# Best Botpress Alternative for Agencies & Builders

> Powerful rails, but you're the builder, the host and the integrator. SeldonFrame ships the finished front office — agent, website, CRM, booking — from one conversation at $29/mo flat.

Last updated: July 2026. HTML version: https://seldonframe.com/alternative-to-botpress

## Botpress vs SeldonFrame: what you need to know

Most people looking for a Botpress alternative hit the same wall: it takes real engineering to get value out of it. Historically AI usage billed at raw provider rates on top of the $89–$495/mo subscription, channel fees (WhatsApp, Twilio) billed separately and could exceed the platform cost itself, and advanced multi-bot setups mean reverse-engineering sample projects. The May 2026 pricing update simplified some of this, but the platform still assumes a developer is driving.

That's not to say Botpress isn't impressive — the open-source core is a genuine moat, self-hosting is possible, and for teams with engineers it's one of the most extensible agent platforms available. But an agency deploying receptionists for plumbers and med-spas doesn't want an extensible platform; it wants a deployed outcome.

## Features & pricing comparison

| Feature | Botpress | SeldonFrame |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Developer teams building custom bots with code-level control | Agencies & builders running AI front offices for clients |
| Pricing model | Free tier, then $89–$495/mo + AI spend; channel fees historically billed separately | $29/mo flat — unlimited workspaces, no per-feature add-ons |
| AI receptionist (calls, SMS, chat) | Chat-first; voice requires assembly — no turnkey phone receptionist | Native — AI receptionist answers, qualifies & books across voice, SMS & web chat |
| Website, CRM & booking behind the agent | None — bot infrastructure only | Included — multi-page website, CRM, booking calendar, intake forms, review requests in every workspace |
| Whitelabel & client workspaces | Branding removal on paid plans; no full agency resale program | Included — whitelabel client portal, per-client workspaces, custom domains, one-click multi-client deploy |
| AI usage costs | AI spend bundled per plan (post-May-2026); previously raw provider billing on top | BYOK — bring your own AI (and Twilio) keys and pay providers at raw cost, zero markup |
| Sell / resell what you build | No native agency reseller motion | Built in — publish agents to the marketplace or rent them via MCP (5% marketplace fee) |

## Pros & cons

### Botpress

- **Pro:** Open-source core — real extensibility and self-hosting
- **Pro:** Developer-friendly for custom logic and multi-bot orchestration
- **Pro:** May 2026 pricing update bundled AI spend and unlimited bots
- **Pro:** Generous free tier (100 conversations/mo)
- **Con:** Requires real engineering to implement and maintain
- **Con:** History of cost stacking (subscription + AI spend + channel fees)
- **Con:** Chat-first: a turnkey phone receptionist isn't the product
- **Con:** No native agency resale program

### SeldonFrame

- **Pro:** AI receptionist that answers calls, SMS and web chat — and books real jobs into a real calendar and CRM
- **Pro:** The whole front office included: multi-page website, CRM, booking, intake forms, review automation
- **Pro:** $29/mo flat with unlimited workspaces — BYOK means AI and telephony run at raw provider cost
- **Pro:** Whitelabel built in: branded client portal, per-client workspaces, custom domains, one-click multi-client deploy
- **Pro:** Build it free before you sign up — paste a URL, get the working workspace in ~3 minutes
- **Pro:** Open core and portable — your agents are plain editable skill files, your data lives in your workspace
- **Con:** No funnel-builder or email-campaign suite — it's a front office, not a marketing automation platform
- **Con:** Bring-your-own-key setup (Claude/ChatGPT/Gemini + optional Twilio) takes a few minutes
- **Con:** Newer platform — smaller template ecosystem and community than decade-old incumbents
- **Con:** No native mobile app yet (the dashboard is mobile-responsive)

## Why agencies & builders switch from Botpress

- **Outcome, not infrastructure** — Botpress gives you rails to build on. SeldonFrame generates the working agent AND the business system it operates — site, CRM, booking — from a description of the client.
- **No engineer required per client** — Advanced Botpress setups mean studio work and maintenance per bot. SeldonFrame's per-client deploy is one click from a template, with per-deployment customization built in.
- **Phones, not just chat widgets** — Local businesses win or lose on answered calls. SeldonFrame's receptionist is voice-first with SMS and chat on the same brain — no channel assembly.
- **Flat, legible pricing** — Subscription + AI spend + channel fees is three meters. SeldonFrame is one flat $29/mo with usage on your own keys at provider cost.

## Who should use Botpress vs SeldonFrame

Choose Botpress if:
1. You have engineers and need code-level extensibility
2. You want to self-host the conversational layer
3. You're building a custom conversational product, not client front offices

Choose SeldonFrame if:
1. You want the deployed outcome, not the rails to build it
2. Phones matter: voice-first receptionist with SMS and chat on one brain
3. You deploy per client in one click instead of per-bot studio work
4. You want one flat bill instead of three meters

To be fair: Choose Botpress if you have engineering resources and need code-level extensibility or self-hosting for a custom conversational product.

## How to switch from Botpress to SeldonFrame

1. **Build the replacement free (3 minutes)** — Paste the business's website into seldonframe.com — SeldonFrame extracts services, FAQs and business facts and generates the workspace: site, CRM, booking calendar, intake and the AI agent. No account needed until you claim it.
2. **Bring what matters over** — Your knowledge bases and intents map onto the agent's knowledge + skills; most Botpress front-office bots collapse into SeldonFrame's generated receptionist plus a few FAQ entries.
3. **Connect your keys and number** — Add your AI key (Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini — ~30 seconds) and, for phone, connect your Twilio number so calls and missed-call text-back run at carrier cost.
4. **Test the agent, then go live** — Every agent ships with auto-evals; talk to it, watch it book into the calendar, then publish. Point your domain when the site's ready.
5. **Run both in parallel for a week** — Keep the old tool alive while SeldonFrame answers the phones. Cancel when the CRM shows the bookings landing — cancel-anytime on both sides means zero risk.

## FAQ

**Is SeldonFrame open too?**

SeldonFrame is open-source at its core, and everything you build is portable: your agents are defined in plain, editable skill files, your data lives in your workspace, and BYOK means the AI relationship is yours.

**Can I still customize deeply without code?**

Yes — agents are assembled from six primitives (surface, skill, tools, knowledge, guardrails, voice) that you edit in plain language; developers can go deeper via the MCP/API layer.

**How can SeldonFrame be $29/mo flat when competitors charge per minute or per credit?**

Because you bring your own keys. Your agents run on your own AI provider key (Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini) and, for phone, your own Twilio account — so you pay providers at raw cost and SeldonFrame never resells tokens or minutes with a markup. The subscription is the platform, not a meter.

**Do you take a cut of what I charge my clients?**

SeldonFrame follows the same principle as Shopify: the platform is $29/mo flat, plus 2% on sales processed through SeldonFrame checkout, and 5% when you sell agents through the SeldonFrame marketplace. Client retainers you invoice outside SeldonFrame carry no fee at all.

**How fast can I see it working?**

Paste a business's website (or describe it in a sentence) and SeldonFrame builds the whole workspace — site, CRM, booking, intake and the AI agent — in about 3 minutes, free, before you ever sign up.

## Get started

- Start free (build the workspace in ~3 minutes, before signing up): https://seldonframe.com/signup
- Book a 15-minute demo: https://app.seldonframe.com/book/seldonframes-workspace-7798/default
- All comparisons: https://seldonframe.com/alternatives