As your business scales, transitioning from the WhatsApp business app to the WhatsApp Business Platform will boost customer engagement and streamline operations. The platform’s automated messaging feature, easy CRM integration, and advanced analytics support these goals.
The right WhatsApp business solution partner offers advanced analytics designed to turn customer interactions into insights. Deeper customer insights, such as the best time to engage or messaging preferences, can help you overcome low engagement or customer turnover.
Whether you’re moving from the WhatsApp business app to the Business Platform, or searching for a new Business Service Provider (BSP), this WhatsApp API business guide will help you navigate these decisions.
We’ll discuss how to select the right WhatsApp BSP, explore its benefits and key features, and provide a detailed review of the top six WhatsApp API providers on the market, along with the cost considerations.
What is a WhatsApp business solution partner?
A WhatsApp business solution partner (BSP) is a third-party company approved by WhatsApp to help other businesses access the WhatsApp Business API.
These providers integrate WhatsApp business messaging into your existing business communication tools. They handle all the pre and post-WhatsApp business integration challenges, freeing your marketing team to focus on improving customer engagement.
Why does WhatsApp work with partners?
Meta’s vision is to make WhatsApp conversations the primary way businesses and consumers connect. WhatsApp business solution partners shape this vision. These partners assist businesses in planning, building, and implementing effective solutions on the WhatsApp Business platform.
They offer comprehensive services including:
- Driving awareness of WhatsApp business platform solutions
- Integration services
- Chatbot integration
- Strong customer support
With over a billion users engaging via WhatsApp each week, this channel is quickly becoming a core component of marketing and customer service for companies worldwide.
How does a WhatsApp business solution partner work?
A WhatsApp business solution partner does all the legwork for managing conversations between businesses and their audience on WhatsApp.
Here’s how they work.
- Access to the WhatsApp Business API: These providers give you access to the WhatsApp Business API to scale your messaging strategy.
- Technical setup: They ensure perfect API integration with your existing business communication tools or customer experience tools such as a CRM or ERP.
- Account onboarding: They onboard your WhatsApp Business account, and take care of all necessary verifications and approvals required by WhatsApp.
- Automate workflows: WhatsApp business solution partners set up automated workflows that streamline recurring tasks, such as order confirmations and appointment reminders, so you can focus on high-value tasks.
Plus, most WhatsApp business solution partners offer customizable templates, ongoing technical support, and comprehensive training resources to keep your messaging strategy running smoothly.
The level and quality of support varies between providers: consider your requirements and choose a provider that closely aligns with them.
Benefits of using an official WhatsApp business service provider
Companies that work with an official WhatsApp business solution partner start seeing immediate benefits, such as:
- Direct access to call WhatsApp Business platform
- Permission to perform actions on behalf of a business, such as sending and receiving messages, managing templates, etc.
- Onboard businesses using Embedded Signup
- Eligible for partner program incentives
- Meet with Meta’s messaging, commerce, and compliance policies
- Manage billing on behalf of a business with a single line of credit sharing
Providers offer more than just these basic features to help businesses get the most out of the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Reach customers at scale
If scalability is your goal, choose Plivo as your WhatsApp business solution partner. We deliver billions of messages and calls annually with SMS and voice fallback channels. Plus, we work in 220+ countries and territories worldwide. Look for a provider with a track record of reliable communication.
Address common queries with automated messaging
Engaging a growing customer base is no easy feat. Automated messaging can facilitate customer engagement at scale. Look for providers that offer pre-built solutions and templates to streamline the process of sending automated notifications, promotional messages, and interactive content.
Get a thorough WhatsApp marketing campaign analysis
Say you’re testing a new WhatsApp marketing campaign on two target groups. You want to measure the performance of both. How do you know which one’s working? A WhatsApp business service provider grants access to detailed metrics and analytics. These valuable insights into customer interactions give your business a competitive edge.
Note: While BSPs handle most of the technical aspects, Meta’s recent policy shift requires some involvement from you. As a general requirement, you'll need to log in and verify your Facebook Business Manager ID. This process typically takes less than a week.
How to Choose a WhatsApp business solution partner
Start by exploring the Meta’s partner directory, where you can filter the partners based on the specific solution you’re looking for or even search by partner name.
If you’re unsure which WhatsApp business solution partner is right for you, start with these key questions:
- What is your current and projected message volume?
- Does your business require automation for frequently asked questions?
- What’s your budget?
- What level of customer support does the WhatsApp business solution partner offer? Is it 24/7?
- What specific metrics or KPIs does your business need to measure? Does the BSP offer those?
If you’re switching providers, keep these general practices in mind:
- Get a WhatsApp business solution partner that hosts the WhatsApp Business API on Meta's cloud for minimum downtime, i.e. avoid opting for an on-premise API solution.
- Choose a BSP that offers messaging software to manage conversations in one place.
- Ensure it doesn’t charge you markup fees or maintenance fees.
- Get one that migrates your existing WhatsApp number to maintain quality.
Top 6 WhatsApp business solution partners: a quick comparison
Need help picking the right WhatsApp business solution partner for your business? We’ve compiled a list of six such providers and a breakdown of their features, pricing, and limitations.
1. Plivo
Key Features
- Pay per conversation: Plivo’s pricing starts at just $0.00008 per conversation, which makes it an affordable option for businesses. Unlike providers that charge per message, Plivo's pricing structure allows you to send more messages without increasing costs. Plus, its volume pricing discounts can help you save even more.
- 24/7 customer support: Plivo offers round-the-clock customer support to assist with any issues. For those needing personalized assistance, it offers premium plans where you get a dedicated account team throughout the journey.
- Manages templates: Businesses require Meta’s template approval before initiating WhatsApp messages. Plivo not only shows the template language and status but also provides insights into why customers are blocking your messages. This data helps you identify and address any patterns that cause reported problems.
- Comprehensive documentation: Plivo has easy-to-follow API documentation that provides all the necessary information for developers to get up and running quickly.
Pros
- Robust API for SMS and voice
- High API call speed
Cons
- Lacks native chatbot functionalities
Pricing
Plivo offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model with a flat fee of Rs. 0.066 ( around $0.00008) / conversation on top of Meta’s fees. It also offers volume discounts and consolidates both Plivo and Meta fees into a single bill.
Suitable for
Businesses seeking reliable WhatsApp communication infrastructure that easily integrates with their existing business systems.
Reviews and ratings
G2: 4.5/5 (724 reviews)
Capterra: 4.3/5 (85 reviews) Transform Customer Interactions with Plivo
2. Gupshup
Key Features
- Automate campaigns: Gupshup lets you automate campaigns with custom lists and segments with behavioral data.
- GPT-3 powered auto bot: Automates customer interactions by smartly routing critical queries to live agents to resolve 80% of queries.
- Broadcast targeted campaigns: It lets one-click broadcast campaigns through WhatsApp’s quality-based messages, SMS, and RCS (Rich Communication Services).
Pros
- Monitors campaign performance with actionable insights on click-through rates and conversion funnels.
- Easily integrates with any eCommerce platform or CRM.
Cons
- Limited conversational intelligence compared to competitors
- Basic analytics dashboard
Pricing
It charges $0.001 per message, though fees vary by country.For India, the pricing breakdown is as follows:
- Marketing: $0.0099
- Utility: $0.0014
- Authentication: $0.0014
- Service Conversations: $0.004
Additionally, the first 1,000 service conversations per month per WABA are free.
Suitable for
Businesses seeking a provider that predicts behavior with insights on buying patterns, preferences and more to improve campaign performance.
Reviews and ratings
G2: 4.2/5 (+46 reviews)
3. CleverTap
Key Features
- Broader integration options: CleverTap integrates with multiple BSPs so that users can leverage a wider range of features, tools, and support options provided by different BSPs.
- Limitless data storage: It’s the industry’s only purpose-built database to empower you with a 10-year data lookback & 10,000 data points per user so that you can analyze and track customer interactions over a long period.
Pros
- Advanced marketing automation features such as campaign analysis based on customer insights, customer segmentation, reports, and dashboards
- Strong integration capabilities
- Multi-user access
Cons
- Limited native chatbot capabilities
- Focuses primarily on marketing, less on support
Pricing
The Essentials plan starts from INR 6000 per month with a capacity of 5000 users. The advanced plan additionally offers:
- Hyper-personalization for customers
- Automated segmentation based on customer personas
- Advanced analytics
- Premium engagement channels, including Facebook, Google ads, etc.
The cutting-edge plan, on top of advanced plan benefits, offers:
- Intelligent campaign analytics and management
- Predictive segmentation
- Real-time product recommendations
Suitable for
E-commerce businesses seeking a unified customer engagement platform with advanced analytics and campaign management capabilities.
Reviews and ratings
G2: 4.6/5 (+506 reviews)
4. Verloop
Key Features
- AI-powered customer support automation: Verloop proactively shares updates, reminders, and other notifications with segmented users for specific targeting.
- Multilingual support: It supports 20+ languages, so there’s no language barrier when engaging with your customers.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Strong customer support
Cons
- Lacks commerce capabilities that engage customers with promotions, product recommendations, and purchase options directly in the WhatsApp chat
- Basic analytics compared to competitors
Pricing
Starter plan: Free, 500 monthly conversations It includes:
- FAQ automation
- Verloop bot builder
- Live-chat with agents
- CRM integration
- Facebook bots
Enterprise plan: Billed annually It includes:
- Customized reports
- Onboarding & training
- Advanced data export
- Customer success manager
- Optimization consultation
Suitable for
Businesses that need scalable and multilingual customer support automation
Reviews and ratings
G2: 4.7/5 (+ 428 reviews)
5. 360Dialog
Key Features
- Data compliance: 360Dialog offers regional hosting for data compliance and performance.
- Detailed campaign performance tracking: It offers full-funnel performance tracking via WhatsApp to optimize marketing budgets.
- Automated and customized messaging: It lets you automate bulk messages and customize them based on the user’s location and preferences.
Pros
- Intuitive dashboard
- Offers both on-premise and cloud API
- Easy to deploy
Cons
- Simple UI with limited functionalities
- Limited flexibility in terms of integration with other CRM, support tools
Pricing
Starts at €99 per month and goes up to €500 (source: G2)
Suitable for
Businesses seeking quick, customizable WhatsApp API access.
Reviews and ratings
G2: 3.8/5 (+ 27 reviews)
6. Wati
Key Features
- No-code chatbots: Developers can create no-code chatbots that respond instantly to common customer queries.
- Automated tools: It offers automated tools to simplify mass communication and personalize responses.
- One-to-one chat: You can tag contacts, categorize them, and communicate with them in groups to facilitate personal communication.
Pros
- User-friendly setup
- Easy to integrate with existing CRM or other customer support channels
- Collaborative features such as shared inbox and internal notes-sharing capability for support teams
- Provides public user forums for support questions and help.
Cons
- Gets expensive with a higher message volume
Pricing
- Growth plan: Send WhatsApp messages to thousands of users in one click. INR 1,999 / month (additional charges for conversations apply)
- Pro plan: Set up automation, integrations, and powerful analytics. INR 4,499 / month (additional charges for conversations apply)
- Business plan: Includes advanced workflows and expert support. INR 13,499 / month (additional charges for conversations apply)
Suitable for
Small to medium-sized businesses are looking for an easy-to-use WhatsApp solution with features such as a chatbot builder.
Reviews and ratings
G2: 4.6/5 (+ 228 reviews)
Choose Plivo to scale your messaging without breaking the bank
Investing in a WhatsApp business solution partner requires having a clear understanding of your business goals and budget. Plivo guides you throughout the entire configuration journey and beyond, with no hidden costs.
With our straightforward billing and pricing per conversation that starts from Rs. 0.066 ($0.00008), Plivo is a great choice for businesses of all sizes. You don’t have the headache of managing separate billing for Meta: Plivo consolidates all charges into a single bill. Moreover, we offer volume pricing discounts.
Plus, our platform offers 24/7 customer support. The premium support plans offer a team to assist you throughout the onboarding process. Plivo’s easy-to-follow API documentation entails all that a developer needs to know even if you don't choose to be a premium support plan user.
Affordability and reliability are at the core of Plivo’s offering. Request a trial to learn how Plivo could be the right WhatsApp business solution partner for you.
