AiSensy vs Gupshup: should an Indian business choose a dashboard or an API?
AiSensy and Gupshup both sell the official WhatsApp Business API in India, but they hand it to you in very different shapes. AiSensy gives you a dashboard your staff can use today; Gupshup's self-serve plan gives you an API priced per message. This guide is for small and mid-sized businesses deciding which shape fits, starting with whether you have, or need, a developer.
Quick answer
Choose AiSensy if you want to send campaigns and answer chats from a dashboard without a developer: Free Forever to start, Basic at ₹1,500 a month, ₹1.09 per marketing message in India. Choose Gupshup if a developer will build on its API: no plan fee, $0.001 per message in either direction, and Meta's charges at actual cost. Gupshup also sells enterprise AI agents, SMS and RCS through sales.
Is this really a choice between a dashboard and an API?
For most small businesses, yes. AiSensy's product is the dashboard: campaigns, segments, a live chat inbox, chatbot flows and an ads manager, with the WhatsApp API underneath. Gupshup's self-serve product is the API itself: it sends and receives messages for a tiny fee, and you or a developer decide everything else. Gupshup also has a much larger enterprise business, with AI agents, voice agents, SMS, RCS and Instagram, sold through its sales team.
Gupshup describes itself as a conversational AI platform and says it serves more than 50,000 customers and handles over 120 billion messages a year (its own figures). AiSensy focuses on WhatsApp marketing for Indian businesses. Both are official providers on Meta's platform, so Meta's rules and per-message fees apply either way; our guide to getting API access explains the setup steps both follow.
Do you need a developer? Answer these six questions
Count your "yes" answers. Four or more means Gupshup's API is a realistic option; two or fewer means a dashboard like AiSensy will serve you better.
- Do you have a developer on staff or on retainer who has time for this?
- Do you want WhatsApp messages to flow into your own app, CRM or order system?
- Will you send more than about 100,000 messages a month in the next year?
- Do you also need SMS or RCS from the same provider?
- Are you comfortable owning hosting, monitoring and fixes when Meta changes its rules?
- Do you prefer paying per message over a fixed monthly plan?
Most shops, clinics, coaching centres and agencies answer "no" to the first two, and that alone settles it.
How are the prices built?
| Cost line | AiSensy | Gupshup self-serve |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Free Forever ₹0; Basic ₹1,500; Pro ₹3,200; Premium ₹9,100 a month (10% off yearly) | None |
| Fee per message | None beyond the message rate | $0.001 per template; $0.001 per session message, incoming and outgoing |
| Marketing message to India | ₹1.09 | Meta's rate at actuals (₹0.8631 on Meta's rupee card) plus $0.001 |
| Utility or service to India | ₹0.145 (service after 1,000 free) | Meta's rate at actuals (₹0.115) plus $0.001 |
| Incoming customer message | Free | $0.001 |
| Media | Included | Free above 64KB |
| Chatbot builder | Chatbot Flows add-on, ₹2,500 a month | Build it, or ask sales |
| AI agent | Add-on, ₹1,350 a month for 1,000 AI messages | Build it, or ask sales |
AiSensy figures from its rupee pricing page, Gupshup's from its self-serve WhatsApp pricing page, and Meta's from its rupee rate card effective 1 October 2026. AiSensy's rates sit about 26% above Meta's list; Gupshup bills Meta's part at cost and adds its own flat fee. More detail: AiSensy pricing and Gupshup pricing.
What does a Kochi travel agency pay on each?
A hypothetical travel agency in Kochi receives 1,200 customer messages a month, sends 1,200 replies (200 billable after Meta's free 1,000), 300 booking confirmations (utility) and a festive offer to 2,000 opted-in past customers (marketing).
| Line | AiSensy Basic | Gupshup self-serve |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | ₹1,500 | None |
| Gupshup fee on 4,700 messages in and out | None | $4.70 |
| 2,000 marketing messages | × ₹1.09 = ₹2,180 | × ₹0.8631 = ₹1,726.20 |
| 200 service and 300 utility messages | 500 × ₹0.145 = ₹72.50 | 500 × ₹0.115 = ₹57.50 |
| Cash per month | ₹3,752.50 | ₹1,783.70 plus $4.70, plus building and running the tools |
Gupshup roughly halves the cash cost, but the agency would need someone to build a way for staff to read and reply, send the campaign, manage opt-outs and handle templates. A small agency without a developer will spend more on that than the roughly ₹1,950 a month it saves. With a developer already on payroll, the saving is real and grows with volume. Before 1 October 2026, service replies were free; now they are charged after the first 1,000, which our API pricing explainer covers.
What about very low volume?
If you only answer inbound chats and send no campaigns, both are close to free, in different ways.
| Inbound-only month | AiSensy Free Forever | Gupshup self-serve |
|---|---|---|
| 800 messages in, 800 replies out | ₹0 (replies within the free 1,000) | 1,600 × $0.001 = $1.60 |
| 1,200 in, 1,200 out | 200 × ₹0.145 = ₹29 | $2.40 plus 200 × ₹0.115 = ₹23 |
| Who answers? | Your staff in AiSensy's live chat dashboard | Whatever your developer builds |
AiSensy's free plan also includes ₹50 of conversation credit and help applying for the verified badge. It does not include broadcasting, so the first campaign means moving to a paid plan.
What do you give up on each?
Choosing AiSensy, you give up
- About a quarter on every message, compared with Meta's list price.
- Deep custom integration with your own systems.
- SMS and RCS from the same provider.
- Enterprise scale features that Gupshup sells.
Choosing Gupshup self-serve, you give up
- A ready inbox, campaign tool and chatbot builder.
- Free incoming messages: Gupshup charges $0.001 for each.
- A fixed, predictable monthly bill.
- Staff being able to start without a developer.
How do you add AI on each?
On AiSensy, AI is a box you tick: the AI agent add-on costs ₹1,350 a month (₹1,215 yearly), includes 1,000 AI messages plus 500 free for testing, and answers from a knowledge base you upload, with long-term memory and tool calling. On Gupshup self-serve, AI is a project: your developer connects an AI model of your choice to the API, writes the prompts and fallbacks, and pays the model provider separately. Gupshup's own AI agents are part of its enterprise offer, priced through sales. Either way, every AI reply on WhatsApp is also a service message that Meta charges after the first 1,000 a month.
Our pick for each kind of business
| Business | Pick |
|---|---|
| Shop, clinic, coaching centre or agency with no developer | AiSensy |
| Business testing WhatsApp before spending anything | AiSensy Free Forever |
| Startup building WhatsApp into its own app | Gupshup self-serve |
| Large brand needing WhatsApp, SMS and RCS with AI agents | Gupshup enterprise |
| Growing brand comparing dashboards | Also read AiSensy vs Interakt and Wati vs Gupshup |
If you want neither campaigns nor code
Some businesses want WhatsApp questions answered by AI without a developer and without running campaigns. We make ReplyKit for that, so weigh our view accordingly. It answers WhatsApp and website chats from your own content, books appointments and hands chats to you in one click, from $29 a month with AI included and no Meta fees. It is not the official API: it connects by QR code as a linked device, which is unofficial and not sanctioned by Meta, so a number can be restricted, and we recommend a dedicated number. It has no broadcasts, SMS or API for developers. If that is fine, see the plans or try it free for 7 days.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gupshup cheaper than AiSensy?
In cash, usually yes. Gupshup's self-serve API has no plan fee, charges $0.001 per message and passes Meta's charges at cost, while AiSensy charges a plan from ₹1,500 a month and ₹1.09 per marketing message. But Gupshup self-serve needs a developer to build the tools your staff would use.
Can a non-technical business use Gupshup?
Through Gupshup's enterprise offer, with its team's help, yes. The self-serve plan is an API and is realistic only with a developer. Non-technical small businesses usually find a dashboard such as AiSensy quicker to run.
Does Gupshup charge for incoming messages?
Yes, on the self-serve plan. Gupshup's $0.001 fee applies to session messages in both directions. Meta does not charge for messages customers send you, and AiSensy does not either.
Is AiSensy really free?
AiSensy's Free Forever plan costs nothing and includes the WhatsApp API, a live chat inbox and ₹50 of credit, but no broadcasting. Meta's per-message charges still apply to billable messages beyond the free allowances.
Which is better for WhatsApp marketing in India?
For most small and mid-sized businesses, AiSensy, because campaigns, segments, retargeting and click tracking work from a dashboard. Gupshup suits very high volumes or brands with developers, where its lower per-message cost adds up.
Do both use the official WhatsApp Business API?
Yes. Both are official providers on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform, so templates need Meta's approval, the 24-hour service window applies, and Meta's per-message fees apply on both.
No developer, no campaigns, just answers?
ReplyKit answers WhatsApp and website enquiries and books appointments from $29 a month. 7-day free trial, no credit card.
Sources and further reading
- AiSensy, pricing (India) · rupee plans, add-ons, per-message rates and Free Forever plan contents
- Gupshup, WhatsApp API self-serve pricing · $0.001 per message fee in both directions, media and voice pricing, Meta fees at actuals
- Gupshup, homepage · channels, AI agents and the company's customer and message volume claims
- Meta, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing · rupee rate card effective 1 October 2026 and the 1,000 free service messages
ReplyKit is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta or WhatsApp. Prices for other vendors are taken from their public pricing pages as checked in October 2026 and may change. This article is general guidance, not financial advice.