A Zoko alternative where the AI sells commission-free
Zoko is one of the most established WhatsApp platforms for D2C brands, and to its credit its pricing is fully published. The structural difference is where the AI sits. At Zoko, AI agents are add-ons: $24.99 per month each, $0.09 per resolution for support bots, and 3% of order value when the Sello agent closes a sale, all on top of plans from $49.99 per month. Here, the AI salesperson is the product: flat conversation tiers from $29 per month, no markup per conversation, no seat fees, and no cut of your orders. Here is the honest side-by-side, including the places Zoko is clearly ahead.
Last updated
Zoko at a glance, checked October 2026
- Established and well reviewed: on the Shopify App Store since December 8, 2020, holding 4.9 stars across 465 reviews as of October 2026.
- Mature marketing suite: broadcasts on Shopify customer segments, a multi-agent shared inbox, click-to-WhatsApp ads, catalog sync, order notifications, and COD confirmation all ship today. Its listing also advertises browsing the Shopify catalog and buying inside WhatsApp.
- Published in full on its own site: zoko.io/pricing lists every fee. Its Shopify listing now shows a shorter version that differs on the Max plan and leaves out Sello's 3% commission, so read zoko.io before you compare.
- Published but layered pricing: plans of $49.99, $79.99, $139.99, and $499.99 per month, plus per-conversation markups or post-block fees, $5.99 per premium flow per month, $9.99 for Instagram (Facebook is free), and Meta's fees billed separately.
- Seats are free on Starter: the entry plan includes unlimited agents at no extra cost. Plus includes 5 agents and Elite 10, then $15 and $12 per extra agent; Max includes 30, then $9 each.
- Two usage meters most comparisons miss: premium flows include 500,000 steps a month and bill $0.0002 per step after that, and WhatsApp Business Calling includes 500, 1,000, 2,000 or 4,000 minutes by tier, then $0.005, $0.004, $0.003 or $0.002 per minute.
- AI is an add-on with usage fees: each AI agent is $24.99 per month; the Guru support and Wismo order-status bots bill $0.09 per resolution with the first 100 free, and the Sello selling agent takes 3% of order value, first 100 orders free.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Zoko | Us |
|---|---|---|
| AI that sells in chat (catalog connected, carts, checkout) | Yes, via the Sello add-on: $24.99/month plus 3% of order value | Yes, core product: included on every tier, no commission |
| Abandoned cart recovery | Yes, automated flows | Yes, timed reminders with resume links, and the AI answers the objection in the same thread |
| COD confirmation before dispatch | Yes. Free "essential flows" on every plan double-confirm COD orders and convert COD to prepaid; COD reconfirmation with auto-cancel is a $5.99/month premium flow | Yes, Confirm and Cancel buttons with the decision tagged on the order |
| Order updates | Yes, order notifications | Yes, confirmation, shipped with tracking, delivered |
| Broadcast campaigns and segmentation | Yes, core product | Not yet. If bulk campaigns are your first need today, Zoko serves it and we do not |
| Shared team inbox | Yes, multi-agent, unlimited agents free on Starter; 5, 10 or 30 included on Plus, Elite and Max, then $15, $12 or $9 per extra seat | Single-operator dashboard today; no team inbox yet |
| Platforms | Built for D2C brands on Shopify | Shopify, WooCommerce, POS in early access, and selling without a website |
| Billing meters | Plan base, conversations, agent seats (free on Starter), premium flows, flow steps, WhatsApp calling minutes, AI agents, AI resolutions, order-value commission | One: conversations. A chat session counts once, whatever the AI does in it |
Pricing comparison, checked October 2026
| Zoko | Us | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | $49.99 per month, plus a $0.015 markup on every conversation | $29 per month flat |
| Popular tier | Elite, $139.99 per month with 100,000 conversations included | Growth, $79 per month with 2,000 conversations |
| AI salesperson | Add-on: $24.99 per month per AI agent, plus 3% of order value (first 100 orders free) | Included on every tier, 0% of order value |
| Agent seats | Unlimited and free on Starter; Plus includes 5, Elite 10 and Max 30, then $15, $12 or $9 per extra agent | No seat fees; the dashboard is single-operator today, so there is nothing to seat yet |
| Usage meters on top | $5.99 per premium flow per month with 500,000 steps included then $0.0002 per step, WhatsApp Business Calling with 500 to 4,000 minutes included by tier then $0.005 down to $0.002 per minute, $0.09 per AI support resolution after the first 100 | None. Conversations are the only meter |
| Extra fees | $9.99/month for Instagram (Facebook free), Meta fees separate | No flow, step, minute, or resolution fees; upgrade the tier when you outgrow it |
A note on fairness: Zoko's included conversation blocks are genuinely large. Plus includes 5,000 conversations at $79.99 while our Growth tier includes 2,000 at $79, so if you mostly need raw messaging volume for human agents and broadcasts, Zoko's mid tiers are good value. Two more points in Zoko's favour. Its Starter plan includes unlimited agent seats free, so the seat fee only applies from Plus upward, and a small team can put everyone in the inbox on the entry plan. And Zoko publishes the same figures on its own site and on its Shopify listing, so what you are quoted is what is listed; that is not true of every vendor in this category, and it is why the layered meters in the table above are a criticism of the structure rather than of the disclosure.
The economics flip when the AI does the selling: a store closing $10,000 a month through Sello pays $300 that month in commission alone, before the plan and the agent fee. Our AI closes the same orders inside the flat tier. The full anatomy of a WhatsApp bill is in our WhatsApp API pricing guide.
Which one should you pick?
Choose Zoko if
You run a D2C brand on Shopify with a human support team and broadcast marketing at the center: segments, campaigns, click-to-WhatsApp ads, and a shared inbox are mature there, the entry plan seats the whole team free, COD double-confirmation is a free flow on every plan, the full price list is published on its site, and the review record is excellent. AI selling exists when you want to bolt it on and accept the usage fees.
Choose us if
You want the AI to be the salesperson, not an add-on: catalog answers, carts, checkout links, cart recovery, and COD confirmation included from $29 per month flat, with no commission on orders and no per-conversation or per-seat meters, on Shopify, WooCommerce, POS, 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.
Zoko alternative questions
How much does Zoko cost?+
As of October 2026, Zoko's published plans are $49.99 (Starter), $79.99 (Plus), $139.99 (Elite), and $499.99 (Max) per month. Starter adds a $0.015 markup on every conversation; higher tiers include a conversation block (5,000 on Plus at $0.00199 after it, 100,000 on Elite at $0.00099 after it). Starter includes unlimited agent seats free. Plus includes 5 agents and Elite 10, then $15 and $12 per extra agent; Max includes 30, then $9 each. Premium flows are $5.99 per flow per month and include 500,000 flow steps a month, then $0.0002 per step. WhatsApp Business Calling is metered by the minute, with 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 minutes included by tier, then $0.005, $0.004, $0.003 and $0.002 per minute. Instagram is $9.99 per month, Facebook is free, and Meta's own WhatsApp fees are billed separately. AI agents are a further add-on: $24.99 per month per agent, with $0.09 per resolution for the support and order-status bots (first 100 free) and 3% of order value for the selling bot (first 100 orders free).
Does Zoko charge commission on sales?+
For AI-driven sales, yes. Zoko's AI selling agent, Sello, is priced at 3% of order value on top of its $24.99 monthly fee, with the first 100 orders free, as published on zoko.io/pricing in October 2026. Its Shopify listing now shows only "AI bots from $24.99/mo/bot", so read the full terms on zoko.io. Human-handled sales through the inbox carry no commission. By contrast, our AI agent is the core product: it sells inside the flat conversation tier and no percentage of any order goes to us.
Is Zoko any good?+
By the public evidence, clearly yes. It has held a 4.9-star rating across 465 Shopify reviews since launching on December 8, 2020, its marketing suite is mature (broadcasts on Shopify segments, a multi-agent shared inbox, click-to-WhatsApp ads, and catalog sync), and it publishes its full price list on its own site. The comparison is not about quality; it is about what you pay for AI selling. At Zoko the AI is a metered add-on with a sales commission; here it is the flat-priced core product.
Is there a cheaper Zoko alternative for AI selling on WhatsApp?+
Yes. Our plans start at $29 per month flat, the AI sales agent is included on every tier, and there is no per-conversation markup, per-agent fee, or order-value commission. The honest trade-off: Zoko ships broadcast campaigns and a shared team inbox today and we do not yet, so if bulk campaigns or a support team workflow are your first need, Zoko serves it better right now.