The cheapest WhatsApp Business API in India costs ₹0/month platform fee.
Real INR side-by-side rate card across RichAutomate, Wati, AiSensy, Interakt, Gupshup and Karix. No USD bait. Meta passthrough rates included. See exactly how much each BSP charges you for 10k / 50k / 100k messages a month.
At 50,000 messages/month (30,000 marketing + 20,000 utility), the cheapest WhatsApp Business API in India in 2026 is RichAutomate at about ₹33,193/month total — ₹0 platform fee + ₹0.10/msg + Meta's India rate billed direct — versus Interakt ₹36,499, AiSensy ₹37,950 and Wati ₹46,892. Meta's passthrough conversation rate is identical for every BSP, so the lowest platform fee + per-message markup wins.
As of June 2026, Meta charges ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ₹0.115 per utility message for India under the WhatsApp Business Platform per-message pricing model. RichAutomate charges a ₹0/month platform fee — on Client Pay you pay ₹0.10/msg platform fee while Meta bills conversation charges direct to you (₹0.8631 marketing / ₹0.115 utility); on SaaS Pay you pay a flat ₹1.20 marketing / ₹0.30 utility per message.
Other India BSPs add a percentage markup on top of Meta's rate plus a fixed monthly platform fee. See the per-vendor markup table below for the exact basis-point delta against Meta's published India rate card. Source: developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing (Meta WhatsApp Business Platform pricing documentation, captured 2026-06-01 IST).
Per-vendor markup over Meta India rate
Markup percentage is the per-message premium each BSP charges on top of Meta's published India passthrough rate (₹0.8631 marketing, ₹0.115 utility) as of June 2026. Platform fee is listed separately.
| BSP | Per-msg markup | Marketing / msg | Utility / msg | Pricing source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RichAutomate | ₹0.10/msg flat | ₹0.10 + ₹0.8631 Meta direct | ₹0.10 + ₹0.115 Meta direct | richautomate.in/pricing |
| Interakt | ~20% | ~₹1.04 | ₹0.115 | interakt.shop/pricing |
| AiSensy | ~25% | ₹1.09 | ₹0.145 | aisensy.com/pricing |
| Wati | ~30% | ~₹1.12 | ~₹0.15 | wati.io/pricing |
Footnotes — markup derived by subtracting Meta's India passthrough rate (₹0.8631 marketing, ₹0.115 utility) from each vendor's public per-message price, captured 2026-06-01 IST. Wati markup includes the additional 4–6% forex spread + 2% Razorpay card-conversion charge that Indian customers incur on USD-primary billing. Meta source: developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing.
50,000 messages/month — what each BSP actually bills you
Assumption: 30,000 marketing messages + 20,000 utility messages (typical Indian D2C 60/40 mix). Platform fee included where applicable. Calculated against published rates as of June 2026.
| BSP | Marketing cost | Utility cost | Platform fee | Total/month | vs RichAutomate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RichAutomate | ₹25,893 | ₹2,300 | ₹0 | ₹33,193 | baseline |
| Interakt | ₹31,200 | ₹2,300 | ₹2,999 | ₹36,499 | +₹3,306 |
| AiSensy | ₹32,700 | ₹2,900 | ₹2,350 | ₹37,950 | +₹4,757 |
| Wati | ₹33,600 | ₹3,000 | ₹10,292 | ₹46,892 | +₹13,699 |
On 50,000 messages a month — Meta conversation charges shown above are billed direct on Client Pay, which adds a ₹0.10/msg platform fee (₹5,000 at this volume) — RichAutomate's ₹0-monthly-fee model still saves you ₹13,699/month versus Wati, ₹4,757/month versus AiSensy, and ₹3,306/month versus Interakt — compounding to ₹1L+/year on a single-WABA workload.
The published-pricing matrix
Only what each BSP publishes on their own website — May 2026 snapshot. Where pricing is sales-gated, we say so. No estimates.
| BSP | Platform fee | Utility / msg | Marketing / msg | INR invoice + GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RichAutomate | ₹0 | ₹0.10 + Meta ₹0.115 (or ₹0.30 SaaS Pay) | ₹0.10 + Meta ₹0.8631 (or ₹1.20 SaaS Pay) | Yes |
| AiSensy | ₹1,500–₹3,200/mo | ₹0.145 | ₹1.09 | Yes |
| Interakt | ₹2,499–₹3,499/mo | ₹0.115 | ₹0.96 | Yes |
| Wati | $49–$199/mo | ~₹0.115 | ~₹0.96 | No INR invoice on free tier |
| Gupshup | Sales-gated | Not published | Not published | Custom contract |
| Karix | Enterprise | Not published | Not published | Custom contract |
Sources: each BSP's public pricing page · captured 2026-05-17 IST. Wati prices USD-primary — Indian customers add 4–6% forex spread + 2% Razorpay conversion if billed via card.
What you actually pay each month
Three realistic Indian D2C / SMB volumes. Assumption: 60% marketing templates + 40% utility. Platform fee included where applicable.
| Volume | RichAutomate | AiSensy | Interakt | Wati (₹ at $1=₹83) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 msgs/month (60% mktg, 40% utility) | ₹7,220 | ₹7,374 | ₹8,719 | ₹10,310 |
| 50,000 msgs/month (60% mktg, 40% utility) | ₹36,100 | ₹36,068 | ₹33,599 | ₹45,260 |
| 100,000 msgs/month (60% mktg, 40% utility) | ₹72,200 | ₹70,036 | ₹64,699 | ₹95,520 |
How RichAutomate ships at ₹0 platform fee
Meta rate billed direct
Same India rate card every BSP gets from Meta — ₹0.115 utility, ₹0.8631 marketing. On Client Pay, Meta bills you direct and we charge ₹0.10/msg; on SaaS Pay it's a flat ₹1.20/₹0.30.
No per-seat licence
Unlimited team seats. No inbox-seat fee, no campaign cap, no template cap. Charge agencies pass through quietly.
Points + services revenue
We make money on Razorpay top-ups (₹100 = ~870 utility messages) + paid implementation services for enterprises. Platform stays free.
Compare against your current BSP
Side-by-side feature, pricing and migration breakdown for every major Indian BSP.
Cheaper without cutting compliance
Lowest price is meaningless if your audit trail is non-compliant. RichAutomate ships the full India 2026 compliance stack at ₹0 platform fee.
Frequently asked
What is the cheapest WhatsApp Business API in India in 2026?+
At 50,000 messages/month (30,000 marketing + 20,000 utility — a typical Indian D2C mix), the cheapest WhatsApp Business API in India in 2026 is RichAutomate at about ₹33,193/month total: ₹0/month platform fee + ₹0.10/msg platform fee + Meta's India rate billed direct (₹0.8631 marketing / ₹0.115 utility). At the same volume Interakt costs about ₹36,499, AiSensy about ₹37,950 and Wati about ₹46,892. Meta's per-message conversation rate is identical for every BSP, so the cheapest provider is the one with the lowest platform fee and the smallest per-message markup. RichAutomate wins because it keeps the platform fee at ₹0/month and adds no marketing markup — only a flat ₹0.10/msg on Client Pay. (Figures as of June 2026; verify current rates on each vendor's pricing page.)
Is RichAutomate genuinely the cheapest WhatsApp Business API in India?+
On platform fee, yes — we charge ₹0/month versus roughly ₹1,500–₹3,499/month for Wati, AiSensy and Interakt (as of June 2026 — verify current pricing on each vendor's site). On per-message cost: Client Pay is ₹0.10/msg platform fee + Meta's India rate billed direct to you (₹0.8631 marketing / ₹0.115 utility, verify current Meta rate card); SaaS Pay is a flat ₹1.20 marketing / ₹0.30 utility. AiSensy lists around ₹0.145 utility and ₹1.09 marketing as of June 2026. Wati publishes prices in USD only — Indian customers eat 4–6% forex spread + conversion charges. On a 50,000 msg/month workload, RichAutomate on Client Pay totals about ₹36,100 (Meta charges + ₹0.10/msg) vs Wati roughly ₹45,260 — about ₹9,100/month saved, with the gap widening at higher volumes.
How is RichAutomate free if Meta charges per message?+
Meta charges every BSP the same India rate (₹0.115 utility, ₹0.8631 marketing). RichAutomate keeps a ₹0/month platform fee and earns a small per-message fee instead: on Client Pay you pay ₹0.10/msg platform fee while Meta bills conversation charges direct to you; on SaaS Pay you pay a flat ₹1.20 marketing / ₹0.30 utility. No per-seat license, no inbox seat fee, no campaign cap. Wati / AiSensy / Interakt charge a monthly platform fee on top of marked-up per-message rates. 14-day trial with 100 credits.
Does cheapest also mean fewer features?+
No. RichAutomate ships the same Meta Cloud API v24 + Native Flows + Catalog + Payments + multi-WABA failover + Razorpay billing as the top-3 paid BSPs. Differentiators we don't compromise on: DPDP-compliant audit trail (retain 24 months), India-hosted data residency, BYOK AI keys, founder-built visual flow builder.
What about Gupshup and Karix — are they cheaper?+
Neither publishes pricing publicly. Both are sales-gated. Karix is enterprise-only (typical floor ₹50k/month commit). Gupshup recently pivoted to gupshup.ai (autonomous AI agents framing) and their pricing page returns 404. RichAutomate is the only India-built BSP with a transparent public INR rate card that scales from ₹0 to enterprise.
How do I switch from Wati / AiSensy / Interakt to RichAutomate?+
Bring-Your-Own-WABA (BYOWA) flow: 14-day trial, point your existing Meta Cloud number's phone_number_id at our endpoint, migrate flows from our flow builder. Zero downtime. Average switch time 3 days including template re-approval. We honour your current Meta tier and quality rating.
Stop paying platform fee.
Start at ₹0 today.
14-day free trial. ₹0 platform fee. Bring your own WABA or use ours (managed infrastructure). Razorpay + GST invoice. India-hosted.