Kristina Margulets
WhatsApp is where your customers already talk to friends and family. An offer sent there arrives as a private chat, next to their personal messages, and they can answer it with one tap. That's what makes WhatsApp a strong marketing channel: a broadcast turns into a conversation, and a conversation turns into a booking or an order.
Doing it by hand stops working after a few dozen chats. WhatsApp marketing software sends approved messages to your whole contact list, answers the replies and shows which chats are close to buying. We compared six tools, free and paid, on what they do for marketing, how they use AI and what they cost:
- Chatfuel: broadcasts plus an AI Agent that answers every reply, on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and website chat
- WhatsApp Business app: Meta's free app for small businesses
- Respond.io: a messaging inbox and CRM for sales teams
- Wati: a WhatsApp-first platform with campaigns and a team inbox
- AiSensy: a WhatsApp platform with a free plan
- Infobip: an enterprise messaging platform with pay-as-you-go pricing
See also: WhatsApp Broadcast: Complete Guide for Business
What is WhatsApp marketing software?
WhatsApp marketing software runs your marketing on WhatsApp beyond what one phone can handle. More than 3 billion people use WhatsApp, and businesses can reach them in two ways:
- The WhatsApp Business app. Free and installed on a phone. It suits a business that answers chats by hand and sends an occasional broadcast list.
- The WhatsApp Business Platform, also called the WhatsApp Business API. You use it through a provider such as Chatfuel. It lets you message your whole opted-in contact list with approved templates, connect an AI agent, share one inbox with your team and work with no phone in hand. Read more in what the WhatsApp Business API is.
Almost every WhatsApp marketing tool runs on the API and adds a dashboard on top: broadcasts, segments, automation, a shared inbox and reports. Meta charges for the messages, and the software provider charges for the platform.
Key features to look for
- Template broadcasts with segments. Outside the 24-hour customer service window, a business can start a chat only with a message template that Meta approved. Good software lets you pick a template, schedule it and send it to everyone or to a segment, such as people who asked about one service.
- AI replies around the clock. A broadcast is only half the job, because people reply with questions. An AI agent answers from your business information, suggests options, books and collects contact details, so no reply waits until morning.
- Click-to-WhatsApp ads. Facebook and Instagram ads that open a WhatsApp chat. The software should answer those chats in seconds, while the person still remembers the ad.
- Follow-ups. Reminders for people who went quiet in the middle of a conversation, sent while the 24-hour window is still open.
- A leads board. Every chat becomes a lead with a stage, so you see who is ready to buy and who needs a nudge.
- Reports. How many people you reached, what they asked about and where they dropped off.
WhatsApp marketing tools compared
| Tool | Best for | AI | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatfuel | Small and midsize businesses that sell and book in chats | AI Agent included, paid from credits | $20 a month, unlimited teammates |
| WhatsApp Business app | Owners who answer chats themselves | Greeting and away messages | Free |
| Respond.io | Sales teams working leads on many channels | AI agents from the Growth plan | $99 a month, or $79 billed yearly |
| Wati | WhatsApp-first teams with regular campaigns | Astra AI agents, a paid add-on | $59 a month, billed yearly |
| AiSensy | Starting on the API with no fixed cost | AI Chat Agent, $50 a month add-on | Free plan, broadcasts from $45 a month |
| Infobip | Large companies on many channels | AI agents and a chatbot builder | Pay as you go, per message |
Prices as listed on each vendor's website in October 2026. With every API tool, Meta's WhatsApp message fees come on top.
1. Chatfuel
Chatfuel is an AI agent platform for messaging channels and an official Meta Business Partner. It connects WhatsApp through the WhatsApp Business Platform, along with Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok and website chat. For marketing, it joins two things that other tools often sell separately: broadcasts that start conversations, and an AI Agent that takes each conversation to a booking or a sale.
What you get:
- Broadcasts. In AI Agent → Broadcasts, click New mass message, choose an approved WhatsApp template, send it now or schedule it, and pick All WhatsApp contacts or From segment.
- An AI Agent for every reply. It answers from your AI Knowledge Base (services, prices or catalog, open hours, FAQ), suggests options and books appointments in your calendar. Add a payment link to its instructions, and it shares the link when a customer is ready to pay.
- Click-to-WhatsApp ads. People who tap your Facebook or Instagram ad land in a chat that the AI Agent answers in seconds. Custom rules can handle leads from a specific ad in their own way.
- Follow-ups and lead details. Send follow-ups reminds people who went quiet while the 24-hour window is open (AI follow-ups), and Lead Qualification saves the details they share, such as a name, an email or what they're looking for, to the contact card.
- A leads board and a shared inbox. The Kanban board shows every chat as a lead with its stage, from Captured to Won. Chats keeps every conversation, and Switch to human agents hands a chat to your team when a person should take over.
- AI Co-pilot. Set things up by chatting, and ask for reports, such as what people asked about most this week.
- Free tools. The WhatsApp link generator and the WhatsApp chat button for your website bring new people into chats.
Pricing: the Business plan costs $20 a month and includes $20 in credits for AI replies and messages. Agency plans for several client companies start at $100 a month, and yearly billing saves 10%. Every plan includes all channels, unlimited contacts and teammates, and no seat fees. Meta's WhatsApp message fees come out of the same credit wallet, so you get one bill. Each plan starts with a 7-day free trial with $15 in credits. See Chatfuel pricing.
Results: Interaksi, a service marketplace in Indonesia, contacts 100% of its leads within a minute on WhatsApp, with an open rate above 65% and 12.5% of requests turning into deals.
Best for: small and midsize businesses that sell or book in chats: salons and clinics, schools and courses, online stores and local services.
Keep in mind: you create templates in WhatsApp Manager, not in Chatfuel. Broadcasts show their status and how many contacts each one went to, but not open or click rates. Chatfuel works in messaging channels only, so it doesn't send email or SMS campaigns.
2. WhatsApp Business app
The WhatsApp Business app is Meta's free app for small businesses. You install it on your phone, add a business profile and chat with customers yourself.
Channels: WhatsApp only.
Automation: greeting and away messages, quick replies for common answers and labels to sort chats. There is no AI agent that answers the whole conversation for you.
Marketing tools: a product catalog, broadcast lists of up to 256 contacts, and Business broadcasts, a paid feature in a limited number of countries.
Pricing: free. Business broadcasts are paid per delivered message, by the recipient's country.
Best for: owners who answer every chat themselves.
Keep in mind: broadcast lists reach only people who saved your number, and the app has no shared inbox for a team. With coexistence, you keep using the app on your phone and connect the same number to Chatfuel for broadcasts and an AI Agent. See WhatsApp Business vs. WhatsApp for the differences between the apps.
3. Respond.io
Respond.io is a customer conversation platform for sales and support teams. It puts chats from many messaging apps into one inbox with a contact CRM, workflows and AI agents.
Channels: WhatsApp (including calls), Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, LINE, Viber, WeChat, email and website chat.
AI: AI agents that answer and qualify leads, plus voice AI agents. Broadcasts, workflows and AI agents start on the Growth plan.
Pricing: Starter costs $99 a month, Growth $199 and Advanced $349, or $79, $159 and $279 a month billed yearly. Extra users cost $12 to $24 a month, and the price also depends on how many contacts you talk to each month. Meta's WhatsApp fees aren't included. There's a 7-day trial of Growth, without broadcasts.
Best for: sales teams that work leads across many messaging apps.
Keep in mind: the cheapest plan has no broadcasts or AI agents, and the bill grows with users and active contacts.
4. Wati
Wati is a WhatsApp-first platform for marketing and sales teams. It combines WhatsApp campaigns, a team inbox, chatbots and Click-to-WhatsApp ads, with tools for online stores.
Channels: WhatsApp (with calling), Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok and a website widget in one inbox.
AI: Astra AI agents for WhatsApp, the web and voice, sold as a separate add-on. Each plan includes a few hundred AI Co-pilot credits for the team.
Pricing: Growth costs $59 a month and Pro $119 a month, billed yearly, and there's a custom plan for larger teams. Growth includes 15,000 broadcasts a month, and Pro has no broadcast cap. There's a 7-day free trial.
Best for: WhatsApp-first teams that run regular campaigns, especially online stores.
Keep in mind: WhatsApp messages are charged by Wati's own rate card, which can differ from Meta's, and the AI agent costs extra.
5. AiSensy
AiSensy is a WhatsApp platform popular with small businesses. Its free plan gives you the WhatsApp Business API, template messages, a live chat inbox and a manager for Click-to-WhatsApp ads.
Channels: WhatsApp, plus Facebook and Instagram ads that open WhatsApp chats.
AI: the AI Chat Agent is an add-on for $50 a month, and chatbot flows cost $80 a month.
Pricing: Free Forever costs $0. Broadcasts start on Basic, at $45 a month. Pro, at $99, adds campaign scheduling and click tracking. Premium costs $299 and Unlimited $899. Extra team members cost $20 a seat, and WhatsApp messages are paid from a separate balance.
Best for: small businesses that want to start on the API with no fixed cost and add features later.
Keep in mind: the free plan doesn't include broadcasts, scheduling starts on Pro, and AI is paid on top of the plan.
6. Infobip
Infobip is a global communications platform for large companies. WhatsApp is one of many channels it connects, together with AI agents, a customer data platform and customer journeys.
Channels: WhatsApp, SMS, RCS, Viber, email, voice and other messaging apps.
AI: AI agents and a chatbot builder.
Pricing: pay as you go, per message, with custom plans for larger volumes. Infobip's calculator shows WhatsApp prices by message category and country.
Best for: large companies that run customer journeys across many channels.
Keep in mind: Infobip is built for enterprise projects, so a small business may get more platform than it needs.
WhatsApp marketing rules to know
Every tool on this list follows Meta's rules for the WhatsApp Business Platform. These are the ones that shape a marketing campaign:
- Opt-in first. You can message only people who agreed to hear from your business on WhatsApp. Collect opt-in on your website, in a chat, in a form or in person, and name your business.
- Templates outside the 24-hour window. When a customer writes to you, a 24-hour customer service window opens, and you can reply freely. To start a chat or write after the window closes, you need a template that Meta approved. Offers and news go out as Marketing templates.
- Pay per message. Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges per delivered template message, by template category and the recipient's country. Since 1 October 2026, Meta also charges for replies inside the 24-hour window after 1,000 free ones per business phone number each month. Chats that start from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad open a free entry point window. Details are in WhatsApp Business pricing.
- Messaging limits. A new business portfolio can message 250 unique people a day outside the 24-hour window. Verifying your business raises the limit to 2,000, and Meta then raises it to 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited as long as your quality stays high.
- Limits per person. Meta caps how many marketing templates one person gets from all businesses, based on how they engage with them. Marketing templates are currently not delivered to WhatsApp users with US phone numbers (+1).
- An easy way out. Add an opt-out button to marketing templates, such as Stop promotions, and stop messaging people who ask. Blocks and reports lower your quality rating and can get your number restricted.
How to choose WhatsApp marketing software
Count the full price
Add up the platform plan, extra seats, AI add-ons and Meta's message fees for the volume you plan to send. A cheap plan that charges for every user or every AI reply can cost more than an all-inclusive one.
Check what happens after the broadcast
Replies come in minutes after a broadcast goes out. If nobody answers them fast, the campaign loses most of its value. Look for an AI agent that answers on its own and hands chats to your team when needed.
Think about channels
If your customers also write on Instagram, Messenger or TikTok, choose a tool that puts those chats in the same inbox and answers them with the same AI.
App or API
The free app works for a few dozen chats a day. Once you need to reach your whole contact list, work as a team or answer at night, move to the API, and with coexistence you can keep the app.
How to run a WhatsApp marketing campaign in Chatfuel
- Connect your number. Sign up, go to Settings → WhatsApp and connect your number through Meta. Already on the WhatsApp Business app? Coexistence keeps it working on your phone. Step by step: how to create a WhatsApp Business account.
- Teach the AI Agent. In AI Knowledge Base, add your business information, services or catalog with prices, open hours and answers to common questions.
- Turn on the sales settings. In AI Agent → Automations, open the WhatsApp automation and check Booking rules, Switch to human agents, Send follow-ups and Lead Qualification.
- Create a template. In WhatsApp Manager, create a Marketing template with your offer and a photo, and ask customers to reply to book. Leave out quick-reply buttons: Broadcasts don't send templates that have them, and the AI Agent understands replies in any words. Meta usually reviews it within minutes and in up to 24 hours.
- Send the broadcast. In Broadcasts, click New mass message, choose the template, pick a time and choose All WhatsApp contacts or From segment, for example, contacts whose interest is facials. Click Send broadcast and confirm.
- Let the AI Agent handle the replies. It answers questions, offers times and books. Follow the results in Chats and on the Kanban board, or ask AI Co-pilot how the campaign went.
Summary
- Chatfuel: broadcasts and an AI Agent that answers every reply, books and qualifies leads on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and website chat, from $20 a month.
- WhatsApp Business app: free and simple, but limited to one phone, broadcast lists and manual replies.
- Respond.io: a multichannel inbox and CRM for sales teams, with broadcasts and AI from the Growth plan.
- Wati: WhatsApp-first campaigns and a team inbox, with the AI agent as an add-on.
- AiSensy: a free plan to start on the API, with broadcasts and AI as paid upgrades.
- Infobip: an enterprise platform for many channels, priced per message.
If you want a broadcast to end in a booking or a sale without your team answering every reply, start with Chatfuel Broadcasts and let the AI Agent take the conversations.
FAQs
What is the best WhatsApp marketing software?
It depends on what happens after you send. If you want every reply answered and turned into a booking or a lead, Chatfuel combines broadcasts with an AI Agent, from $20 a month with unlimited teammates. Respond.io suits sales teams on many channels, Wati suits WhatsApp-first campaign teams, AiSensy has a free plan, and Infobip serves large companies.
Is there free WhatsApp marketing software?
The WhatsApp Business app is free: it has a catalog, labels, greeting and away messages and broadcast lists of up to 256 contacts who saved your number. AiSensy has a free plan on the API, but broadcasts start on its paid plans. With every API tool, Meta charges for template messages.
How much does WhatsApp marketing cost?
Two parts: the software plan and Meta's message fees. Meta charges per delivered template message, by category and the recipient's country, and since 1 October 2026 also for replies inside the 24-hour window after 1,000 free ones per number each month. With Chatfuel, the Business plan costs $20 a month with $20 in credits, and Meta's fees come out of the same wallet.
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API for marketing?
For marketing at scale, yes. The app reaches only people who saved your number, through broadcast lists of up to 256 contacts. The API lets you send approved templates to your whole opted-in contact list, by segment and on a schedule, and connect an AI agent. With coexistence, you can use both on the same number.
How do I send bulk WhatsApp messages without getting banned?
Message only people who opted in, use templates that Meta approved, add an opt-out button and stop writing to people who ask. Send offers to the segment that wants them rather than to everyone, and space your campaigns out, because blocks and reports lower your quality rating.
Can I send WhatsApp marketing messages to US numbers?
Not at the moment. Meta doesn't deliver marketing templates to WhatsApp users with US phone numbers (+1). Utility templates, such as order updates and reminders, and replies inside the 24-hour window still reach US customers.
