WordPress Chatbot Plugins Without Monthly Fees
Looking for a WordPress chatbot without monthly fees? You’re not alone. Most AI chatbot solutions charge $50-400/month, which adds up to thousands over just a few years. The good news: one-time payment chatbot plugins exist, and they actually work.
SaaS platforms like Tidio, Intercom, ChatBot.com, and Chatbase all follow the same playbook: very limited free tier to get you hooked, then escalating monthly costs once you’re locked in. For small businesses, WooCommerce stores, or solo site owners, that pricing model just doesn’t make sense.
One-time payment WordPress chatbots flip the script. You pay once, connect your own OpenAI or Gemini API key, and you’re done. No surprise price hikes. No features held hostage behind premium tiers. Just a straightforward, budget-friendly chatbot you actually own.
Chatbot Plugins with Good Free Tiers or One-Time Payment
One-time payment chatbot plugins work differently than SaaS solutions. You pay once for the license, then use your own API key for the AI functionality.
This “bring your own API key” model sounds like extra hassle, but it’s actually a feature:
- You control costs directly
- No vendor lock-in. Switch AI providers whenever you want.
- Your data stays on your server
- API cost is super cheap, like $5 for thousands of messages
Free tier options like Jotform handle AI on their infrastructure, no API key required. If you can stay within the conversation limits, you pay nothing at all.
New to this? Check our step-by-step guide to adding ChatGPT or Gemini to WordPress.
Let’s start with what I think offers the best value.
AI Chat & Search Pro (Best Overall Value)
Price: Offers free tier and Pro – $59 lifetime for 1 site, $99 for 3 sites, $249 for 10 sites.
Website: purethemes.net/ai-chatbot-for-wordpress
This is my top recommendation for WordPress site owners who want AI chatbot functionality without the complexity or high price tag.
What makes it stand out:
- Lowest entry price in the market at $59
- Uses embeddings-based search (RAG) for accurate, context-aware responses
- AI can collect the visitor’s data like email or phone and send you an email with their question
- Full WooCommerce integration for product recommendations
- Train the AI on your specific content
- Clean, modern interface
- GDPR compliant
- Lifetime updates included
The plugin handles knowledge base training well, letting your chatbot answer questions based on your actual website content. For business sites, directories, or WooCommerce stores, this contextual awareness makes a huge difference.
API requirement: OpenAI or Gemini key required
Best for: WordPress site owners who want a straightforward, affordable AI chatbot with solid WooCommerce support.
WPBot Pro by QuantumCloud (Most Established)
Price: $149-$369 (lifetime, depending on tier)
Website: wpbot.pro
WPBot Pro has been around the longest and has the largest install base. If track record matters to you, this is the safest bet.
Pricing tiers:
| Tier | Price | Sites | Notable Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter Lifetime | $149 | 5 | OpenAI, DialogFlow, chat sessions |
| Professional Lifetime | $279 | 10 | + WooCommerce, GPT Fine Tuning |
| Master Lifetime | $369 | 50 | + WhatsApp, Messenger, White Label |
Key features:
- Supports OpenAI and OpenRouter (access to Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek)
- DialogFlow integration for advanced conversational flows
- Multi-channel support at higher tiers (WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram)
- White-label option for agencies
- All data stored locally in WordPress
- API key required
The catch: Some users report complexity with advanced setup. DialogFlow integration requires technical knowledge. The interface feels a bit dated compared to newer options.
Best for: Agencies managing multiple sites, or businesses needing multi-channel chatbot support.
Jotform AI Chatbot (Best Free Tier)
Price: Free tier available, paid plans $34-99/month
Website: jotform.com/ai/chatbot-for-wordpress
Jotform takes a different approach than the other plugins listed here. Instead of bringing your own API key, their infrastructure handles all the AI processing. That means zero technical setup: install the plugin, connect your Jotform account, and the chatbot works immediately.
Their free tier is genuinely functional, not just a teaser to push you toward paid plans.
Free tier includes:
- 5 AI chatbots
- 100 monthly conversations
- Auto-training from your website content
- Multilingual support
- WooCommerce integration
What makes it stand out:
The chatbot automatically crawls your site content and trains itself. You can customize tone, appearance, and add tools like Google Calendar booking, Slack notifications, and form assistance. For someone who just wants a working chatbot without touching API dashboards or monitoring token usage, this is the fastest path.
The catch: 100 conversations/month disappears fast on any site with real traffic. Once you outgrow the free tier, you’re looking at $34-99/month, which puts it in subscription territory.
| Tier | Monthly Price | Conversations/month | AI Agents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter (Free) | $0 | 100 | 5 |
| Bronze | $34 | 1,000 | 10 |
| Silver | $39 | 2,500 | 25 |
| Gold | $99 | 10,000 | 100 |
Best for: People who want zero technical setup and can stay within 100 conversations/month, or those willing to pay subscription prices for a polished, no-hassle solution.
Botstra
Price: $59-$290 (lifetime)
Website: botstra.com
Botstra is the newest entrant, offering competitive pricing and a clean interface.
Pricing:
| Tier | Price | Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | ~$69 | 1 |
| Professional | ~$192 | 3 |
| Platinum | $590 | 10 |
Features:
- Multiple AI providers (OpenAI, Gemini)
- Document search with RAG
- Multi-bot support
- Auto-detect greeting language
- Built-in spam protection
- API key required
The catch: Very limited track record. Only 1-year updates included (plugin keeps working, but no new features after that). Smaller community and documentation.
Best for: Users comfortable with newer software who want multi-bot setups at a competitive price.
Real Cost Comparison: One-Time vs. Subscription
Let’s see how these stack up over three years:
| Solution | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Chat & Search Pro | $59 | $0 | $0 | $59 |
| Botstra | $70 | $0 | $0 | $70 |
| WPBot Pro (Starter) | $149 | $0 | $0 | $149 |
| Tidio (Growth + Lyro AI) | ~$980 | ~$980 | ~$980 | $2,940 |
| ChatBot.com (Starter) | $624 | $624 | $624 | $1,872 |
Even adding $50/month in API costs, one-time plugins save you $1,000-2,500 over three years compared to mid-tier subscriptions.
What About API Costs?
This is the elephant in the room. Yes, you’ll pay for AI usage directly. Here’s what to expect:
Typical OpenAI pricing per conversation:
- ~ 10 000 with GPT-4.1 Mini
- ~ 5 000 with GPT-5.1
- ~ 3 000 with GPT-4.1
For a site with 1,000 conversations/month using GPT, budget around $1/month in API fees. High-traffic sites with 5,000+ conversations might see $5/month. Extremly cheap, isn’t it?
Final Thoughts
The WordPress chatbot market isn’t exclusively subscription-based. These one-time payment alternatives are legitimate, actively maintained, and can save you serious money over time.
For most WordPress site owners, AI Chat & Search Pro hits the sweet spot: affordable entry price, solid features, and no recurring fees eating into your margins.
The key trade-off? You’ll manage your own API key and pay usage-based costs. For anyone comfortable with that (and it’s really not complicated), one-time payment chatbots make a lot of financial sense.
Looking for best chatbots for WooCommerce? Check this article
