What it actually does
Chatbase is a DIY custom GPT. You train an agent on your website, PDFs, Notion, and Q&A, then embed a widget. Email, WhatsApp, Slack, Instagram, and Messenger are channels. Voice launched April 8, 2026: inbound Twilio or SIP on Standard and up. That is the same CX agent on a phone number, not a receptionist SKU. Chatbase Inc. is bootstrapped. No 2021–2026 sale. Live at chatbase.co. The .com address redirects there.
It is not Tidio. Capterra does not even rate live chat as a Chatbase feature. It is not missed-call text-back. There is no Jobber, Housecall Pro, Dentrix, Mindbody, or Clio page. HIPAA is Enterprise only. The DPA forbids special-category data on self-serve. Do not dump patient or case files into Hobby.
Who should buy it
Buy it if you will write the FAQs, upload the PDFs, and test the answers every month. A salon or plumber with a brochure site can put Hobby on the contact page for hours and pricing. Free is 50 credits, one member, 1 MB; agents get deleted after 14 days idle. Hobby is $40 a month, 700 credits, two seats. Standard is $150, 4,000 credits, and that is where Helpdesk, Voice, Telephony, and API start. Pro is $500. Enterprise is Custom.
Do not buy it if you wanted a human in the widget. That is Tidio. Do not buy it if a missed call is a missed job. That is Smith.ai. Do not buy Standard for voice thinking you got Ruby.
The reason not to buy is the meter plus the answers. Credits are not messages. A model request is 1 to 6 credits. Actions can double it. Voice is 6 credits a minute plus the model. Subscription credits reset on the first of the month and do not roll. Hit zero and the public agent stops unless auto-recharge is on ($40 per 1,000, those credits do not expire). Fees are non-refundable; cancel stops the next renewal. Capterra 2023 five-stars already mention fake URLs and the bot forgetting training. Trustpilot, March 31, 2026: a three-year user, costs tripled, features pulled, still cannot book. Capterra customer service sub-score is 3.8. Directories still list Hobby at $19. Stale.
The verdict
Capterra and Software Advice are 4.3 from 73 (live HTML, one Gartner pool, mostly September 2023). Trustpilot about 3.9 from 41 (indexed; live page blocked). Product Hunt 3.33 from 24. AppSumo 3.95 from 114 lifetime-deal buyers. G2 reviews list blocked; do not invent a score. Reddit: none retrieved. BBB: no profile. Zero plumber, dentist, salon, HVAC, or law-firm review bodies.
Official list August 25, 2026: Hobby $40 a month. Free is real and tiny. $19 / $99 / $399 is a fossil.
Situational. If you needed a live widget with a person behind it, Tidio. If you needed the phone, Smith.ai. Pay Chatbase only if you will train the bot and watch the credit counter, on monthly, and treat Voice as a Twilio experiment, not a front desk.