Disclosure: Behaf is our product. It gets one short section near the end. The rest of this page compares WATI and Gupshup using what each company says on its own website, read on 16 Oct 2026, with every price re-read on 29 Oct 2026.
The short answer
WATI is a ready-to-use WhatsApp inbox, broadcast and AI agent tool with fixed plans, built for teams that want ready-made software. Gupshup is a messaging platform with a self-serve API and no monthly fee, plus a sales-led enterprise suite. Pick WATI if your team wants software to use directly. Pick Gupshup if you have developers or want an enterprise contract.
What each product is
WATI calls itself an AI-powered customer engagement platform, with the tagline "Answer every WhatsApp message" (wati.io, read 16 Oct 2026). Its homepage lists a shared Team Inbox, broadcasts, a no-code bot builder, Click-to-WhatsApp ads, Instagram automation and integrations including Shopify, WooCommerce, HubSpot and Zapier. Its AI agent product, Astra, runs on website, WhatsApp and voice, and its page says it can "speak and text fluidly in 30+ languages" (wati.io/astra).
Gupshup describes itself as a conversational AI platform for marketing, commerce and support automation (gupshup.ai, read 16 Oct 2026; gupshup.io now redirects there). The homepage leads with AI agents, its Conversation Cloud, a fine-tuned ACE LLM and an AI Co-Pilot for human agents, across WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS and RCS. Many listed use cases are in banking, insurance and lending. Separately, Gupshup runs a self-serve WhatsApp platform that its docs say is "free to set up with no billing commitment or monthly subscription fees" (docs.gupshup.io, last updated 3 Nov 2025).
Comparison table
From each vendor's own pages, docs and blog, read 16 Oct 2026. "Not listed on their pages" means we looked and did not see it, not that the product cannot do it.
| WATI | Gupshup | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Teams that want ready-made software, self-serve | Developers (self-serve API) and enterprises (sales-led) |
| How you start | Self-serve sign-up, 7-day free trial | Self-serve sign-up through Meta Embedded Sign-up; enterprise via sales |
| Monthly platform fee | Yes, three published plans | Self-serve: none. Enterprise: on request |
| Shared team inbox | Yes, users capped per plan (3, 5, 5) | Agent console and AI Co-Pilot in Conversation Cloud; not listed on the self-serve docs page |
| Broadcasts | Yes; 15,000 a month on Growth, unlimited on Pro and Business | Yes, through the API and platform |
| No-code bots | Yes, drag-and-drop | Not listed on the self-serve docs page |
| AI agent | Astra: 1, 2 or unlimited agents by plan, with monthly AI credits | AI agents, ACE LLM, Avatar Agent; pricing on request |
| Channels | WhatsApp, Instagram, web, voice | WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, RCS |
| Shopify | Paid add-on | Not listed on their pages |
| COD confirmation | Shopify COD confirmation on WhatsApp (WATI blog, 15 Oct 2026) | Not listed on their pages |
| Auto-cancel of unconfirmed COD | Not listed on their pages | Not listed on their pages |
| Courier pickup booking | Not listed on their pages | Not listed on their pages |
| Payouts to the brand | Not listed on their pages | Not listed on their pages |
| Storefront | Not listed; WATI's pages describe working alongside your own Shopify store | Not listed on their pages |
WATI publishes its own WATI vs Gupshup page. Those are a competitor's claims, so we have not used them here.
Pricing
WATI prices below were read in India view on 29 Oct 2026; Gupshup prices the same day, in USD as its page shows them.
WATI
WATI offers monthly, quarterly and annual billing; annual is cheaper (Growth ₹2,199 a month on annual against ₹2,999 billed monthly) (wati.io/pricing, read 29 Oct 2026).
- Growth (3 users, no extra seats, 1 Astra agent, 2,000 AI credits a month): ₹2,699 a month billed quarterly (₹2,999 billed monthly)
- Pro (5 users, 2 Astra agents, 5,000 AI credits): ₹5,799 a month billed quarterly (₹6,499 billed monthly)
- Business (5 users, unlimited Astra agents, 20,000 AI credits): ₹16,799 a month billed quarterly (₹18,499 billed monthly)
GST not stated on the page.
Charged on top of the plan:
- Extra users: ₹1,299 per user a month on Pro, ₹2,199 on Business (Growth allows none)
- Extra AI credits: from ₹1,600 a month
- Shopify integration: USD 4.99 a month, shown in dollars on the India page too
- Messages: WATI's page says template and service messages are charged on top, at rates that differ by message type, with a rate card per plan.
So a Surat saree brand with four people on chat cannot use Growth (3 users, no extra seats). It needs Pro, which covers five, plus message charges, AI credits if the included ones run out, and the Shopify add-on.
Gupshup
Gupshup's self-serve pricing page shows no platform fee. You pay Gupshup a small fee per message and Meta's charge on top, which Gupshup says is "billed at actuals" (gupshup.ai/pricing, read 29 Oct 2026; no INR price shown on their public page).
- Gupshup fee per template or session message: USD 0.001 per message
- Voice: USD 0.0001 per second
- Media over 64KB: listed as free (no Gupshup fee).
- Currency: USD only on the page we read.
- Enterprise: sales-led, no public price.
A Kochi spice brand with an in-house developer could build its own flows on Gupshup's API and pay mostly Meta's rates. A brand without one needs to budget for someone to build and maintain those flows.
Meta's per-message charges in India
Whichever tool you pick, Meta charges per message on top. Since 1 July 2025, Meta bills per message rather than per conversation. Per Meta's developer pricing page and its INR rate card ("effective October 1, 2026"), these are Meta's list rates, read 29 Oct 2026 (Meta developer docs):
- Marketing: ₹0.8631 per message
- Utility: ₹0.115 per message
- Authentication: ₹0.115 per message
- Service (replies inside the 24-hour window): from 1 October 2026 Meta "resumes charging for service messages". Every business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, and Meta charges from the 1,001st. Messages inside a free entry point window stay free (Meta developer docs). Gupshup's pricing page says the same: "Starting October 1, 2026, Meta will charge for Service messages".
Other points from Meta's page, unless noted:
- Messages a customer sends you are free.
- When a customer reaches you through a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button, messages in the free entry point window are free. Both Meta's page and Gupshup's say this window lasts up to 7 days.
- Meta says eligible accounts will be moved to INR billing by 31 Dec 2026.
- Meta's page does not say whether these rates include GST.
Reviews
Both products are listed on G2 and Capterra. We do not quote ratings or review counts here. Open the pages for current figures: G2 Gupshup vs WATI, Capterra WATI, G2 Gupshup, Capterra UK Gupshup.
Who should pick which
Pick WATI if you are a brand in Pune or Indore with two to five people answering WhatsApp and you want a shared inbox, broadcasts and a no-code bot builder ready on day one, with a 7-day trial. Budget for the plan, messages at WATI's rate, the Shopify add-on and extra AI credits.
Pick Gupshup if you have a developer or an implementation partner and want to pay close to Meta's own rates with no monthly subscription, or you want WhatsApp, SMS and RCS under one enterprise contract. Expect USD pricing on self-serve and a sales conversation for the enterprise suite.
Pick neither yet if what you actually need is a way to sell inside WhatsApp, not a tool to manage messages. Both run on your own WhatsApp number, and neither page we read lists a storefront, checkout or payouts to the brand (see the table above).
Where a storefront fits
Behaf is our product, so read this section with that in mind.
Behaf is AI sales for D2C brands (brands that sell straight to their buyers). Free website. Aria does the sales. The website is free: ₹0 setup, no monthly fee, and you pay only when an order ships. Aria is our AI salesperson: a brand uploads its products and the store goes live inside WhatsApp on Behaf's verified number, with no WhatsApp Business API application and no developer work. Aria recommends sizes, shades or products, suggests what goes with them, takes the payment in the chat or confirms COD, and answers buyers day or night in English, Hindi, Hinglish, Tamil and other Indian languages. The brand does only marketing and packing. When a buyer wants a person, the buyer raises a request and the brand connects with them on its own WhatsApp or by email. Payment runs through PayU (UPI and cards). COD orders are confirmed with the buyer on WhatsApp before dispatch, and unconfirmed COD orders are cancelled before pickup. Shiprocket pickup is booked automatically and tracking is shared in the chat. Prepaid orders are paid out 7 days after the order.
Pricing: ₹0 setup and no monthly fee. 5% + ₹5 + 18% GST per shipped order, including returned COD orders, for the 100 brands who win a Founding seat, locked for life; 10% + ₹5 + GST for everyone else. Meta's message charges, the AI and the payment gateway are inside the fee.
If your main job is broadcasts or a support inbox on your own number, WATI or Gupshup is built for that. If your main job is selling on WhatsApp, Behaf is live: create your free store. You pay only when an order ships. Want to see Aria sell first? Open the demo store as a buyer (test mode, nothing ships).
FAQs
Which is better for a brand in India without a developer, WATI or Gupshup?
For a team without a developer, WATI is easier to start: published plans, a 7-day trial and a ready inbox. Gupshup's self-serve option suits teams that can build on an API; its full AI suite is sold through its sales team.
Is Gupshup cheaper than WATI?
Gupshup self-serve has no monthly fee and charges USD 0.001 per message on top of Meta. WATI charges a plan plus messages. Gupshup's low fee assumes you build your own flows, so add developer cost before comparing.
Do both charge on top of Meta's WhatsApp rates?
Yes. WATI bills messages at its own rate card. Gupshup passes Meta's charge through at actuals and adds its own per-message fee.
Does WATI or Gupshup work with Shopify?
WATI lists a Shopify integration as a paid add-on, and its blog describes confirming Shopify COD orders on WhatsApp. Gupshup does not list a native Shopify app on the pages we read.
Does either have a free trial?
WATI lists a 7-day free trial with zero setup fees. Gupshup's self-serve platform is free to set up with no monthly fee; you pay per message.
Are WATI and Gupshup official Meta partners?
Both say so on their own sites. We have not checked either in Meta's partner directory.
Sources
All read on 16 Oct 2026 unless noted.
- WATI homepage: https://www.wati.io/
- WATI pricing (India view, read 29 Oct 2026): https://www.wati.io/pricing/
- WATI Astra: https://www.wati.io/products/astra/
- WATI conversational commerce blog (15 Oct 2026): https://www.wati.io/en/blog/conversational-commerce/
- Gupshup homepage: https://www.gupshup.ai/
- Gupshup pricing (read 29 Oct 2026; USD only on the public page): https://www.gupshup.ai/isv-partners/whatsapp-api/pricing
- Gupshup self-serve docs (last updated 3 Nov 2025): https://docs.gupshup.io/docs/overview
- Meta WhatsApp pricing (developer docs and INR rate card, read 29 Oct 2026): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing
- G2 Gupshup vs WATI (linked, not quoted): https://www.g2.com/compare/gupshup-vs-wati
- G2 Gupshup reviews (linked, not quoted): https://www.g2.com/products/gupshup/reviews
- Capterra WATI reviews (linked, not quoted): https://www.capterra.com/p/204314/WATI/reviews/
- Capterra UK Gupshup (linked, not quoted): https://www.capterra.co.uk/software/1016241/gupshup