The Chatbase alternative with pricing you can actually predict
Train an AI on your own content, keep your costs flat, and hand off to a real person when it matters. Obdal starts free, and paid plans begin at $12 a month.
Chatbase is a solid way to put a chatbot on your site and train it on your files. The friction tends to show up on the bill. Its plans run on message credits, and the moment you switch on a smarter model or turn on auto-recharge, a plan you budgeted at $40 a month can quietly climb to two or three times that. For a small team, that unpredictability is the hard part.
Obdal does the same core job in a simpler way. You upload your documents, it learns them, and it answers customers around the clock from your real content. There are no credits to ration. You pick a plan, you know what it costs, and live human handoff is included on every tier, including the free one.
If you like the idea of an AI trained on your knowledge but want a bill you can forecast, that is exactly what Obdal is built for.
Why teams choose Obdal over Chatbase
A bill you can predict
No credits to count and no surprise auto-recharges. You choose a plan, and that is what you pay. When you outgrow it, you move up a tier on purpose, not because a meter ran dry halfway through the month.
Human handoff is standard, not a workaround
When a customer needs a person, Obdal hands the conversation to a live agent with the full history attached. It is built into every plan, so you are not wiring up a separate tool just to talk to your own customers.
Your branding, included
Taking off the 'powered by' label is part of every paid plan, not a $39 monthly add-on. The widget looks like yours from the first day it goes live.
Obdal and Chatbase, side by side
| Feature | Obdal | Chatbase (as of 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat plans, billed per conversation | Message credits, charged per request |
| Starting paid price | $12/mo | About $40/mo (Hobby) |
| Free plan | Free forever, 50 chats | Free tier, 1 bot, limited credits |
| Trained on your documents | Yes, more than 10 formats | Yes |
| Live human handoff | On every plan | Limited, via integrations |
| Remove vendor branding | Included on paid plans | Extra $39/mo add-on |
| Multilingual | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Teams that want predictable, document-trained support | Teams that want many AI actions and integrations |
Obdal is probably right for you if
You want costs you can forecast, a free plan that stays free, and human handoff that is already there. Most small and growing teams land here.
Chatbase might be the better call if
You are building something that leans on a big library of AI actions and deep third-party integrations, and credit-based billing does not bother you. Chatbase is strong there, and that is a fair reason to choose it.
Questions people actually ask
Is Obdal actually cheaper than Chatbase?
For most small teams, yes, and just as importantly it is steadier. Obdal's paid plans start at $12 a month with conversation-based pricing, while Chatbase begins around $40 a month and climbs with credit use and add-ons like branding removal. Run it against the number of conversations you expect and the gap usually shows up fast.
Can I move my Chatbase content over?
Yes. Re-upload your source files (PDF, DOCX, CSV, and the rest) and Obdal re-indexes them for answers. You do not have to rebuild your knowledge base from scratch.
Do I lose human handoff by leaving Chatbase?
No, you gain it. Live handoff is included on every Obdal plan, including the free one, so an agent can step into any conversation when a customer needs one.
What does Obdal train on?
Your documents. PDFs, Word and Excel files, CSVs, plain text, Markdown, HTML, and JSON among others. Upload your help docs, policies, and product info, and answers stay grounded in them.
Is there really a free plan?
Yes, free forever. You get 50 chats, analytics, and human handoff with no card required, so you can watch it work on your own content before you pay anything.
Upload a few documents and watch Obdal answer from them. It is free to start, and you can be live in an afternoon.
Ready to Build Your AI Chatbot?
Upload your documents, embed the widget, and let customers get instant answers around the clock. Start free, and upgrade when your traffic grows.