The best free WhatsApp automation tools
"Free" means three different things in WhatsApp automation. A free plan has no end date but limits what you can do. A free trial unlocks everything for a few days. And free messages are something only Meta can give. Meta gives each business phone number 1,000 free service messages a month and charges from the 1,001st.
No tool can make Meta's marketing or utility charges free. What a free plan saves you is the tool's own fee.
| # | Tool | Best for | Price (checked 16 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadlo AI | A free plan with no trial clock | Free (10 messages/day); paid from ₹999 a month |
| 2 | AiSensy | Free API access and an inbox | Free plan; paid from ₹1,500 a month + markup on Meta charges |
| 3 | Interakt | A 14-day trial with no payment | WhatsApp from ₹2,799 a month + markup on Meta charges |
| 4 | Respond.io | A 7-day trial with no card | From $99 a month ($79 billed yearly) |
| 5 | WATI | A free trial of a mature inbox | From ₹2,999 a month + markup on Meta charges |
| 6 | Gallabox | A 7-day trial with no card | From ₹2,999 a month + markup on Meta charges |
1. Tadlo AI
Our top pick
Best for: A free plan with no trial clock
Tadlo AI's free plan sends up to 10 messages a day with no Tadlo fee, no trial clock and no card needed for Tadlo. It is enough to try automated replies, test templates and see how your customers respond.
When you outgrow it, Starter at ₹999 a month adds a shared inbox for 1,000 contacts and 2 seats, and Growth at ₹2,499 adds broadcasts and commerce automations. Meta bills message charges directly to your own account at its standard rates, with no Tadlo markup.
Price: Free forever plan with up to 10 messages a day. Starter ₹999, Growth ₹2,499, Pro ₹5,999 and Scale ₹11,999 a month, priced on unique contacts engaged per month. Meta's message charges are billed by Meta directly to your own account, and Tadlo adds no markup. Prices exclude GST.
Strengths
- No markup on Meta's message charges: Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business Account directly, and Tadlo only charges a flat plan
- Built for D2C: abandoned cart recovery, COD to prepaid nudges and order updates from Shopify and WooCommerce (Growth plan and above)
- Instagram comments to WhatsApp chats, which most WhatsApp-only tools cannot do
- Priced on unique people reached, not on every message, so you can follow up without counting sends
- Number health checks every 15 minutes, gradual ramp-up for new numbers and automatic opt-out handling
- Your WhatsApp Business Account is created inside your own Meta business account, so it stays yours
Limitations
- Newer than AiSensy, WATI or Interakt, with a shorter track record
- Commerce automations start on the Growth plan (₹2,499 a month)
- Tadlo AI is onboarding brands in stages, and you request access on its WhatsApp page.
2. AiSensy
Best for: Free API access and an inbox
AiSensy's forever-free plan gives WhatsApp API access with ₹1000 in ad credits and ₹50 in conversation credits, a live chat dashboard for one agent and up to 10 tags. AiSensy's free plan excludes broadcasting and retargeting, template message APIs, multi-agent chat and Shopify or WooCommerce integrations.
Price: A forever-free plan gives WhatsApp API access with ₹1000 in ad credits and ₹50 in conversation credits, for 1 agent, without broadcasts or integrations. Paid plans were Basic ₹1,500 and Pro ₹3,200 a month according to AiSensy's blog on 17 February 2025. Calculated from AiSensy's published India rates (marketing ₹1.09, utility ₹0.145) against Meta's rates, its message charges are about 26% higher than Meta's.
Strengths
- Forever-free API access
- Ad and conversation credits to start
Limitations
- No broadcasts or integrations on Free
- About 26% above Meta's rates once you pay for messages
3. Interakt
Best for: A 14-day trial with no payment
Interakt offers a 14-day free trial with no payment required, long enough to run a real cart-recovery test on a Shopify store.
Price: WhatsApp plans: Growth ₹2,799 and Advanced ₹3,799 a month plus taxes; Enterprise on request with no markup. The ₹999 Starter plan covers Instagram only. Interakt charges its own per-message rates, which sit above Meta's: marketing ₹0.970 / ₹0.958 / ₹0.949 and utility ₹0.160 / ₹0.150 / ₹0.140 on Starter, Growth and Advanced. 14-day free trial.
Strengths
- 14-day trial
- Shopify flows to test
Limitations
- Trial, not a free plan
- Markup below Enterprise
4. Respond.io
Best for: A 7-day trial with no card
Respond.io's 7-day trial needs no card and covers Growth features for 5 users and 1,000 monthly active contacts, without broadcasts.
Price: Starter $99, Growth $199 and Advanced $349 a month ($79, $159 and $279 billed yearly), with 5, 10 and 10 users. Enterprise is custom. WhatsApp fees are not included: Meta charges them by usage and you top up WhatsApp credit in the platform. 7-day free trial with no card.
Strengths
- No card needed
- Growth features in the trial
Limitations
- Trial excludes broadcasts
- From $99 a month afterwards
5. WATI
Best for: A free trial of a mature inbox
WATI offers a free trial, after which plans start at ₹2,999 a month.
Price: Growth ₹2,999, Pro ₹6,499 and Business ₹18,499 a month billed monthly, with savings of up to 10% on quarterly and up to about 25% on annual billing. Growth includes 3 users with no additional users; Pro and Business include 5, with extra users at ₹1,299 and ₹2,199 a month each. Template and service messages are charged on top, with a markup on Meta's rates. A free trial is available.
Strengths
- Free trial
- Mature inbox to test
Limitations
- Trial, not a free plan
- Markup after the trial
6. Gallabox
Best for: A 7-day trial with no card
Gallabox has a 7-day trial with no credit card required, then plans from ₹2,999 a month billed quarterly.
Price: Basic ₹2,999, Essential ₹6,999 and Advanced ₹16,999 a month, billed quarterly, with a 7-day free trial and no card needed. Meta's message charges appear on your Gallabox invoice with a markup; Gallabox does not publish the percentage.
Strengths
- No card needed
- CRM features to test
Limitations
- Trial, not a free plan
- Markup percentage not published
Free plan or free trial?
| Tool | Type | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Tadlo AI | Free plan | Up to 10 messages a day, no trial clock, no card |
| AiSensy | Free plan | API access, one agent, credits; no broadcasts |
| Interakt | Trial | 14 days, no payment |
| Respond.io | Trial | 7 days, no card, no broadcasts |
| WATI | Trial | Free trial; plans from ₹2,999 a month |
| Gallabox | Trial | 7 days, no card |
| WANotifier | Trial | 7 days; free plan closed to new users on 27 October 2025 |
What Meta still charges
Meta's rates for messages to Indian (+91) numbers from 1 October 2026: marketing ₹0.8631 and utility ₹0.115 per message. Each number gets 1,000 free customer-service replies a month. Meta changes these rates from time to time. When someone messages you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, a free entry point window opens for up to 7 days, during which Meta does not charge for messages.
So the cheapest way to start is to answer customers who message you first, within your free service allowance, and to save marketing templates for when you are ready to pay for them.
Getting the most from a free plan
- Start with automated replies to the questions you get every day.
- Get one utility template approved, such as an order confirmation, and test it.
- Collect opt-in properly from day one, so your list is usable when you start campaigns.
- Move to a paid plan when you need broadcasts, a team inbox or store automations.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free WhatsApp automation tool?
Yes. Tadlo AI's free plan sends up to 10 messages a day with no Tadlo fee, and AiSensy's free plan gives API access without broadcasts. Meta's message charges still apply.
Is the WhatsApp Business API free?
Access can be free through some providers, but Meta charges per delivered marketing, utility and authentication message. Meta gives each business phone number 1,000 free service messages a month and charges from the 1,001st.
Which WhatsApp tool has the longest free trial?
Interakt's 14-day trial is the longest here. Respond.io, Gallabox and WANotifier offer 7 days, and WATI also offers a free trial.
Does WANotifier still have a free plan?
Not for new users. WANotifier stopped offering its free plan on 27 October 2025 and now has a 7-day trial.
Sources
- tadlo.ai: Tadlo AI WhatsApp automation. Plans, features, Meta rates and onboarding checked 16 October 2026.
- Meta WhatsApp Business Platform pricing,
developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing. Rates effective 1 October 2026; page updated 30 September 2026. - Interakt pricing,
interakt.shop/pricing/. Plans and per-message rates checked 16 October 2026. - Interakt free trial,
interakt.shop/start/. - AiSensy pricing,
aisensy.com/pricing. India per-message rates checked 16 October 2026. - AiSensy forever free plan,
wiki.aisensy.com/en/articles/11478270-aisensy-forever-free-plan-everything-you-need-to-know. - AiSensy Basic vs Pro (AiSensy blog),
m.aisensy.com/blog/aisensy-basic-vs-pro-plan-which-ones-best-for-you/. Published 17 February 2025. - wati.io/pricing, checked 16 October 2026,
wati.io/en/pricing/. - Gallabox pricing,
gallabox.com/pricing. Checked 16 October 2026. - WANotifier pricing,
wanotifier.com/pricing/. Checked 16 October 2026. - Gupshup WhatsApp API pricing,
gupshup.ai/isv-partners/whatsapp-api/pricing. Checked 16 October 2026. - Respond.io pricing,
respond.io/pricing. Checked 16 October 2026.