For Indian businesses, WhatsApp is the dominant customer communication channel — but most do not understand the difference between the free WhatsApp Business app and the paid WhatsApp Business API. Picking the wrong one limits your growth or wastes money. Here is the clear decision framework for Indian SMBs to enterprises.
Base BSP fees: ~₹1,166-4,899/month (Interakt Starter ₹3,499/quarter ≈ ₹1,166/month, AiSensy from ~₹1,500, Wati Growth ₹2,199, Wati Pro ₹4,899). Plus Meta per-message charges — Meta replaced conversation billing with per-message billing on 1 July 2025, and India rates from 1 January 2026 are ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ~₹0.115 per utility or authentication message; free-form replies inside the customer's 24-hour window are free. A typical Indian SMB sending 5,000 marketing messages a month should budget ~₹4,300 in Meta charges plus the platform fee, before 18% GST.
Wati is the most popular for Indian SMBs (clean UI, fast setup, ~₹2,500/month base). AiSensy is competitive (similar pricing, broader features). Interakt is preferred for e-commerce. Karix and Gupshup serve larger enterprises with more customisation needs. We recommend Wati or AiSensy for most SMBs unless specific enterprise needs exist.
Yes — Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk both have native WhatsApp Business API integrations. Messages from WhatsApp create tickets/contacts automatically, agents respond from Zoho interfaces, and conversations are logged against customer records. Setup typically takes 1 week and is included in our Zoho deployment service.
No — Meta has not announced plans to deprecate WhatsApp Business App. Both are first-class products. The App will remain free and good for small businesses; the API is for scale. Pick based on your stage, not fear of deprecation.
Green tick is awarded to "Official Business Accounts" on WhatsApp Business API only (not the free app). Eligibility requires: (1) being a "notable" brand or business in India, (2) being on WhatsApp Business API via a BSP, (3) submitting verification to Meta via your BSP. Approval takes 4-8 weeks and is at Meta's discretion. Most Indian SMBs do not get the green tick but still get blue checkmark for verified businesses.
Need WhatsApp Business API setup for India? We help select BSPs (Wati, AiSensy, Interakt) and integrate with Zoho/Freshdesk.