The best WhatsApp CRM for a small business in India (2026): eight tools compared on price, per-message charges, AI and channels
Eight WhatsApp CRMs compared for a small Indian business, with every figure read from the tool's own pricing page and dated: starting price, what it adds to Meta's per-message rate, whether the AI is included, and which channels it covers.
A small business needs four things from a WhatsApp CRM: an AI that sells rather than a flow that answers, a shared inbox on one customer record, a way to take the payment in the chat, and a per-message price that is Meta's or close to it — and a way to start without a sales call. The 9 tools below are compared on exactly those, with every figure read from the tool's own pricing page on the date shown — Linkubit first, labelled as ours.
What matters for a small business
Not the feature list. A business of three to fifteen people answering WhatsApp leads needs the first reply to happen without them, the customer record to be one record, the bill to be predictable, and the tool to be usable on day one. Four questions decide it:
- Does the AI sell, or just answer? A keyword bot, an add-on per thousand messages, or an agent that asks your qualifying questions, quotes only from your catalogue, keeps your rules in code and opens a priced deal — on every plan. The agent-vs-chatbot guide has the distinction.
- Is the customer one record? A person who emailed, DMed on Instagram and then messaged on WhatsApp should be one contact with one history — not three leads for three people.
- Can it take the payment? A UPI request in the chat at the catalogue price, into your own account, closes the deal in the conversation that opened it. A quote that ends in “we’ll send a link” is a deal that waits.
- What is the per-message charge? Meta bills every template message to an Indian number at ₹0.86 for marketing and ₹0.115 for utility. A tool that prints a higher rate is charging a mark-up, and the mark-up scales with every campaign. A tool that prints none is one you ask.
- Can you start without a call? A free plan or a trial you can connect a number to, versus a demo and an annual invoice.
The 9 tools
Linkubit — the one we make
An AI salesperson rather than a broadcast tool: it answers every enquiry within a minute, asks the qualifying questions you define, quotes only from your catalogue, opens a priced deal on the pipeline and takes a UPI payment in the chat. Rules are enforced in code — a gate before every tool call and every send, a verifier on every reply. 14 days of Pro with 25 credits to start, no card; +75 when you connect your WhatsApp number and +100 when you add a card (no charge). Start free or read the pricing.
Best for: a business that sells by conversation — property, freight, education, clinics, D2C, travel — and wants the first reply and the follow-ups handled without building a chatbot.
Wati
A WhatsApp Business API platform for broadcasts, a shared team inbox and no-code chatbots, with AI agents sold as an add-on.
AI: "Astra AI Agents" for web, WhatsApp and voice are an add-on "priced separately"; plans include 250–1,500 "AI Co-pilot credits" a month and Pro adds AI lead qualification.
Best for: A marketing team that mainly sends broadcasts, wants Shopify and HubSpot connectors out of the box, and has a person to build the chatbot flows. Linkubit vs Wati · Wati’s pricing page
AiSensy
A WhatsApp marketing platform on the official API — broadcasts, retargeting, a shared inbox and Click-to-WhatsApp ads — with chatbots and an AI agent sold as add-ons.
AI: The "AI Chat Agent" add-on is ₹1,350 a month for 1,000 AI messages on top of any plan; keyword chatbot flows are a separate ₹2,500 a month add-on.
Best for: A marketer who wants to run large WhatsApp broadcasts and Click-to-WhatsApp ads from one screen, with agents added as the team grows. Linkubit vs AiSensy · AiSensy’s pricing page
Interakt
A WhatsApp and Instagram marketing and support hub with a separate Sales CRM product, sold by Haptik to Indian D2C brands.
AI: "WhatsApp AI Agents @ 3000 INR" on Growth and Advanced, plus an AnswerBot with a handful of runs included per plan.
Best for: An Indian D2C brand on Shopify that wants WhatsApp and Instagram marketing with a Jio-backed provider, and is happy to buy the CRM as a second product. Linkubit vs Interakt · Interakt’s pricing page
Gallabox
A WhatsApp, Instagram and web-chat platform with chatbot flows and AI agents, sold on quarterly or annual billing with a monthly AI-credit allowance.
AI: AI agents on WhatsApp, Instagram and web from Essential; AI voice agents on Advanced; every plan carries a monthly AI-credit pool with top-ups.
Best for: A sales team that wants AI voice as well as chat, with users capped per plan and a knowledge base sized by tier. Linkubit vs Gallabox · Gallabox’s pricing page
DoubleTick
A WhatsApp Business API platform for broadcasts and a team inbox, with AI agents built into the Pro and Enterprise plans, sold on annual billing.
AI: "AI agents built into every plan" in the headline, though the Starter card says it does not include AI agents; Pro carries 10 agents and 3,500 credits a month, with a wallet for overage.
Best for: A business that wants an Indian WhatsApp provider with an account manager and is ready to commit to a year up front. Linkubit vs DoubleTick · DoubleTick’s pricing page
Zoko
A WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook commerce platform built around Shopify, priced in dollars with a per-conversation platform charge on top of Meta's.
AI: Three AI agents as add-ons: Guru and Wismo at $0.09 per resolution and Sello, a sales agent, at 3% of order value.
Best for: A Shopify store that sells on WhatsApp and Instagram, wants calling minutes included, and is comfortable paying in dollars. Linkubit vs Zoko · Zoko’s pricing page
QuickReply.ai
A WhatsApp marketing automation platform for online stores — abandoned-cart recovery, drip campaigns, order alerts — with chatbots from the Standard plan up.
AI: Keyword chatbots on Standard and NLP-trained bots on Plus; an "AI Chatbot" feature is listed, with no separate AI agent price on the page.
Best for: An e-commerce store that wants abandoned-cart, COD-confirmation and repeat-purchase flows on WhatsApp, and is happy to buy through a demo. Linkubit vs QuickReply.ai · QuickReply.ai’s pricing page
respond.io
An omnichannel customer-conversation platform for mid-market B2C teams — WhatsApp, email, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and more in one inbox — billed by users and monthly active contacts.
AI: AI Agents on Growth and above, with AI Assist, AI Prompts and chat summaries; "AI usage is included at no extra cost" on paid plans.
Best for: A support or sales team of five or more, with customers on many channels, that wants a mature inbox and is fine paying in dollars per active contact. Linkubit vs respond.io · respond.io’s pricing page
The bill that matters, after the choice
A subscription is a fixed number. Per-message charges scale with the business, so a paise-level mark-up becomes the larger bill the month a campaign works. For a business sending ten thousand marketing messages a month, the difference between Meta’s rate and a rate of ₹1.09 is about ₹2,270 a month on messages alone, before the subscription. The pricing guide has Meta’s full card and the 1 October 2026 change; each comparison page works a month of messages on both sides where the tool prints its rate.
How this list was made
Every price and feature was read from the tool’s own public pricing page on the date beside it, and each entry links to that page. Nothing is asserted about another company that is not on a page of theirs. If a price has moved, tell us and the page is corrected. Last checked 18 September 2026.
Questions
What is the cheapest WhatsApp CRM in India?
Among the tools compared on this site, Linkubit has the lowest subscription for a team: free to start and ₹499 a month for 3 seats. AiSensy's Free Forever plan gives the API and an inbox without broadcasting; Interakt's Starter is free for Instagram only. The larger cost for most businesses is per message — several tools print a rate above Meta's ₹0.86 per marketing message, and that scales with every campaign.
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API for a CRM?
Yes. Every tool here runs on the WhatsApp Business Platform; the WhatsApp Business app cannot hand messages to software. Connecting a number takes minutes through Embedded Signup and is free from Meta.
Which WhatsApp CRM has an AI included?
Linkubit includes the AI salesperson on every plan including Free. Several others sell the AI as an add-on per thousand messages or on the upper tiers only; each entry above says which, from the tool's own pricing page.
Can I switch WhatsApp CRMs without losing my number?
Yes, if the number is in your own Meta Business portfolio. Embedded Signup with the new tool migrates it with its verified badge and quality rating; templates are resubmitted and usually approved within hours.
Read next
More on Choosing a toolLinkubit vs other toolsWhatsApp templatesCost calculatorPricing
Try it on your own number. Linkubit answers, qualifies and quotes on WhatsApp from your catalogue, and adds nothing to Meta’s per-message price. Start free — fourteen days of Pro, no card — or read the pricing.