10 Best Open Source Chatbot Platforms to Use in 2023

10 Best Open Source Chatbot Platforms to Use in 2023

Multifunctional robot

Thanks to technology, modern businesses can utilize a wealth of innovations. One of the most significant is considered to be chatbots. Some of their benefits include:

 

  • They can help to save up to 30% of the expense of customer support services
  • They can cut down on lead time
  • They can respond to as much as 80% of the most common customer queries

 

With the right kind of talent in your organization, it is possible to develop your chatbots. But coding from scratch might only suit some. A far better option is to use an open-source chatbot platform. All the hard work has been done for you, and there will be a support team to turn to in case of any issues.

 

There are plenty of open-source chatbot frameworks to choose from, and in this post, you’ll discover a little more about the best available in the market.

1. Botpress - Best generative open-source chatbot platform

Main website of botpress.com

You can use this platform to build modular chatbots that can operate independently of each other. It’s also possible to create more human-like interactions because of the emulator that tests conversations and the visual conversation builder. 

 

Thanks to the actionable chatbot analytics, you can also examine the results of conversations and use the information to make better business decisions.

Pros:

  • There is a free, open-source version
  • Uses modular architecture for building independent chatbots
  • Bots can be deployed on a company service or cloud host
  • Advanced permissions help you control who is editing the bot
  • Documentation is easy to understand

Cons:

  • Features are limited
  • Mainly action and rule-based bots are available

Key Features and Integrations:

  • Integrates with Whatsapp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Microsoft Teams, Twilio, Slack, and many more.
  • Content Management System
  • Multi-language, Single Bot
  • Multi-channel Availability
  • Contextual FAQ/Q&A Functionality
  • Enterprise-level Security

2. Microsoft Bot Framework‍ - Best enterprise-grade chatbot platform.

Main website of dev.botframework.com

You’ll also find this referred to as the Azure bot framework. You can use it to build, publish, connect, and manage interactive chatbots. There are pre-built models to choose from, and you can use them on your website, Microsoft Teams, Facebook Messenger, Skype, and Slack.

 

This bot framework is mainly for developers as it has a more code-driven approach. It helps them develop their own chatbots for their own applications.

Pros:

  • World-renowned technology company
  • Free standard channel
  • Speech-to-text machine learning
  • SDKs available for multiple computer languages
  • Several chatbot templates to choose from

Cons:

  • You can’t install the NLU engine on-premise
  • Users have reported occasional connection issues
  • The discussion community is small

Key Features and Integrations:

  • Integrates with Kik, Cortana, Microsoft Cognitive Services, and more
  • Bots on Bing
  • Bots for Teams
  • Skype bots
  • Language understanding
  • Payments request API

3. OpenDialog - The best easy-to-adopt open-source chatbot platform

main website of opendialog.ai

OpenDialog is a tool you can scale according to the size of your team. It allows you to deploy and integrate your chatbots and train them efficiently. The NLU support is flexible, so you can choose the best AI techniques depending on individual circumstances and issues.

Pros:

  • No previous coding language experience is necessary
  • The platform allows you to design and prototype conversations swiftly
  • It uses relatively low memory but is still able to perform real-time STT processes
  • No coding experience is needed

Cons:

  • No free trial or free version

Key Features and Integrations:

  • Integrates with Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Slack, Twilio, Microsoft Teams, Amazon Lex, and many more
  • No-code conversation designer and smart conversation engine
  • Conversation Automation
  • Conversation Templates
  • Fully managed Saas platform
  • Extensible and customizable

4. Tock - The best comprehensive open-source chatbot platform

main website of tock.ai

This open-source conversational AI platform provides a complete solution for building conversational agents and bots. It features the ability to build stories and analytics. It can also connect to numerous voice/text channels.

 

It can be deployed anywhere on-premise with Docker or anywhere in the cloud.

Pros:

  • Requires no third-party APIs
  • Can function independently
  • Tock provides toolkits for custom mobile/web integration

Key Features and Integrations:

  • Tock can connect with a variety of text/voice channels such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Alexa, Google Assistant, Twitter, and many more
  • NLU model management, bot training, and performance monitoring.
  • Zero-code conversational stories and decision trees builder.
  • Internationalization support (i18n) for multilingual bots.
  • Dialog monitoring and user flow analytics.

5. Rasa - The best flexible open-source chatbot platform

main website of rasa.com

Rasa is a framework better suited for constructing contextual chatbots as it adds a more human feel to interactions. By building stories, you can train your bots. The framework combines Rasa NLU (Natural Language Understanding and Rasa Core, which means the bots built can handle complex user inquiries. 

Pros:

  • The system supports hyponyms and synonyms
  • Features and design are highly customizable
  • Customer data analytics provided to increase your customer understanding
  • Great community culture
  • Option to get feedback from the tester

Cons:

  • Because of the deep knowledge base required, it’s not a platform that’s suitable for beginners.
  • Chatbots built using the framework use a lot of resourced

Key Features and Integrations:

  • Integrates with Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, Slack, Twilio, Rocket.chat, and many more
  • Role-based access control
  • Detailed analytics
  • Multiple deployment environments
  • Ability to view and annotate bot conversations

6. Wit.ai - Best NLP-based open-source chatbot platform

main website of wit.ai

Witái is a titan of the chatbot world. Facebook acquired the company in 2015, making it the platform of choice for many companies. The fact that it is free also makes it a desirable option.

Pros:

  • SDK is available in a variety of coding languages, including iOS, Node.js, and Ruby
  • Free chatbot framework 
  • Easy for beginners to get started because of the well-documented bot APU
  • Offers 80+ languages
  • Provides a strand NLP engine for creating intents and entities
  • Voice-based bots are an option for a more user-friendly experience

Cons:

  • No customer support
  • Not the easiest to use for beginners

Key Features and Integrations:

  • Integrates seamlessly with Facebook Messenger, including other channels such as mobile apps, websites, home automation, and wearable devices
  • Bots
  • Mobile apps
  • Wearable devices
  • Home automation
  • Robots

7. DialogFlow - Best voice-based open-source chatbot platform

main website of dialogflow

You can use DialogFlow to build text and voice-based conversational chatbots or conversational interfaces. It uses Google’s machine learning which means you can connect to users on various channels. The framework is very user-friendly and easy to scale.

Pros:

  • Trial period available
  • Able to support voice and text-based chatbots
  • IoT integration permitted
  • Sentimental analysis of queries
  • Provides built-in analytics
  • Chatbot “agents” can understand natural language

Cons:

  • Customer support is not available live
  • There have been reports of users experiencing problems when integrating the problem into their system.
  • Knowledge of coding is required

Key Features and Integrations:

  • The platform lets you connect to users on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, mobile apps, Facebook Messenger, and many more
  • Visual flow builder
  • Omnichannel implementation
  • Advanced AI
  • State-based data models
  • End-to-end management

8. Botkit - Best productivity and work-centric chatbot platform

main website of discover.bot

Botkit is an open-source conversational AI that Microsoft acquired in 2018. It’s a code-centric platform with a visual conversational builder and various integrations. The flexible system provides for the handling of scripted dialogs and transactional questions. 

Pros:

  • The platform is free to use
  • The interface is easy to use
  • Supports all major platforms
  • Visual conversation builder

Cons:

  • Uses Microsoft’s LUIS service, as there is no built-in NLP

Key Features and Integrations:

  • Integrations include Google Hangouts. Cisco Spark, Microsoft Teams, and many more.
  • Platform-independent way to build bots for any communication channel
  • Platform-specific adaptors that allow clients to build bots for an individual platform

9. Botman - Best PHP chatbot framework

main website of botman.io

Botman was designed to simplify the chatbot creation process. It integrates with and eases the chatbot creation for many messaging systems. Because it is framework agnostic, you can use it in your current codebase without making changes.

Pros:

  • Free PHP framework for developing chatbots
  • One of the most popular PHP chatbot frameworks
  • Framework agnostic tool that you can use in an existing codebase and whatever framework you choose

Cons:

  • Problem with bugs
  • The chatbot does not respond/takes too long to respond

Key Features and Integrations:

  • Integrates with various messaging platforms, including Nexma, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Slack, Amazon Alexa, and many more
  • Can originate inline conversations
  • Custom attachment classes

10. DeepPavlov - The best framework for creating multi-skill chatbot platforms

main website of deeppavlov.ai

DeepPavlov is a framework designed to be used by professionals and novices who want to create dialogue systems. It’s compatible with state-of-the-art deep learning models to enable the processing of NER, Q&A, and various other complex NLP tasks.

Pros:

  • Free open-source chatbot framework
  • Easily deployable
  • It helps you build powerful conversational agents that are also multi-skilled assistants.
  • Multi-skill API integration enables the development of industrial solutions.

Cons:

  • Knowledge of coding is required

Key Features and Integrations:

  • It can be integrated into websites, devices, and various messaging platforms
  • Employs the latest deep learning models to solve classification, NER, Q&A, and other NLP tasks.
  • Multi-Skill Dialog Management

Conclusion

If you’re considering investing in chatbot software, you must first consider how you plan to use it and decide on the functionalities you’ll require. One of the most significant upsides of open-source tools is that you can experiment with them before you make a final decision. It’s highly recommended that you visit various chatbot forums and search for what you want to build. 

About author

Veselin Mladenov
Content Manager | ThriveMyWay
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Veselin Mladenov is the Content Manager of ThriveMyWay. He has more than 10 years of experience in the field of corporate marketing and sales, and decided to pursue his passion - digital marketing and content creation.

About author

Jakub Kopacz
Growth Specialist | BOWWE
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Art Malkovich is CEO and co-founder of Onilab, a PWA development company. He has about 10 years of experience in team management and web development for eCommerce. He is passionate about keeping up with recent technologies and working on innovative projects like headless commerce solutions and PWAs in particular.

About author

Ron Stefanski
Blogger | One Hour Professor
blogger Ron Stefanski

Ron Stefanski is a website entrepreneur and marketing professor who has a passion for helping people create and market their own online business.  You can learn more from him by visiting OneHourProfessor.com