respond.io alternatives: where to go, and how to take your WhatsApp number along
Seven destinations, one per reason for leaving, and a six-step exit plan.
The short answer: Wati if you only keep WhatsApp, SleekFlow for the same logic at a lower entry price, Trengo for a European team that wants per-conversation billing, Crisp for a flat team price, Kommo if WhatsApp is where you sell, Superchat for unlimited contacts, Callbell for the smallest budget. Before you pick, remember one thing: your WhatsApp number belongs to you, not to respond.io, and it can move. We compared all seven destinations and checked their pricing in 2026.
Some links are affiliate links. The ranking is editorial: a sponsored placement is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Why teams leave respond.io
respond.io still gets strong ratings from its customers, who like the single inbox and the onboarding help. Almost every exit comes back to the pricing model and what it keeps for higher tiers. Five reasons, checked in 2026.
Starter doesn't automate anything
Starter, at $79 a month billed yearly, gives you the shared inbox, the mobile app and AI writing help. No workflows, no broadcasts, no AI agents, no API. A basic automatic quote follow-up means moving to Growth at $159 a month: double.
The bill tracks your active contacts
From Growth up, respond.io counts monthly active contacts: anyone you exchanged a message or call with during the month. 1,000 are included; past that, every block of 100 costs $12 on Growth and $15 on Advanced, charged at month end. A sales month at 2,500 active contacts adds $180 to a Growth bill.
AI and WhatsApp are paid separately
AI credits beyond your allowance cost $15 per 1,000. Meta's WhatsApp fees aren't included in any plan. And Meta now bills per message, with free service messages capped at 1,000 a month per number in 2026.
Seats get expensive fast
Starter includes 5 users, Growth and Advanced 10. Every extra person costs $12, $20 or $24 a month depending on the plan. A 15-person team on Growth pays $100 more a month before a single contact.
Support gets mixed reviews
On review sites, onboarding often gets praise, but other customers describe a faceless support inbox and billing disputes. One case comes up: a WhatsApp number stuck because a credit line was still attached. Not the norm, but enough to plan your exit carefully.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right alternative depends on what's pushing you out. Usually one line fits better than the rest. Each card jumps to the full profile.
Inbox, broadcasts and WhatsApp chatbot from $59 a month billed yearly.
You want the same thing for lessSleekFlowBroadcasts and automation from $49 a month billed yearly.
Active contacts blow up your billSuperchatUnlimited contacts on paid plans, 1-year contract.
You serve Europe and want full omnichannelTrengoPer-conversation billing, in euros.
Website chat matters as much as WhatsAppCrispFlat price, 10 seats and WhatsApp for $95.
You sell in WhatsApp and need a pipelineKommoEvery chat becomes a deal.
respond.io alternatives, tool by tool
For each tool: why move to it, who it's for, its limit, how to migrate and what it costs. Prices are what each vendor shows in 2026, before tax, in the vendor's currency.
Wati: the like-for-like swap if WhatsApp is your only channel
WhatsApp onlyWhy switch to it. Plenty of teams pay for respond.io's omnichannel inbox and end up running a single channel: WhatsApp. Wati is built for exactly that. A shared team inbox, WhatsApp broadcasts and a no-code chatbot sit at the core, and nothing else gets in the way.
Who it's for. A store, a real estate office or a school that sells and answers mostly on WhatsApp, with 3 to 5 people on the inbox.
Who it's not for. A team that needs email and website chat in the same place as WhatsApp. There, respond.io or Trengo stay more complete.
Its limit. The Growth plan, at $59 a month billed yearly, includes 3 users and won't take a fourth. Add one more teammate and you're on Pro ($119, 5 users, then $39 per extra user). WhatsApp template messages are billed on top, like everywhere else. Wati scores 3.7 out of 5 in our Wati review, held back mostly by the jump in price at the next tier.
How to migrate. It's the shortest move: one channel to carry over. Export your contacts with their tags, recreate the same attributes in Wati, import the CSV, then move the WhatsApp number. Your Meta-approved templates stay tied to the WhatsApp Business account, so check they show up after the move.
- Price
- Growth $59, Pro $119, Business $279 a month, billed yearly
- Users
- 3 on Growth, no add-ons
- Hack'celeration score
- 3.7 out of 5
- Trial
- 7 days
SleekFlow: the closest match, with a lower entry price
Closest matchWhy switch to it. SleekFlow is respond.io's nearest rival: omnichannel inbox, WhatsApp broadcasts, automation flows and AI agents. Its Essential plan starts at $49 a month billed yearly for 3 seats. respond.io's Starter costs $79 and ships with no workflows and no broadcasts.
Who it's for. A sales or ecommerce team that wants to keep the same way of working and pay less for it.
Who it's not for. Anyone running away from contact-based billing. SleekFlow also counts monthly active contacts (MAC), with 500 included on Essential and Pro.
Its limit. Overage costs $20 per 100 active contacts, more than respond.io's $12 on Growth. And Essential is still rolling out country by country, so confirm it's offered where you are before you budget around it.
How to migrate. Both tools speak the same language (contacts, tags, lifecycle stages, flows), so rebuilding automations goes faster here than anywhere else. Use the 7-day Pro trial, no card needed, to rebuild your two most important flows before you move the number.
- Price
- Essential $49, Pro $109, Premium $279 a month, billed yearly
- Contacts
- 500 MAC on Essential and Pro
- Overage
- $20 per 100 MAC
- Trial
- 7 days of Pro, no card
Trengo: European omnichannel inbox, billed per conversation
European teamsWhy switch to it. Trengo does the same job as respond.io: WhatsApp, email, website chat, Instagram and Facebook in one shared inbox, with assignment rules and canned replies. The difference is the billing unit. Trengo doesn't count active contacts. It counts conversations, defined as any reply exchanged with a customer within a 7-day window. A customer who writes ten times in a week costs you one conversation.
Who it's for. A support or sales team of 5 to 20 people serving European customers, happy to be billed in euros.
Who it's not for. A two-person team: the first plan starts at €299 a month billed yearly (€349 monthly), with 10 users included.
Its limit. Boost includes 6,000 conversations a year. Beyond that you buy packs of 100 at €15 on yearly billing, and AI costs €0.25 per conversation. A busy team gets a bill that tracks activity again, just with a different meter.
How to migrate. Export your contacts from respond.io as CSV, import them into Trengo, then reconnect the WhatsApp number through Meta's provider-switch process (step 4 below). Rebuild respond.io workflows as Trengo rules and flowbots. Our switch from Trengo guide covers the trip in the other direction.
- Price
- Boost €299 a month billed yearly (€349 monthly)
- Included
- 10 users, 6,000 conversations a year
- Extra
- €15 per 100 conversations, AI €0.25 per conversation
- Billing
- per conversation, 7-day window
Kommo: when WhatsApp closes deals and you need a real pipeline
SalesWhy switch to it. respond.io has lifecycle stages to track a lead, but it isn't a sales CRM. Kommo is a CRM built around messaging: every WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook chat becomes a deal in a pipeline, with stages, tasks and a value.
Who it's for. A sales team that closes in WhatsApp and wants to see where every deal stands.
Who it's not for. A support desk handling help requests. The pipeline logic just becomes noise.
Its limit. Pricing is per user ($25, $35 or $45 a month) and there's no monthly payment. The minimum term is 6 months, so $150 per user upfront on Base. Base includes one WhatsApp number, plus one per extra user.
How to migrate. Before importing, turn your respond.io lifecycle stages into pipeline stages: one CSV column does it. The 14-day trial, no card, gives your team time to check the stages. Our switch from Kommo page lists what makes its customers leave.
- Price
- Base $25, Advanced $35, Pro $45 per user a month
- Commitment
- 6 months minimum
- 1 number on Base, 3 on Advanced
- Trial
- 14 days, no card
Crisp: flat team pricing, no per-contact meter
Flat priceWhy switch to it. Crisp charges a flat price per workspace, not per contact. On Essentials, $95 a month covers 10 seats plus WhatsApp Business, Instagram and SMS in the same inbox. The number of customers who message you doesn't move the bill.
Who it's for. A small business whose website chat is still the main channel and that wants WhatsApp on top without a per-contact meter.
Who it's not for. A team running large WhatsApp broadcasts. Crisp is built for conversations, less for mass sends.
Its limit. WhatsApp only comes with Essentials; the $45 Mini plan won't do. The free plan keeps 2 seats and 100 profiles, fine for a trial run, not to replace respond.io. Crisp scores 4.2 out of 5 in our Crisp review.
How to migrate. Import contacts by CSV, rebuild your segments, then reconnect the WhatsApp number. respond.io workflows become Crisp bot scenarios. The 14-day trial on any plan is enough for a clean switch.
- Price
- Mini $45, Essentials $95, Plus $295 a month
- from Essentials, 10 seats
- Hack'celeration score
- 4.2 out of 5
- Trial
- 14 days
Superchat: unlimited contacts, fixed bill
Unlimited contactsWhy switch to it. Superchat, a German vendor, flips respond.io's model: its paid plans come with unlimited active contacts. Basic costs €89 a month with 3 accounts, Professional €149 with 6, Advanced €299 with 12.
Who it's for. A business with European customers whose contact volume swings from month to month and that wants a predictable bill.
Who it's not for. A team that wants month-to-month freedom: the minimum contract term is 12 months.
Its limit. Each extra account costs €19 a month, and the free plan only covers 30 active contacts a month and one account. A year of Basic means €1,068 before tax, committed.
How to migrate. Line up the end of your respond.io subscription with the start of the Superchat contract so you don't pay for both for months. Start on the free plan with a secondary number, then move the main one.
- Price
- Basic €89, Professional €149, Advanced €299 a month
- Contacts
- unlimited on paid plans
- Commitment
- 12 months minimum
- Extra account
- €19 a month
Callbell: the smallest budget for a WhatsApp team
Small budgetWhy switch to it. Callbell bills per agent: €14 per agent a month, plus the WhatsApp account from €20 a month. A three-person team with one WhatsApp number starts around €62 a month, well under respond.io's $79 Starter, which doesn't even include broadcasts.
Who it's for. A small team (2 to 10 people) sharing a WhatsApp and Instagram number that wants something simple.
Who it's not for. A team that lives on automation. The advanced bot builder costs €59 a month extra, and flows stay lighter than respond.io's.
Its limit. WhatsApp campaigns cost €0.02 per contact reached, on top of Meta's fees. Add that up before comparing if you send weekly follow-ups.
How to migrate. The 7-day trial, no card, is enough to import contacts and connect a test number. Keep respond.io running until the main number has moved, then cancel.
- Price
- €14 per agent a month (Plus €18)
- account from €20 a month
- Campaigns
- €0.02 per contact reached
- Trial
- 7 days, no card
All 7 alternatives side by side
For a ballpark, take a 5-person team talking with 1,500 customers a month that wants automatic follow-ups. On respond.io you need Growth: $159 plus 5 blocks of 100 active contacts above the first 1,000, so $60, for $219 a month. On Wati, Pro costs $119. On SleekFlow, Pro costs $109 plus 10 blocks of 100 active contacts, so $309. On Superchat, Professional is €149 with no contact meter. On Crisp, Essentials is $95. Meta's WhatsApp fees come on top everywhere.
| Entry price | What you really pay for | |
|---|---|---|
| respond.ioStarting point | Starter $79 a month billed yearly, no workflows | Active contacts: $12 per 100 above 1,000 (Growth) |
| WatiWhatsApp only | Growth $59 a month billed yearly | Subscription, 3 users max on Growth |
| SleekFlowClosest match | Essential $49 a month billed yearly | Active contacts: $20 per 100 above 500 |
| TrengoEuropean teams | Boost €299 a month billed yearly | Conversations: €15 per 100 above 6,000 a year |
| KommoSales | Base $25 per user a month | Per user, 6 months upfront minimum |
| CrispFlat price | Free (2 seats), WhatsApp from Essentials $95 | Per workspace: 10 seats on Essentials, 20 on Plus, then $10 a seat |
| SuperchatUnlimited contacts | Basic €89 a month | Fixed, 12-month contract, €19 per extra account |
| CallbellSmall budget | €14 per agent a month | Per agent, plus €20 per WhatsApp account |
Pre-tax prices shown by vendors in 2026, subject to change. Meta's WhatsApp fees aren't included in any of them. Run the math with your real team size and volume.
Leaving respond.io in six steps
Order matters. Each step protects something: your contacts, your WhatsApp number, your open deals.
List everything running in respond.io
Day 1Write down your connected channels, workspaces, contact fields, tags, lifecycle stages, every workflow with its triggers, your snippets and your integrations (HubSpot, Shopify, Zapier, Make). One screenshot per workflow is enough: no tool imports respond.io workflows, so you'll rebuild them.
Write down your renewal date too. On a yearly plan, that date sets your whole timeline.
- Time
- half a day
- Output
- a sheet, one row per item
Export contacts and check the file
Day 1Export your contacts as CSV from respond.io's data settings, with custom fields and tags. Open the file before importing it anywhere: a number starting with "+" can come out with an apostrophe added in front as a safety measure. Clean the phone column so every number keeps the international format (+1…).
Download your reports too. Once the account is closed, they're gone.
- Format
- CSV
- Check
- numbers in +1… format
Rebuild the structure in the new tool first
Week 1Before importing, create the same fields, the same tags and the equivalent of your lifecycle stages in the destination (pipeline stages in Kommo, attributes in Wati, segments in Crisp). Importing first and tidying up later means doing it twice.
- Order
- fields, tags, then import
- Trap
- unmapped columns
Move the WhatsApp number without losing it
CriticalYour number belongs to your WhatsApp Business account at Meta, not to respond.io. To move it, turn off two-step verification on the number, keep access to the phone line that receives the SMS or voice code, then start the "number already used with another provider" connection in the new tool. Open conversation windows carry over, but your templates restart with an unknown quality rating for about 24 hours.
One story shows up in public reviews: a number stuck because a WhatsApp credit line was still attached to the old provider. Settle your WhatsApp fee balance and ask in writing for the credit line to be detached before switching.
- Prerequisite
- access to the SMS or voice code
- Risk
- credit line still attached
Rebuild workflows, most profitable first
Week 2Start with the flow that brings revenue (lead intake, quote follow-up), then the one that protects you (agent assignment, after-hours reply). Rarely triggered flows can wait. Try each one with your own number before opening real traffic.
- Order
- leads, assignment, after hours
- Test
- one real message per flow
Switch every entry point, keep respond.io read-only
EndReplace every entry point: website widget, click-to-chat links, QR codes, ads that open WhatsApp. Keep respond.io open until the paid period ends so you can check history, then download your last reports and cancel before the renewal date.
- Time
- until the period ends
- Last step
- cancel before renewal
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a respond.io exit go wrong
The same mistakes show up in reviews and migration guides. None of them is technical. They're oversights, and each one costs more than the time it would have taken to avoid it.
Forgetting the WhatsApp credit line
WhatsApp fees run through a credit line attached to your Meta account. If the old provider keeps it, the number move can stall. Ask in writing for it to be detached before you switch.
Comparing different units
respond.io and SleekFlow count active contacts, Trengo counts conversations, Kommo and Callbell count users, Crisp and Superchat charge a flat fee. Run the math on your busiest month, not a quiet one.
Switching mid-campaign
Your templates restart with an unknown quality rating after the move. Don't launch a big broadcast the same day: wait at least 24 hours and start with customers who messaged you recently.
Leaving entry points on the old tool
A website widget, a printed QR code or a click-to-chat ad can still point at the old channel. List them and check each one on cutover day.
Cancelling after renewal
On a yearly plan, missing the renewal date locks you in for another year. Note it during the inventory and cancel a few days before, once the new tool runs.
Signing a commitment without a trial
Kommo wants 6 months upfront, Superchat 12 months. Use their trial or free plan to rebuild your two key flows before you sign.
- Contact CSV checked (numbers in international format)
- Screenshots of every workflow
- Two-step verification turned off on the number
- WhatsApp credit line detached from respond.io
- Renewal date noted
- Entry points listed and checked
respond.io alternatives: frequently asked questions
Does respond.io have a free plan?
No. respond.io only offers a 7-day trial, no card, with Growth features for 5 users and 1,000 active contacts, broadcasts excluded. If you want a lasting free tier, Crisp keeps 2 seats and 100 profiles, and Superchat one account with 30 active contacts a month.
How much does respond.io really cost?
Starter is $79 a month billed yearly for 5 users, but with no workflows and no broadcasts. To automate you need Growth at $159 a month, with 1,000 active contacts then $12 per extra 100. Meta's WhatsApp fees and AI credits beyond your allowance ($15 per 1,000) come on top.
Can I keep my WhatsApp number when I leave respond.io?
Yes. The number is tied to your WhatsApp Business account at Meta and moves to another provider with a code sent by SMS or call. Turn off two-step verification first and get the old WhatsApp credit line detached, or the move can stall.
Can I export my respond.io workflows?
No, no tool imports them. You export contacts, fields and tags as CSV; workflows get rebuilt by hand. A screenshot of each workflow before you cancel will save you hours.
respond.io or Wati: which one should I pick?
Wati if WhatsApp is your only channel and your team fits in 3 to 5 people: Growth is $59 a month billed yearly. respond.io if you also run email, website chat and social in one inbox. Our Wati review goes through its limits.
What's the cheapest respond.io alternative?
For a small team, Callbell: €14 per agent a month plus €20 for the WhatsApp account, so about €62 for three people. SleekFlow Essential ($49 billed yearly) is the cheapest option that keeps broadcasts and automation, where it's available.
Do WhatsApp fees change depending on the tool?
Not the base: Meta charges the same per-message rates whatever tool you use. What changes is what the tool adds on top: Callbell, for example, charges €0.02 per contact reached on a campaign. Before signing, ask each vendor whether Meta fees are passed through at cost.
Which tool if I need a WhatsApp CRM rather than an inbox?
Kommo, if you want a sales pipeline where every chat becomes a deal. Budget $25 per user a month with a 6-month minimum. Our ranking of the best WhatsApp CRMs compares the other options.
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