Comparison
Inchat vs respond.io
In short
Pick respond.io if you need channels beyond WhatsApp and Meta — SMS, voice, TikTok — or a developer API and SSO. Pick Inchat if your conversations already live on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, and you would rather not pay more in a month when more customers message you: contacts are unlimited on every Inchat plan, and AI replies and broadcasts start on the RM149 tier rather than two tiers up.
respond.io is An established omnichannel business messaging platform with a wide channel list, used across Asia and beyond. Their published pricing: Starter US$79/month, Growth US$159/month, Advanced US$279/month, Enterprise on quote (published prices, monthly billing). Checked against their own pricing page on . Prices change — verify before you decide.
| What you are comparing | Inchat | respond.io | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charge per contact who messages you | Never. Contacts are unlimited on every plan, so a busy campaign month does not raise the invoice. | Starter includes unlimited Monthly Active Contacts. Growth and Advanced include 1,000 MACs and then charge US$12 per 100 (Growth) or US$15 per 100 (Advanced). | Inchat |
| Automation and AI on the entry plan | AI Assist is included on Starter; broadcasts, workflows, and autonomous AI replies start on Growth at RM349/month. | Broadcasts, workflows, and AI Agents start on Growth (US$159/month); Starter is inbox, mobile app, and AI Assist. | Inchat |
| Channel coverage | WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, Facebook and Instagram comments, and a website widget. | A wider list — including TikTok, SMS, email, and voice — which matters if your customers are not all on WhatsApp and Meta. | respond.io |
| Developer API and webhooks | Public API v1 (contacts, messages, outbound webhooks) with workspace API keys on every paid plan. | Developer API from Growth; incoming and outgoing webhooks from Advanced. | Tie |
| Enterprise access controls | Workspace roles and per-workspace isolation. No SSO. | Single Sign-On, multiple workspaces, and phone/email masking from Advanced. | respond.io |
| WhatsApp message fees | Billed by Meta directly to your own WhatsApp Business Account at official rates. Inchat adds 0%. | Also passes Meta's fees through; the account stays yours. Both platforms pay Meta the same published rates. | Tie |
| Live commerce data in AI replies | The AI agent answers from live product, stock, price, and order data when your Inseller workspace is connected — so 'is size M back in stock' gets a real answer. | AI answers from a knowledge base and integrations you wire up yourself; no built-in link to a Malaysian commerce back office. | Inchat |
| Billing currency | Ringgit, billed locally. | US dollars, so the effective cost moves with the exchange rate. | Inchat |
Choose respond.io when
- You need SMS, voice, TikTok, or email as first-class channels alongside WhatsApp.
- You are building on top of the platform and need a documented developer API and webhooks.
- You need SSO, phone-number masking, or many separate workspaces under one contract.
Choose Inchat when
- Your conversations are on WhatsApp and Meta, and the per-contact line on your current quote is the part that keeps growing.
- You want AI Assist on Starter, with broadcasts, workflows, and autonomous replies available from Growth.
- Your answers need to be grounded in real stock, prices, and order status rather than a static knowledge base.
- You want to be billed in ringgit by a team in the same time zone as your customers.
Work out your own number
The comparison that matters is your monthly bill, not a feature grid. Put your template volume and the per-contact rate from your current quote into the WhatsApp cost calculator — it keeps Meta's message fees, the subscription, and the per-contact line in separate rows, because they scale differently.
Frequently asked
- Is Inchat cheaper than respond.io?
- It depends on one line: Monthly Active Contacts. Inchat starts at RM149/month with unlimited contacts and AI replies included. respond.io's Starter is US$79/month with unlimited MACs but without broadcasts, workflows, or AI Agents; those start on Growth at US$159/month, which includes 1,000 MACs and then charges US$12 per 100. If a lot of customers message you every month, the MAC line is usually what decides the comparison.
- Can I move from respond.io to Inchat without changing my WhatsApp number?
- Yes. Your WhatsApp Business Account and phone number are your own Meta assets, not the platform's. You reconnect them to Inchat through Meta Embedded Signup, so there is no number migration and no downtime for customers. Contacts move by CSV export and import; conversation history stays in your old tool as an archive.
- What does respond.io do that Inchat does not?
- More channels — TikTok, SMS, email, and voice — plus a documented developer API, incoming and outgoing webhooks, Single Sign-On, and phone-number masking. If any of those are requirements, respond.io is the better fit and this page is not going to argue otherwise.
- Do both platforms charge the same for WhatsApp messages?
- Meta's per-message rates are identical for everyone; a platform can only pass them through or mark them up. Both Inchat and respond.io pass them through to your own WhatsApp Business Account. Any tool advertising cheaper WhatsApp messages is reselling at a markup.
Try it on your own conversations
14 days, full product, no credit card. Reconnect your existing WhatsApp number — it stays your asset either way.