By Avi
Published on Jan 2, 2026
Chakra Chat vs Respond.io (2026): Pricing, Contact Limits and Features Compared
Respond.io bills by Monthly Active Contacts, so your costs rise as campaigns succeed. Chakra Chat charges a flat rate from $12.49/month with native CRM and unlimited AI included. Here's the full breakdown — pricing, AI depth, CRM, coexistence, and ROI.
Quick Verdict
Respond.io is a mature omnichannel platform built for larger teams. Chakra Chat is a WhatsApp-first platform built for small and mid-size teams. The biggest difference is how you pay as you grow.
- Billing model: Respond.io charges a plan fee plus Monthly Active Contacts (MACs). Every person you chat with in a month counts. Chakra Chat has flat plans with no per-contact billing.
- Price to start: Chakra Chat from $12.49/month (free plan available). Respond.io from $79/month, and broadcasts, workflows and AI agents start at $159/month.
- Team seats: Respond.io charges $12 to $24 per extra user. Chakra Chat includes 2 to 50 seats by plan.
- Growth spikes: a festive sale or a successful ad campaign can add hundreds of dollars in MAC overage on Respond.io. On Chakra Chat, more contacts do not change your plan fee.
- Where Chakra Chat has the edge: built-in sales pipeline, WhatsApp Calling and Groups API, coexistence, up to 80 numbers, native Shopify, Wix and WooCommerce.
- Where Respond.io has the edge: true omnichannel (WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email, voice and more), SSO and multiple workspaces, native HubSpot and Salesforce.
Pick Respond.io if you run support across many channels with a large team and need enterprise controls.
Pick Chakra Chat if WhatsApp is your main channel and you want predictable costs that do not rise every time more customers reply.
Chakra Chat vs Respond.io at a Glance
| Decision factor | Chakra Chat | Respond.io |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, $0 | No, 7-day trial |
| Paid plans (monthly) | Starter $12.49, Growth $24.99, Advanced $49.99, Pro $199.99 | Starter $79, Growth $159, Advanced $279 |
| Yearly discount | 2 months free | Up to 20% |
| Billing model | Flat plan fee | Plan fee + Monthly Active Contacts |
| Contact-based overage | None | $12 per 100 MACs (Growth), $15 per 100 (Advanced) |
| Seats included | 2 / 3 / 6 / 12 / 50 by plan | 5 (Starter), 10 (Growth and Advanced) |
| Extra seat cost | $3 (Advanced), $2.5 (Pro) | $12 / $20 / $24 by plan |
| Broadcasts and workflows | All paid plans | Growth and above |
| AI agents | Growth and above | Growth and above, credit-based |
| Meta message fees | Paid to Meta directly, zero markup | Separate, via WhatsApp credit top-up |
| Built-in sales pipeline | Yes | Lifecycle stages; CRM via HubSpot or Salesforce |
| WhatsApp Calling | Yes | Yes |
| WhatsApp Groups API | Yes | Not listed |
| Coexistence | Yes | Not listed on pricing page |
| WhatsApp numbers | 1 to 80 by plan | Multiple |
| Channels | WhatsApp-first, plus website chat | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email, voice and more |
| Setup help | Free 30-min call on Advanced and Pro | Onboarding program as paid add-on |
| Best for | SMBs and mid-size teams (10 to 200 people) | Mid to large teams running many channels |
Prices from each vendor's pricing page, November 2026. Meta fees are extra on both.
1. Pricing: Flat Plans vs Monthly Active Contacts
In short: Chakra Chat's price depends on your plan. Respond.io's price depends on your plan, your seats and how many people you talk to each month.
Chakra Chat has Free ($0), Starter ($12.49), Growth ($24.99), Advanced ($49.99) and Pro ($199.99), plus usage-based Enterprise. Each plan includes a set number of seats, numbers and messages. There is no charge per contact.
Respond.io has Starter ($79), Growth ($159), Advanced ($279) and custom Enterprise. On top of the plan, it bills by Monthly Active Contacts (MACs): anyone you talked to over chat or calls during the billing month. Growth starts with 1,000 MACs. Beyond your tier, Respond.io bills $12 per extra 100 MACs on Growth and $15 on Advanced.
Quick math: a 5-person team on Growth
| Month | Active contacts | Respond.io Growth | Chakra Chat Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal month | 1,000 | $159 | $24.99 |
| Busy month | 3,000 | $159 + $240 overage = $399 | $24.99 |
| Festive sale month | 10,000 | $159 + $1,080 overage = $1,239 | $24.99 |
Respond.io notes that moving to a higher contact tier is cheaper than paying overage every month. That still means your plan price rises with your contact count.
On Chakra Chat, what changes your plan is message volume, seats or numbers, not the number of people you talk to. Growth includes 25,000 template and 15,000 service messages a month. Extra template messages cost $0.001 each.
Meta fees are separate on both. Chakra Chat adds zero markup: you pay Meta directly. Respond.io bills WhatsApp usage through a credit top-up on its platform.
2. Five Ways Contact-Based Billing Hits a Growing Team
In short: with MAC billing, the things that grow your business also grow your software bill. Here is where teams usually feel it.
- Campaigns that work. A broadcast that gets 2,000 replies turns 2,000 people into active contacts that month. The better the campaign, the higher the bill.
- Ads that bring leads. Click-to-WhatsApp ads add fresh contacts every month. Scaling ad spend scales your MAC count too, on top of the ad cost.
- Seasonal peaks. Festive sales, admission season or a product launch can triple your contacts in a single month. That is exactly when overage kicks in.
- Automation still counts. A customer handled only by your chatbot or AI agent is still someone you talked to that month. Automation saves agent time, but not contact charges.
- More numbers, more branches. Each branch, brand or regional number adds its own customers to the same monthly count.
The hidden cost is hesitation. When every conversation has a price, teams start holding back: fewer re-engagement campaigns, fewer follow-ups to old leads, smaller ad tests. Finance teams also find it harder to approve a budget that changes every month.
On Chakra Chat, you can message your whole customer base, run ads and handle seasonal rushes without paying per contact. Your plan only changes if you outgrow its message, seat or number limits, and Meta fees are charged at Meta's own rate.
3. What's Locked by Tier
In short: Respond.io's $79 Starter is an inbox only. To broadcast, automate or use AI agents, you need Growth at $159. Chakra Chat unlocks campaigns from $12.49 and AI agents from $24.99.
| Feature | Chakra Chat | Respond.io |
|---|---|---|
| Shared team inbox | Free and above | Starter and above |
| Broadcast campaigns | Starter ($12.49) | Growth ($159) |
| Workflow automation and chatbots | Starter ($12.49) | Growth ($159) |
| AI agents | Growth ($24.99) | Growth ($159), within AI credit limits |
| API and webhooks | Starter ($12.49) | API on Growth; webhooks on Advanced ($279) |
| Extra seats | Advanced and Pro | All plans, $12 to $24 each |
| Priority support | Advanced and Pro | 24/7 support listed |
AI credits on Respond.io: plans include 5,000 to 40,000 AI credits. Extra credits cost $15 per 1,000, capped at 200% of your allowance. Heavy AI use adds another usage-based line to the bill.
Upgrade triggers on Chakra Chat: more seats (Starter 3, Growth 6), more numbers, AI agents, or hitting your service message cap.
4. Where Chakra Chat Has the Edge
- Built-in lead management. A sales pipeline with stages, custom fields, chat assignment and lead source tracking (Facebook and Google ad leads). Respond.io tracks lifecycle stages and connects to HubSpot or Salesforce for deeper CRM.
- WhatsApp Calling in the inbox. Make and receive WhatsApp calls next to your chats, with call charges paid to Meta at cost.
- WhatsApp Groups API. Create and manage WhatsApp groups for communities, student batches or VIP customers. Not listed on Respond.io.
- Coexistence. Keep the WhatsApp Business App on your phone while the same number runs on the API.
- Multiple numbers on every plan. From 2 numbers on Starter to 80 on Pro, with no contact charges as each branch grows.
- Native eCommerce. Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, WhatsApp Catalog and payment integration. Respond.io lists Meta Product Catalog but not Shopify.
- Hands-on setup. A free 30-minute setup call on Advanced and Pro, instead of a paid onboarding add-on.
5. Where Respond.io Has the Edge
- True omnichannel. WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email, voice and more in one inbox. If half your support comes from non-WhatsApp channels, this matters.
- Enterprise controls. SSO, multiple workspaces, masked phone numbers and higher API limits on upper tiers.
- CRM and automation connectors. Native HubSpot and Salesforce, plus n8n, Zapier, Make and MCP support.
- AI voice agents. AI agents that handle voice calls, with call recording, summaries and transcripts.
For a large, multi-channel support operation, these can justify the higher price. For a WhatsApp-first SMB, most teams end up paying for capacity they do not use.
6. Support and Onboarding
- Chakra Chat: ticket support with a 24-hour first response on all plans. Advanced and Pro get priority support and a free 30-minute setup call. Chakra serves 2,500+ customers across 65+ countries.
- Respond.io: 24/7 human and AI support, scheduled success calls, and a 28-day onboarding program available as a paid add-on.
7. How This Plays Out for Small and Mid-Size Teams
- Multi-branch retail (8 stores): each store gets its own number on Chakra Chat Advanced ($49.99, 12 numbers). Diwali traffic across all stores adds no contact charges.
- Admissions team (10 counsellors): thousands of enquiries arrive in a 6-week window. On MAC billing, that peak is the most expensive time of the year. On Chakra Chat, the team broadcasts reminders and runs the pipeline on a flat plan.
- Field sales (real estate, auto): reps call leads on WhatsApp, move them through the pipeline and reply from the mobile app, all in one tool.
FAQs
What are Monthly Active Contacts on Respond.io? Anyone you talked to over chat or calls during a billing month. Respond.io bills by MAC tier, with overage at $12 per 100 contacts on Growth and $15 on Advanced.
Does Chakra Chat charge per contact? No. Chakra Chat plans are flat. Your price changes only if you need more seats, numbers or message volume.
Is Respond.io more expensive than Chakra Chat? For most WhatsApp-first SMBs, yes. Respond.io's Growth plan is $159/month before MAC overage and extra seats. Chakra Chat's Growth plan is $24.99/month.
Do both support WhatsApp Calling? Yes. Chakra Chat runs WhatsApp calls inside the team inbox. Respond.io also offers calling and AI voice agents.
Does either add a markup on Meta fees? Chakra Chat adds zero markup and you pay Meta directly. Respond.io bills WhatsApp usage through its own credit top-up; check its billing page for current rates.
Can I switch from Respond.io to Chakra Chat? Yes. The Chakra team helps move your WhatsApp number and set up your templates, workflows and pipeline.
Summing It Up
Respond.io is a strong choice for large teams that need one inbox for many channels. But its contact-based billing means your costs climb with every campaign, ad and busy season.
Chakra Chat keeps WhatsApp costs predictable: flat plans, Meta's own rates, and lead management, calling and groups built in. For WhatsApp-first SMBs and mid-size teams, that is usually the better fit.