respond.io alternatives in 2026: 9 WhatsApp platforms and the prices they publish
The cheapest plan you can pay month to month, the price paying yearly, the people included, the trial and how Meta’s message fees reach you with each one. Wassenger is one of the nine, and it is our product.
Swipe the table to see every column.
| Platform | Month to month | Paying yearly | People included | Free trial | Meta message fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| respond.ioStarter planReference | $99/mo | $79/mo | 5 (+$15 each) | 7 days, no card | At Meta’s rates“no usage markups or hidden fees” |
| AiSensyBasic plan | $45/mo | $40.50/mo | 1 owner + 5 agents (+$20 each) | Free plan; 14-day trial with premium featuresSource | Own rate cardRate sheet by country, though it says credits “are charged directly by Meta” |
| CallbellMultiagent Chat plan | No monthly billing: $15 per person a month, paid per quarter; minimum 3, + WhatsApp from $22Source | Not published | Minimum 3 | 7 days; free plan for the web chat widget only | Own creditsA monthly WhatsApp budget plus a prepaid wallet; markup not statedSource |
| GallaboxBasic plan | No monthly plan: $150 a month paid per quarter | $112/mo | 3, hard cap | 7 days, no card | With a markupAmount not stated |
| InteraktGrowth plan | $55/mo | $499/yrBilled yearly; no per-month figure published | Unlimited agents | 14 daysSource | Own rate cardIts FAQ says “without any surcharge”; its table says so only for EnterpriseSource |
| SleekFlowEssential plan | $69/mo | $49/mo | 3 (+$15 per seat) | 7 days of Pro, no card | Own rate cardPlus $15 a month to host the number |
| TrengoBoost plan | $391/mo | $335/mo | 10 (+$34 per extra user), with 6,000 conversations a year | 7 days, no payment detailsSource | Own creditsMeta’s rates through Trengo credits; markup not statedSource |
| WassengerProfessional planOur product | $39.90/mo | $33.25/mo | 3, no extra agents (Business 6; Enterprise 9, +$14 each) | 7 days, no card | At Meta’s ratesMeta bills you directly; Wassenger adds no markup |
| WatiGrowth plan | $69/mo | $59/mo | 3, no extra users | 7 days | Own rate cardDoes not say whether it includes a markup |
| ZokoStarter plan | $49.99/mo+ $0.015 per conversation | Not published | Unlimited agents | 7 days | With a markupMeta’s rate card plus $0.015 per conversation on Starter |
- respond.io: Starter has no broadcasts, workflows or API; they start on Growth ($199 a month, or $159 a month paying yearly). Businesses in Spain are offered special pricing through sales, with no figure shown. Meta’s fees are paid from a prepaid balance in respond.io; a 5.5% Stripe fee normally applies to each top-up and is waived from 1 October 2026 until further notice.
- Each platform’s name links to the pricing page its figures were read on; “Source” marks a figure taken from another page.
- Prices in US dollars. From Spain, Wati, Wassenger and Trengo show euros; Callbell offers them in a selector.
- Only Zoko mentions tax (“Estimates exclude taxes”); no other page says whether prices include VAT.
- Plans change: check the provider’s page before you buy.
What all of them add: Meta’s message fees
All ten run on the official WhatsApp Business API, so Meta charges per message on top of any subscription. The rate depends on the message category and the country of the person you write to. Since 1 October 2026 service replies are charged too, after the first 1,000 free a month per number.
What changes from one provider to another is how those fees reach you. The table uses four labels:
- At Meta’s rates
- Both say Meta’s fees reach you with no markup: respond.io from a prepaid balance; with Wassenger, Meta bills you directly.
- With a markup
- The provider adds its own charge: Gallabox, without saying how much, and Zoko, $0.015 per conversation on Starter.
- Own rate card
- The provider charges from its own table, without a clear statement on markup: Wati, SleekFlow, AiSensy and Interakt.
- Own credits
- The provider charges through its own credits or wallet and does not say whether there is a markup: Trengo and Callbell.
What each one is for, and what to check
One line on how each provider presents itself, and the terms that change the price once you look closer.
AiSensy
- Built for
- WhatsApp marketing: broadcasts, retargeting and a shared inbox
- Check before choosing
- The AI Chat Agent is a $50/month add-on. The 14-day trial is in its help centre, not on the pricing page.
Callbell
- Built for
- Support teams answering several channels from one inbox
- Check before choosing
- Billed every quarter, every six months (5% off) or yearly (15% off). Broadcasts cost $0.02 per message sent.
Gallabox
- Built for
- Sales teams capturing and qualifying leads on WhatsApp, Instagram and web
- Check before choosing
- Its page promises a 25% yearly saving on the billing switch and 20% in the FAQ.
Interakt
- Built for
- WhatsApp and Instagram automation
- Check before choosing
- Starter with WhatsApp is billed per quarter ($69) or year ($239); the $12 monthly Starter covers Instagram only.
SleekFlow
- Built for
- AI agents on WhatsApp and other chat channels
- Check before choosing
- Essential has no broadcasts or AI agents, and is “currently rolling out by country”. Pro is $139 a month, or $109 a month paying yearly.
Trengo
- Built for
- Larger teams wanting one AI inbox for every channel
- Check before choosing
- Broadcasting is a paid add-on with no published price, and each conversation its AI handles adds a fee. In euros: €349 a month, or €299 a month paying yearly.
Wassenger
Our product- Built for
- Teams that work on WhatsApp only: shared inbox, AI assistant, campaigns and API
- Check before choosing
- This is our product. WhatsApp only, no other channels. Professional stores up to 5,000 contacts and allows 10 campaigns a month, at most 1 a day, of up to 500 recipients each. From Spain the page shows euros (€39.90 and €33.25).
Wati
- Built for
- WhatsApp campaigns and a team inbox, with Shopify tools
- Check before choosing
- Growth includes 15,000 broadcasts and 10,000 API calls a month, and no webhooks. From Spain the page shows euros (€69 and €59).
Zoko
- Built for
- Shopify brands
- Check before choosing
- Sign-up is only via “Install on Shopify”. Its header says “no markup” while the Starter card lists “Markup on all conversations”.
How we built this comparison
- Sources
- Each figure comes from the provider’s official pricing page or help centre, read on 26 October 2026 from Spain. No review sites, no estimates. Wassenger’s contact limits come from our own plan settings, which our pricing page does not list.
- The same measure for everyone
- The cheapest plan you can pay month to month, and what it costs paying yearly. Where a page publishes something else, the table says what.
- No totals
- We do not add up a monthly bill. Per-person minimums, quarterly billing and fees per conversation make any total depend on your team and your volume.
- Our place in the list
- Wassenger is our product. It appears in alphabetical order and under the same rules as the rest.
- Corrections
- If a figure has changed, tell us and we will update it.
respond.io alternatives: common questions
What is the cheapest respond.io alternative?
By the lowest price you can pay month to month on 26 October 2026: Wassenger Professional at $39.90 with 3 people and no extra agents, AiSensy Basic at $45 with an owner and 5 agents, and Zoko Starter at $49.99 plus $0.015 per conversation, with sign-up through Shopify. respond.io Starter is $99 with 5 people and no broadcasts. Interakt’s Starter with WhatsApp costs less but is billed per quarter ($69) or year ($239), and Callbell charges $15 per person a month, paid per quarter, with a minimum of three. Compare them at your own team size and message volume.
Which respond.io alternatives also cover other channels?
Trengo and SleekFlow list the widest mix, from email and SMS to Instagram, Messenger and live chat. Callbell adds Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok and web chat; Wati adds Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and a web widget; Gallabox adds Instagram and a web widget; Zoko adds Instagram and Messenger; Interakt adds Instagram. Wassenger is WhatsApp only, and AiSensy’s pricing page lists no other channel. respond.io itself covers chat channels, email and calls.
Do these alternatives charge by contacts, like respond.io?
respond.io’s Growth and Advanced plans start with 1,000 monthly active contacts and charge $12 or $15 per 100 more; its Starter has no contact limit. SleekFlow’s Essential card says it starts with 500 monthly active contacts, though its comparison table says “Unlimited”. Trengo’s Boost includes 6,000 conversations a year, and Zoko adds $0.015 per conversation on Starter. Wassenger counts stored contacts, not active ones: up to 5,000 on Professional, 20,000 on Business and no limit on Enterprise. Check the limits of the plan you pick against your own volume.
Which respond.io alternatives say they do not mark up Meta’s fees?
respond.io itself says it has “no usage markups or hidden fees”, and Wassenger says “you’re billed by Meta at cost”. Zoko uses Meta’s rate card but adds $0.015 per conversation on Starter, and Gallabox states a markup without saying how much. Interakt’s FAQ says it bills them “without any surcharge”, though its table shows “No Markup Charges” only on Enterprise; AiSensy says its credits “are charged directly by Meta” but publishes its own rate sheet. Wati and SleekFlow use their own rate cards; Trengo and Callbell, their own credits.
Can I keep my WhatsApp number when I leave respond.io?
It depends on who owns the WhatsApp Business Account the number is in. If it is in your own Meta Business Manager, it can move to another provider. Ask respond.io to confirm and export what you want to keep first.
Why does this page not show a total monthly cost?
Because the terms differ too much to add up fairly: some plans charge per person with a minimum, some bill only per quarter or year, and some add a fee per conversation or to host the number. Use the table to shortlist two or three, then price them at your team size and message volume.
Try Wassenger on your own workflow
Seven days without a card. Check the shared inbox, one automation and the plan you need before moving a live number.
Compare one to one
Wassenger against one platform, feature by feature.