An AI chatbot in Sri Lanka costs three things: a monthly platform fee, AI usage for each reply, and, on WhatsApp, Meta's message fees. On Bloomwire, plans with an AI agent start at LKR 8,500 a month, AI replies cost about LKR 0.66 to LKR 4.97 each, and Meta charges about LKR 0.66 per service reply after the first 1,000 each month.
Updated 6 November 2026
- Budget for a platform plan, AI usage, Meta's WhatsApp fees, setup time and any extra staff seats.
- Short, grounded answers cost less: AI usage is billed by tokens, so a tidy knowledge base saves money.
- Since 1 October 2026, WhatsApp service replies are free only for the first 1,000 each month per number.
- A small business answering about 3,000 questions a month typically spends LKR 12,800 to LKR 25,700 a month in total on Bloomwire.
The five parts of an AI chatbot bill
Most quotes you see in Sri Lanka show one number. The real monthly cost has five parts, and it helps to ask every provider about each of them.
- Platform planThe software your team and the AI work in: inbox, AI agent, contacts, reports and API. On Bloomwire this is a fixed monthly plan in rupees.
- AI usageThe language model's work for each reply. It is billed by tokens, so it grows with the number and length of answers.
- Channel feesOn WhatsApp, Meta charges per message. Website chat has no Meta fee.
- Setup and knowledge baseCollecting your FAQs, prices, opening hours and policies, writing the rules for handover and testing in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
- People and integrationsSeats for staff who take over conversations, and any connection to your booking system, CRM or online store.
Published rates in rupees
These are Bloomwire's published prices on WhatsApp Business API pricing, checked on 6 November 2026. Meta's fees are in US dollars; the LKR figures use the LKR 331 per US$ rate shown on that page.
| Cost line | Who charges it | Published rate |
|---|---|---|
| Starter plan (1 number, 1 seat, AI agent) | Bloomwire | LKR 8,500 a month |
| Growth plan (1 number, 3 seats, AI agent) | Bloomwire | LKR 12,500 a month |
| Scale plan (3 numbers, 8 seats, AI agent) | Bloomwire | LKR 27,500 a month |
| AI agent reply | Bloomwire (prepaid balance) | About US$0.002–0.015 (LKR 0.66–4.97) |
| WhatsApp service reply (person or AI) | Meta | First 1,000 a month free, then about US$0.0020 (LKR 0.66) |
| Utility or authentication template | Meta | About US$0.0020 (LKR 0.66) |
| Marketing template | Meta | About US$0.073 (about LKR 24) |
Since 1 October 2026, Meta also charges for utility templates sent inside the 24-hour customer service window. We explain every change in WhatsApp pricing in Sri Lanka from 1 October 2026.
Two worked monthly examples
These examples use only the published rates above. They are illustrations, not quotes. The "low" column assumes short answers; the "high" column assumes long, document-heavy answers.
Example A, small online retailer: Starter plan, 3,000 AI replies, 500 replies from staff and 1,000 order-update templates a month. Example B, busy clinic: Growth plan, 8,000 AI replies, 1,500 staff replies and 2,000 appointment reminders.
| Monthly cost (LKR) | A low | A high | B low | B high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomwire plan | 8,500 | 8,500 | 12,500 | 12,500 |
| AI agent replies | 1,980 | 14,910 | 5,280 | 39,760 |
| Meta service replies (after 1,000 free) | 1,650 | 1,650 | 5,610 | 5,610 |
| Meta utility templates | 660 | 660 | 1,320 | 1,320 |
| Estimated total | 12,790 | 25,720 | 24,710 | 59,190 |
To model your own numbers, use the calculator on the pricing page. It adds Meta's fees and the plan for you and can email you a quotation.
Build or buy?
Some teams ask whether connecting an AI model to WhatsApp themselves is cheaper. The model is the smallest part of the work. You would also need to build and run:
- WhatsApp onboarding, verification and template approval
- A shared inbox and handover to people
- Knowledge base, prompts and model choice
- Monitoring, reports and security updates
- Local support in Sri Lankan business hours
- Developer time to build and keep it working
- Model API costs and hosting
- Your own inbox, logs and access control
- Handling Meta's API and policy changes
- Someone on call when it breaks
Building makes sense when the chatbot is your product, or you already run a development team with spare capacity. For most businesses, a platform such as AI Studio is cheaper in the first year and far quicker to launch.
What a missed message costs you
Price only tells half the story. The other half is what you lose when nobody answers, for example a question that arrives at 10 p.m. and is still unanswered the next morning.
You can estimate this with your own figures. Take the number of enquiries that arrive outside working hours each month, multiply by the share that never come back, and multiply again by your average order or booking value. If that number is higher than the chatbot's monthly cost, the case is made.
Seven ways to keep the bill down
- Keep answers shortAsk the AI to answer in two or three sentences and to offer more detail only if asked.
- Use buttonsQuick-reply buttons for common choices mean fewer typed questions and shorter AI replies.
- Clean the knowledge baseRemove duplicate and outdated documents. The AI reads less, answers faster and stays accurate.
- Hand over earlySend complaints, refunds and complex cases to a person instead of long back-and-forth with the AI.
- Send templates only when they helpSince October 2026 utility templates are charged even inside the service window. Combine updates where you can.
- Use website chat tooWebsite chat has no Meta fee. Link to it from your site and emails.
- Watch the dashboardAI usage comes from a prepaid balance you can see. Review it weekly with your conversation reports.
Running in Sinhala or Tamil? Write your knowledge base in the languages customers use, and test common Singlish phrasing. Our guide to Sinhala, Tamil and English AI chatbots explains how it works, and AI chatbot use cases shows example conversations by industry.
Ready to see what an AI agent would answer for your business? Start with the AI chatbot for Sri Lankan businesses overview, or read how to set up a WhatsApp AI chatbot.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an AI chatbot cost in Sri Lanka?
On Bloomwire, a WhatsApp AI chatbot starts with a platform plan from LKR 8,500 a month, which includes the AI agent. On top of that you pay AI usage (about LKR 0.66 to LKR 4.97 per AI reply, prepaid) and Meta's WhatsApp message fees. A small business answering 3,000 questions a month would typically pay about LKR 12,800 to LKR 25,700 a month in total.
Why is there a range for each AI reply?
AI usage is billed by tokens: the words the model reads and writes. A short answer to a simple question uses few tokens; a long answer built from several knowledge-base documents uses many. Bloomwire publishes about US$0.002 to US$0.015 per reply (roughly LKR 0.66 to LKR 4.97).
Do I pay Meta for messages the AI sends?
Yes, on WhatsApp. Since 1 October 2026 every business number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, then each free-form reply costs about US$0.0020 (around LKR 0.66). Meta counts a reply as a service message whether a person or the AI agent sends it. You pay Meta directly, at zero markup from Bloomwire.
Is a website chatbot cheaper than a WhatsApp chatbot?
There are no Meta fees on your own website chat, so the channel cost is lower. You still pay the platform plan and AI usage. Most Sri Lankan businesses run both, because customers already use WhatsApp.
Is it cheaper to build my own chatbot?
Only if you already have developers who will run it for years. Building means paying for the AI model, hosting, a WhatsApp connection, an inbox for your staff, monitoring and every future change. A platform spreads those costs across many customers and gives you a fixed monthly price.
What is the cheapest way to start?
Start on one channel with your 20 most common questions, keep answers short, use buttons for common choices and hand anything complex to a person. Review the conversations every week and add missing answers before you add more volume.
