Wati is the cheaper choice for most Indian teams in 2026: its plans start at ₹2,699 a month (billed quarterly) against respond.io's $99 a month, roughly ₹8,700. Respond.io makes sense when you run WhatsApp alongside Instagram, Messenger, email and web chat in one inbox and want AI agents and deep workflows, while Wati is built WhatsApp-first for Indian SMBs and D2C brands.
Both are official WhatsApp Business API platforms, and both pass Meta's message charges on top of the subscription. That second cost is where most comparisons go quiet, so this guide puts the plan prices, the seat limits, the contact limits and Meta's per-message rates side by side, then runs one rupee example. All vendor figures are taken from each vendor's own pricing page, checked in November 2026. Dollar amounts are converted at ₹88 per US dollar and rounded.
Wati vs respond.io at a glance
| What you compare | Wati | respond.io |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Growth, ₹2,699/month billed quarterly | Starter, $99/month (about ₹8,710), or $79/month billed yearly |
| Mid plan | Pro, ₹5,799/month billed quarterly | Growth, $199/month (about ₹17,510), or $159 yearly |
| Top listed plan | Business, ₹16,799/month billed quarterly | Advanced, $349/month (about ₹30,710), or $279 yearly; Enterprise is custom |
| Users included | 3 on Growth (no extra users), 5 on Pro and Business | 5 on Starter, 10 on Growth and Advanced |
| Extra user | ₹1,299/month on Pro, ₹2,199/month on Business | $12, $20 or $24 a month depending on plan |
| Contact limit | Not stated on the pricing page | Monthly Active Contacts: 1,000 included on Growth and Advanced, overage $12 or $15 per 100 |
| WhatsApp message charges | Template messages charged extra by category and country, per Wati's rate card | Not included; Meta's fees are paid from WhatsApp credit you top up |
| Channels | WhatsApp-first, with add-ons | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email, web chat and more in one inbox |
| Free trial | 7 days | 7 days, no credit card needed |
The short version: Wati is priced in rupees for Indian buyers, while respond.io is priced in dollars for multi-channel teams that care about contact-based billing and AI automation more than the monthly fee.
Wati pricing in India, 2026
According to Wati's pricing page, all three published INR plans are quoted per month and billed quarterly, with monthly and annual toggles on the page and a "save up to 10%" note for longer terms.
- Growth, ₹2,699/month. 3 users with no option to add more, 1,000 free automation triggers a month, 15,000 broadcasts a month at standard rates, 2,000 Wati AI credits, 1 AI agent, 2 commerce or CRM integrations and 10,000 API calls a month without webhooks.
- Pro, ₹5,799/month. 5 users, extra users at ₹1,299 each a month, 2,000 automation triggers, unlimited broadcasts at standard rates, 5,000 AI credits, 2 AI agents, 5 integrations including HubSpot and 200,000 API calls with limited webhooks.
- Business, ₹16,799/month. 5 users, extra users at ₹2,199 each, 5,000 automation triggers, broadcasts with volume discounts, 20,000 AI credits, unlimited AI agents and integrations including Salesforce.
Add-ons on the same page include extra automation triggers from ₹1,000 a month per 1,000, extra AI credits from ₹1,600 a month per 2,000, and additional WhatsApp numbers at ₹2,499 a month each. Wati states that additional charges apply for template messages and vary for marketing, utility and authentication, with plan-wise rate cards linked as PDFs. For a deeper breakdown, read our Wati pricing decoded guide.
Respond.io pricing in India, 2026
According to respond.io's pricing page, plans are quoted in US dollars, with lower per-month prices when billed yearly.
- Starter, $99/month ($79 billed yearly). 5 users, extra users at $12 each a month, 5,000 AI credits. AI agents are not listed on this plan.
- Growth, $199/month ($159 yearly). 10 users, extra users at $20, 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts to start, 10,000 AI credits and AI agents.
- Advanced, $349/month ($279 yearly). 10 users, extra users at $24, 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts to start, 20,000 AI credits.
- Enterprise is custom priced.
The number that matters most for Indian broadcasters is the Monthly Active Contact. Respond.io bills overage in blocks of 100 contacts: $12 per 100 on Growth and $15 per 100 on Advanced. A list that grows from 1,000 to 3,000 active contacts on Growth adds about $240 a month, roughly ₹21,100, before a single Meta charge. AI usage beyond the included credits is listed at $15 per 1,000 credits. Respond.io also says WhatsApp fees are not included in any subscription. See our full respond.io pricing in India breakdown for the contact maths.
Get the India 2026 WhatsApp BSP price comparison
Wati vs AiSensy vs Interakt vs RichAutomate: Meta rates, platform fees and hidden costs, side by side. We send it to your WhatsApp in a minute.
Meta's message charges apply on both
Neither subscription includes WhatsApp's own per-message cost. Meta charges per delivered template message by category. In India in 2026, that is about ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ₹0.115 per utility or authentication message. Inside the 24-hour customer service window, Meta's first 1,000 service replies a month per number are free, then Meta's utility rate applies.
So the honest monthly bill on either platform is the subscription, plus extra users or contacts, plus Meta's charges, plus any provider rate on top of Meta that the vendor's rate card shows. Ask each vendor in writing whether its per-message rate equals Meta's base rate or includes a margin, because that line grows with every broadcast. You can model your own volumes with the free WhatsApp API cost calculator.
Want the per-message maths without a subscription floor? RichAutomate charges ₹0 setup and a ₹0.10 platform fee per message, and Meta bills you directly. See RichAutomate pricing or start the 7-day free trial, no card needed.
Rupee example: 5 agents, 10,000 messages a month
Take an Indian business with 5 support and sales agents, 1,000 contacts active in a month, and a monthly send of 2,000 marketing and 8,000 utility messages. Meta's charges are the same base on every platform: 2,000 × ₹0.8631 = ₹1,726 for marketing and 8,000 × ₹0.115 = ₹920 for utility, about ₹2,646 in total.
| Line | Wati Pro | respond.io Growth | RichAutomate Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan for 5 agents | ₹5,799 (5 users), billed quarterly | $199, about ₹17,510 (10 users) | ₹899 (up to 5 team members), credited to your wallet |
| Contacts | No limit stated | 1,000 MACs included | No contact fee |
| Meta charges | About ₹2,646 plus Wati's rate card terms | About ₹2,646, paid from WhatsApp credit | About ₹2,646, billed by Meta directly |
| Platform message fee | Per Wati's rate card | Not stated as a markup | 10,000 × ₹0.10 = ₹1,000, mostly covered by the ₹899 plan credit |
| Approximate monthly total | About ₹8,445 plus any rate-card margin | About ₹20,156 | About ₹3,646 |
Wati Growth would be cheaper at ₹2,699, but it caps you at 3 users with no add-ons, so a 5-agent team has to move to Pro. On respond.io, Starter at $99 covers 5 users but does not include AI agents, so teams that want automation usually land on Growth. If your contact count grows past 1,000, the respond.io column moves fastest.
Which one should you pick?
- Pick Wati if you are an Indian SMB or D2C brand, WhatsApp is your main channel, you want rupee billing, and 5 agents or fewer will use the inbox.
- Pick respond.io if WhatsApp is one of several channels, your team handles Instagram, Messenger and email in the same inbox, you need advanced workflows and AI agents, and the dollar subscription is small next to your support headcount.
- Look at a pay-per-message platform if you are cost-sensitive, send in bursts, or want to avoid paying a fixed seat or contact fee in quiet months. Our list of respond.io alternatives in India covers the options.
Before you sign, run the same week of real traffic on each trial. Both Wati and respond.io offer 7 days. Track first-reply time, template approval speed, broadcast delivery and the actual invoice line for Meta charges. A plan that looks cheaper on the pricing page can cost more once extra users, contacts and rate-card margins are added.
Where RichAutomate fits
RichAutomate is an official WhatsApp Business API platform built in India. On pay-as-you-go you pay ₹0 setup, ₹0 monthly fee and a ₹0.10 platform fee per message, and Meta bills its own charges directly to your business, so there is no hidden margin on Meta's rate. Optional plans are Starter ₹499, Pro ₹899 and White-label ₹1,199 a month, GST-inclusive, and the plan fee comes back as wallet credits. Pro includes up to 5 team members, the visual flow builder, campaign scheduling and the developer API with webhooks. Extra team members are ₹199 a seat and extra numbers ₹399 a month.
It is WhatsApp-first rather than a full omnichannel suite, so a team that truly lives across five social channels may still prefer respond.io. For a WhatsApp-led Indian business, the difference in fixed cost is large.
Ready to compare on your own numbers? Check RichAutomate's plans and start a 7-day free trial with 100 credits, no card required.