The closest alternatives to HubSpot Chatbot Builder on Lister are Intercom, Drift and Chatfuel, the companies that share the most rankings with it. Each is compared below on its stated best fit, starting price and Lister Score.
How to choose an alternative to HubSpot Chatbot Builder
Start from what you need it for. Where each fits best, as Lister records it:
- Intercom: Growing tech companies and SaaS businesses
- Drift: B2B sales teams seeking conversational qualification and deal acceleration
- Chatfuel: Marketers and e-commerce businesses automating social media customer engagement
- Shopify Kit: Shopify merchants wanting zero-friction AI integration
- Microsoft Bot Framework: Large enterprises needing multi-channel bots with deep customisation and compliance
- Tidio: Small businesses and online shops
- Zendesk: Medium to large enterprises
- Ada: Large enterprises with high ticket volumes
- Zendesk Answer Bot: Support teams using Zendesk who want ticket deflection and self-service automation
- Gorgias: E-commerce store owners
Closest to HubSpot Chatbot Builder by the rankings they share: Intercom (2 rankings), Drift (2 rankings) and Chatfuel (2 rankings).
Free to start, by their stated pricing: Chatfuel and Shopify Kit.
Stated starting prices: Intercom ($39/month), Drift (£500 per month), Tidio ($29/month), Zendesk ($55/agent/month), Zendesk Answer Bot (£55 per month) and Gorgias ($10 per month).
Custom or quote-based pricing: Microsoft Bot Framework and Ada.
Each Lister Score is the alternative's score on the ranking named in its row, so compare scores within one ranking rather than across rankings. How the score is made.
Each alternative in brief
01
The complete conversational relationship platform
#1 in Top 10 Chatbot Builders: Intercom provides a unified platform for customer messaging, live chat, and AI-powered bots. It integrates deeply with CRM systems and offers conversation routing, visitor targeting, and rich automation workflows.
PROS- Powerful automation and custom bots
- Excellent integration ecosystem
CONS- Can become expensive as contact volume grows
95.0
02
Conversational marketing and sales platform
#2 in Top 10 Chatbot Builders: Drift focuses on real-time customer conversations to accelerate sales cycles. Features include lead qualification bots, meeting booking, email capture, and visitor tracking with conversational engagement.
PROS- Excellent lead qualification and meeting scheduling workflows
- Strong visitor analytics and engagement tracking
CONS- Pricing is relatively high for smaller businesses
92.7
03
Visual bot builder for social messaging platforms
#7 in Top 10 Chatbot Builders: Chatfuel specialises in building bots for Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Offers visual workflow building, broadcast messaging, and e-commerce integrations without coding.
PROS- Visual no-code builder is very intuitive for non-technical users
- Built-in e-commerce features like product showcases and checkout
CONS- Primarily focused on social channels; limited multi-channel support
81.0
04
AI commerce assistant built into Shopify
#1 in Top 10 AI Chat Commerce Tools: Shopify's native AI chat tool was designed to help merchants manage marketing, customer service, and basic sales tasks directly within the Shopify ecosystem. However, this application was officially sunset and retired by Shopify in 2021.
PROS- Native integration with Shopify inventory and customer records
- Free for all Shopify plans with no additional setup
CONS- Limited to Shopify ecosystem; cannot easily connect non-Shopify data sources
95.0
05
Enterprise bot development platform
#3 in Top 10 Chatbot Builders: Microsoft's open-source framework for building, testing, and deploying bots across multiple channels. Integrates with Azure, Teams, Slack, and custom applications for enterprise-grade automation.
PROS- Extensive channel support and enterprise scalability
- Deep integration with Azure ecosystem and Microsoft services
CONS- Steep learning curve and requires developer expertise
- Implementation costs can be significant
90.3
06
Customer service software with live chat and AI
#4 in Top 10 Chatbot Builders: Tidio combines live chat, chatbots, and ticketing in one platform. Features AI response suggestions, visitor identification, and integration with e-commerce platforms and helpdesk systems.
PROS- Generous free tier for startups
- Very easy Shopify and WooCommerce integration
CONS- Advanced AI features cost extra
88.0
07
Complete customer service solution
#4 in Top 10 AI Chat Commerce Tools: Zendesk offers comprehensive customer support, ticketing, and chat capabilities enhanced by AI-powered automations and bots. Its AI learns from historical conversations to suggest responses and resolve issues.
PROS- Extensive enterprise reporting features
- Seamless multi-channel ticket management
CONS- Steep learning curve for new administrators
88.0
08
#5 in Top 10 AI Chat Commerce Tools: Ada provides AI-powered customer service chatbots deployable across web, mobile, and messaging platforms. It integrates with help desk systems and CRMs to handle inquiries and escalate when needed.
PROS- No-code bot builder interface
- Deep backend systems integration
CONS- Pricing is not transparent publicly
- Overkill for simple or small operations
85.7
09
AI-powered self-service and ticket automation
#5 in Top 10 Chatbot Builders: Part of the Zendesk suite, Answer Bot uses machine learning to suggest replies and deflect common support tickets. Integrates with Zendesk's ticketing and knowledge base for seamless customer support.
PROS- Seamless integration with Zendesk ecosystem
- Learns from historical tickets to improve response accuracy
CONS- Requires Zendesk subscription; pricing adds on top of base costs
85.7
10
#6 in Top 10 AI Chat Commerce Tools: Gorgias combines a unified inbox for all customer channels with AI chat and automation tailored to e-commerce. It integrates directly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other platforms to reduce support overhead.
PROS- Deep e-commerce platform integration
- Revenue tracking from support tickets
CONS- Limited utility outside e-commerce
- Billed based on ticket volume usage
83.3