Chatvia vs Landbot: no ten cents a chat
Landbot caps AI chats by plan and charges about $0.10 for each one past the cap. Chatvia is the free, self-hosted agent platform I built, with no cap and no fee per chat. I put the two next to each other, including the case where Landbot is the better buy.
The short answer
Chatvia, if you want an AI agent that answers as often as people ask, on your own server, in ten channels, with your choice of model.
Landbot, if you want a visual flow builder for WhatsApp campaigns and you never want to run a server.
What Landbot is
Landbot is a hosted, no-code chatbot builder. You build chat flows in a visual editor, and you can add AI steps to them. It is strong on WhatsApp, and it also works on websites and Messenger. Everything runs on Landbot's servers.
There is a free plan, and paid plans start at about $45 a month. Each plan includes a set number of AI chats. Past that, each extra AI chat costs about $0.10.
What Chatvia is
Chatvia is a free, self-hosted platform for AI chat agents. One command installs it on your own server. 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. You can read it, change it and run it.
Ten cents a chat
With Landbot, when you pass your plan's cap, each extra AI chat costs about $0.10. If a campaign brings 5,000 extra AI chats, that is about $500 on top of your plan. The more your bot helps, the more you pay.
With Chatvia, the software is free, and there is no cap on AI chats. 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, far below $0.10. If you run an open-weight model on your own hardware, the AI cost can be zero.
If you want a ceiling, you set it. Message limits cap the messages a workspace or a single chatter may send each month.
Chatvia has 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.
Flows or an agent
Landbot is built around flows. You draw each path in the editor, and AI steps fill gaps along the way. That works well for campaigns, where you know what you want to ask.
Chatvia is built around an AI agent. You write who the agent is and how it should answer, with a persona. The agent finds the answer in your knowledge, so you do not draw a path for every question.
You can still collect details step by step. An agent can show a real form in the chat, to capture a lead or a booking, and every answer is stored as a lead with a CSV export.
Your data
Landbot keeps your chats, contacts and documents on its own servers. For many companies that is fine. For others, it is a firm no.
Chatvia runs on a server you choose: your cloud account, your data center, or a machine in your office. Your chats and documents never leave it, unless you send them to an AI provider you picked.
Models
Landbot picks the models behind its AI steps.
Chatvia lets you choose any model: OpenAI, Gemini, Mistral, Groq, OpenRouter, or your own server with Ollama or vLLM. Give each agent a different model if you like, and switch at any time.
Channels
Landbot covers web, WhatsApp and Messenger, and it is strong on WhatsApp.
Chatvia covers a website widget, WhatsApp and Messenger too, plus seven more: a hosted chat page, voice chats, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Instagram, Telegram and a REST API. One agent works the same way in every place, with the same knowledge and the same rules.
Tools and guardrails
Landbot calls other services with webhooks and integrations, and safety is how you design the flow.
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 with its input and result.
Guardrails are on from the start. They catch prompt injection, mask personal data like card numbers, keep the agent on topic, and stop abusive language. Evaluations score the agent on test questions, so you know a change did not break it.
Handing a chat to a person
Both can do it, and here I call it a draw. In Chatvia, your team takes over a widget chat live from the dashboard.
When Landbot is the better choice
If you run WhatsApp campaigns and want a visual flow builder, Landbot is the better fit. The same goes if your flows are mostly scripted with a little AI, or if your AI chats stay inside your plan's cap. A campaign with a known script does not need an agent, and I would not sell you one.
My verdict
Landbot is a good flow builder, but every AI chat past your cap costs extra. Chatvia gives you an AI agent that answers from your knowledge, uses your tools and hands over to a person, in ten channels, with no cap. You keep your data, you pick the model, and your costs stay flat as your chats grow.
| Chatvia | Landbot | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on your own server | Yes | No |
| Source code | Yes | No |
| Price of the software | Free | Free plan, paid from about $45 a month |
| AI answers | You pay your AI provider at cost | Capped by plan, then about $0.10 each |
| Choice of AI model | Any, including local models | Chosen by Landbot |
| Hand a chat to a person | Yes | Yes |
Install Chatvia when you have a few minutes, and send it your first question.
Prices are from Landbot's pages and public reviews in October 2026. They change often, so check them before you choose.