A Wati alternative where the AI does the selling
Wati is one of the most widely used WhatsApp platforms anywhere: a shared team inbox, broadcasts across WhatsApp, RCS, and SMS, and a deep integration ecosystem, on the Shopify App Store since 2020. The structural difference is what the AI is for. Wati's AI answers FAQs and assists your agents, metered by monthly credits, on plans that also meter seats, automation triggers, and broadcasts, with different prices on its site and its Shopify listing. Our AI is the salesperson: it shows products, builds carts, hands over checkout links, recovers carts, and confirms COD orders, included in flat conversation tiers from $29 per month. Here is the honest side-by-side, including where Wati is ahead.
Last updated
Wati at a glance, checked July 2026
- Team-inbox heavyweight: a shared multi-agent inbox is the core product, with broadcasts across WhatsApp, RCS, and SMS, drip campaigns, opt-in widgets, and integrations up to HubSpot and Salesforce.
- Established Shopify presence: "Wati: AI Chat & Abandoned Cart" has been on the App Store since September 2020, holding 3.8 stars across 127 reviews as of July 2026.
- Two price lists: $39/$129/$499 monthly on wati.io ($29/$99/$399 annual) versus $69/$149/$349 on its Shopify listing, with different bundles in each.
- Many meters: user seats ($24 to $69 each, none addable on Growth), automation triggers (1,000 to 5,000 per month), AI Co-pilot credits (250 to 1,500 per month), broadcasts capped on Growth, message charges by country on top, and a $4.99/month Shopify integration add-on on site plans.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Wati | Us |
|---|---|---|
| AI that sells in chat (catalog connected, carts, checkout) | Not advertised. The AI handles FAQs and product assistance from Pro up, plus a credit-metered Co-pilot for agents | Yes, core product: product cards, carts, and your store's own checkout links, included on every tier |
| Abandoned cart recovery | Yes, core of its Shopify app, with drip campaigns | Yes, timed reminders with resume links, and the AI answers the objection in the same thread |
| COD confirmation before dispatch | Yes, COD verification automation is advertised | Yes, Confirm and Cancel buttons with the decision tagged on the order |
| Order updates | Yes, confirmation and shipping notifications | Yes, confirmation, shipped with tracking, delivered |
| Broadcast campaigns and segmentation | Yes, core product, across WhatsApp, RCS, and SMS | Not yet. If bulk campaigns are your first need today, Wati serves it and we do not |
| Shared team inbox | Yes, the core product, with per-seat pricing | Single-operator dashboard today; no team inbox yet |
| Store platforms | Platform-agnostic with widgets and integrations; Shopify via its app or a $4.99/month add-on | Native Shopify and WooCommerce apps, POS in early access, and selling without a website |
| Billing meters | Seats, automation triggers, AI credits, broadcasts, API calls, messages by country | One: conversations. A chat session counts once, whatever the AI does in it |
Pricing comparison, checked July 2026
| Wati | Us | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | $39 per month on wati.io ($29 annual, capped at 3 users), or $69 per month on its Shopify listing | $29 per month flat, same price everywhere |
| Plan with the AI FAQ agent | Pro: $129 per month on wati.io ($99 annual), or $149 on the Shopify listing | The selling AI is included from $29 per month |
| AI metering | AI Co-pilot credits: 250 to 1,500 per month by tier, more sold as an add-on | No AI meter; a conversation counts once, however much the AI talks |
| Extra fees | $24 to $69 per extra user, automation-trigger and broadcast caps by tier, $4.99/month Shopify add-on, message charges by country | No seat, trigger, or credit fees; upgrade the tier when you outgrow it |
A note on fairness: on annual billing Wati's entry price matches ours exactly at $29, and its team inbox, multichannel broadcasts, and integration catalog are far beyond anything we ship today. The comparison is structural. Wati prices the humans (seats) and rations the automation (triggers, credits, broadcasts); we price the customer conversations and include the automation. Which model is cheaper depends entirely on whether people or AI do your selling. The full anatomy of a WhatsApp bill is in our WhatsApp API pricing guide.
Which one should you pick?
Choose Wati if
Your WhatsApp operation is a human team: agents in a shared inbox, drip campaigns and broadcasts across WhatsApp, RCS, and SMS, and CRM integrations up to Salesforce. It is an established, widely integrated platform, and the AI features assist that team rather than replace it.
Choose us if
You want the AI to be the salesperson rather than a support sidekick: catalog answers, carts, real checkout links, packaged cart recovery and COD confirmation from $29 per month flat, with one meter and no seat, trigger, or credit fees, native on Shopify and WooCommerce, POS in early access, or with no website at all. And you can live without broadcasts and a team inbox for now, because we do not have them yet.
Wati alternative questions
How much does Wati cost?+
As of July 2026, wati.io lists Growth at $39, Pro at $129, and Business at $499 per month (or $29, $99, and $399 on annual billing), while its Shopify App Store listing shows Growth $69, Pro $149, and Business $349 per month, so the number you pay depends on where you sign up. On top of the plan: extra users at $24 to $69 per user per month (Growth allows no extra users at all), monthly caps on automation triggers (1,000 to 5,000) and AI Co-pilot credits (250 to 1,500), a $4.99 per month Shopify integration add-on on the site plans, and Meta message charges by country billed separately.
Does Wati's AI actually sell?+
Wati advertises an AI agent for FAQs and product assistance from the Pro plan up, plus an AI Co-pilot metered by monthly credits. That is support automation: answering questions and assisting human agents. It is not advertised as an agent that shows product cards, builds carts, and hands over checkout links in chat. That agentic selling loop is exactly what our product is: the AI sells with the catalog connected, included on every flat tier with no credit meter.
Why does Wati show two different price lists?+
Its own website and its Shopify App Store listing carry different plans: $39/$129/$499 monthly on wati.io against $69/$149/$349 on the Shopify listing, checked July 2026. The bundles differ too, so confirm which set applies to you before subscribing. We publish one price list, and it is the same on every platform.
Is there a cheaper Wati alternative?+
On entry price alone, honestly, Wati's annual Growth plan at $29 per month matches our Starter exactly. The difference is what is in the box and what is metered. Wati Growth caps you at 3 users, 1,000 automation triggers, and 250 AI Co-pilot credits per month, and the AI FAQ agent needs Pro. Our $29 tier includes the full AI sales agent, packaged cart recovery and COD confirmation, with one meter: conversations. If a shared team inbox and broadcast campaigns are your first need, Wati serves those today and we do not.