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Botpress vs Cresta

Botpress logo

Botpress

Live Chat

Open-source chatbot platform and framework

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Cresta logo

Cresta

Customer Support

Real-time AI coaching and autonomous agents that sit on top of an existing contact centre platform

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Botpress has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Botpress dependent on OpenAI integration; users must provide and manage OpenAI API keys and costs; Cresta cresta depends on the CCaaS platforms it integrates with, and NICE, Genesys and Five9 are all shipping native real-time assist and auto-QA of their own, so at renewal you may be paying twice for capability your platform vendor will bundle at a discount.
  • They diverge on capability: Botpress covers Visual bot builder, Cresta covers Real-time agent assist.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Botpress and Cresta actually diverge.

Attributes where Botpress and Cresta differ
AttributeBotpressCresta
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsOpen-source (self-hosted), Cloud-managed (Botpress Cloud)Web, API
CategoryLive ChatCustomer Support
Founded2016Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Botpress

  • Visual bot builder
  • NLU integration
  • Multi-channel support
  • Analytics
  • Slack
  • Teams
  • Messenger
  • WhatsApp

Only in Cresta

  • Real-time agent assist
  • Autonomous AI Agent
  • Conversation intelligence
  • Automated quality management
  • Behavioural coaching
  • Knowledge surfacing
  • Multilingual deployment
  • Supervisor dashboards

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Botpress

  • AI customer support ticketing and refund processingnot Cresta
  • Multi-channel helpdesk automation with escalationnot Cresta
  • Self-service account updates and order correctionsnot Cresta
  • Proactive customer outreach and retentionnot Cresta

Cresta

  • A 1,500-seat telecommunications sales centre that wants conversion lift from live agent prompting without migrating off an incumbent Genesys deploymentnot Botpress
  • An insurance contact centre replacing manual QA sampling of two per cent of calls with automated scoring of every call for regulatory evidencenot Botpress
  • A retail support operation deploying autonomous voice agents on high-volume order status calls while keeping humans on complex claimsnot Botpress
  • A contact centre director who needs to prove which specific agent behaviours drive outcome differences, rather than relying on post-call survey scoresnot Botpress

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Botpress

  • Dependent on OpenAI integration; users must provide and manage OpenAI API keys and costs

Cresta

  • Cresta depends on the CCaaS platforms it integrates with, and NICE, Genesys and Five9 are all shipping native real-time assist and auto-QA of their own, so at renewal you may be paying twice for capability your platform vendor will bundle at a discount.
  • Pricing is not published and contracts are seat-based and annual at enterprise scale, which in practice means six-figure commitments and a procurement cycle measured in months rather than weeks.
  • Real-time guidance only pays back where conversation outcomes are measurable and repeatable, so support teams handling long, varied, low-volume cases rarely recover the licence cost.
  • Deploying real-time assist requires agents to accept on-screen prompting mid-call, and contact centres with strong union representation or experienced tenured agents frequently see adoption resistance that no amount of model quality fixes.
  • Automated quality scoring changes what agents are measured on, and organisations that switch from human QA without rewriting their evaluation rubric and appeals process create industrial-relations problems that surface months after go-live.

Pricing, plan by plan

Botpress

Free
  • Standard$9000/year
    • Up to 4 seats
    • 1,200 conversations per month
    • No per-seat cost

Cresta

On request
  • Cresta$undefined/year
    • AI Agent
    • Agent Assist
    • Conversation Intelligence

Which should you pick?

Choose Botpress if

  • You need visual bot builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Open-source (self-hosted), Cloud-managed (Botpress Cloud).
  • You also want nlu integration.
Botpress review

Choose Cresta if

  • You need real-time agent assist.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want autonomous ai agent.
Cresta review

Questions people ask

Is Botpress or Cresta better?
Neither clearly leads. Botpress starts at Free and Cresta at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Botpress or Cresta?
Botpress has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Botpress and On request for Cresta.
Does Botpress or Cresta run on more platforms?
Botpress runs on Open-source (self-hosted), Cloud-managed (Botpress Cloud). Cresta runs on Web, API.
Can I use Botpress for free?
Yes. Botpress has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cresta starts at On request.
What is Botpress best used for?
Botpress is most often used for ai customer support ticketing and refund processing, multi-channel helpdesk automation with escalation, self-service account updates and order corrections, proactive customer outreach and retention. Of those, ai customer support ticketing and refund processing and multi-channel helpdesk automation with escalation are not what Cresta is typically brought in for.
What can Botpress do that Cresta cannot?
Botpress covers Visual bot builder, NLU integration, Multi-channel support, Analytics. Cresta covers Real-time agent assist, Autonomous AI Agent, Conversation intelligence, Automated quality management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Botpress: How much does Botpress cost?

Botpress charges $9,000 per year for the standard plan supporting 4 seats with 1,200 conversations monthly. No per-seat cost is applied when adding team members or expanding usage, and AI capabilities are included in the subscription.

Source
Cresta: Does Cresta replace my contact centre platform?

No. It is designed to sit on top of NICE, Genesys, Five9, Amazon Connect and similar platforms, which is why it is chosen where a full CCaaS migration is not feasible.

Botpress: Is there a free Botpress plan?

Yes, Botpress offers a free tier with no credit card required. You can try the platform for free and test it on your own support tickets before upgrading.

Source
Cresta: What does it cost?

Cresta does not publish pricing. Contracts are seat-based and annual, and at the enterprise scale it sells into they are typically six figures per year.

Botpress: What does Botpress include compared to Zendesk or Intercom?

Botpress saves $25,500 per year compared to Zendesk and Intercom for a 4-seat team handling 1,200 monthly conversations, delivering the same AI-powered support without separate AI billing.

Source
Cresta: Is it viable for a contact centre under 100 seats?

Rarely. The commercial model, implementation effort and required outcome measurement all assume several hundred seats or more.

Cresta: Who owns Cresta?

It is an independent venture-backed company, having raised roughly 282 million USD in total including a 125 million USD Series D in November 2024 co-led by World Innovation Lab and the Qatar Investment Authority.

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