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 July 2026
- Established and well reviewed: on the Shopify App Store since December 2020, holding 4.9 stars across roughly 400 reviews as of July 2026.
- Mature marketing suite: broadcasts on Shopify customer segments, a multi-agent shared inbox, click-to-WhatsApp ads, catalog sync, order notifications, and COD verification all ship today.
- 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, per-agent seat fees, $5.99 per premium flow, $9.99 for Instagram, and Meta's fees billed separately.
- AI is an add-on with usage fees: each AI agent is $24.99 per month; the support and order-status bots bill $0.09 per resolution 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, COD verification is advertised | 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 with seat pricing by tier | 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, premium flows, AI agents, AI resolutions, order-value commission | One: conversations. A chat session counts once, whatever the AI does in it |
Pricing comparison, checked July 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 |
| Extra fees | $9 to $15 per extra agent seat, $5.99 per premium flow, $9.99/month for Instagram, $0.09 per AI support resolution, Meta fees separate | No seat, flow, 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. 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 pricing is published, 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 July 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, 100,000 on Elite) with small per-conversation fees after it. Agent seats beyond the included count cost $9 to $15 each, premium flows are $5.99 per flow, Instagram is $9.99 per month, 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 and 3% of order value for the selling bot.
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 July 2026. 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 roughly 400 Shopify reviews since launching in 2020, and its marketing suite is mature: broadcasts on Shopify segments, a multi-agent shared inbox, click-to-WhatsApp ads, and catalog sync. 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.