Cloud API vs BSP, what a "provider" actually sells
Two routes lead to the official WhatsApp Business API. The Cloud API is hosted by Meta itself: any business (or any platform acting for one) connects directly, and Meta charges only its per-conversation fees. BSPs, Business Solution Providers, are Meta partners who resell access, historically by hosting the API themselves and today mostly as a layer on the Cloud API, often adding their own per-message fee. The practical differences have narrowed to pricing structure and support; the Cloud API vs BSP guide covers the detail.
What that means for choosing: don't pay for "official access" as if it were scarce, it isn't. Pay for what sits on top: the campaign tools, inbox, bots and integrations you'll use daily, the markup on Meta's rates, and the support you get when a template gets rejected at 6 pm before a sale. Comparison basis for everything below: each provider's own published pricing, checked August 2026; where a company doesn't publish numbers, we say so.
WhatsApp API providers in India, compared
| Provider | Entry pricing | Model | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
Growcord | ₹299/mo (₹99/mo billed yearly); free tier 50 conversations/mo | Plans + Meta's fees at Meta's rate, no markup added | SMEs and D2C that want everything included |
Wati | ₹2,499/mo Growth (₹2,199 billed yearly), 3 fixed seats | Subscription plans + Meta fees | Teams buying a well-known vendor |
AiSensy | ₹1,500/mo Basic; ₹1.09/marketing msg; bot builder ₹2,500/mo | Plan + prepaid per-message, unlimited seats | Many agents, moderate volumes |
Interakt | ₹2,799/mo Growth (₹2,239 yearly); ₹0.958/marketing conv | Plans + published per-conversation rates | Catalog-led selling, Jio ecosystem |
Gallabox | ₹2,999/mo quarterly (₹2,399/mo yearly), 3 users | Plans + conversation fees | Sales-enquiry teams |
DoubleTick | ₹3,000/mo on yearly billing + GST, 5 agents | Plans + conversation fees | Field-sales teams on mobile |
Gupshup | Usage-based; per-message platform fee, sales-led volume deals | CPaaS / BSP | Developers, very high volume |
MSG91 | ₹500/mo Titan plan; ₹0.8631 per marketing message + GST | CPaaS plan + per-message rates | SMS and OTP shops adding WhatsApp |
Twilio | $0.005 per message + Meta fees; no monthly fee | Pure API, pay-as-you-go | Engineering teams building custom |
Competitor pricing and features as published on their websites, checked August 2026.
The providers, one by one
Growcord, everything included, priced for Indian SMEs
Growcord is a platform on the official Cloud API. Every plan, Basic ₹299/month (₹99/month billed yearly) through Enterprise ₹5,999 (₹2,999), includes broadcast campaigns with scheduling, no-code bot flows, a shared team inbox, contacts with tags and segments, sales pipelines, ecommerce automations, analytics, and a REST API with keys and webhooks.
Meta's conversation charges are passed through at Meta's exact published rate, because Growcord earns on the subscription rather than on your message volume. Billing is INR via Razorpay with GST invoices, support runs IST hours, and the plan fee carries a 7-day unconditional money-back guarantee. Add-ons stay flat: ₹149/extra member, ₹299/extra number, ₹399 per 1,000 extra conversations.
Wati, AiSensy, Interakt, Gallabox, DoubleTick, the SaaS field
These five compete for the same buyer with different trade-offs. Wati (₹2,499/month Growth, ₹2,199 billed yearly, three fixed seats) is the most established name, see the Wati comparison. AiSensy pairs a ₹1,500/month Basic plan with prepaid per-message rates and unlimited agent logins: ₹1.09 per marketing message, ₹0.145 per utility, chatbot builder a further ₹2,500/month. Interakt, from Jio's Haptik, starts WhatsApp at ₹2,799/month with unlimited agents. Gallabox runs ₹2,999/month billed quarterly (₹2,399 yearly) with a three-user cap and bundled AI credits. DoubleTick is mobile-first for field sales at ₹3,000/month on yearly billing with five agents. All are legitimate; the differences that bite later are seat caps, per-message markups and which features sit behind higher tiers.
Gupshup, the volume BSP
Gupshup is one of India's original BSPs and a serious CPaaS: usage-based pricing with a small per-message platform fee on top of Meta's rates and volume deals negotiated through sales. The dashboard assumes technical users. If you're sending at genuinely large scale with developers on staff, get a quote; if you want marketing tooling out of the box, look elsewhere, our Gupshup comparison goes deeper.
Twilio, the developer's building block
Twilio charges $0.005 per WhatsApp message plus Meta's fees passed through, with no monthly platform fee. It is an excellent API and nothing else, no campaign UI, no inbox, no bots; you build all of that. Great for product teams embedding WhatsApp into their own software; wrong tool for a marketing team. Comparison here: Twilio WhatsApp alternative.
MSG91, the OTP-first CPaaS
MSG91 keeps WhatsApp cheap to switch on: the Titan plan is ₹500/month, with India rates of ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ₹0.115 per utility message, both exclusive of GST. Its real strength is running SMS with DLT handled, email, voice and WhatsApp behind one account, which is why OTP-heavy businesses land there. The campaign and inbox tooling is thinner than the SaaS field's, the MSG91 comparison has the detail.
Before you sign with any provider
Get the effective per-conversation rate in writing. Meta's India marketing rate is roughly ₹0.78–0.88; published platform rates reach ₹1.09, and 20 paise across 50,000 conversations is ₹10,000 a year.
Check the seat maths: 3 fixed seats with no add-ons can force a plan jump the month you hire.
Confirm INR billing with a GST invoice if you'll claim input credit.
Confirm API access and webhooks are on your plan, not a higher one.
Ask how number migration out works. A provider confident in its product makes leaving easy.
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Growcord's free tier, 1 number, 50 conversations a month, is a working trial of the whole platform, not a demo video.
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What you get here that you don't get elsewhere
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best WhatsApp API provider in India?
There's no single answer. It depends on fit. For SMEs wanting broadcasts, bots, inbox and integrations included at the lowest published entry price, Growcord (₹99/month billed yearly) is the value pick. AiSensy suits teams with many agents on per-message pricing, Gupshup wins at very high developer-led volumes, and Twilio fits custom builds. All run on the same official Meta infrastructure.
Are all WhatsApp API providers official? Is my number safe?
Every provider named on this page, Growcord, Wati, AiSensy, Interakt, Gallabox, DoubleTick, Gupshup, Twilio, works through Meta's official Business API, so bans for unofficial automation aren't a risk. What can still hurt any account is messaging people who didn't opt in; that damages quality ratings regardless of provider. Avoid anything advertising bulk WhatsApp without opt-ins.
What does the WhatsApp Business API cost in India?
Two layers: the provider's fee and Meta's conversation charges. Provider entry prices run from ₹99/month (Growcord, billed yearly) to about ₹3,000/month among the platforms compared here, checked August 2026. Meta's marketing conversations in India cost roughly ₹0.78–0.88 at cost; utility runs cheaper. The pricing guide has the full arithmetic.
Can I switch WhatsApp API providers without losing my number?
Yes. A number on the API migrates between providers through Meta's process without changing the number your customers message. Templates don't carry over, you resubmit them with the new provider, and approval usually takes minutes to hours. Chat history stays in the old platform, so export anything you need first.
Do I need a BSP, or is the Cloud API enough?
The Cloud API is enough for almost everyone, Meta hosts it, and platforms like Growcord run on it directly. BSPs matter mainly at enterprise scale: negotiated volume pricing, contractual SLAs, or legacy on-premise setups. If a salesperson implies official access requires their BSP badge, that hasn't been true for years, read the Cloud API vs BSP guide.
Is there a free WhatsApp API provider?
Meta's Cloud API itself has no platform fee if you build everything yourself, but Meta's conversation charges always apply, and you'd be writing your own campaign tools and inbox. Among platforms, Growcord's free tier, one number, 50 conversations a month, is free to start; no provider can make WhatsApp free at volume, whatever the ad says.
Why businesses pick Growcord
Official WhatsApp Business API
Built on Meta's Cloud API, the sanctioned channel, not a modded app. No number-ban roulette.
Indian pricing, GST invoice
Plans from ₹99/month billed yearly. Paid in ₹ via Razorpay, with a proper GST invoice every time.
Free tier, no card needed
1 number and 50 conversations a month to prove it on real customers before paying anything.
Support from New Delhi, in IST
A real team on email and WhatsApp, Monday to Saturday 10:00–19:00 IST, not a ticket void.
Talk to us
Get set up on WhatsApp this week
Tell us what you sell and how many customers you message. We'll reply on WhatsApp with the plan that fits and, if you want it, walk you through the Meta approval step.
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Documentation and official resources
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Last updated: 2026-08-07