Wati vs Interakt: which is better for an online store selling on WhatsApp?

Interakt and Wati are both official WhatsApp Business API platforms, and both court ecommerce brands. They differ in one way that decides most bills: Interakt does not charge per user, and Wati does. This guide is for store owners and ecommerce managers choosing between them, with a cost table by team size and a message bill for a typical month.

By Ritchie, ReplyKit · Published 25 October 2026 · 7 min read

What is each one built around?

Interakt is built around selling: catalogs, carts, checkout inside WhatsApp, Shopify recovery flows and campaigns. Wati is built around the conversation: a multichannel team inbox with routing, chatbots, integrations and an AI agent. Both send broadcasts and both run on Meta's official platform with per-message charges.

That difference shows up in pricing too. Interakt gives every plan unlimited agents, so it charges for features, not people. Wati includes 3 users on Growth and 5 on Pro and Business, then charges per extra user. For a store with a large customer service team, that single line can matter more than everything else on this page.

A store owner's feature checklist

On Interakt, the commerce features start on Growth. On Wati, ecommerce tools start on Growth too, but the Shopify integration is a paid add-on. Here is what each plan includes for the jobs an online store actually does, from each vendor's pricing page in October 2026.

Read the rows as a direction rather than a final answer: both vendors change plan contents often, and Interakt's pricing page notes that a free trial is available on every plan, which is the best way to check a feature you depend on. Our WhatsApp ecommerce guide covers which of these jobs move revenue for small stores.

What does each cost as your team grows?

The more people answer chats, the further Interakt pulls ahead on fixed cost. Here are monthly plan prices in US dollars on monthly billing, with and without each vendor's AI agent, before message charges.

Interakt AI agents are $74.99 a month as an add-on to Growth or Advanced. Wati lists Astra as a separately priced add-on on Pro, so the AI columns use Pro even for small teams. Wati's yearly prices are lower ($59 Growth, $119 Pro) and Interakt's yearly discount is 20%, so the gap holds on annual billing too.

In rupees, Interakt is ₹999 for Starter, ₹2,499 for Growth and ₹3,499 for Advanced a month, plus GST, or ₹9,588, ₹23,988 and ₹33,588 a year. Wati shows each country its own price list; our Wati pricing guide has the rupee figures from earlier this month, from about ₹2,999 a month for Growth.

How do per-message rates compare for Indian numbers?

Interakt publishes its rates, and they fall slightly as you move up a plan. Wati bills from its own rate card. Meta's list rate is the floor for both, because neither can charge below what Meta charges them.

Take a hypothetical home decor store that sends 10,000 marketing messages, 5,000 order updates and 3,000 service replies in a month (2,000 of them billable after the free 1,000). On Interakt Growth that is ₹9,580 plus ₹750 plus ₹256, so ₹10,586 in message charges. At Meta's list rates the same month is ₹8,631 plus ₹575 plus ₹230, so ₹9,436. The difference, about ₹1,150 a month, is what any provider's margin looks like at this volume. Ask Wati for its rate card and run the same three lines.

Since 1 October 2026 utility templates are charged even inside the 24-hour window, which hits stores hardest: every order confirmation and shipping update is now a paid message. Our API pricing explainer covers the rules in full.

How do the AI add-ons differ?

For a store, the practical question is volume. A store answering 4,000 product questions a month by AI would use about 4,000 Astra credits, inside the Pro allowance. On Interakt's rupee card, 4,000 AI messages would cost ₹2,499 plus about 3,900 × $0.011, roughly $43 more. On the $74.99 add-on, check the allowance with Interakt before you rely on it.

Which one should you choose?

Choose Interakt if you are an Indian D2C brand on Shopify or WooCommerce, your team is more than three people, and recovering carts and converting cash-on-delivery orders matter more than inbox polish. Choose Wati if your WhatsApp is mostly customer support across several channels, you want routing and reports, you use HubSpot, or you want an AI agent that also answers on your website and by voice.

If you are weighing Interakt against another commerce tool, our Gallabox vs Interakt comparison looks at the AI-first alternative.

Where ReplyKit fits, and where it does not

For most online stores, ReplyKit is not the right main tool. We make it, so take that as an honest limit: ReplyKit does not send campaigns, broadcasts or abandoned cart messages, has no Shopify app and takes no payments in chat. It answers people who message you first, from your product catalogue CSV, price lists and website, in 30+ languages, and hands a chat to you in one click.

Where it can fit is a small store whose WhatsApp is mostly questions: sizes, stock, delivery times. It connects by QR code as a linked device, which is unofficial and not sanctioned by Meta, so a number can be restricted; use a spare or dedicated number. Plans start at $29 a month with no Meta fees; compare the plans or start a 7-day free trial with no card. Our guide to AI agents for online shops covers that use case.

Frequently asked questions

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.