Comparison

WABAPI vs Wati: subscription or pay-per-message.

Wati is a team inbox and automation suite billed per month and per user. WABAPI charges ₹0 a month and prices the message itself. Here is the arithmetic, done honestly — prices as of August 2026, including the volumes at which Wati becomes the cheaper choice.

WABAPI and Wati compared on pricing, seats, chatbot, inbox, trial and commitment
 WABAPIWati
Monthly fee₹0 — you buy credits, nothing recursGrowth ₹2,499/mo, Pro ₹5,999/mo, Business ₹16,999/mo, plus taxes
First-year minimum₹100 test pack — nothing else is required₹29,988 on Growth, plus taxes and message charges
Marketing message₹1.25~₹0.94–₹1.04 (about a 20% markup on Meta rates)
Utility message₹0.25Meta rate plus roughly 20%
Extra team membersNo per-seat charge₹1,299 per extra user per month
Chatbot builderNot offered — WABAPI sends campaigns, it is not a chat suiteIncluded
Shared team inboxNot offeredIncluded — shared omnichannel inbox
Trial₹100 test pack: 100 credits, valid 1 month7-day trial
CommitmentNone — credits stay valid 12 monthsMonthly or yearly subscription; Shopify add-on $4.99/mo

Wati figures are their published prices as of August 2026 and exclude taxes; check their site for current rates. WABAPI figures are computed from the live rate configuration this site runs on.

The break-even maths, worked in the open

Wati's marketing rate lands around ₹0.94–₹1.04 a message against WABAPI's ₹1.25 — between 21 and 31 paise cheaper per message. What you pay them on top is the plan: ₹29,988 a year on Growth, plus taxes, plus ₹1,299 a month for every user beyond the included seats.

Divide the fee by the saving: ₹29,988 ÷ 2131 paise ≈ 96,7351,42,800 marketing messages a year — roughly 8,06111,900 a month. Send less than that and WABAPI's total bill is lower; send more and Wati Growth can win on totals.

Every extra seat at ₹1,299/mo adds ₹15,588 a year to the fixed cost those message savings have to earn back — which is how audited real-world bills end up two to three times the headline plan.

When Wati is the better choice

A comparison page that pretends the other product has no case is not worth your time. Wati is the stronger pick if:

If what you need is campaigns from your own number, priced per message with no standing charge and no per-seat billing, that is the job WABAPI was built for.

WABAPI vs Wati, asked directly

Which is cheaper, WABAPI or Wati?

It depends on volume. Wati's marketing rate (~₹0.94–₹1.04) is lower per message than WABAPI's (₹1.25), but the Growth plan costs ₹29,988 a year before any message goes out. The crossover works out to roughly 8,061–11,900 marketing messages a month. Below that range WABAPI's total bill is lower; above it, Wati can win on totals — before add-ons and extra seats are counted.

Why do people say Wati costs more than the headline plan price?

Third-party pricing audits have reported real Wati bills reaching two to three times the headline plan once extra users (₹1,299/user/mo), add-ons and message markups are included. That is not a criticism of the product — the inbox and automations are genuinely strong — but it is worth modelling your real seat count and volume before choosing a plan.

Is WABAPI really ₹0 a month?

Yes. No subscription, no per-user charge, no platform fee. A utility message costs ₹0.25 and a marketing message ₹1.25, and credits come off only when a message actually goes out. Undelivered messages are credited back automatically.

Does WABAPI have a shared inbox or chatbots like Wati?

No. Wati's shared omnichannel inbox, chatbots and 100+ integrations are real strengths (G2 rating 4.6), and if your support team needs them today, Wati is the better fit. WABAPI is a campaign tool: templates, lists, scheduled sends, delivery reports and credits.

Can I move my WhatsApp Business number from Wati to WABAPI?

Yes. Your WhatsApp Business number belongs to your Meta Business account, not to any platform. You connect it to WABAPI through the official Meta embedded signup. Message templates are tied to the previous setup, so they need to be created and approved again — usually a matter of minutes to hours.

Are these Wati prices current?

They are Wati's published prices as of August 2026: Growth ₹2,499/mo, Pro ₹5,999/mo, Business ₹16,999/mo, extra users ₹1,299/user/mo, and roughly a 20% markup on Meta's per-message rates, all plus taxes. Check Wati's own site for the latest figures.

Run your own volume against both.

The ₹100 test pack lets you try the whole service before committing to anything, and the pricing page has every rate and pack.