Optlo: the Chatbase alternative
Two capable AI support platforms. What differs is who owns the AI and how you pay for it.
Last updated July 2026
Chatbase has grown into one of the leading AI agents for customer experience, resolving issues across chat, email, and voice. It offers a free tier, a large integration marketplace, a helpdesk with a shared inbox, and a choice of models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others. It's a capable, polished platform.
The difference is the economics. Chatbase bundles the AI and meters usage with message credits. Optlo runs on your own AI provider account, so you pay OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini directly with no markup and no credit bundles, and you see what each conversation costs.
If predictable, transparent AI cost and owning your provider relationship matter to you, Optlo fits. If you want voice and telephony channels or the fastest free start, Chatbase has the edge.
Choose Optlo if…
You want to own your AI, pay providers directly with no markup or message credits, keep costs predictable and transparent at volume, and control your workflows.
Try Optlo freeStick with Chatbase if…
You want voice and telephony channels, a free tier to start, or a large marketplace of prebuilt integrations, and are fine with bundled, credit-metered AI.
| Feature | Optlo | Chatbase |
|---|---|---|
| Bring your own AI key (pay your provider directly) | OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini | AI bundled via credits |
| No markup / no message credits | Yes | Credit bundles + overages |
| Predictable cost at high volume | Flat plan + your AI usage | Credits scale with volume |
| Choose from multiple AI models | Yes | Yes |
| Custom conversation workflows | Yes | Actions & rules |
| Edit the system prompt | Full control | Guided config |
| Shared inbox & human handoff | Yes | Helpdesk + inbox |
| Trained on your content (site, docs, help center) | Yes | Yes |
| Support channels | Email & web | Chat, email, voice |
| Free plan | 7-day trial | Free tier |
| Starting price | From $16/mo | Free; paid from $32/mo |
Message credits vs paying your provider directly
Chatbase bills by message credits. Each plan includes a bundle (50 on Free, 500 on Hobby, 4,000 on Standard, 15,000 on Pro), and you buy more when you run out. It's predictable at low volume, but credit costs compound as traffic grows, and like most bundled-AI tools, the underlying model cost is baked in rather than shown.
Optlo doesn't meter messages. You pay a flat platform fee from $16/mo and your AI provider bills you directly for the tokens used. There's no per-message markup and no credit bundle, and you can see what your agent costs in your provider dashboard. At higher volumes this is usually cheaper. Model it in the savings calculator.
You can choose models on both, but only Optlo lets you own the key
Chatbase supports a wide range of models, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Gemini, so model choice itself isn't the differentiator. What differs is how you pay for them.
With Chatbase, the model runs on their account and you pay in message credits. With Optlo, you connect your own provider key: the same top models, billed to you directly at provider rates with no markup. You can also mix a cheaper model for routing with a stronger one for hard questions, and adopt new releases the day they ship.
More control: your prompt, your workflow
Chatbase gives you instructions, a persona, and AI actions inside its builder. That covers a lot, but it stops at the edges of what the builder exposes.
With Optlo you start from a preset, then customize the system prompt and every step of the workflow: routing, lookups, human handoff. Tweak as much or as little as you need.
Where Chatbase is the stronger choice
Chatbase is a broad CX platform. If you need voice and telephony alongside chat and email, want a genuinely free tier to start, or rely on its large marketplace of prebuilt integrations, it's an excellent choice. Optlo focuses on email and web with a shared inbox and human handoff, and competes on owning your AI and its cost, not channel breadth.
Which one wins comes down to whether a free tier and channel breadth or cost ownership matters more to you.
Pricing
Optlo: flat plans from $16/mo, plus your own AI provider usage billed directly by OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google, with no markup or message credits.
Chatbase: free tier, then Hobby $32/mo (500 credits), Standard $120/mo (4,000 credits), and Pro $400/mo (15,000 credits), with the AI bundled and billed via message credits.
Competitor pricing and features are summarized from public sources as of July 2026 and may have changed. Verify current details on the vendor's own site.
Frequently asked questions
Is Optlo or Chatbase cheaper?
At low volume, Chatbase's free and entry tiers are very competitive. As conversation volume grows, Optlo's model of a flat plan plus paying your AI provider directly with no markup or credit overages is often cheaper. Use the savings calculator to compare with your own numbers.
Can I bring my own OpenAI or Anthropic key to Chatbase?
Chatbase lets you choose from many models, but the AI runs on its account and is billed via message credits. Optlo is built around bringing your own provider key, so you pay OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini directly with no markup.
Does Chatbase have a shared inbox and human handoff?
Yes. Chatbase includes a helpdesk with an inbox and escalation to your team. Optlo also includes a shared inbox and human handoff; the main difference between the two is AI ownership and pricing, not this capability.
What can Optlo do that Chatbase can't?
Optlo runs support on your own AI provider account. You pay OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini directly with no markup and no message credits, so your AI cost stays predictable as you scale.
Build AI support on your terms
Bring your own AI, stay in control, and optimize as you scale.
* No credit card required