Comparison
Every WhatsApp Business API provider in India bills on one of four models. None of them is dishonest — they simply suit different businesses. This page explains each one and the arithmetic that tells you which is cheapest for the volume you actually send.
| Model | How it works | Suits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly platform fee | A fixed monthly charge for access, plus the message cost on top. | High, steady volume where the fee spreads thin across many messages. | You pay in full during your quiet months. A seasonal business pays for the off-season. |
| Per-seat / per-user | Priced by how many team members have a login, plus message cost. | Support teams where several agents work a shared inbox all day. | Cost scales with headcount rather than value. Adding a colleague who logs in twice a month costs the same as a full-time agent. |
| Per-message markup | No fixed fee; the provider adds a margin to each message Meta bills. | Low or unpredictable volume — you pay strictly for what you send. | The markup is often not published. Ask what the all-in rupee rate per message actually is. |
| Prepaid credits | You buy credits up front and each message spends a fixed number of them. | Anyone who wants a predictable, checkable per-message cost with no recurring bill. | Check the expiry period and whether undelivered messages are refunded — some providers keep both. |
Take the number of messages you genuinely sent last month — not the number you hope to send. Multiply it by the all-in rupee cost per message, then add any fixed monthly fee. Do that for each provider you are considering and the answer stops being a matter of opinion.
The trap is the fixed fee. A ₹3,000 monthly platform charge across 2,000 messages adds ₹1.50 to every single message — usually more than the message itself costs. Across 50,000 messages the same fee adds six paise and barely registers. This is why "cheapest provider" has no answer without your volume.
WABAPI uses the prepaid-credit model with no monthly fee, no setup cost and no per-seat charge. A utility or authentication message costs ₹0.20 and a marketing message ₹1. Credits are valid 12 months, spent oldest-first, and any message WhatsApp fails to deliver is credited back automatically. That makes it strongest at low and irregular volume — and deliberately unremarkable at very high volume, where a negotiated monthly-fee contract may well beat it.
It depends entirely on volume. Below roughly 10,000 messages a month, a model with no fixed monthly fee almost always wins, because a platform fee spread over a small number of messages dominates the per-message cost. Above that, a monthly-fee plan with a lower per-message rate can work out cheaper. The only reliable method is to multiply your real monthly volume by the all-in per-message rate and add any fixed fee.
The underlying Meta conversation charge is the same for everyone — it is set by Meta, not the provider. What differs is the markup on top and whatever platform or seat fee sits alongside it. When you compare providers, compare the all-in rupee cost per message, not the advertised markup.
Yes. WABAPI charges no monthly fee, no setup cost and no per-user charge. You buy credits and spend them per message: a utility or authentication message costs 1 credit (₹0.20) and a marketing message 5 credits (₹1.00).
Four things. Whether the number stays yours and verified under your own brand. Whether undelivered messages are refunded or silently charged. Whether credits or balances expire. And whether you can see per-recipient delivery data, or only an aggregate success rate you cannot audit.
Yes. A WhatsApp Business API number is tied to your own Meta Business account, not to the provider, so it can be migrated. This is worth confirming before you sign up anywhere — if a provider holds the number under their own account rather than yours, moving is much harder.
The calculator on the home page prices a real monthly volume against our rates, and the pricing page lists every charge without a sales call.