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Askli vs Chatbase

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors. Askli starts at $49, Chatbase at $32. Both have a free tier. Both ship a public API.

AskliNo-code support chatbots trained on your own documentsChatbaseSupport agents trained on your documents and embedded as a widget

Side by side

FactAskliChatbase
CategoryCustom GPTs & Bot BuildersCustom GPTs & Bot Builders
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$49 month$32 month
Public APIYesYes
PlatformsWeb, API, Slack AppWeb, API
CompanyChaindeskChatbase
Launched20232023
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

Askli

A sensible mid-market pick when you need one bot answering on WhatsApp and your website from the same knowledge base. The free tier is a demo that quietly deletes your work if you step away for two weeks.

Pros

  • Unusually broad channel coverage including WhatsApp, Telegram and Messenger
  • Auto-sync removes manual retraining when source documents change
  • Function calling can hit your own API endpoints during a conversation
  • Shared inbox with human handoff is part of the product, not an add-on

Cons

  • The $49 to $99 step mostly buys credits rather than new capability
  • Free plan is restricted to a small model and 200 messages a month
  • Free agents and datastores are deleted after 14 days of inactivity
  • The Chaindesk-to-Askli rebrand left domain, docs and third-party listings inconsistent

Chatbase

The fastest route from a folder of help docs to a working support widget, and priced accordingly once real traffic arrives. Credits are the whole story: 700 messages a month at $32 is a small site's volume, and the jump to a plan that carries actual traffic is $120, then $400. Budget from expected conversations, not from the feature grid.

Pros

  • Crawl-and-embed setup produces a usable widget in an afternoon with no retrieval plumbing to write
  • Actions and human handoff mean it degrades into a ticket rather than a dead end
  • A real free tier exists for evaluation, and every paid plan carries a 7-day trial

Cons

  • API access is gated to Standard at $120/month, four times the entry price
  • Overage at $40 per 1,000 credits is steep next to the in-plan rate on Pro
  • Removing vendor branding costs $1,188/year, more than the entire Hobby plan
  • Free-tier agents are deleted after 14 days of inactivity, so an abandoned evaluation disappears

Which one fits

Choose Askli if you need

  • Small support teams deflecting repetitive product questions
  • Businesses whose customers actually live on WhatsApp or Telegram
  • Documentation that changes often and needs automatic re-ingestion

Choose Chatbase if you need

  • SaaS and ecommerce teams deflecting repeat questions from existing documentation
  • Solo founders who need a support presence before they can hire one
  • Agencies standing up a branded bot per client, provided each client funds its own agent slot

More comparisons

All Askli alternatives →Browse all Custom GPTs & Bot Builders →