WhatsApp Business API is one of the best communication tools in the current era. All types of businesses have started to integrate WhatsApp API into their existing business communications platforms to get more leads, sales, and conversions. Twilio, one of the most popular CPaaS (cloud communications platform as a service) providers is considered the best business communications platform for WhatsApp integrations. Twilio offers hassle-free WhatsApp API integration solutions and at the same time, enables them to engage with their WhatsApp customers easily.

What is Twilio WhatsApp API

The Twilio WhatsApp API is a console in the Twilio platform that allows users to engage in WhatsApp conversations and build WhatsApp chatbots using Twilio’s platform tools and messaging APIs. This WhatsApp quickstart process makes WhatsApp integration an easy and hassle-free process for users who are familiar with the platform. Even for business owners who are new to Twilio, the WhatsApp API is beneficial because it makes the WhatsApp Business integration and management process much easier.

Suggested Read: All you need to know about WhatsApp Business API

Benefits of Twilio WhatsApp API

As mentioned earlier Twilio’s WhatsApp API provides excellent benefits to business owners. Some of them are listed below:

Scalable & Future-Proof WhatsApp API Support

One of the reasons that businesses choose Twilio’s WhatsApp API is its future-proof support. Twilio Conversations and Twilio Programmable Messaging, the two main messaging applications in the platform can be easily integrated with WhatsApp APIs. This makes it one of the best platforms for building custom WhatsApp chatbots for personalized use-cases. The ability to integrate with WhatsApp as a whole is the main reason why this API is widely adopted for business solutions.

Host of Tools & Support Options

Twilio is also preferred by businesses because it has a variety of useful tools and support options. Businesses of all sizes can have access to WhatsApp with Twilio’s powerful messaging platform. In addition, the platform offers superior onboarding and management features that can make a user’s experience much better. Twilio’s support options can give business owners peace of mind and help them easily solve any issues they may encounter.

Custom-building Support

In today’s digital world, businesses need to be highly responsive and agile to stay competitive. Twilio can aid businesses to build custom WhatsApp chatbots and messaging solutions that can be seamlessly integrated with other platforms. Through Twilio Conversations, developers can easily build their own WhatsApp chatbots and messaging solutions. This opens the doors for businesses to create highly useful WhatsApp integrations for their businesses. Twilio also offers a variety of different chatbot-building templates and support tools that businesses can use to build their own WhatsApp chatbots.

Disadvantages of Twilio WhatsApp API

Although Twilio is one of the leading options for WhatsApp API solutions, it also has its share of disadvantages, especially for businesses based in India. The following are some of the prominent disadvantages of the Twilio WhatsApp API support:

Cost

There’s no doubt that Twilio is a good option for businesses. However, this often comes with a price tag. Twilio has a high set-up and monthly maintenance cost that might become a barrier for business owners. While the cost might feel acceptable for large enterprises, it might not be an affordable option for small-to-medium businesses.

Tough to Set-Up

While Twilio provides a host of options, it might not be easy to set up. Many users state that new Twilio users need to spend more time getting acclimated to the platform. This might also create challenges during the initial WhatsApp set-up phase as users need to learn the new platform. Many customers have noted that the layout and UX of the application are not conducive to intuitive operations.

Lack of Real-Time Monitoring & Management

One of the main disadvantages of using Twilio for WhatsApp is that the platform doesn’t have solid real-time monitoring & management applications. This is a hindrance for businesses that are looking to offer customized customer support solutions. The lack of real-time support and monitoring can sometimes lead to issues that have a higher impact on users’ experience.

Outdated Data Analytics

Twilio is also often criticized for its outdated tracking and analytics tools. In a time when businesses are looking for smooth audit and optimization support, the lack of advanced analytics options is a big setback. This might lead to many challenges in data analysis that makes the platform more difficult to manage.

Documentation & Support

Twilio also doesn’t have a good self-support system. There is a clear lack of documentation and training guides that could help users solve their own queries. In addition, many users have stated that they had to deal with unhelpful and stubborn support staff, which in some cases have led to wasted time and profits. For Indian businesses, this could prove to be a major hindrance that could break their business process.

What is Twilio WhatsApp Pricing like?

Much like other WhatsApp Business Service Providers, Twilio also follows WhatsApp’s conversation-based pricing model.

In the conversation-based pricing model, businesses will be charged based on the number of conversations that they’ve had in a 24-hour session. Within the 24-hour period, the business will be charged when they initiate a conversation with a user through template messages or notifications. This charge will be based on the region that the user is based in. If a user initiates a conversation, then the business will not be charged for replying within the 24-hour period. Moreover, WhatsApp also offers 1000 free conversations per month to each business. For more details, you can check out our WhatsApp pricing blog post.

In addition to these charges, Twilio also charges a flat fee per message. This flat fee is applicable for both business-initiated and user-initiated conversations.

Top 12 Twilio Alternatives for WhatsApp API

Now that we’ve seen the pros and cons of Twilio, it’s important to learn about the top alternatives that also provide excellent WhatsApp Business services. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Verloop.io

Verloop.io has been providing AI-based conversation support to businesses since 2016. The company ensures smooth customer experiences for businesses with their custom-built conversational assistants that can be clubbed with the WhatsApp Business API. They are also highly experienced in building custom WhatsApp chatbots for businesses from various domains. Explore in depth about Verloop alternative.

Price: Free Starter Pack. Business plans start from ₹3528/- per month.

Gallabox

Gallabox is a leading WhatsApp Business Service provider that has immense experience in building custom WhatsApp applications and chatbots to suit the needs of all types of businesses. The company is committed to ensuring a seamless customer experience for its clients by offering a cost-effective and efficient way of engaging customers with excellent WhatsApp solutions. The company’s USPs are its easy-to-use platform and advanced analytics applications.

Price: Starts from ₹2000/- per month.

Ameyo

Ameyo is a leading communication service provider that also offers robust WhatsApp support. The major advantage that Ameyo provides users is its insightful dashboard that helps businesses monitor their chat applications in real-time. Ameyo’s onboarding process and UX design are also two other reasons why many businesses prefer it to Twilio.

Price: Based on Request

Freshchat

Freshchat was started with the goal of providing real-time customer support solutions to businesses across the spectrum. The company is well-known for its intuitive and well-integrated platform and excellent customer support. It also allows businesses to track WhatsApp chats and generate insightful data.

Price: There is a restricted free plan. Business plans start from ₹999/- per agent per month.

Novochat

NovoChat provides omnichannel customer support solutions to small and medium businesses. The company provides multi-agent chat support solutions to businesses through WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, and LINE. NovoChat’s broadcast feature is its USP as it helps businesses send multiple chats in bulk with the help of a single CSV file.

Price: Starts from ₹1948/-

Infobip

Infobip is another omnichannel service provider that has a robust interface for WhatsApp and other chat platforms. In addition to helping businesses send messages using the WhatsApp Business API, the company also helps them deploy chatbots. Infobip also offers real-time tracking and analytics support for businesses.

Price: Quotation-based Pricing Model

Respond.io

Respond.io is a communication service provider that specializes in offering omnichannel messaging solutions to businesses. The platform can integrate with a wide range of websites, CRMs and messaging platforms including WhatsApp. Its intuitive single interface and real-time tracking tools are the major USPs that drive businesses to choose the company.

Price: Free Starter Pack. Business plans start from ₹2260/-

MessageBird

As a leading communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) solutions provider, MessageBird offers cloud-based communication support to businesses. The company offers several features like a unified portal, centralized messaging system/inbox and chatbot flow builder to help businesses offer excellent customer support.

Price: Free Startup Plan. Business plans start from ₹3899/-

Wati

Wati is a WhatsApp business service provider that specializes in providing customized solutions to B2C businesses. The company’s main USP is its no-code chatbot builder which helps businesses build and implement chatbots easily. The company also offers a comprehensive report feature that helps businesses capture and monitor various data.

Price: Starts from ₹3800/-

Zendesk Sunshine

Zendesk’s CRM platform named Sunshine provides omnichannel communications support. The CRM can be easily integrated with WhatsApp Business and other messaging platforms. Sunshine provides a host of features to business owners ranging from group chats & outbound messaging to chatbots.

Price: Starts from ₹38570/-

Sendbird

Sendbird is a chat and messaging platform that provides superior in-app chat experiences to businesses. The platform helps businesses build modern chat and messaging applications with easy-to-use Chat APIs. Sendbird’s fully-managed chat platform lets businesses customize their WhatsApp messenger & chatbots to conduct unique in-app conversations with their customers.

Price: Free starter pack available. Starter plan starts from ₹31092/-

Botmaker

As the name implies, Botmaker is a communication service provider that helps businesses build and manage AI-based chatbots. The platform also offers multi-channel integration support to business owners. In addition to WhatsApp chatbots, Botmaker also helps businesses build chatbots that can be connected with Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Alexa & Google Assistant. Explore more on alternatives like Interakt alternative.

Price: Starts from ₹7700/-

The best alternative to Twilio WhatsApp API

Among the discussed alternatives, Gallabox stands head and shoulders above the rest, especially for Indian businesses. This is because it helps businesses seamlessly communicate with their customers through custom WhatsApp Business & Chatbot solutions. Gallabox offers

• No-code Chatbot Solutions
• Shared Inbox Support
• Custom Report Generation
• Real-Time Tracking & Monitoring

& other superior features to businesses.

Moreover, Gallabox’s intuitive platform can be easily integrated with your existing CRM systems. To get excellent WhatsApp business support at the lowest possible prices, contact Gallabox now and book a free demo!

Further Reading:

In case you missed our articles,

• A quick guide to WhatsApp Business Web
• 15 Best WhatsApp Business Message Templates (Copy & Paste)
• What is the difference between WhatsApp groups and WhatsApp broadcasts?
• Top 9 strong alternatives to Freshdesk that you should consider (Free & Paid)
• Top three ways to integrate WhatsApp to your website
• Best way to use WhatsApp Business with multiple users