Live Chat · alternatives
Alternatives to Amazon Lex
21 live chat tools sit alongside Amazon Lex in this directory. Below is what separates each from Amazon Lex on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 10
- Cheaper to start
- 1
- Amazon Lex starts at
- Free, then $0.004/per speech request
Why people look past Amazon Lex
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. Amazon Lex has a free tier, and starts at $0.004/per speech request against a category median of $29/month. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Omnichannel messaging and customer engagement platform
- No free tier, where Amazon Lex has one.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than usage-based.
- 3 tiers to Amazon Lex's 2.
Open-source chatbot platform and framework
- Starts $8999.996 a year dearer, at $9000/year.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than usage-based.
- 1 tier to Amazon Lex's 2.
Customer messaging platform for startups and SMBs
- Starts $44.996 a month dearer, at $45/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than usage-based.
- 5 tiers to Amazon Lex's 2.
Google's conversational AI platform
- 3 tiers to Amazon Lex's 2.
Chatbot and automation platform for Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and SMS
- Starts $14.996 a month dearer, at $15/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than usage-based.
No-code chatbot builder for websites, WhatsApp, and lead generation
- Starts $31.996 a month dearer, at €32/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than usage-based.
- 3 tiers to Amazon Lex's 2.
Every Amazon Lex alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Lex (this page) | Free, then $0.004/per speech request | Usage-based | 2 | |
| Zendesk Sunshine ConversationsOmnichannel messaging and customer engagement platform | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| BotpressOpen-source chatbot platform and framework | Free, then $9000/year | Subscription | 1 | vs Amazon Lex |
| CrispCustomer messaging platform for startups and SMBs | Free, then $45/month | Freemium | 5 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Google DialogflowGoogle's conversational AI platform | Free | Usage-based | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| ManyChat | Free, then $15/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Landbot | Free, then €32/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Conferbot | Free, then $19/month | Freemium | 4 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Jivochat | Free | Subscription | 4 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Ada | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Freshchat | Free, then $19/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Amazon Lex |
| IBM Watson Assistant | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Kore.ai | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Conversica | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| LiveChat | $20/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Comm100 | $29/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Kayako | $30/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Bold360 | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Capacity | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Gorgias | $10/month | Usage-based | 4 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Haptik | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
| Acquire | $50/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Amazon Lex |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Amazon Lex badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (10)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
Cheaper than Amazon Lex (1)
Entry price under Amazon Lex's $0.004/per speech request. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Jivochat , Free
What you would be giving up
Amazon Lex is most often brought in for chatbot development, voice-based conversational ai, natural language understanding. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Amazon Lex is broadly right and the question is cost, the Amazon Lex pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Live Chat category lists everything the directory holds, and best live chat tools ranks them.
Amazon Lex runs on web, aws cloud. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Amazon Lex alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Amazon Lex?
- 21 other live chat tools are listed in this directory, led by Zendesk Sunshine Conversations, Botpress, Crisp, Google Dialogflow. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Amazon Lex?
- 10 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Botpress, Crisp, Google Dialogflow, ManyChat, Landbot.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Amazon Lex?
- Yes. 1 of the alternatives below start under Amazon Lex's $0.004/per speech request: Jivochat at Free.
- Is there a reason to switch away from Amazon Lex?
- Nothing in the data flags one. Amazon Lex has a free tier, and starts at $0.004/per speech request against a category median of $29/month. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from Amazon Lex?
- Amazon Lex is most often brought in for chatbot development, voice-based conversational ai, natural language understanding. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Amazon Lex?
- None of the live chat tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Amazon Lex alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Live Chat, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Amazon Lex against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Amazon Lex covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every live chat tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Live Chat category, 21 tools beside Amazon Lex. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.