Palby AI Agent

BotPenguin alternative

BotPenguin alternative: no new number and no bot to build, just your enquiries answered

BotPenguin builds AI agents and chatbots for WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, phone calls and your website, with a free plan to start. Palby AI Agent answers the WhatsApp number you already use, in your words.

Book a walkthrough

30 minutes. You choose the day and the time.

The short version

Stay with BotPenguin if you want bots on many channels, a free plan to start, and Meta's Business API with nothing added to Meta's charges. Pick Palby AI Agent if you'd rather keep your own WhatsApp number and skip building a bot.

Who should pick which

Stay with BotPenguin if

  • You want a bot on your website, Telegram, Facebook and Instagram as well as WhatsApp
  • You want to start on a free plan
  • You want Meta's Business API, with Meta's charges passed on and nothing added

Pick Palby AI Agent if

  • Your enquiries arrive on a WhatsApp number you want to keep
  • You'd rather answer a few questions about your business than build a bot
  • You want a quiet lead checked on once, and strangers left alone

Side by side

Compared onPalby AI AgentBotPenguinSource
How WhatsApp connectsYour own WhatsApp, linked by QR code through Green API. Not Meta's Business APIMeta's Business API. BotPenguin says it charges nothing on top of Meta's feesBotPenguin pricing
ChannelsWhatsApp onlyWhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, phone calls and your websiteBotPenguin site
Setting it upAnswer a few questions about your business, add your files and website, then try it in a test chatNo-code AI agents, chatbots and flowsBotPenguin site
Your teamA team inbox, with chats assigned by hand, in turn or to whoever has the fewest openA unified inbox and live chatBotPenguin site
PriceNo published price yetA free plan. Little is US$29 a month for 3,000 messages, 5 chatbots and 5 team membersBotPenguin pricing
To startBook a 30-minute walkthroughThe free plan, or a 7-day trial of the King planBotPenguin pricing
As of November 2026. BotPenguin's details are from its own pages, read on 1 November 2026. Plans and prices change, so check them before you pay.

Where BotPenguin is strong

BotPenguin covers a lot of ground for its price. You can build AI agents and chatbots for WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, phone calls and your website without code, and start on a free plan. Paid plans start at US$29 a month, it adds nothing on top of Meta's WhatsApp charges, and it offers help with Meta's verification badge. It has iOS and Android apps, and says 80,000+ businesses in 193 countries use it. If you want bots on many channels on a tight budget, BotPenguin fits better.

The three differences that matter

No new number

Palby AI Agent links the WhatsApp you already use by QR code, the way WhatsApp Web does, through a third-party service called Green API. There's no Business API account to set up and no number to move. The trade-off: no Meta templates, no buttons or lists, and no blue checkmark.

No bot to build

Answer a few questions about what you do and when a person should step in, and the agent is set up from your answers. It answers from your price list, your files and your website, and writes as you or as one of your team. You don't draw a flow for each question. Try it in a test chat before it goes live.

Book the slot, then keep to quiet hours

Quiet hours run from 11pm to 9am unless you change them. The agent books the slot on your booking page and passes the hot ones to a person. A quiet chat gets one check-in, at least a day later. WhatsApp's help centre warns that linking through unofficial apps "may put your account at risk", so the agent paces what it starts.

Switching in three steps

  1. Book a 30-minute walkthrough, and link your number by QR code on the call.
  2. Answer the setup questions, add your files and website, and try a test chat.
  3. Turn it on. New chats land in the team inbox from then on. There's no import from BotPenguin.

Questions

Keep your number. Skip the bot. Answer your enquiries.

Book a walkthrough and watch the agent answer on your own WhatsApp.

Book a walkthrough

30 minutes. You choose the day and the time.

Sources

Every page read on 1 November 2026. Nothing about a competitor on these pages comes from anywhere else.