AtitAs businesses become more inclined towards digitization, digital communication tools are becoming the primary medium for business-customer interaction. Among all these, WhatsApp business API is the go-to choice for everyone.
It enables organizations to connect with their customers to ensure optimum engagement at scale. WhatsApp is currently the most popular messaging app in the world. This has made it easier for organizations to utilize WhatsApp API for business and maintain connections with their target audience.
However, like every service, WhatsApp Business API Pricing comes with a price. It is important to understand the pricing structure before you move on.
Exploring WhatsApp Business API
Before we get into pricing structure, first let’s explore WhatsApp Business API:
What is the WhatsApp Business API?
WhatsApp business API is a specialized paid service offered by WhatsApp to all businesses. It enables them to integrate the messaging app with their system to communicate with customers.
It is designed especially for organizations that plan to broadcast promotional messages to a huge customer base in one go. It can be integrated with CRM and other vital systems and automate customer query response.
WhatsApp business apps might seem similar but differ in many ways. If you just want to use API WhatsApp Business, you can send limited texts, can’t broadcast messages, and won’t be able to integrate it.
Key Features:
WhatsApp Business API is powerful and is loaded with many features, and they are:
- Automation in messaging: With this service, you can send automated messages to customers at scale. Messages can include product information, order confirmation, shipping notification, and more.
- Pre-Approved Message Templates: WhatsApp provides pre-approved message templates that you can use to send different messages to customers. Users can also send notifications and product promotions with these templates.
- Integration: You can integrate this API with the business’s existing systems or tools to streamline messaging. Whether a CRM tool or an e-commerce platform, the integration allows for numerous messaging capabilities.
- Media Sharing: Another key feature is that it lets you send varied media types to customers. Businesses can send well-structured messages about products or services using videos and images.
Decoding WhatsApp Business API Pricing
Now, let’s take a look at all the WhatsApp business API pricing:
Pricing Model
For the WhatsApp business API, the tech giant doesn’t charge anything from the businesses. Moreover, it offers 1000 free service conversations per month for every organization. After that, you are charged depending upon the type of conversation.
The conversations indicate the chat between business and customers, not individual messages. However, if you take service from BSP, you are usually charged based on your chosen subscription model.
Types of Messages and Their Cost
WhatsApp Business API Pricing is structured around different conversation types. Let’s take a look:
- Marketing: On all the marketing conversations, WhatsApp charges Rs 0.7265 per conversation.
- Utility: Any transactions or order delivery conversation will cost Rs 0.115 per conversation.
- Service: WhatsApp charges Rs 0.29 per conversation when you initiate a conversation with customers about pricing, features, and queries.
- Authentication: To verify a user with a one-time passcode, WhatsApp charges Rs 0.115 per conversation.
However, the business won’t be charged when a customer initiates the conversation by clicking through a WhatsApp ad or Facebook page’s CTA button.
Factors Influencing Pricing
When you get WhatsApp business API, especially from a BSP, there are a lot of factors that influence the pricing, and they are:
Volume of Messages
The number of conversations initiated by the business with their customers directly impacts the pricing. Subsequently, a business must pay a high amount when it sends many messages. Some BSPs even offer discounts for businesses with high volume requirements.
Geographic Variations
The pricing of WhatsApp business API varies according to the country where the business is situated. WhatsApp sets the price of conversation based on the local market condition and usage rate of specific countries.
Additional Costs
Besides the subscription, WhatsApp business API pricing is also influenced by some additional costs. Most BSPs charge specific fees for the integration and maintenance of the service. The total number of authentications, including international ones, also affects the pricing.
Evaluating Pricing Plans
Every BSP has its pricing. Let’s check how you can evaluate the plans:
Different Provider Offers
Apart from offering services directly, WhatsApp also collaborates with various BSPs to offer services:
- Alendie: It offers a complete suite of WhatsApp Business API with personalized bulk messaging at an affordable rate.
- BotSpace: A top provider known for its smart features and powerful automation. Its basic plan starts at Rs 2,999/month.
- Wati: This well-known BSP offers a no-code chatbot, conversational flow, and many other features. The basic plan starts at around Rs 1,999/month.
- Interakt: Intekart offers a comprehensive API service with numerous advanced features. They charge around Rs 9,588/year.
- Twilio: This famous BSP allows you to send engaging messages and supports various message types. You pay according to usage.
Choosing the Right Plan
Here are tips on choosing the right plan:
- Assess your total usage and opt for plans that would suit your requirements.
- Make sure the BSP doesn’t incur any additional costs for specific services.
- If you have a high conversation volume, opt for plans with a flat fee.
- For seamless automation and integration, that doesn’t have any limit.
Assessing the Investment
Return on Investment
Why WhatsApp API Chatbots are important? They transform how you interact with customers and perform targeted campaigning. While there are costs associated with setting up WhatsApp Business API, the benefits far outweigh the expenses.
However, it helps you personalize messages, create specialized offers, quickly respond to queries, and more. This leads to high customer engagement and, ultimately, high sales. Importantly, it can be integrated with existing systems to automate most tasks, which ultimately helps in operational improvements.
Case Studies
Here are some case studies of businesses that successfully implemented WhatsApp Business API:
- Tata CliQ: This e-commerce giant integrated the WhatsApp Business API to send customers orders and products. By integrating the API, they generated 10 times ROI and a 57% CTR rate.
- Unilever: Unilever integrated WhatsApp for Business API a few years back in Brazil to promote its detergent and softener. The automated marketing through WhatsApp helped them boost sales and customer engagement.
- Multinet Up: By leveraging WhatsApp Business API Integration in Turkey, Multinet Up saw a 42% increase in leads through targeted campaigns.
Conclusion
To successfully implement WhatsApp business API, you must understand the pricing. A perfect usage plan from a BSP will improve your operation cost and ROI and drive growth.
Before choosing a subscription model, evaluate your business needs and campaign requirements. Setting up WhatsApp Business API with a reliable BSP like Alendei ensures access to valuable features at affordable rates. Prioritize cost-effectiveness and value addition for the best outcomes.
Contact us today for pricing and other details!