hej.chat vs Chatbase: A Detailed Comparison for 2026
Flat pricing vs credits, one-line setup vs configuration, EU hosting vs US. Here's how the two AI chatbot platforms actually compare.
Both hej.chat and Chatbase let you train an AI chatbot on your website content and embed it as a widget. That's roughly where the similarities end. The pricing models, setup experience, and feature priorities are different enough that choosing the wrong one will cost you either money or time. Probably both.
This is a side-by-side comparison based on what each platform actually offers today, not marketing pages.
What each platform does
hej.chat crawls your website, builds a knowledge base from your pages, and gives you an AI chat widget you add with a single script tag. It auto-generates the system prompt, suggested questions, and widget text in your site's language. You enter a URL, it handles the rest.
Chatbase lets you upload various data sources (websites, documents, text), configure a chatbot with your chosen AI model, and deploy it as a website widget or connect it to channels like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Slack. More manual setup, more deployment options.
Both use large language models under the hood. The difference is in how much configuration they expect from you, and how they charge for it.
Pricing: flat rate vs credits
This is the biggest difference between the two platforms, and probably the one that matters most to your budget.
hej.chat charges a flat monthly fee in EUR. Chatbase uses a credit system in USD where different AI models burn credits at different rates.
Here's the full breakdown:
| hej.chat Starter | hej.chat Growth | hej.chat Business | Chatbase Hobby | Chatbase Standard | Chatbase Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | €29 | €99 | €259 | $40 | $150 | $500 |
| Conversations/credits | 5,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 2,000 credits | 12,000 credits | 40,000 credits |
| Training data | 10,000 pages | 25,000 pages | 100,000 pages | 11M chars (~400 KB) | ~33-40 MB | ~60 MB |
| White-labeling | Not available | Not available | Included | $39-199/mo extra | $39-199/mo extra | $39-199/mo extra |
The credit system is where it gets tricky. On Chatbase, a single conversation can consume anywhere from 1 to 5 credits depending on which AI model your chatbot uses. Claude Opus costs 5 credits per response. Claude Sonnet costs 3. The cheaper models cost 1. So your 2,000-credit Hobby plan might give you 2,000 conversations or 400 conversations, depending on the model.
On hej.chat, a conversation is a conversation. No credit math.
What you get for your money
The raw numbers look comparable until you factor in what Chatbase charges extra for.
Remember: Chatbase credits are not conversations. Each conversation eats 1-5 credits depending on the model. And when you run out, your chatbot displays an error message and stops working until the next billing cycle, unless you enable auto-recharge at $14 per 1,000 extra credits.
Then there are the add-ons. Chatbase charges separately for things hej.chat either includes or doesn't charge extra for:
White-labeling alone can add $39-199/month to your Chatbase bill. On hej.chat Business, it's included. Custom domains are $59-199/month extra on Chatbase. Additional AI agents cost $7-25/month each.
A Chatbase Standard plan at $150/month with white-labeling and a custom domain could easily run $250-400/month. The hej.chat Business plan at €259/month includes both.
Setup and integration
hej.chat's setup is designed to be hands-off:
- Enter your website URL
- The crawler indexes your pages automatically
- AI generates your system prompt, widget title, subtitle, and placeholder text in your site's language
- Add one script tag to your site
The AI-generated configuration is the key detail. Instead of writing a system prompt yourself, hej.chat analyzes your site content and creates one that matches your business. It generates suggested prompts your visitors will see, and sets the widget copy in whatever language your site uses. You can edit all of it, but the defaults are good enough to ship immediately.
Chatbase requires more hands-on work. You upload your data sources, pick your AI model, write your system prompt, configure the chatbot's behavior, customize the widget, and then embed it. There's more control, but also more decisions to make before you're live. If you want a chatbot running in under five minutes, hej.chat is the faster path.
Adding it to your site
hej.chat: Install the WordPress plugin or Shopify app with one click, or paste a single script tag into your site's <body>. That's it. The widget appears automatically and already knows your site's content.
Chatbase: Also has a WordPress plugin and a Shopify app, plus a script tag and iframe embed option. The WordPress plugin requires you to copy your Agent ID from the Chatbase dashboard and paste it into the plugin settings. The Shopify integration involves authorizing your store through the Chatbase dashboard. Both work, but there are more steps between "I signed up" and "it's live on my site."
Feature comparison
Both platforms are capable. They just prioritize different things.
| Feature | hej.chat | Chatbase |
|---|---|---|
| AI-generated setup | Yes (system prompt, widget text, suggestions) | No (manual configuration) |
| Voice chat | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes (Growth+) | Yes (AI Actions) |
| Document upload | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-channel | Website widget | WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Slack, website |
| AI model choice | Managed | 20+ models (GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok) |
| Sentiment analysis | Yes | No |
| Smart greetings | Yes | No |
| Re-crawling | Budget-based (full site + scheduled URLs) | Manual |
| EU hosting | Yes (EU servers) | No (US) |
| White-labeling | Business tier (included) | Paid add-on ($39-199/mo) |
| Widget customization | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics | Conversations, sentiment, topics | Conversations, sources |
| GDPR compliance | EU-hosted, built-in | US-hosted, requires configuration |
Where Chatbase wins
Let's be honest about where Chatbase has the advantage.
Multi-channel deployment. If you need your chatbot on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, or Slack, Chatbase supports all of them. hej.chat is a website widget. If your customers live in messaging apps, Chatbase covers more ground.
Model selection. Chatbase gives you 20+ AI models to choose from, including the latest from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI. You can pick the exact model that fits your use case and budget. hej.chat manages the model for you, which is simpler but gives you less control.
Established ecosystem. Chatbase has been around longer, has more integrations, and has a larger user base. There's more community content, tutorials, and third-party tools built around it.
If multi-channel is a hard requirement, Chatbase is the better fit. No question.
Where hej.chat wins
Predictable pricing. No credits, no per-model cost multipliers, no surprise overages. You know exactly what you'll pay each month. For businesses that need to budget accurately, this matters more than most people think.
Faster setup. Enter a URL, get a working chatbot. The AI-generated system prompt, suggested questions, and widget text mean you can go live without writing a single line of configuration. Most users are done in under five minutes.
Flexible re-crawling. Each tier includes a crawl budget that accrues monthly. You can re-crawl your entire site when content changes, or schedule specific URLs to re-crawl automatically (up to once per day). On Chatbase, you re-crawl manually or set up your own automation.
Sentiment analysis. hej.chat automatically analyzes conversation sentiment so your team can spot frustrated users, identify common pain points, and prioritize support follow-ups. Chatbase doesn't offer this.
EU hosting. If you serve European customers or need GDPR compliance without extra configuration work, hej.chat runs on EU servers by default. Chatbase is US-hosted.
No hidden costs. White-labeling on Business, crawl budgets, analytics, all included in the base price. No add-on menu.
What real users say about Chatbase
Chatbase has a 2.3 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot across 15 reviews. The most common complaints are about billing issues (charges continuing after cancellation), slow customer support, and platform reliability problems in production.
73% of Trustpilot reviews are 1-star. The complaints follow a pattern: the product works during testing, but issues arise with billing transparency and support responsiveness once you're a paying customer.
To be fair, Chatbase scores better on Capterra (4.3/5 from 73 reviews), where users praise its feature set and ease of use. The Trustpilot reviews skew toward people who had problems, which is typical for review platforms. But the billing complaints are worth noting if predictable costs matter to you.
hej.chat is newer and doesn't have comparable review volume yet. We'd rather point you to the free trial and let you judge for yourself.
The bottom line
Choose Chatbase if you need multi-channel deployment (WhatsApp, Messenger, Slack), want to pick specific AI models, or need an established platform with a large ecosystem.
Choose hej.chat if you want a website AI chatbot with predictable flat-rate pricing, minimal setup time, EU hosting, and no add-on costs for features like white-labeling and re-crawling.
The two platforms are solving the same problem with different philosophies. Chatbase gives you more knobs to turn. hej.chat gives you fewer decisions to make. Which one fits depends on whether you value control or simplicity, and whether credit-based pricing or flat-rate pricing makes more sense for your budget.
If you're unsure, hej.chat has a 14-day free trial on the Starter plan. No credit card required. Try it and see how far you get in five minutes.