The respond.io Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about respond.io in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPAOctober 2026

respond.io

The Insider’s Guide

Team inbox for WhatsApp, social chats, email and calls with AI agents

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among help desk and live chat tools, read from respond.io’s own pages.

Made by Rocketbots Limited (respond.io) · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.6GPA

01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from respond.io’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on respond.io’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.6

GPA, above 14 of the 22 other help desk and live chat tools we grade

respond.io is a messaging platform for consumer-facing businesses that puts WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, WeChat, website chat, SMS, email and voice calls in one shared inbox. AI agents can answer and qualify leads, and workflows, broadcasts and CRM sync handle the rest. Plans are a monthly fee that includes a set number of users, and from Growth up the price follows how many contacts you talk to each month.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about respond.io, taken from its own pages and our grades.

1
Best for support and sales over WhatsApp and social chat
It suits businesses whose customers would rather message than email.
2
Paid plans start at $79 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).
3
You can try it first
7-day free trial of Growth for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, no credit card needed
4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
5
One inbox for messaging channels
WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, Viber, LINE, WeChat, a website chat widget, email (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, SMTP) and SMS through providers, in one shared inbox.
6
Calls in the same thread
WhatsApp Business calls, Messenger calls and VoIP calls sit beside the chats with that contact; recording, transcripts and summaries come from Growth.
7
AI agents
From Growth, AI agents answer questions, qualify leads, follow up and route conversations to people, drawing on AI credits that grow with the contact tier.
8
A 2.6 GPA, above 14 of 22
That is against the other help desk and live chat tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
9
Keep it
To replace respond.io you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

respond.io at a glance

Pricing: Free trial, from $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Free plan: No
Free trial: 7-day free trial of Growth for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, no credit card needed
Runs on: Web, iOS, Android
Made by: Rocketbots Limited (respond.io), since 2017
Category: Help Desks & Live Chat
Our grade: 2.6 GPA, good

The report card

Best for support and sales over WhatsApp and social chat

respond.io puts WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, website chat, email, SMS and calls in one shared inbox, with apps for both phones. It suits businesses whose customers would rather message than email. Starter is $79 a month for up to 5 users billed annually, but workflows, broadcasts and AI agents start on Growth at $159, and Meta bills WhatsApp fees on top.

ToolGPA report cardrespond.ioGraded Oct 18, 2026

Subject	Grade	Comment
Value for money	B	Starter is $79 a month for up to 5 users billed annually ($99 monthly), so a team of five pays a price per head inside the cheaper quarter of help desks. One person pays the whole $79. Workflows, AI agents and the API start on Growth at $159, and Meta's WhatsApp fees come on top.
Free plan and trial	C	No free plan, but a 7-day free trial of Growth for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, with no credit card needed. A week is short, but it's enough to plug in WhatsApp and see how the inbox feels.
Features	B	The whole job, with more channels than most: WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, Viber, LINE, WeChat, chat, email and SMS in one inbox, calls in the same thread, AI agents, workflows, broadcasts and lifecycle stages. Starter leaves the automation out.
Ease of use	C	No App Store rating on record. Each channel needs connecting, WhatsApp included, then there are workflows, AI agents and lifecycle stages to set up, and a contact tier to keep an eye on.
Platforms and integrations	B	Web, iPhone and Android, with the full inbox on every plan, plus HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Shopify, Zapier, Make, Calendly and Google Sheets, and a developer API from Growth. No desktop app, which an A needs.

Grade point averageGood, out of 4.02.6

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who respond.io is for

Great if most of your customers reach you on WhatsApp, Instagram or TikTok
Handy when leads from Meta and TikTok ads land in chat and need answering fast
Good for field or hybrid teams who answer chats and calls from their phones

Who it is not for

Not for you if you want automations on the cheapest plan, as workflows and AI agents begin on Growth
Pricey if you're on your own, as Starter's $79 a month is priced for up to 5 users
Tight if your contact count jumps, as contacts past the tier cost $12 per 100 on Growth

Good to know

Good for

Consumer businesses that sell and support customers over WhatsApp
Teams handling leads from Meta and TikTok ads in chat
Field or hybrid teams who answer chats and calls from their phones

Worth knowing

WhatsApp fees are charged by Meta on top of the plan, and SMS and VoIP are billed at the provider's rates.
Contacts past the tier cost $12 per 100 on Growth and $15 per 100 on Advanced; extra AI credits are $15 per 1,000.
Extra users cost $12, $20 and $24 a month on Starter, Growth and Advanced billed yearly ($15, $25 and $30 monthly).
Starter has no broadcasts, workflows, AI agents or developer API; those start on Growth.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

$79

A month to start

respond.io is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).

A week is short, but it's enough to plug in WhatsApp and see how the inbox feels.

From our grade for free plan and trial

Starter
$79
per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Team and custom inboxes, mobile app, AI Assist and prompts, basic reports and 2FA. The comparison table shows unlimited monthly active contacts and 5,000 AI credits.
Growth
$159
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($199 monthly)
10 users. Adds broadcasts, workflows, AI agents, advanced reports, Zapier and Make, and the developer API. The price rises with the contact tier you pick.
Advanced
$279
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($349 monthly)
10 users. Adds masked phone numbers and emails, multiple workspaces, webhooks, HTTP requests, SSO and custom channels. Sold through sales; price rises with contacts.
Enterprise
Custom
Unlimited users, more workspaces, higher API rate limits and a custom contact allowance. Priced on request.

Trying it first

7-day free trial of Growth for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, no credit card needed

Read from respond.io on Oct 18, 2026.

Ways to pay less

Annual discount
Save up to 20% with yearly billing
respond.io's pricing page says yearly billing saves up to 20%: Starter is $948 a year against $1,188 billed monthly, Growth $1,908 against $2,388.
Stated on respond.io

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android

Team inbox for WhatsApp, social chats, email and calls with AI agents. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, shared inbox, workflow automation, live chat, AI support agent.

One inbox for messaging channels: WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, Viber, LINE, WeChat, a website chat widget, email (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, SMTP) and SMS through providers, in one shared inbox.
Calls in the same thread: WhatsApp Business calls, Messenger calls and VoIP calls sit beside the chats with that contact; recording, transcripts and summaries come from Growth.
AI agents: From Growth, AI agents answer questions, qualify leads, follow up and route conversations to people, drawing on AI credits that grow with the contact tier.
Workflows and broadcasts: Automations for routing, assignment and follow-ups, and bulk messages to segments of contacts, both from the Growth plan.
Lifecycle stages and CRM sync: Track each contact through lifecycle stages; HubSpot sync starts on Growth and Salesforce on Advanced.
Native mobile apps: iOS and Android apps with the full inbox, calls, assignments and team activity, included on every plan.

Where it runs

Web
iOS
Android

What it works with

HubSpot
Salesforce
Pipedrive
Shopify
Zapier
Make
Calendly
Google Sheets

respond.io is made by Rocketbots Limited (respond.io), and has been around since 2017.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

14/22

Other help desk and live chat tools it is graded above

respond.io's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 14 of the 22 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 4.

It stands best on value for money (B, above 13 of 22) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).

Its paid plans start at $79 a month, against a middle price of $21.59 for the category: 20 of the 21 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 23 help desk and live chat tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. respond.io’s own letter is outlined.

BValue for money
Above 13 of 22
CFree plan and trial
Above 1 of 22
BFeatures
Above 11 of 22
CEase of use
Above 0 of 22
BPlatforms and integrations
Above 0 of 22

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 22 help desk and live chat tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. respond.io is the marked dot.

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Keep it

To replace respond.io you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

It costs $948 a year.

What you could not

One mailbox that several people work at once.
An AI model answering your customers from your own help articles.
Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
A chat box on your site that reaches you the moment a customer types.
A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

What this rests on. respond.io’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Trengo, Intercom, Zendesk, Helpwise and Tidio

The 5 tools respond.io is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

2.2GPA
Trengo
Free trial · from €299/mo
Shared inbox for WhatsApp, email and chat with AI agents, in euros.
- Only respond.io lists iOS and Android apps.
- respond.io also covers workflow automation.
- Trengo also covers help center.
respond.io and Trengo compared in full
2.4GPA
Intercom
Free trial · from $29/mo
Helpdesk with live chat and the Fin AI agent priced per outcome.
- respond.io also covers workflow automation.
- Intercom also covers reports, help desk and help center.
respond.io and Intercom compared in full
2.4GPA
Zendesk
Free trial · from $19/mo
Ticketing, messaging, help center and AI agents for support teams.
- respond.io also covers shared inbox and workflow automation.
- Zendesk also covers reports, help desk and help center.
respond.io and Zendesk compared in full
2.6GPA
Helpwise
Free trial · from $12/mo
Shared inbox for email, chat, WhatsApp and SMS with a help center.
- respond.io also covers workflow automation and AI support agent.
- Helpwise also covers help desk and help center.
respond.io and Helpwise compared in full
3.2GPA
Tidio
Free plan · from $24.17/mo
Live chat, ticketing and the Lyro AI agent priced by conversations.
- Tidio has a free plan. respond.io does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Tidio lists macOS and Windows apps.
- respond.io also covers shared inbox and workflow automation.
respond.io and Tidio compared in full

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is respond.io free?

No, respond.io is a paid product, but you can try it first. 7-day free trial of Growth for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, no credit card needed.

How much does respond.io cost?

respond.io lists 4 plans. Starter: $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly).

What platforms does respond.io work on?

respond.io is available on Web, iOS and Android.

Does respond.io offer any discounts?

respond.io publicly lists the following: Save up to 20% with yearly billing.

Does respond.io have a Windows app?

No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. respond.io is listed for Web, iOS and Android.

Does respond.io have a macOS app?

No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. respond.io is listed for Web, iOS and Android.

Is respond.io open source?

respond.io is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.

Does respond.io have an API?

Yes. respond.io offers a public API, according to its own site.

What does respond.io integrate with?

respond.io's listing names HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Shopify, Zapier, Make, Calendly and Google Sheets.

Who makes respond.io?

respond.io is made by Rocketbots Limited (respond.io). It dates from 2017.

What are the alternatives to respond.io?

The closest alternatives to respond.io in our directory are Trengo, Intercom, Zendesk, Helpwise and Tidio.

How does respond.io compare with other help desk and live chat tools?

respond.io's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 14 of the 22 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 4.

Is respond.io good value for money?

ToolGPA grades respond.io B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $79 a month, against a middle price of $21.59 for the category: 20 of the 21 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of respond.io?

To replace respond.io you would be making one mailbox that several people work at once.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from respond.io’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from respond.io's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Rocketbots Limited (respond.io). Prices change, so check respond.io before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

2,021

Tools graded, in 54 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

2,021
tools graded
54
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "respond.io: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/respond-io

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Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/respond-io/guide

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See our other guides

The best-graded help desk and live chat tools after respond.io, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

ToolGPA

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Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what respond.io’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. respond.io is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Rocketbots Limited (respond.io). Prices and plans change: check respond.io before you buy.