Chatvia vs Chatbase: no credit meter#

Chatbase is a hosted chatbot builder that sells answers in message credits. Chatvia is the free, self-hosted AI agent platform I built, and it has no credits at all. I compare the two on price, data, models and features, and say when I would still pick Chatbase.

The short answer#

I would pick Chatvia if you want an agent that never goes quiet because a counter hit zero, keeps your documents on your own server, and can run any model, including one on your own hardware.

I would pick Chatbase if you want a hosted bot running in five minutes and you never want to think about a server.

What Chatbase is#

Chatbase is a hosted AI chatbot builder. You upload your files or point it at your website, and it trains a chatbot in minutes. Then you add the bot to your site with a widget, or connect it to apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Slack.

Everything runs on Chatbase's cloud. There is a small free plan, and paid plans start at about $32 a month. Each plan comes with a number of message credits.

What Chatvia is#

Chatvia is a free, self-hosted platform for AI chat agents. You install it on your own server with one command. Your agents answer from your files, websites and Q&A, and they work on your website, in Slack, Teams, WhatsApp and more.

You get the full source code. Without a key you get one workspace with unlimited agents, teams and replies. Every feature works except the API, voice, Live Chat, capabilities and forms, and four Enterprise security features.

The credit meter#

Alright, the credits. Chatbase counts every answer. A simple model uses one credit per answer. Stronger models use more, up to 6 credits per answer. So the moment you switch to a better model, the same plan gives you far fewer answers. And when the credits are gone, the bot stops answering until you pay for more.

That is hard to plan around. A busy week, a product launch or a spike in questions can drain your credits early in the month.

Chatvia has no credits, because the software is free and there is nothing for me to meter. You pay your AI provider for what the model uses, at their price, with nothing added on top. A typical answer from a fast model costs a fraction of a cent. If you run an open-weight model on your own hardware, the AI cost can be zero.

If you want a cap, set your own: a monthly message limit for a workspace or for a single chatter.

There are no limits on agents, teams or replies, with or without a key. A Pro license key adds more workspaces, the API, capabilities and forms and hides the "Powered by Chatvia" line for $199 a year.

Where your documents live#

Chatbase keeps your documents and chats on its own servers. For a small public FAQ bot, that may be fine. For internal documents, customer records or anything under strict rules, it often is not.

Chatvia runs on a server you choose: your cloud account, your data center, or a machine in your office. Your files and chats stay there, unless you send them to an AI provider you picked.

Models#

Chatbase gives you a list of hosted models. You cannot run a model on your own hardware.

In Chatvia you choose any model: OpenAI, Gemini, Mistral, Groq, OpenRouter, Scaleway, or your own server with Ollama, vLLM or LM Studio. Each agent can use a different model. And a stronger model does not eat your plan faster, because there is no plan. You just pay what the provider charges for it.

Knowledge#

Both products learn from your files and your website. Chatvia goes further here.

It reads PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, CSV, EPUB and images. It can import a website and refresh it daily, weekly or monthly. It runs hybrid search, vector and keyword side by side, and a reranker puts the best passages first. Answers show the sources they came from. For questions that need one exact answer, you write Q&A pairs.

Channels and handoff#

Chatbase covers a widget, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Slack and more. Handing a chat to a person is limited.

Chatvia covers a chat widget, a hosted chat page, voice chats, Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, a command bar and a REST API. Your team can take over a widget chat live from the dashboard when a person should answer.

Tools and guardrails#

Chatbase has actions and app integrations, and basic safety settings.

Chatvia agents can use 24 ready-made connectors, like GitHub, HubSpot, Salesforce, Notion and Zendesk, or any MCP server. For each tool you decide: it runs, it waits for a person's OK, or it never runs. Every call is logged.

Guardrails are built in. They catch prompt injection, mask personal data like card numbers, keep the agent on topic, and stop abusive language. A monitor mode shows what they would block before you turn them on.

When Chatbase is the better choice#

Go with Chatbase if you want a bot live in five minutes with no setup at all, if you never want to run a server, or if your chat volume is small and steady, so the credits rarely run out. In that last case the meter is not your problem.

My verdict#

Chatbase is quick to start, but you rent your bot by the credit, and the meter runs faster on better models. Chatvia gives you the same core, an agent trained on your files and site, with no credits and no point where it stops answering. You keep your documents, you pick any model, and handoff, guardrails and more channels come free.

If you want to see it for yourself, install Chatvia on a server of yours. It takes a few minutes.

Prices are from Chatbase's pages and public reviews in October 2026. They change often, so check them before you choose.