Microsoft Bot Framework vs Voiceflow
Microsoft Bot Framework
dev.botframework.com
Voiceflow
voiceflow.comSide by side
| Figure | Microsoft Bot Framework | Voiceflow |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $81/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 7 |
| Spec score · Chatbot Builders | 8.9 (#21) | 9.5 (#1) |
| Channels | Bots can connect to channels such as Microsoft Teams, Facebook, and Slack, using Azure AI Bot Service channels or channel adapters. | Agents can be deployed through web chat, mobile interfaces, telephony, SMS and custom interfaces using the Conversations API. |
| Deployment channels | multichannel | multichannel |
| Documentation | Microsoft Learn organizes Bot Service documentation around building, testing, deploying and managing chatbots, with language-specific developer options. | Documentation includes quickstarts, API reference, deployment guides, widgets, telephony, SMS, testing, analytics and billing material. |
| Human handoff | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge-base answers | Yes | Knowledge bases can connect agent answers to imported information and services such as Zendesk and Shopify. |
| License | The Bot Framework SDK repository is distributed under the MIT License. | Voiceflow, Inc.'s terms grant a revocable, nonexclusive service license and restrict copying and reverse engineering, indicating the hosted product is proprietary. |
| Praise: G2 reviewers | G2 reviewers repeatedly praise quick setup, ease of use, flexible programming languages, integrated LUIS and QnA Maker tooling, and support for multiple messaging channels. | Reviewers repeatedly praise the visual builder, rapid prototyping, integrations, model choice and API flexibility. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.0 out of 5 from 16 reviews | 4.5 out of 5 from 115 reviews. |
| Rating on TrustRadius | 8.7 out of 10 from 92 reviews | 10 out of 10 from 2 reviews. |
| Support | Microsoft says support tickets for the Bot Framework SDK will no longer be serviced as of December 31, 2025. | Official documentation directs users to Voiceflow support by email and offers enterprise product demos. |
| Visual flow builder | Yes | Yes |
| What it does | Microsoft Bot Framework provides tools and SDKs for building conversational bots that can use free-form dialogue, guided interactions, text, images and rich cards. | Voiceflow provides tools to build, test, deploy and monitor customer-facing chat and voice agents across channels and languages. |
Plans
Voiceflow
- Agencies & PartnersFree
- StarterFree
- Pro$120 a month
- Business$500 a month
- Pro$972 a year
- BusinessesPriced on request
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Microsoft Bot Framework
Microsoft Bot Framework and Azure AI Bot Service provide tools to build, test, deploy and manage intelligent bots. The modular SDK includes tools and templates for bots that can use speech, understand natural language and handle questions and answers. Development tools work with a Connector service for messages and events, alongside Azure deployment and channel configuration. Client libraries are available for C#, JavaScript, Python and Java. Bots can connect to channels such as Microsoft Teams, Facebook and Slack, using Azure AI Bot Service channels or channel adapters; a visual flow builder, knowledge-base answers and human handoff are listed capabilities. The Free plan costs nothing and includes unlimited standard-channel messages and 10,000 premium-channel messages per month. S1 includes unlimited standard-channel messages, with no price listed. Microsoft says the SDK is no longer maintained and recommends the Microsoft 365 Agents SDK for new agent development. It also says Bot Framework SDK support tickets will no longer be serviced as of December 31, 2025.
Voiceflow
Voiceflow is a platform for building, testing, deploying, and monitoring chat and voice agents across channels and languages. Its builder combines agentic playbooks, deterministic workflows, shared instructions, and guardrails. Teams can review transcripts and call recordings, run evaluations and tests, and track analytics. Agents can reach users through a native chat widget, mobile apps, phone calls, SMS, or custom interfaces built with the Conversations API. Native integrations include Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, Airtable, Google Sheets, Gmail, and Twilio. Agents can also connect to external REST APIs, custom Functions, and MCP servers. Teams can choose from major LLM providers or bring their own model. Voiceflow says customer data is not used to train AI or machine-learning models and integrated model providers are configured for zero data retention. Its security information describes encryption at rest with customer-managed keys and encryption in transit using TLS and mTLS. The company was founded in 2019. Agencies and partners have a free-trial plan with usage-based billing; business pricing is available on request. Support includes implementation that can be self-serve or fully managed.