Once you cross about 30–50 WhatsApp conversations a day, the WhatsApp Business app stops scaling. You need a real CRM: a shared inbox, tags, automations, broadcast segmentation, and — crucially — an official Meta-approved connection to the WhatsApp Business Platform (API).
The market is crowded with "WhatsApp CRM" tools. Some are legitimate BSPs (Business Solution Providers). Some are gray-market wrappers around your personal WhatsApp that will get you banned. This guide covers only the legitimate ones.
What to look for (and what to avoid)
Before comparing tools, know what makes a CRM real:
- Official Meta BSP status. Non-negotiable. If they connect via WhatsApp Web scraping or an unofficial API, your number gets banned.
- Green tick verification support. The official business badge builds trust and only BSPs can apply for it.
- Shared team inbox with assignment, tags, private notes.
- Template management — you can create and submit marketing templates for Meta approval inside the tool.
- Broadcast + segmentation without violating Meta's opt-in rules.
- Automations / chatbot flows with no-code builder.
- Native integrations with your existing stack (Shopify, HubSpot, Google Sheets, Zapier).
- Transparent pricing — beware "starting from" plans that don't include Meta's per-conversation fees.
Red flags to run from:
- "Connect your personal WhatsApp" (that's the scraping trick).
- No mention of Meta / BSP anywhere on the pricing page.
- Promises of "unlimited free broadcasts" (impossible — Meta charges per conversation).
- No template approval workflow.
The comparison
Prices are monthly, USD, at the entry tier (as of mid-2026). All exclude Meta's per-conversation charges, which pass through separately.
| Tool | Starting price | Best for | Key strength | Weakness | |---|---|---|---|---| | Twilio | Pay-as-you-go | Developers, custom builds | Rock-solid API, huge scale | No UI — you build it | | 360dialog | ~$50 | SMBs wanting direct BSP | Cheapest Meta markup | Bare-bones UI | | Wati | ~$49 | Small teams, no-code | Best-in-class chatbot builder | Limited CRM depth | | Respond.io | ~$79 | Multi-channel teams | Omnichannel (WA + IG + FB + email) | Steeper learning curve | | Trengo | ~$113 / 5 users | European SMBs | Solid EU data residency | Fewer automations | | SleekFlow | ~$79 | E-commerce (Shopify) | Deep Shopify + catalog | Weak reporting | | Interakt | ~$25 | India + emerging markets | Very cheap, catalog-native | Basic UI | | HubSpot + WA | Free (starter) + BSP | Existing HubSpot users | Full CRM sync | Requires separate BSP | | Salesforce + WA | Enterprise pricing | Large orgs on Salesforce | Native to SFDC | Expensive, slow to deploy | | Zoko | ~$34.99 | Shopify stores | Catalog + abandoned cart | Shopify-first, weak elsewhere |
Deep dives on the standouts
Twilio — the "build it yourself" pick
Twilio isn't a CRM, it's the plumbing. Best fit if you have a developer and want to embed WhatsApp into an existing product or workflow. You pay Meta's conversation fee plus Twilio's small markup and that's it. No monthly minimum. If you don't have a developer, skip it.
Wati — the SMB sweet spot
Wati is the tool most non-technical business owners land on. Their no-code chatbot builder is genuinely usable, template management is clean, and the shared inbox handles a small team well. The $49 plan gets you started; scale up as conversations grow. Weakness: not a real CRM in the "sales pipeline" sense — you'll still want HubSpot alongside if you run structured sales.
Respond.io — for multichannel support teams
If your customers hit you on WhatsApp and Instagram DM and Facebook Messenger and email, Respond.io unifies all of it into one inbox with the same automations. Overkill for pure WhatsApp shops, essential for social-first brands.
360dialog — for the cost-obsessed
360dialog is often the cheapest way to get to the official WhatsApp API because they charge a small platform fee on top of Meta's pass-through pricing — no big monthly SaaS bill. You get a basic web inbox but most users plug it into HubSpot, Zoho, or a custom app.
Interakt — for India and price-sensitive markets
Interakt is aggressively priced (starts around $25), catalog-native, and popular with D2C brands in India. Their UI is unpolished but the feature set is solid for the price. Worth a look outside India too if budget is tight.
SleekFlow / Zoko — for Shopify e-commerce
Both hook deep into Shopify: product catalogs, abandoned cart recovery, order status updates. If Shopify is your source of truth, these are more time-to-value than a generic CRM.
How to pick in 5 minutes
Answer these four questions:
-
How many conversations per day?
- Under 30: stay on the free WhatsApp Business app.
- 30–500: Wati, Interakt, or SleekFlow.
- 500+: Respond.io, Trengo, or a Salesforce/HubSpot integration.
-
Do you have developers? Yes → Twilio or 360dialog. No → pick a UI-first tool.
-
What's your existing stack?
- Shopify → SleekFlow or Zoko.
- HubSpot → HubSpot's native WA + a BSP.
- Salesforce → Salesforce Digital Engagement.
- None / spreadsheets → Wati.
-
Where are your customers?
- India / SEA → Interakt.
- EU (data residency matters) → Trengo or 360dialog EU.
- Global → Twilio, Respond.io, or Wati.
The hidden cost most reviews skip
Every one of these tools charges on top of Meta's per-conversation fee. If you're planning 10,000 marketing conversations/month in the US at $0.025 = $250 to Meta, plus the tool's $79/month subscription = $329 total, not $79. Always model total cost before picking.
What if you're not ready for a CRM yet?
You don't need any of these tools to start selling on WhatsApp. The free WhatsApp Business app plus a well-placed wa.me link gets you to your first 100 conversations for zero dollars. Generate your link in seconds with our free WhatsApp link generator, put it on your site and Instagram bio, and only upgrade when the volume genuinely hurts.
The best CRM is the one you actually need — not the one the sales rep convinced you to buy.