Free tool · Honest math
Chatbot or custom AI agent: which is cheaper for you?
Sometimes the honest answer is the $150 SaaS chatbot. Compare total cost and cost per resolved conversation, with editable market figures on the custom side.
WhatsApp, web chat, or both
typical plans run $50 to $500
agent time to pick up an unresolved conversation
answers from a script, no system integration
includes quoting, payments, and system actions
SaaS chatbot
- Total cost (bot + human fallback) (24 months)
- $104,400
- Resolved by the bot
- 14,400
- Cost per conversation handled
- $2.17
Custom agent (built + operated)
- Total cost (bot + human fallback) (24 months)
- $160,000
- Resolved by the bot
- 36,000
- Cost per conversation handled
- $3.33
At this volume, start with SaaS
At your volume, the FAQ chatbot plus human fallback is the rational choice. With these assumptions the custom agent starts winning at about 3,717 conversations per month, or earlier if the bot must quote, charge, or touch your systems.
Custom-agent figures are editable LatAm market averages, not our prices. For your case, request a fixed quote after a scoping audit.
The difference that matters
Answering is not the same as resolving
A FAQ chatbot answers questions. An agent runs the commercial cycle: it quotes from a photo, sends the payment link, confirms delivery, and follows up for the reorder. That difference is why resolution rates diverge so much, and why we built Comercial AI, the WhatsApp sales agent. Talk to it: the demo is the product. And the assumptions here are editable on purpose; if your FAQ bot resolves more than 60 percent, congratulations, keep it.
FAQ
Common questions
How much does it cost to implement a virtual assistant with AI in my business?
Two very different products share that name. A SaaS FAQ chatbot costs $50 to $500 USD per month and answers scripted questions. A custom AI agent that quotes, charges, and updates your systems typically runs $20,000 to $80,000 USD to build in the LatAm market, plus a monthly operation fee, with a fixed quote after scoping. The calculator above shows which model is rational at your volume.
What is the price of developing a chatbot for a company?
If a template chatbot solves it, do not develop: subscribe ($50 to $500 per month). Custom development makes sense when the bot must execute your commercial cycle end to end; in Latin America a production agent integrated with your systems typically runs $20,000 to $80,000 USD. Serious vendors quote a fixed price after scoping the workflow.
Why measure cost per resolved conversation instead of monthly price?
Because an unresolved conversation still costs you: a human picks it up or the customer leaves. That is why the calculator adds the human handling cost of everything the bot cannot resolve; with it, a cheap bot that resolves 30 percent can end up costing more per handled conversation than an agent that resolves 75 percent and closes the sale in the chat.
Next step
Stop hiring. Deploy an AI agent.
Book your AI audit. In 10 days you'll know which workflows to hand off to an AI agent, the expected savings, and a fixed-price agent build scope. We build it. Then we run it.
20 minutes. No pitch deck. No commitment.