also unlocks the built-in lead list, the core job of a lead generation agent.
Pro's API is narrower than the name suggests. Per the API docs, a key can read your agents and their settings or edit an agent's prompt and welcome message. It can't send messages or read conversations, so Zapier remains the way to wire Dante into other tools. If you need deep connections, my guide to AI customer service APIs covers what to look for.
How do Dante AI credits work?
This is the part of Dante AI pricing I'd read twice. The pricing FAQ puts it simply: "A credit is one answer from your AI agent." That is true on the default model. On every other model, an answer costs more.
Dante's AI models page groups the catalogue into three tiers:
| Model tier | Example models | Credits per answer |
|---|---|---|
| Fast and cost-efficient | GPT-4o Mini, GPT-5.4 Nano, GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Haiku 4.5, Gemini 3 Flash | 1 to 5 |
| Versatile | GPT-5.6 Terra, GPT-5.4, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Claude Sonnet 4.6 | 10 to 15 |
| Most powerful | GPT-5.6 Sol, Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Opus 4.6, GPT-5.5 | 25 |
The July GPT-5.6 announcement pins the newest models: 5 credits for GPT-5.6 Luna, 10 for GPT-5.6 Terra and 25 for Sol. Each agent runs on one model at a time, and switching takes a click with no retraining.
Other rules from the credits docs that change the bill:
- Sandbox answers count. Testing your agent in Dante's sandbox spends the same credits as live chats.
- Voice costs 5 credits a minute, from the same balance as chat.
- WhatsApp costs 1 credit per reply, whichever model you pick, which makes it the cheapest channel for a WhatsApp chatbot.
- No rollover. Unused credits vanish at the reset.
- Low balance downgrades the model. Dante falls back to the cheapest 1-credit model while at least one credit is left. At zero, the agent goes offline with a message to contact you directly.
- An 80% usage email goes to the owner on paid plans.
The Trustpilot reviews show this tier system has tripped people up before:
"The package section shows relatively low prices, but the FAQ mentions higher rates for certain models, which makes it difficult to understand the actual cost."
Dante replied that it added credit ranges to the plan cards. Today the per-model numbers live in the help docs, while the pricing page only says "heavier models cost more credits per reply." My advice is to pick your model first, then pick the plan.
What costs extra on top of the plan?
| Add-on | Price | Available on |
|---|---|---|
| Extra credits | $20 per 1,000 | Paid plans |
| Extra AI agent | $20 a month each | Paid plans |
| Remove Dante branding | $50 a month | Starter (included on Advanced and Pro) |
| Phone number rental | Shown in-product before you confirm, not published | Advanced and Pro |
Two details matter here. First, the phone number is "billed on top of your subscription", per the AI Voice docs, and the call minutes still come out of your credits. Second, Starter plus branding removal is $90 a month, only $30 less than Advanced, which already includes it plus handover and a phone number.
Auto top-up buys $20 packs for you when you run out, and you set a cap of 1 to 50 packs per billing cycle. Set it. A busy week on a premium model can burn through packs fast.
What did the 2026 relaunch change?
Dante's relaunch made each credit more expensive. The April 2026 pricing page listed more credits for the same or lower prices.
| Plan | April 2026 | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $40 for 3,000 credits | $40 for 2,000 credits | 33% fewer credits |
| Advanced | $100 for 12,500 credits | $120 for 8,000 credits | 20% higher price, 36% fewer credits |
| Pro | $400 for 50,000 credits | $400 for 30,000 credits | 40% fewer credits |
| AI agents (Starter / Advanced / Pro) | 2 / 10 / 50 | 1 / 3 / 10 | Fewer agents |
The sharpest change is on Starter. Starter's included credits now cost exactly $20 per 1,000, the same as a top-up pack, so the plan itself gives no volume discount. Advanced at $15 per 1,000 and Pro at $13.33 are where the bulk rate kicks in.
What does Dante AI cost for a real month?
Assume a light model at 1 credit per answer and four answers per chat, which is typical for a short support conversation.
| Monthly chats | Credits needed | Needs handover? | Cheapest fit | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | 1,200 | No | Starter | $40 |
| 300 | 1,200 | Yes | Advanced | $120 |
| 2,000 | 8,000 | Yes | Advanced | $120 |
| 3,000 | 12,000 | Yes | Advanced + 4 packs | $200 |
| 7,500 | 30,000 | Yes | Pro | $400 |
On a light model, that is good value: about 1.5 cents an answer on Advanced, which holds up well in most chatbot ROI math. Move the same 2,000 chats to GPT-5.6 Terra at 10 credits an answer and you need 80,000 credits. That is Pro plus 50 top-up packs, or $1,400 a month, the most auto top-up allows in one cycle.
Plug in your own numbers below. The calculator uses Dante's published plan credits, $20 packs and model tiers.
The calculator makes one thing obvious: the model you pick moves the bill more than the plan you pick. Ten times the credits per answer means ten times the cost, on every plan.
How does Dante AI pricing compare?
Dante sits at the cheaper end of credit-based website chatbots. Here's how it lines up against Chatbase pricing, using Chatbase's published plans as of September 2026.
| Dante AI | Chatbase | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan | Starter, $40 for 2,000 credits | Hobby, $40 for 700 credits |
| Mid plan | Advanced, $120 for 8,000 credits | Standard, $150 for 4,000 credits |
| Top public plan | Pro, $400 for 30,000 credits | Pro, $500 for 15,000 credits |
| Extra credits | $20 per 1,000 | $40 per 1,000 |
| Extra agent | $20 a month | $25 a month |
| Remove branding | $50 a month on Starter, included above | $99 a month |
| Per-model credit table | Published in help docs | Not published |
On paper, Dante gives more credits per dollar on every tier. Two points to keep in mind. Both tools charge more credits for heavier models, so compare at the model you'll run. And Chatbase can train on past tickets through Zendesk or Salesforce on Pro, which Dante doesn't offer.
For other website chatbots, see SiteSpeak AI pricing and DocsBot pricing.
If you lean toward building your own flows, Botpress pricing and Voiceflow pricing work on a different billing model again.
What do users say about Dante AI's value?
The review base is small: 3 reviews on G2 (4.8 out of 5) and 41 on Trustpilot (4.4). On value, the tone is mostly positive.
"So far i think Dante offers best value for money and has all features( customise looks, chatbot records, integration with Whatsapp etc. ) and most of the LLM to offer."
"I wanted to build my chatbot with retrieval augmentation with hundreds of documents. Almost all no-code solutions only allowed uploading of 1 document at a time, total limit of 50 documents or cost hundreds of dollars per month."
Both reviews predate the 2026 relaunch, when each plan carried more credits. The one G2 con tag on record is "Usage Limitations." I'd treat the praise as a fair read of the product and re-check the value with today's credit counts.
How do you keep a Dante AI bill under control?
From building agents myself, these are the settings I'd check in week one:
- Start on a 1-credit model. GPT-5.4 Nano is the default for a reason. Move up only if you see wrong answers on real questions.
- Set the monthly credit ceiling. Dante offers a per-minute rate limit and a monthly cap on Starter and up. Use both.
- Cap auto top-up. Pick a pack limit you'd be comfortable paying in a bad week.
- Budget sandbox time. Test answers spend credits, so plan your testing on a light model too.
- Watch phone minutes. At 5 credits a minute, a 6-minute call costs as much as 30 light-model answers.
If your traffic is spiky, my guide to AI customer service cost explains how different billing units behave when volume jumps.
Who should pay for Dante AI?
Pick Dante if you run a small business without a helpdesk, most answers live on your website, and you're happy on a light model. Advanced at $120 is a fair price for chat, handover, leads and a phone line in one. A WordPress site makes it easier still, which is why it sits among the AI WordPress plugins I'd consider.
Think twice if you need a premium model on high volume, since the 25-credit rate turns $120 into roughly 37.5 cents an answer. Also think twice if your team already works in a helpdesk, because handover lands in Dante's own Inbox, not your queue.
Still comparing? My best AI chatbots roundup and the AI helpdesk for small business list cover the field.
eesel for teams that want a predictable support bill
Dante bills per answer, so the cost of one chat depends on how many replies it takes and which model writes them. eesel bills per conversation. Its AI helpdesk teammate counts a whole ticket or chat as one credit, however many replies it needs, and it works inside the queue you already run, handing off in Zendesk or Freshdesk instead of a second inbox.
It still answers on your website through the eesel chat bubble. It trains on your past tickets as well as your help center, and before launch you can run a simulation over hundreds of your past conversations to see what it would have said. That means you see the cost and the quality before a single customer does.
To be clear on price: eesel's pricing starts at $299 a month for 500 credits. For a small website chatbot on a light model, Dante is cheaper. eesel earns its price when your support already runs through a helpdesk and you want the bill tied to tickets, not to models. You can start free with 100 credits and no card. Try eesel on your own ticket history.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Dante AI cost?
Dante AI pricing starts with a free plan at 100 message credits a month. Paid plans are Starter at $40, Advanced at $120 and Pro at $400 a month, or $33, $100 and $333 a month billed yearly. A credit is one answer on light models and up to 25 credits on premium ones. See my Dante AI review for how the product performs.
Is there a free version of Dante AI?
Yes. The free plan gives one AI agent, 100 credits a month, website chat and the two smallest models, GPT-4o mini and GPT-5.4 nano. It carries Dante branding and has no top-ups. It suits a test run of an AI chatbot for your website, not live support traffic.
How do Dante AI credits work?
One answer from your agent costs 1 to 25 credits depending on the model: 1 to 5 on light models, 10 to 15 on versatile ones and 25 on premium ones like Claude Opus 4.7 and GPT-5.6 Sol. Phone calls use 5 credits a minute and WhatsApp replies 1 credit each. Credits reset monthly and do not roll over.
Which Dante AI plan has human handover?
Human handover, lead capture and a rented phone number all start on Advanced at $120 a month. Starter at $40 has website chat, every AI model and Zapier, but no handover. For most support use, Advanced is the real entry price in Dante AI pricing. My chatbot cost guide explains why handover matters for the budget.
What happens when Dante AI runs out of credits?
When the balance runs low, Dante switches the agent to the cheapest 1-credit model while at least one credit remains. At zero, visitors see an offline message until you top up or the month resets, though human replies still go through. Extra credits cost $20 per 1,000 on paid plans. That is half the Chatbase pricing top-up rate.
Does Dante AI have an Enterprise plan?
No Enterprise plan or price is published. Pro at $400 a month is the top public plan, with 10 agents, 5 seats, API access and an onboarding call. The only Enterprise mention is a custom data processing agreement row. Larger support teams usually compare AI customer service software built for higher volumes.
Is Dante AI cheaper than Chatbase?
At the entry tier, yes. Dante Starter gives 2,000 credits for $40, while Chatbase Hobby gave 700 credits for $40 when I last checked in September 2026. Dante's credit top-ups are $20 per 1,000 against $40 on Chatbase. The gap narrows on heavier models, so compare credit costs per model, as in my Chatbase alternatives guide.
Is Dante AI pricing worth it for a support team?
For a small business without a helpdesk, Dante AI pricing is fair on light models, around 1.5 cents an answer on Advanced. Teams that already work in Zendesk or Freshdesk pay for a second inbox, since Dante hands off inside its own. An AI helpdesk agent that works inside your queue is often the better buy.
Article by
Kira
Kira is a writer at eesel AI with a Computer Science background and over a year of hands-on experience evaluating AI-powered customer service tools. She focuses on breaking down how helpdesk platforms and AI agents actually work so that support teams can make better buying decisions.
