The self-hosted alternative to Botpress
Botpress is a great way to build chatbots in the cloud. Hexabot gives you the same conversational power as workflow-first, self-hostable AI automation you fully own — memory, RAG, MCP, and multi-channel included.
Hexabot vs Botpress
How Hexabot compares to Botpress
Both are popular ways to build AI chatbots and agents. Here is where Hexabot's self-hosted, workflow-first approach differs.
| Capability | Hexabot | Botpress |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted, on your own infrastructure | Yes | Cloud-first (self-host available) |
| Keep production data under your control | Yes | Depends on cloud vs self-host |
| Workflow types | Conversational, manual, scheduled | Conversational-first |
| YAML + visual workflows with typed contracts | Yes | Visual flow builder |
| Memory, RAG, and MCP integration points | Yes | Knowledge bases / RAG |
| Reusable actions, bindings, and extensions | Yes | Integrations & custom code |
| Pricing model | Capacity-based, no per-message metering | Usage-based AI spend |
| Free self-hosted Community edition | Yes | Yes |
Features
Self-Host AI Workflow Automation for Real Operations
Hexabot brings conversations, actions, memory, governance, and multichannel service delivery into one runtime your team can run and extend.
Self-hosted by default
Run the full stack on your own infrastructure and keep conversations, memory, and production data under your control — not in someone else's cloud.
Workflow-first, not just chat
Define conversational, manual, and scheduled workflows in visual graphs or portable YAML with typed contracts and schema validation.
Memory, RAG, and MCP built in
Give agents managed memory, retrieval-augmented context, and MCP integration points so they can act reliably across multi-step automations.
Predictable, capacity-based pricing
Plan around users, workflows, and activations instead of metered per-message AI spend, with a free self-hosted Community edition to start.
Hexabot vs Botpress FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Hexabot better than Botpress?
Hexabot is better for teams that want a self-hosted, source-available AI workflow platform with built-in memory, RAG, and MCP tools they fully own. Botpress is a strong cloud-first choice when teams prefer a managed service and do not need full self-hosted data control.
What is the difference between Hexabot and Botpress?
Hexabot is a self-hostable, workflow-first AI automation platform with conversational, manual, and scheduled workflows defined in visual graphs or YAML. Botpress is a cloud-first conversational AI platform centered on a visual flow builder and knowledge bases.
Is Hexabot cheaper than Botpress?
Hexabot uses capacity-based pricing around users, workflows, and activations, with a free self-hosted Community edition, so it avoids per-message AI metering. Botpress pricing is usage-based, which can grow with message and AI spend.
Can Hexabot replace Botpress?
Hexabot can replace Botpress for most conversational AI and automation use cases, including multi-channel agents, memory, RAG, and tool use. Teams that depend on Botpress-specific cloud features should validate those workflows during migration.
Who should use Botpress instead of Hexabot?
Teams that want a fully managed cloud chatbot service and do not need self-hosting or full data residency control may prefer Botpress. Hexabot is the better fit for engineering teams that want to own their stack and data.
Start Building Workflows Locally
Use the CLI to scaffold a self-hostable project, start the local stack, and build workflows that connect conversations to actions, channels, and memory.
Installation Steps
- 1
Install the official Hexabot CLI
npm install -g @hexabot-ai/cli - 2
Create a project from the starter template
hexabot create my-project - 3
Move into your project workspace
cd my-project - 4
Run the local Hexabot stack
hexabot dev