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This respond.io review is for small business owners who get customer messages from several apps at once: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, email or website chat. The short answer: respond.io is a strong choice if you want all those conversations in one inbox with real automation, but the features most owners want (broadcasts, workflows, AI agents) start on the Growth plan, not the cheapest one. Budget for Growth from the start and add WhatsApp message fees on top.
Below we cover what respond.io does in plain terms, the November 2026 prices, how its Monthly Active Contacts billing works, the WhatsApp costs, who should skip it, and a one-week trial plan.
How we reviewed: based on respond.io’s official pricing page, integrations page and help center article on WhatsApp pricing, checked November 2026. We have not run a paid account test. Prices are in USD as shown on the pricing page.
respond.io review: what it does
respond.io is a customer conversation platform. You connect your business messaging channels, and every conversation from every app lands in one shared inbox, with contact history, assignment to team members and automation.
The integrations page lists a wide set of channels:
- WhatsApp (WhatsApp Business Platform, including WhatsApp calling)
- Facebook Messenger and Instagram
- TikTok business messaging (beta)
- Telegram, LINE, Viber and WeChat
- SMS (including through Twilio, MessageBird and Vonage), Twilio RCS
- Email (Gmail, Outlook, IMAP/SMTP) and website chat for Shopify, WordPress, Wix and others
- Voice calls
It also connects to CRMs and tools including HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign, Shopify, WooCommerce, Google Sheets, Calendly, Zapier, Make and n8n.
“Is respond.io a CRM?” is a common question. It keeps contact records and conversation history, and it connects to CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce, but its focus is conversations. Most businesses use it next to a CRM or store platform rather than as a full replacement.
respond.io pricing in November 2026
Prices from the respond.io pricing page, in USD:
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | Users included | Extra user / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $99 | $79 | 5 | $12 |
| Growth | $199 | $159 | 10 | $20 |
| Advanced | $349 | $279 | 10 | $24 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | — | |
Yearly billing saves up to 20%. The pricing page lists a 7-day free trial with no credit card, which gives Growth plan features for 5 users and 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts, except broadcasts. You can contact support to ask for a longer trial.
What changes between plans
- Starter: team and custom inboxes, mobile app, AI Prompt and AI Assist (help for your staff when writing replies), basic reports, growth widgets.
- Growth: adds broadcasts, workflow automation, AI Agents, advanced reports, Zapier and Make integrations, and the developer API.
- Advanced: adds masked phone numbers and emails, multiple workspaces, HTTP requests inside workflows, incoming and outgoing webhooks, SSO and custom channels.
- Enterprise: unlimited users and higher limits.
The important line for small businesses: Starter has no broadcasts, no workflows and no AI Agents. If you want to send promotions to a customer list or automate routing, you are looking at Growth.
Monthly Active Contacts: the usage rule to understand
respond.io charges partly by Monthly Active Contacts (MACs). The pricing page defines a MAC as someone who sent you a message or received one from you during the month. It also says MAC limits matter on the Growth plan and above.
If you go over your MAC allowance, the page says your service is not interrupted; instead you are billed for extra contacts in blocks of 100 at the end of the billing cycle: $12 per 100 MACs on Growth and $15 per 100 MACs on Advanced.
Why this matters: a broadcast counts everyone you message as active that month. Sending a promotion to 3,000 customers can push you well past your allowance. Check your plan’s included MACs in the pricing page’s usage table before a large send, and remember the trial includes 1,000 MACs.
WhatsApp fees are separate
respond.io states on its pricing page that WhatsApp fees are not included in any subscription; Meta charges these based on your usage. You can top up WhatsApp credit on the platform.
Its help center article on WhatsApp pricing explains the current model as it describes it:
- Template messages (the ones you start, such as promotions or order updates) are billed per message by category: marketing, utility or authentication.
- Service messages (replies inside the 24-hour window after a customer messages you) are billed individually, with 1,000 free service messages per business phone number per month, according to the article.
- Volume tiers apply automatically to utility and authentication templates.
- Conversations that start from click-to-WhatsApp ads or a Facebook Page call-to-action button are free during their entry window.
Neither the pricing page nor the help article says whether respond.io adds a markup on Meta’s rates. Ask before you top up a large balance. Meta also changes WhatsApp pricing rules from time to time, so re-check the help article before planning a big campaign.
Worked example: what a small team might pay
To make the numbers concrete, here is a sketch using only the prices on the pricing page. Your WhatsApp line will depend on your customers’ countries and message types.
The business: a home-goods store with 6 people answering chats on WhatsApp, Instagram and website chat. They want to route chats by topic and send one promotion a month to opted-in customers.
- Plan: Growth, because broadcasts and workflows are required. $199 a month billed monthly, or $159 a month billed yearly. Six users fit within the 10 included.
- MACs: everyone who chats with them plus everyone who receives the promotion counts as active that month. If that total exceeds the Growth allowance shown in the pricing page’s usage table, each extra 100 contacts costs $12.
- WhatsApp fees: marketing templates for the promotion and any order-update templates are billed per message by Meta’s rates; replies inside the 24-hour window fall under the service-message rules described in the help article.
The fixed part is $159 to $199 a month. The variable parts (MAC overage and WhatsApp fees) are the ones to estimate before each campaign. A good habit is to send promotions to a segment first, check the result and the cost, then decide whether to send to the full list.
Your first workflow: keep it simple
Workflows are respond.io’s main reason to exist, and also the place where new users overbuild. Start with one flow that solves a daily annoyance:
- When a new conversation opens, send a short greeting with three choices: order question, product question, something else.
- Assign order questions to the person who handles shipping, product questions to sales, and everything else to the owner.
- Outside business hours, tell customers when you will reply.
Run that for a week before adding anything else. Once it works, consider a second flow for common questions answered by an AI Agent, with a clear path to a human.
Is respond.io free?
No. There is no free plan listed; there is a 7-day free trial with no credit card required. Some actions, such as topping up a WhatsApp Business Account, need a paid subscription even during evaluation, according to the pricing page.
Who respond.io suits, and who should wait
Good fit
- Shops and service businesses with customers spread across apps, for example WhatsApp for local customers, Instagram for younger buyers and email for wholesale.
- Teams of 5–10 people answering chats; Starter includes 5 users and Growth includes 10.
- Businesses that want rules-based routing, such as sending Spanish-language chats to one person or VIP customers to the owner (Growth workflows).
- Sellers running click-to-WhatsApp ads who want ad-driven chats handled quickly.
Probably not yet
- A solo owner answering a few chats a day: $99 to $199 a month is a lot for that volume.
- Businesses that only use WhatsApp and want the lowest entry price; a WhatsApp-first tool may be cheaper. See our Wati review.
- Stores that mainly need email ticketing with order data; a help desk like Gorgias may suit better (Gorgias review).
- Owners who are not ready to build any automation. Much of respond.io’s value is in workflows; without them, you pay for an inbox.
Limits and risks
- Starter is limited. No broadcasts, workflows or AI Agents. Many owners upgrade within weeks.
- MAC overages. Large broadcasts can create extra charges at the end of the cycle.
- AI usage. AI features use credits included with each plan; check the pricing page’s usage table and watch usage before turning AI on for every conversation.
- WhatsApp rules. Template approval, opt-in consent and quality ratings apply whatever tool you use. Message only people who agreed to hear from you.
- Setup effort. Connecting many channels and writing workflows takes time. Assign one person to own the setup.
- Webhooks and custom integrations need Advanced. If you plan to connect your own systems, check that requirement early.
How to avoid overpaying
- Decide if you need broadcasts or workflows. If yes, skip Starter and evaluate Growth directly.
- Pay monthly first. Switch to yearly (up to 20% less) once you know the plan fits.
- Count users realistically. Growth includes 10 users; extra users are $20 each per month.
- Segment broadcasts. Sending to smaller, relevant groups reduces both WhatsApp template costs and MAC overages.
- Use free entry points. Conversations from click-to-WhatsApp ads are free during their entry window, per the help article, so ad-driven chats can be cheaper than cold broadcasts.
Our buyer’s checklist for everyday tools can help you compare respond.io with other options on the same points.
A one-week respond.io trial plan
Before you start: list your channels by volume, your 10 most common questions, and who on the team answers what. The trial has Growth features for 5 users and 1,000 MACs, without broadcasts.
Day 1: Connect your two busiest channels (often WhatsApp and Instagram). Invite up to 4 teammates.
Day 2: Build one workflow: greet new contacts, ask what they need (order, product question, other) and assign to the right person.
Day 3: Connect your store or CRM. Check that contact details carry across.
Day 4: Try AI Assist on replies and one AI Agent on a narrow topic (for example delivery times). Review its answers yourself.
Days 5–6: Run normal business through the inbox. Track first-reply time and how many chats were routed correctly.
Day 7: Decide: did workflows save real time? Is Growth worth $199 a month (or $159 yearly) for your volume? If not, a simpler WhatsApp-focused tool may be enough.
Compare both options in our Wati vs respond.io guide.
Verdict
respond.io is a capable multi-channel inbox with real automation, and it covers far more chat apps than most small-business tools. Its value starts on Growth ($199 monthly or $159 yearly), so budget for that, plus WhatsApp message fees and possible Monthly Active Contact overages.
Best for
- Businesses getting customer messages across several apps
- Teams of 5–10 people who need routing and automation
- Sellers using click-to-WhatsApp ads and broadcasts (Growth plan)
Look elsewhere if
- Solo owners with low chat volume
- WhatsApp-only shops looking for the lowest entry price
- Teams that will not invest time in building workflows
Frequently asked questions
Is respond.io free?
No. respond.io offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card required, with Growth features for 5 users and 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts (broadcasts excluded). Paid plans start at $99 a month billed monthly, or $79 a month billed yearly, as of November 2026.
How much does respond.io cost?
Starter $99, Growth $199 and Advanced $349 per month billed monthly; $79, $159 and $279 per month billed yearly. Enterprise is custom. Extra users cost $12, $20 or $24 per month depending on plan.
Is respond.io a CRM?
It stores contacts and conversation history and can act as a light CRM for messaging, but its focus is customer conversations. It integrates with CRMs such as HubSpot, Salesforce and Pipedrive.
How does respond.io WhatsApp pricing work?
WhatsApp fees are not included in respond.io subscriptions; Meta charges them based on usage. Template messages are billed per message by category, and respond.io’s help center describes 1,000 free service messages per number per month. Check the help article for current rules.
respond.io vs Wati: which should I choose?
Wati has a cheaper entry plan for small, WhatsApp-focused teams. respond.io supports more channels (including Telegram, LINE, Viber, WeChat, SMS and email) and stronger workflows from Growth upward. Our Wati vs respond.io guide compares them in detail.