Optlo: the Chatbase alternative
Two capable AI support platforms, split by who owns the AI account and who pays for the tokens.
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.
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.
Optlo vs Chatbase at a glance
| 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 | Plan + your AI at cost | 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, billed annually | Free; paid from $32/mo |
Chatbase pricing and features were read from Chatbase's pricing page in July 2026 and may have changed since. Check the current terms there before you decide.
01Pricing model
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 an Optlo plan from $16/mo billed annually 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.
4.3×more expensive on Chatbase, $214 more every month at the same volume
- Plan$120
- Overage credits$160
- Optlo Growth plan$49
- Your AI tokens, at cost$17
How this is calculated
1,000 conversations a month, 70% resolved by AI, 3 seats, billed annually, with OpenAI GPT-5.4 Mini on your own key.
Estimate only. Chatbase figures use public list prices; Optlo's AI line is your provider's token cost, not a markup.
Run your own numbers02Model choice
Both let you choose models. Only Optlo lets you own the key.
Chatbase supports a wide range of models, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Gemini. The split is in how you pay for them.
0 creditsOptlo bills no message credits; your provider charges its list token rate
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.
03Control
Chatbase's builder vs an editable workflow
Chatbase gives you instructions, a persona, and AI actions inside its builder. That covers common cases, but the builder sets the ceiling.
Optlo has no ceiling to hit. Presets get you started, then the system prompt is a field you edit and the workflow (routing, lookups, human handoff) is a graph you rearrange.
04Trade-offs
Where Chatbase is the stronger choice
Chatbase is a broad CX platform. If you need voice and telephony alongside chat and email, want a real free tier rather than a trial, or rely on its large marketplace of prebuilt integrations, it's an excellent choice. Optlo covers email and web with a shared inbox and human handoff. It competes on what the AI costs and who owns it, not on channel breadth.
Optlo is stronger at
- Owning the AI account and paying providers at cost
- No message credits and no per-message markup
- Choosing and mixing models per workflow step
- Editing the system prompt and every workflow step
Chatbase is stronger at
- Voice and telephony alongside chat and email
- A real free tier, not a trial
- A large marketplace of prebuilt integrations
- A single builder covering a broad CX surface
05Switching
Switching from Chatbase to Optlo
Chatbase is the closest starting point of any tool on this list. It already trains on your site and installs as an embed, so you're re-pointing the same inputs rather than rebuilding anything.
Hand over the same source list
Chatbase already trains on your site and docs, so Optlo gets the same URLs. Optlo crawls them following your sitemap, and notes cover anything that isn't written down anywhere public.
Connect your AI provider key
Chatbase has no equivalent step. Create a key in OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google and pick your model. Your AI bill then arrives from your provider instead of drawing down message credits you bought in advance.
Turn your actions into a workflow
Start from a preset and rebuild what you set up as Chatbase actions and rules as workflow steps, where you also control the system prompt and can use a different model at each step.
Swap the embed script
Both install as a script tag, so going live is a one-line change on your site. Run Optlo on a staging site first and compare answers on real questions before you swap.
What doesn't come across: your Chatbase conversation history and any voice or telephony setup stay put, and Chatbase's free tier has no equivalent here beyond the 7-day trial.
Start a free trialFrequently 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 plan plus paying your AI provider directly with no markup or credit overages is often cheaper. Compare it 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 customer support on your terms
Bring your own AI, stay in control, and optimize as you scale.
* No credit card required