When selecting a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, understanding the pricing structure and utility offered is crucial (Read more). Interakt, a WhatsApp Business API partner, provides various pricing plans catering to businesses of different sizes. The following blog outlines what we found with regard to the details of Interakt's 2024 pricing model – but also goes over just how our own platform, Heltar, stacks up in terms of affordability and features.
Is WhatsApp API Free?
While WhatsApp offers free options for small businesses through the WhatsApp Business App, this is a basic tool designed for immediate, small-scale customer communication, available for free on both mobile and desktop via WhatsApp Web.
However, for businesses looking to scale their operations, the WhatsApp Business API is the real game-changer—but it comes at a cost. The API is not free, and businesses must use one of WhatsApp’s Business Solution Providers like Interakt or Heltar to access it.
Interakt offers tiered pricing plans, which can quickly become expensive and complex to manage, especially for small to medium-sized businesses.
Heltar- Best WhatsApp API, on the other hand, provides a cost-effective, simplified pricing model, making it easier for businesses to scale without facing the high setup fees or confusing pricing structures that are often found with other providers.
In essence, while the WhatsApp Business App is free for basic usage, businesses seeking growth through automation, analytics, and other advanced features will need to invest in the WhatsApp Business API
Understanding Interakt’s WhatsApp Business API Pricing
Interakt’s pricing for the WhatsApp Business API is structured around 3 primary components:
1. Setup Costs
Setup costs can vary among WhatsApp Business Solution Providers. Interakt claims to offer a free setup for businesses, along with a 14-day free trial of their platform. However, this initial offering does not always reflect the ongoing costs of using the API.
2. Monthly Costs
The monthly cost is essentially the subscription fee for using Interakt’s platform. Their Subscription Plan Charges range from INR 999/- to INR 3499/- per month, depending on the selected plan. This fee covers platform features, solutions, and various API functionalities. Pricing is tiered, providing options that align with a business's specific needs.
3. Cost Per Conversation
Interakt charges businesses for every conversation conducted via the WhatsApp Business API. The costs per conversation are broken down into:
User-Initiated Conversations: When a customer messages the business, it triggers a 24-hour session window where unlimited messages can be exchanged. The business is charged for this single conversation.
Business-Initiated Conversations: If the business initiates the conversation, a 24-hour session starts, allowing unlimited messages, charged as one business-initiated conversation.
Note: The exact WhatsApp Conversation Charges depend on factors like message volume and the recipient's country.
How Interakt’s Pricing Structure Works
Interakt offers four pricing plans with varying features:
1. Starter Plan
Exclusive to quarterly and annual pricing.
Starts at ₹2,757 per quarter.
Features include Shared Team Inbox, Unlimited Team Members, Instagram Inbox, Chat Automation, Catalog Building, and Bulk Notifications.
2. Growth Plan
Builds on the Starter Plan.
Starts at ₹6,897 per quarter.
Adds features like Click to WhatsApp Ads Analytics, Advanced Campaign Filters, Conversation Analytics, and more automation capabilities.
Offers a rate limit of 300 API calls per minute and includes onboarding support.
3. Advance Plan
Includes everything from the Growth Plan.
Starts at ₹9,657 per quarter.
Adds unlimited external app integrations, user segments for loyal customers, and enhanced API rate limits (up to 600 API calls per minute).
4. Enterprise Plan
Customized for businesses with high conversation volumes.
Customized pricing.
Offers the Pro and Enterprise tiers, differentiated mainly by the number of conversations.
Provides additional perks like dedicated support, exclusive playbooks, and strategies from Meta and Interakt.
Feature | Starter Plan (₹2,757/qtr) | Growth Plan (₹6,897/qtr) | Advanced Plan (₹9,657/qtr) | Enterprise Plan (Custom Pricing) |
Automated Workflows | Not available | Available | Available | Available |
AnswerBot | Not available | 4 webpages, 4 runs | 6 webpages, 8 runs | Available (no limits mentioned) |
Roles & Permissions | Not available | Available | Available | Available |
Auto Chat Routing | Not available | Not Available | Available | Available |
Automated Checkout Flow | Not available | Not available | Available | Available |
WhatsApp Payments | Not available | Not available | Available | Available |
Onboarding & Setup | Self-serve | Assisted | Assisted | Assisted |
WhatsApp Conversation Sessions and Charges (as applicable in India)
*While the actual charges that Meta levies on businesses for the conversations are as follows:
Marketing Conversation - INR 0.7265
Utility Conversation - INR 0.1150
Service Conversation - INR 0.2906
Interakt charges the businesses the following marked up rates:
Plan | Marketing Conversation | Utility Conversations | Service Conversations |
Starter | INR 0.820 | INR 0.160 | INR 0.350 |
Growth | INR 0.810 | INR 0.150 | INR 0.340 |
Advanced | INR 0.800 | INR 0.140 | INR 0.330 |
Enterprise | NA | NA | NA |
Upon analyzing the above table, we observed that:
Interakt is charging upto 12.87% markup on marketing conversations, 39.13% markup on utility conversations, and upto 20.44% markup on service conversations.
In contrast, Heltar offers a straightforward and transparent pricing model with a blanket 5% markup across all conversation types.
This consistency provides businesses with predictable costs that helps them in scaling their business with no excessive markups.
Heltar Vs Interakt - A Comparison
Subscription Fees
Interakt: Interakt's pricing plans start from ₹2,757 per quarter, scaling up to custom pricing for the Enterprise plan. The multiple packages and tiered features make it expensive, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. The incremental costs for unlocking advanced features force businesses to either commit to higher-tier plans or compromise on functionality.
Heltar: In contrast, Heltar offers lower subscription fees with a base plan starting at a more affordable monthly rate. It is designed to be budget-friendly for businesses of all sizes, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to minimize upfront costs, along with a simplified and transparent conversation pricing model, charging a flat 5% markup across all conversation types.
Advanced Features
Interakt: While Interakt provides robust features, many advanced capabilities are locked behind higher-priced plans. Essential features like advanced analytics, automated workflows, and API integrations are only available in the more expensive Growth, Advanced, and Enterprise plans. This tiered system restricts small businesses from accessing critical tools unless they commit to costly plans.
Heltar: Heltar includes advanced features—automation, analytics, customer segmentation — in every plan, at no additional cost. Businesses benefit from unrestricted access to essential tools allowing them to leverage full functionality of the platform.
Ease of Use
Interakt: One of the major downsides of Interakt is its chatbot builder, which is difficult to navigate and quite restrictive. The builder only allows for creating basic conversational flows, making it challenging for businesses to design more complex and intuitive chatbots. This lack of flexibility can be frustrating, especially for users who expect a smoother, more comprehensive automation experience.
Heltar: On the other hand, Heltar’s no-code chatbot builder is intuitive and user-friendly, enabling businesses to create advanced automation flows without needing technical expertise. Heltar’s builder empowers users to design sophisticated customer journeys while maintaining ease of use, making it ideal for both beginners and experienced users alike.
Customer Support
While Interakt does not provide even setup support in the growth plan, in Heltar, End-to-End Customer Support is made available to all customers, irrespective of their subscription plans. For us, at Heltar, Our Customers are our biggest priority, and we ensure they are well served through a comprehensive knowledge transfer of our platform and continued assistance.
Pay Less, Save More!
Heltar offers a cost-effective, highly efficient WhatsApp Business API with advanced features and a transparent pricing model that's easy to understand.
Take advantage of free trial with Heltar to enhance your WhatsApp marketing strategy without stretching your budget.
Let Heltar help you achieve more—without the financial strain.
