Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up through them, The Gantry may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I would use on a client project.
In the respond.io vs WATI decision, WATI is the better fit for teams of up to three people who mainly sell and support on WhatsApp: from Singapore, S$119 a month billed yearly buys a shared inbox, broadcasts and Shopify order messages. respond.io is the better fit for five or more people working leads across WhatsApp, email, Instagram and calls, but its US$79 Starter plan has no broadcasts or workflows, so the fair match is respond.io Growth (US$159 a month billed yearly, 10 users) against WATI Pro (S$329, 5 users). Whichever you pick, Meta's message charges come on top; the free WhatsApp API cost calculator adds them to the plan fee for you.
Part of The Gantry's automation guides. Prices checked from Singapore on 6 October 2026.
WATI is the only affiliate link on this page, so weigh my view accordingly; every other platform gets its genuine wins below.
Quick verdict: which WhatsApp platform fits which team?
WATI: best for 1 to 5 people running WhatsApp broadcasts, Shopify order messages and a shared inbox, billed in S$.
respond.io: best for sales teams of 5 to 10 or more working leads across many channels, with HubSpot or Salesforce.
SleekFlow: best for Singapore retail and services teams wanting AI agents, broadcasts and Shopify on the entry plan, billed in S$.
Gallabox: best for lead-qualification teams that need 6 users and HubSpot for less than most rivals.
AiSensy: best for broadcast-heavy teams on the tightest budget, with 5 agent seats from US$45 a month.
Gupshup: best for developers and high volumes: no plan fee on self-serve, US$0.001 per message.
Omnichat: best for retail brands that need LINE, WeChat and SHOPLINE alongside WhatsApp.
WATI vs respond.io: what is the real difference?
WATI is built around WhatsApp marketing and e-commerce messaging; respond.io is built around routing conversations from many channels to a sales team.
WATI, a WhatsApp Business API platform with a shared team inbox, broadcasts and chatbots, starts with campaigns: promotions to opted-in customers, abandoned-cart recovery, order confirmations. Its inbox also takes Facebook, Instagram and TikTok messages.
respond.io, a conversation management platform for sales and support teams, starts with the inbox: chats from WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, LINE, WeChat, email, website chat and VoIP calls land in one place, get assigned and move through lifecycle stages.
WATI vs respond.io pricing and features in 2026
WATI is cheaper for up to 3 users and bills in S$; respond.io includes more users per dollar from its Growth plan up, billed in US$.
WATI
Best for: small teams whose customers live on WhatsApp, especially Shopify sellers.
Price from: Growth S$119 a month billed yearly (S$1,428 a year) or S$159 monthly; Pro S$329 a month billed yearly (S$3,948 a year) or S$429 monthly; Business on quote.
Users: Growth 3, with no extra users allowed; Pro 5, extra users S$35 a month each.
Strengths: 15,000 broadcasts a month on Growth, unlimited on Pro; WhatsApp catalogue and Shopify abandoned-cart and order templates from Growth; help with the official API and green tick; 7-day free trial, no setup fee.
Limits: Growth has 2 commerce or CRM integrations, 10,000 API calls a month, no webhooks and 1,000 automation triggers. HubSpot needs Pro, Salesforce needs Business, and the Astra AI agents are an add-on priced separately.
Singapore notes: WATI's Singapore page bills in S$; messages are charged from WATI's rate card.
respond.io
Best for: teams of 5 or more handling sales conversations on several channels.
Price from (US$, all plans): Starter US$79 a month billed yearly (US$948) or US$99 monthly; Growth US$159 yearly (US$1,908) or US$199 monthly; Advanced US$279 yearly (US$3,348) or US$349 monthly; Enterprise on quote.
Users: Starter 5 (extra US$12 a month yearly, US$15 monthly); Growth 10 (US$20 or US$25); Advanced 10 (US$24 or US$30).
Contacts: Starter has unlimited monthly active contacts; Growth starts with 1,000, then US$12 per 100 extra on demand; Advanced US$15 per 100.
Strengths: the widest channel list here; lifecycle stages and team inboxes on every plan; Growth adds workflows, AI agents, broadcasts, HubSpot, Zapier, Make, n8n and the developer API; Advanced adds Salesforce and webhooks. respond.io's blog says it passes Meta's rates through without markup.
Limits: Starter has no broadcasts, workflows, AI agents, HubSpot or API. Shopify is a chat widget; order and contact sync goes through Make, n8n or Zapier.
Singapore notes: billed in US dollars, so your cost moves with the exchange rate.
Worked example: the same team on each platform
WATI wins for small teams, respond.io from about 4 users. An illustration at list prices, yearly billing, S$1.28 to the US dollar (mid-market, 6 October 2026). Meta's message charges are left out: the underlying rates are the same on both.
2 people, Shopify store, monthly promotions: respond.io Starter cannot broadcast, so the match is Growth: US$1,908 × 1.28 = S$2,442.24 a year. WATI Growth is S$1,428. WATI is S$1,014.24 a year cheaper.
4 people, HubSpot needed: WATI Growth stops at 3 users and has no HubSpot, so it is Pro at S$3,948 a year. respond.io Growth is S$2,442.24. respond.io is S$1,505.76 a year cheaper, while you stay under 1,000 active contacts a month.
10 people across channels: WATI Pro with 5 extra users is S$329 + (5 × S$35) = S$504 a month. respond.io Growth includes 10 users for US$159, about S$203.52. respond.io is about S$300 a month cheaper.
Two caveats. At 1,500 active contacts in a month, respond.io adds US$12 × 5 = US$60. And on respond.io, Shopify order messages need a Make or n8n scenario; WATI ships them as templates.
WATI vs Gallabox
Gallabox wins once you need 6 users and HubSpot; WATI wins at entry level, with monthly billing and S$ pricing.
Price from (shown in ₹, US$ and AED; quarterly or yearly billing, no monthly): Basic US$112 a month billed yearly or US$150 billed quarterly (₹2,399 or ₹2,999); Essential US$248 yearly or US$331 quarterly; Advanced US$474 or US$632.
Users: Basic 3 (hard cap); Essential 6, extra US$18; Advanced 10, extra US$24.
Strengths: Basic includes chatbot flows, WhatsApp, Instagram and a web widget, and Shopify, Stripe and Zoho Books integrations. Essential adds HubSpot, the full API, webhooks and AI agents on WhatsApp and Instagram. Free trial, no card.
Limits: Basic has only the message and contact API and no webhooks; Salesforce and Pipedrive need Advanced.
Essential (about S$317.44 a month) gives 6 users and HubSpot; WATI Pro is S$329 for 5. At 3 users, WATI Growth (S$119) beats Gallabox Basic (about S$143.36).
WATI vs AiSensy
AiSensy is the cheaper broadcast tool; WATI includes more chat automation and Shopify templates in the plan price.
AiSensy shows rupee prices on its main page and US dollars on its USD page.
Price from: Free Forever (API and green-tick application, no broadcasting); Basic US$45 a month, or US$486 a year; Pro US$99 a month, or US$1,069.20 a year; Premium US$299 a month.
Users: 5 agent seats on Basic and Pro, 9 on Premium; unlimited contacts.
Strengths: lowest entry price here; prepaid message credits cap your spend; Click-to-WhatsApp ads manager on every plan.
Limits: the chatbot builder is a US$80 a month add-on and the AI agent builder US$50; webhooks start on Premium.
For a team that mainly broadcasts, AiSensy Basic at about S$57.60 a month is hard to beat; with the chatbot add-on it costs more than WATI Growth.
respond.io vs SleekFlow
respond.io gives you more users and channels per dollar; SleekFlow puts broadcasts, AI agents and Shopify on its entry plan and bills Singapore customers in S$.
SleekFlow price from: Pro S$199 a month billed yearly (S$2,388) or S$269 monthly, with 3 users and 500 monthly active contacts; Premium S$479 yearly (S$5,748) or S$549 monthly, with 5 users and 1,000 contacts. A WhatsApp number costs S$19 a month on top.
SleekFlow strengths: Pro includes AI agents, an omnichannel inbox for chat, email and calls, broadcasts, a flow builder, and Shopify, Google Sheets and API integrations. Human chat support in APAC hours from Premium. 7-day trial, no card.
SleekFlow limits: HubSpot, Zoho and webhooks need Premium; Salesforce needs Enterprise.
respond.io Growth (about S$203.52 a month, 10 users) and SleekFlow Pro (S$199, 3 users) cost about the same. A 3-person retail team sending promotions gets more from SleekFlow Pro; a 10-person sales team with HubSpot gets far more from respond.io Growth than from SleekFlow Premium at S$479.
WATI vs Gupshup
Gupshup, a conversational messaging platform with a self-serve WhatsApp API, suits developers; WATI suits staff who need an inbox tomorrow.
Gupshup's self-serve page charges US$0.001 per message (outgoing templates, and incoming and outgoing session messages), with Meta's fees billed at actuals and no plan fee listed. 10,000 messages a month cost US$10 in Gupshup fees. Enterprise features are on quote. You get an API, not an inbox: someone builds the logic, or connects a tool such as n8n.
SleekFlow vs Omnichat
SleekFlow wins on transparent pricing and monthly billing; Omnichat wins for brands that sell on LINE, WeChat and SHOPLINE.
Omnichat, an omnichannel chat-commerce platform with Hong Kong and Southeast Asia sites, quotes every plan privately: Basic (10,000 contacts, 3 users), Pro (25,000 contacts, 3 users), Enterprise (100,000 contacts, 10 users) and Customisation. Billing is annual only, with a 14-day free trial. It covers WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, WeChat, LINE and live chat, and integrates with Shopify, Magento, SHOPLINE, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and SAP. Plan fees exclude WhatsApp and LINE API charges.
Is the WhatsApp Business API free?
No. Meta charges per delivered template message, by category and the customer's country, on top of every platform above.
What changed this month: Gupshup's pricing page says Meta charges for service messages (your replies inside the 24-hour window) from 1 October 2026, and Gupshup and AiSensy say the first 1,000 a month per number stay free. Meta's own WhatsApp Business pricing page still called those replies free on 6 October 2026, so check your October invoice.
How each platform bills messages:
WATI and SleekFlow: from their own rate cards.
respond.io: Meta bills you; respond.io says it adds no markup.
Gupshup: Meta's fee plus US$0.001 per message.
AiSensy: prepaid conversation credits.
Gallabox and Omnichat: separate from the plan fee.
Singapore's per-category rates and a worked monthly bill are in WhatsApp Business API pricing. Run your own numbers in the free WhatsApp API cost calculator.
WATI or respond.io: my recommendation
1 to 3 people, WhatsApp-first, promotions and Shopify: WATI Growth. Start the 7-day WATI trial with your real number.
4 to 5 people who need Shopify templates and unlimited broadcasts: WATI Pro. If you want a walkthrough first, book a WATI demo.
5 or more people, several channels, HubSpot: respond.io Growth.
Retail team of 3 wanting AI agents and Shopify, billed in S$: SleekFlow Pro.
Lowest price for broadcasts: AiSensy. 6 users with HubSpot: Gallabox Essential.
Automated messages from your own systems, no inbox: Gupshup or Meta's Cloud API with n8n. More options in WATI alternatives.
Not sure which one fits your team, or whether you need the API at all? Book a free 20-minute WhatsApp setup check. Bring your team size, monthly chats and your apps; I will tell you which plan fits, or whether the free WhatsApp Business app is still enough.
Stuck on a step? Tell me where you're stuck and you'll get the fix, or a free 20-minute review if it's worth one.
Frequently asked questions
Is respond.io better than WATI? For multi-channel sales teams of 5 or more, yes: Growth includes 10 users, workflows and HubSpot for US$159 a month billed yearly. For small WhatsApp-first teams running promotions and Shopify messages, WATI is simpler and cheaper.
Is WhatsApp Business API free? No. Meta charges per delivered template message by category and country, and Meta partners say replies beyond 1,000 a month per number are charged from 1 October 2026. Your platform's plan fee comes on top.
What is the cost for WhatsApp Business API? A platform plan (from S$119 a month on WATI, US$79 on respond.io, US$45 on AiSensy, or US$0.001 per message on Gupshup) plus Meta's per-message charges. Our pricing guide works through a Singapore month.
Does respond.io Starter include broadcasts? No. Broadcasts, workflows, AI agents and HubSpot start on Growth, according to respond.io's pricing page.
Related guides
WATI alternatives · WhatsApp Business API pricing · WhatsApp CRM for small business · WhatsApp orders into a sheet with n8n · Google Sheets lead automation
Sources
All checked on 6 October 2026, from Singapore.
WATI Singapore pricing: wati.io/en-sg/pricing
respond.io pricing: respond.io/pricing
respond.io Shopify integration: respond.io/integrations/shopify
respond.io on message fees: WhatsApp pricing change 2026
SleekFlow Singapore pricing: sleekflow.io/en-sg/pricing
Gallabox pricing: gallabox.com/pricing
AiSensy pricing: aisensy.com/pricing and aisensy.com/pricing/usd
Gupshup self-serve pricing: gupshup.ai WhatsApp API pricing
Omnichat pricing and integrations: omnichat.ai/pricing and omnichat.ai/customer-service
Want this handled properly? I do a free 20-minute systems review. No pitch, just your questions answered.
I'm Sayed. I work closely with business owners to automate their operations and build workflows that actually make sense. I write The Gantry about ERP and automation for SMEs.