Wati vs respond.io: which costs less for your support team?
Wati and respond.io both give a team one inbox for WhatsApp and other channels on the official API, with AI agents and automation. They price on different meters: Wati by users, respond.io by the number of people you talk to each month. This guide shows which meter favors your team, with four team shapes priced on both.
Quick answer
respond.io is usually cheaper for large teams with a modest number of customers: Growth is $199 a month ($159 yearly) for 10 users and 1,000 monthly active contacts, AI agents included. Wati is usually cheaper for small teams talking to many customers: Pro is $149 a month for 5 users, and its AI agent, Astra, adds $99. Meta's message fees apply to both.
How do Wati and respond.io charge differently?
Wati charges for the people on your team; respond.io charges mainly for the customers you talk to. Both then add Meta's per-message charges for WhatsApp. Two definitions make the rest of this page easier.
User (Wati's meter)
A team member who logs in to the inbox. Wati includes 3 users on Growth and 5 on Pro and Business. Growth cannot add more; Pro adds users at $39 a month each and Business at $89.
Monthly active contact (respond.io's meter)
In respond.io's words, someone you have talked to over calls or chat during the billing month. One customer counts once, however many messages you exchange. Growth and Advanced start at 1,000 and rise in tiers; above your tier, respond.io bills $12 per extra 100 on Growth and $15 on Advanced.
respond.io also includes users (5 on Starter, 10 on Growth and Advanced) and charges for extras, $12, $20 or $24 a month by plan, so it has a seat meter too. It just starts much higher.
How do the plans compare side by side?
Here are the self-serve plans as each pricing page showed them in October 2026, in US dollars. respond.io's Growth and Advanced prices are at the 1,000 contact tier.
| Wati Growth | Wati Pro | respond.io Starter | respond.io Growth | respond.io Advanced | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly billing | $69 | $149 | $99 | $199 | $349 |
| Yearly billing, per month | $59 | $119 | $79 | $159 | $279 |
| Users included | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| Extra user | Not available | $39 | $12 | $20 | $24 |
| Contact limit | None | None | Not metered | 1,000, then tiers or $12 per 100 | 1,000, then tiers or $15 per 100 |
| Broadcasts | 15,000 a month | Unlimited | No | Yes | Yes |
| AI agent | No | Astra add-on, from $99 | No | Included | Included |
| Free trial | 7 days, no setup fee | 7 days, no card, Growth features for 5 users | |||
Wati's Business plan is now quoted by sales, and respond.io's Enterprise is custom with unlimited users. Neither includes WhatsApp message fees: Wati bills them from its rate card, and respond.io says Meta charges them based on your usage, paid from a WhatsApp credit balance you top up inside the platform. For the detail on each, see our respond.io pricing guide and Wati pricing guide.
Which is cheaper for your team shape?
The answer flips with the ratio of agents to customers. Here are four shapes, each wanting an AI agent on WhatsApp, on monthly billing, before message fees.
| Team shape | respond.io | Wati | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 agents, 4,000 customers a month | Growth $199 plus 30 × $12 overage = $559, or a higher contact tier | Pro $149 plus Astra $99 = $248 | Wati, clearly |
| 8 agents, 1,000 customers a month | Growth $199 | Pro $149 plus 3 users $117 plus Astra $99 = $365 | respond.io |
| 8 agents, 1,800 customers a month | Growth $199 plus 8 × $12 = $295 | $365 | respond.io, narrowly |
| 15 agents, 1,000 customers a month | Growth $199 plus 5 users $100 = $299 | Pro $149 plus 10 users $390 plus Astra $99 = $638 | respond.io, by a lot |
One caution on the overage figures: respond.io says per-100 overage is intended for temporary, seasonal spikes, so a team that is always above 1,000 should move up a contact tier. Our respond.io pricing guide lists the Growth tier for 2,500 contacts at about $299 a month on monthly billing, close to the overage maths above. Check the current tier price on respond.io's page before you commit.
A quick way to estimate your own contacts: count the unique people who messaged your business last month across every channel, then add everyone you sent a broadcast to. A broadcast recipient is a contact you talked to, so campaigns raise a respond.io bill but not a Wati one.
A worked bill: a Singapore support team
A hypothetical home appliance retailer in Singapore runs an eight-person support desk. About 1,800 customers contact it each month; the team and AI send 6,000 replies (5,000 billable after Meta's free 1,000 per number) and 800 order update templates. Meta's Singapore rate for utility and service messages is $0.016 each.
| Line, per month | respond.io Growth | Wati Pro with Astra |
|---|---|---|
| Plan and users | $199 (10 users included) | $149 plus 3 × $39 = $266 |
| Contacts above 1,000 | 8 × $12 = $96 | Not metered |
| AI agent | Included, AI credits from 10,000 | Astra Pro $99, 5,000 credits |
| 5,800 billable WhatsApp messages | 5,800 × $0.016 = $92.80 | At least $92.80, per Wati rate card |
| Total | $387.80 | At least $457.80 |
respond.io comes out about $70 a month cheaper here. Halve the team to four agents and Wati drops to $149 plus $99 plus messages, about $341, while respond.io stays at $387.80. That is the whole comparison in two lines. For local rules on consent and data in Singapore, our Singapore automation guide covers the PDPA basics.
AI agents: included or added?
respond.io includes AI Agents on Growth and above, drawing on AI credits that also power AI Assist and AI Summary; above the allowance, extra credits cost $15 per 1,000, capped at 200% of the allowance. Its Starter plan has no AI agents. Wati sells Astra separately: a free tier for the web widget, Pro at $99 a month with 5,000 credits and WhatsApp, Business at $399 with 25,000. A simple Astra text reply uses 1 credit. In both tools, every AI reply on WhatsApp is also a Meta service message, so it counts toward the 1,000 free and is charged after that.
Where is each one stronger?
respond.io
- Larger teams: 10 users included and cheap extra seats.
- AI agents, workflows and broadcasts in one Growth plan.
- Calls and chat in one inbox, plus webhooks and HTTP requests in workflows on Advanced.
- A trial that includes Growth features.
Wati
- Predictable cost when you talk to many customers, because contacts are not metered.
- Cheaper entry for teams of three to five.
- Ecommerce tools: catalog, Shopify templates, checkout integrations.
- An AI agent that also runs on your website, with a free web tier.
Choosing in one minute
- Count your agents. More than eight points to respond.io.
- Count last month's unique customers, plus broadcast recipients. Well over 1,000 with a small team points to Wati.
- Decide whether you need AI now. If yes, respond.io Growth includes it; on Wati add $99.
- Price both with your real numbers using the tables above, then run each free trial on real chats for a week.
If you are also weighing respond.io against an Instagram-first tool, see respond.io vs ManyChat.
A narrower alternative for inbound-only businesses
Both platforms suit businesses with a support team and several channels. A small business that only needs WhatsApp and website enquiries answered and booked may not need either. We make ReplyKit, so treat this as our view: it is an AI agent with one shared inbox and a simple leads CRM, from $29 a month with AI replies included, no per-user fees and no Meta fees. 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. It has no Instagram, Messenger, email, phone calls or broadcasts, so a multichannel support desk should stay with Wati or respond.io. If WhatsApp and your website are enough, see the plans or start a free trial.
Frequently asked questions
Is respond.io more expensive than Wati?
It depends on your team. respond.io's Growth plan at $199 a month includes 10 users and AI agents but only 1,000 monthly active contacts, so it is cheaper for large teams with few customers. Wati is cheaper for small teams talking to many customers, because it does not meter contacts.
What is a monthly active contact on respond.io?
respond.io defines it as someone you have talked to over calls or chat during the billing month. Each person counts once a month, however many messages you exchange, and broadcast recipients count because you messaged them.
Does respond.io include AI agents?
Yes, on the Growth, Advanced and Enterprise plans, powered by AI credits. The Starter plan at $99 a month does not include AI agents.
Does Wati include an AI agent?
Not in the base plans. Wati's AI agent, Astra, is sold separately from $99 a month for WhatsApp and is listed as an add-on on the Pro plan. Wati's AI Copilot credits help staff draft replies but do not answer customers on their own.
Are WhatsApp fees included in Wati or respond.io?
No. Both use the official WhatsApp Business API, so Meta's per-message charges are extra. Since 1 October 2026 that includes service replies after the first 1,000 per number each month.
Can I switch from Wati to respond.io?
Yes. Both connect to the official WhatsApp Business API, so a number can be moved between providers. Plan the move outside your busiest season and test it on respond.io's 7-day trial first.
Only need WhatsApp and website enquiries handled?
ReplyKit answers and books for small businesses from $29 a month, with no per-user or Meta fees. 7-day free trial, no credit card.
Sources and further reading
- respond.io, pricing · plans, users, extra users, AI credits, MAC definition, overage rates, trial, WhatsApp fees not included
- Wati, pricing · plans, users, extra user prices, broadcasts, rate card note, trial
- Wati, Astra pricing · AI agent tiers and credits
- Meta, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing · service message charges from 1 October 2026 and the US dollar rate card for Singapore
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.