How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Chatbot?
Today, chatbots have become highly sought-after as businesses realize that they can move to the next level. Chatbots help to optimize customer engagement and improve customer support without a lot of effort. While businesses want to take advantage of chatbots, they often worry
about the cost.
So, without much ado, here is an insight into the cost of developing a chatbot and why you need to pay what the developer asks.
The Cost to Develop a Chatbot
The cost of developing chatbots depends on the work that goes into development. Usually, the price can range anywhere from US$500 to US$50,000. This said, based on the functionality required by the client, world-class software developers can even charge up to US$150,000.
Simpler the chatbot, the cheaper it will be to develop it. On the other hand, if the chatbot has to do complex tasks, such as accepting orders, checking the delivery status, or searching the site to see if an item is available, it will cost more.
Factors that Affect the Cost of Developing Chatbots
Here are some of the key factors that play a crucial role in deciding the cost to develop a chatbot:
Complexity of the Dialog: You need to know what you will be using the chatbot for and the processes that need to be automated. Once the developer knows this, they begin to build and create conversational dialogs.
Usually, it will take about one to four days for the developer to build the dialogs and the cost is between US$100 and US$200. It is after this that the project specs are created, and this takes about five days. The cost of creating project specs is between US$200 and $800 and is dependent on the complexity of the dialogs.
It is prudent to remember that complexity depends on the number of dialog branches, the issues that the business expects the chatbot to resolve, and the support the bot requires to carry out unstructured dialogs.
Usually, chatbots have to learn to help them carry out dialogs with website visitors. To train a chatbot for 200 to 300 questions increases the project cost by about US$3,000. On the other hand, if you want free-flowing dialogs, it will increase the project cost by US$1,000 to US$1,500.
In instances where chatbots use the power of artificial intelligence to provide non-structure dialogs, such as predictions and dream interpretation, the cost can climb up to US$15,000.Channels of Communication: These channels include Facebook Messenger, websites, Telegram, Viber, and more. The platforms are the cheapest since their interface components can be utilized to create dialogs. Also, there are free templates available, where the developer will have to do minor changes to suit your needs, and hence, the cost of developing will be about US$500.
If you are looking for chatbots for SMS and WhatsApp, the cost will be higher as the developer cannot fall back on an existing interface, and they will also need to train the cost. Expect such a chatbot to cost you a minimum of US$3,000.
Admin Panel: An admin panel is designed to help you manage the chatbot. Using the panel, you can analyze data, start new newsletters, view your subscribers, and fill in relevant content that you want to show viewers. The time to develop an admin panel takes about seven to 14 days and the cost ranges from US$3,000 to US$4,300.
It is prudent to note that all chatbots do not require an admin panel. Based on the tasks you want the chatbot to perform, the developer will let you know if an admin panel is required.
Integration: Once the chatbot has been developed, it needs to be integrated with the business’ ERP, CRM, or any other business solution. Every integration takes about five days and it costs around US$2,500.
If you require chatbot integration with applications, like news portals, Google services, Wikipedia, it will take about five days to integrate and the cost will be about US$1,500.
Integration with payment systems occurs quicker, taking about four days, but the cost is the same — US$1,500.
Backend integration is the most crucial aspect of any integration. For a simple chatbot that does not have an admin panel, to develop the backend takes about 10 days and the cost is around
US$1,500. Whereas, a chatbot with admin panel, integration, and one to three messengers, the backend development takes about three weeks and the cost starts from US$6,000.
Language: Chatbots display seamless function in English, a majority of European languages, and Russian. If you need a chatbot in a rare language, expect the cost to begin from US$3,000. You should attempt only when you need a rare language to communicate with very important customers and clients.
In case you choose a chatbot in a lesser-known language, remember that it will not be powered by artificial intelligence.
The Bottom Line
So, now you know how much it costs to develop a chatbot. A simple chatbot for instant messaging and using a chatbot template will cost you approximately US$500 while a chatbot with an admin panel and without artificial intelligence will cost from US$2,500 onwards. More
complex chatbots that you want to integrate with your CRM will cost in the range of US$12,000.
To find out more about the cost of developing chatbots and how they can benefit your business, get in touch with FinWin Technologies, a leading and reputed software and application development company.