You want to get started with WhatsApp marketing, but you don't know how? You can't find your way through the endless sea of multi-messenger and CRM solutions? You can't find any useful and reliable information on WhatsApp marketing anywhere? And you just want to find the right WhatsApp marketing provider for your needs? Don't look any further, just read this blog post on “WhatsApp marketing providers” - 10 WhatsApp tools compared.
What is a WhatsApp marketing software?
A WhatsApp marketing tool is a software or platform that helps companies organize and optimize their marketing activities via WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a widely used messaging app, and many companies use it to communicate directly with customers, advertise and provide customer service. A WhatsApp marketing tool as WhatsApp software offers various functions to make this communication more efficient and effective.
What can you do with WhatsApp marketing software?
There are a variety of functions that are possible with WhatsApp marketing software. We will list the most important ones here:
Automated messages (e.g. for welcome messages, automatic replies to frequently asked questions, campaign messages)
Newsletter marketing similar to email marketing (sending WhatsApp newsletters)
Send discount codes for special occasions (e.g. for Black Friday offers)
Provide support via WhatsApp (a very popular option)
Send shipping notifications in e-commerce
and much more
What should you look for when choosing a WhatsApp marketing software?
When choosing a good WhatsApp marketing software, there are some features and characteristics that should definitely be present. To help you recognize a good WhatsApp marketing software, pay particular attention to the following features when choosing:
Compliance with data protection regulations (GDPR compliant)
Easy integration with existing CRM systems or other marketing software
Simple user interface
possibility of automations
segmentation of contacts
AI chatbots
extensive analysis and reporting
pricing
In addition, pay attention to customer experiences and reviews of the respective WhatsApp marketing software on the web. These will give you a first indication of whether or not this WhatsApp marketing tool is useful.
WhatsApp Marketing Software: 10 providers compared (incl. comparison table)
chatarmin.com is not impartial in its approach to this blog post on the best WhatsApp marketing tools. We would put ourselves in first place and of course want to present ourselves from our best side. Therefore, this blog on the topic of the best WhatsApp marketing providers does not reflect a ranking, but merely a list and an attempt at a holistic, transparent and honest comparison. We will more or less succeed.
All WhatsApp marketing tools have their advantages and disadvantages. No tool is the best for everyone. Therefore, we have taken a closer look at the most common and popular WhatsApp marketing providers for you.
Here is a quick overview for you, analyzing and comparing all relevant WhatsApp marketing providers in a wide range of categories. Time is money – in case you don't want to read the whole blog post:
| Price/month | Conversation surcharge | API | Support case | Marketing case | Multi-messenger | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chatarmin.com | €99.00+ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| lupiter | ? | ? | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| whatsmojo | ? | ? | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Botsify | €49.00+ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Chatwerk | €69.00 + | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Wati | €49.00+ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Verloop | ? | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Gupshup | ? | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Sinch Engage | €199.00+ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| hello-charles | €250.00+ | ? | ? | ✅ | ✅ | ? |
| trengo | ? | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
1. chatarmin.com
chatarmin.com is your perfect WhatsApp CRM if you need an affordable, lightly managed SaaS solution that won't leave you alone with WhatsApp marketing, but already provides everything you need or can quickly deliver it on demand. In eCommerce, we have focused on marketing applications for D2C brands with Shopify & Klaviyo tech stack. Furthermore, we are “bootstrapped” at chatarmin.com and can therefore act 100% in the interest of the customer. We offer maximum flexibility, full support and an attractive price/performance ratio. As the founders, we are behind the company with our names and faces and cannot afford to have any dissatisfied customers.
The advantages of WhatsApp marketing provider chatarmin.com:
- flexible delivery of your personal customer requests and feature requests
- clear focus on the verticals eCommerce, retail and franchise
- small, approachable team
- bootstrapped startup that has to act in the best interests of its customers
- No conversation surcharge on the already already high costs of the WhatsApp Business API (WhatsApp Business Solution)
- Integration options into your customer support suite, which allows you to use a WABA with one number for support, sales and marketing
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider chatarmin.com:
no ready-made multi-messenger customer support suite, i.e. no native offer of a multi-messenger customer support suite including Instagram DM's, Facebook DM's, Telegram, SMS, email and co.
lack of integration of rarely used APIs such as Prestashop or Oxid ● extreme product focus on eCommerce, retail and franchise, resulting in low flexibility for product updates for corporations and large companies from other industries
Cost of the software
Our prices start at €99.00 per month and we are available from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays in the shared Slack Connect channel, or by email.
2. Lupiter - the unknown challenger from Düsseldorf
Giuseppe Ruffo founded his “lupiter” in Düsseldorf in 2019. €200,000.00 pre-seed founding promised a great first product and a fast path to product/market fit. Unfortunately, not much has happened since then. The website contains spelling mistakes, and case studies or reputable customer testimonials are nowhere to be found. On LinkedIn, “Lupiter GmbH” does not show any other employees and it is doubtful that the company is still active. Giuseppe's dream of building “striking chat marketing software for higher open and conversion rates than email” has probably not come to fruition.
The advantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider lupiter:
affordable pricing
hands-on mentality and premium support from the founder due to fewer customers
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider lupiter:
No in-house product development
No case studies or success stories from customers
No professional reviews
Little marketing or LinkedIn activity from the founder
No follow-up investment after 2019
Cost of the software
From €25.00 per month
Despite a unfriendly website and great company vision, we unfortunately can only advise against working with the WhatsApp marketing tool lupiter
3. whatsmojo - the underdog for small businesses
Something, but not much better than lupiter is whatsmojo. We asked for customer reviews. None of the companies listed on the website as example customers has built or scaled its WhatsApp marketing on the basis of this WhatsApp marketing tool. It is therefore doubtful that whatsmojo is still in the running for the best “WhatsApp marketing provider” in the DACH region.
The advantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider whatsmojo:
CTO as founder, in-house product development
affordable pricing, suitable for first steps
basic Shopify integration
basic WhatsApp marketing applications such as logics, campaigns and analytics
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider whatsmojo:
no case studies or success cases from customers
no professional reviews
low marketing and LinkedIn activity of the founders
low awareness of the provider
Cost of the software
From €49.00 per month
Despite a successful website and a great company vision, we can unfortunately only advise you to work with the WhatsApp marketing tool whatsmojo if you are an extremely small company with the lowest turnover and want to validate WhatsApp marketing as a first step. Please contact the founders beforehand to find out whether the product is also “live” and being maintained.
4. trengo - Klaviyo partner, but unfortunately not much behind it
When trengo announced its official partnership with Klaviyo in spring 2023, we were worried about our positioning and our business. Would we have to worry about our core customers - D2C brands with Shopify Shop and Klaviyo CRM and Source of Truth? Nothing like that has happened and any worries were in vain.
Trengo has not yet managed to present a meaningful Klaviyo integration that offers D2C brands with Klaviyo CRM significant added value.
The self-proclaimed “customer engagement platform” was founded in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in 2017 and has since raised over $36,000,000.00 in investment funds.
The advantages of WhatsApp marketing provider trengo:
Operational flexibility of the tool
Handling of sensitive industries such as health, public and state bodies and institutions
Support and service for every customer at a high level
Extensive chatbot functions and logics
Easy-to-connect Klaviyo app in the Klaviyo marketplace
AI development and artificial intelligence for translation and speech recognition as well as automated creation of campaigns
Many showcase customers, testimonials, reviews and case studies
Annual bot report and extensive analysis of the chatbot market and its development
API integrations with Zapier and Shopify
Multi-messenger solutions for all relevant messaging channels
Established, tangible company from Scandinavia
High investment volume leading to rapid growth of trengo
Good chatbot features and support analytics
Professional support and sales team
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider trengo:
No specialization in a vertical, i.e. a very flexible solution that wants to meet the needs of all industries, but will not focus on your niche case with your individual requirements
Very limited or non-existent API connections with standard tech stacks of DACH eCommerce, especially in CRMs such as Klaviyo, emarsys or Omnisend
No German sales or support team
Cost of the software
From €99.00 per month
We can recommend trengo to large or institutional companies in particular that want to orient themselves towards the wide range of use cases from Messengerpeople's testimonial landscape, or simply want to cover the customer support use case.
5. Chatwerk - solid German multi-messenger chat suite
The biggest problem for the company mentioned above was the lack of professionalism in the sales process and the lack of integrations with Shopify and Klaviyo. Chatwerk cannot be considered a serious solution for D2C brands or eCommerce companies.
According to the Chatwerk website, “Numbirds” and “Hubspot” are currently available as integrations. According to the website, there is also a proprietary “Unified Messaging API”, but we were unable to find out how extensive, extensive or useful this actually is for companies.
As a multi-messaging solution that meets basic customer support needs and is intended for campaign mailings, Chatwerk is certainly sufficient as a solution. Building highly professional sales teams is a huge challenge for any startup with a structured sales organization, so in this case, we have absolutely no complaints about the Chatwerk colleagues.
The advantages of WhatsApp marketing provider Chatwerk:
German team with approachable customer support and an active founder
in-house product development with programming based on customer requests and feedback
established company with trustworthy case studies and reviews
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider Chatwerk:
no eCommerce integrations with e.g. Shopify, Klaviyo, Omnisend or Shopware
little in-house knowledge of eCommerce best practices
no support and sparring for eCommerce use cases and KPIs
opaque pricing and potential uncertainty about long-term contract terms, cross- or up-sales
Cost of the software
From €69.00 per month
Chatwerk is a well-established and trustworthy tool for combining and analyzing your multi-messenger inboxes in a dashboard. For support use cases, Chatwerk is now an established standard solution that is used by many different companies in a wide range of industries.
6. WATI - Multi Messenger Customer Suite as a YCombinator22 startup from Asia
Wati is a YCombinator22 startup from Hong Kong that is one of the fastest-growing business service providers. According to LinkedIn, the WhatsApp marketing provider currently has 89 employees and, according to its own statement, over 6,000 customers. Wati has apparently integrated two very common shop systems in the DACH region, Woocommerce and Shopify, but we were unfortunately unable to find out how sophisticated these integrations are.
Furthermore, there are no CRM integrations, which we consider a prerequisite for a serious WhatsApp marketing provider. Without being able to access email KPIs, segments, interactions and activities of end customers, targeted segmentation and efficient use of your WhatsApp marketing budget will be difficult.
The advantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider Wati:
sufficient funding and a generous runway through millions of investors
YCombinator startup, which attests to a validated case
impressive product that can do a lot
professional sales access and customer support team
extensive multi-messenger engage suite for the standard needs of a medium-sized company
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider Wati:
opaque pricing and fast up- and cross sales
no German team and German support
no knowledge of the German ecommerce tech stack, best practices and the buying culture of German, Austrian and Swiss customers
insufficient UI/UX in handling the tool
lack of coverage of WhatsApp marketing use cases
no integrations with ecommerce CRM's such as emarsys, Brevo, Klaviyo or Omnisend
Cost of the software
From $49.00 per month
The same applies to Wati as to Botsify, Verloop, Sinch Engage or Gupshup: without clear niche requirements, a solid multi-messenger customer support suite that you can use without hesitation for your multi-messenger purposes.
7. Verloop - the Indian giant in the institutional multi-messenger game
The Indian company “Verloop” has no industry focus and therefore does not try to be a WhatsApp marketing provider in product development, but rather an “all-in-one stop shop for customer engagement”. We could hardly understand Customer Support Account Newton in demo calls, but he was very keen, asked questions and tried to find the right answers and solutions together with us. This customer focus and interest in customer wishes and needs is not a matter of course in B2B sales. We have a very positive memory of this.
The advantages of WhatsApp marketing provider Verloop:
B2B focus and operation in sensitive industries such as health, public and government bodies and institutions
Support and service for every customer
Extensive chatbot functions and logics
AI development and artificial intelligence for translation and speech recognition
Many showcase customers, testimonials, reviews and case studies
Annual bot report and extensive analysis of the chatbot market and its development
Good chatbot features and support analytics
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider Verloop:
Time difference to India and Southeast Asia, so no real-time service and support
Lack of transparency in pricing
Language barrier with customer support due to difficult-to-understand English with a strong accent
Very limited or non-existent API connections with standard tech stacks of DACH eCommerce such as Shopify, Shopware, Klaviyo or Omnisend
Focus on the Asian region, no contact persons or teams for German customers
no retail, franchise or eCommerce focus
Cost of the software
Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to obtain current pricing for Verloop, but we suspect that it will be similar to low-tier solutions such as “Verloop” or “Botsify” and will cost around €100.00 per month.
We can only recommend Verloop to large or institutional companies that want to orient themselves towards the wide range of use cases from Verloop's testimonial landscape and do not want personal customer service in German and handshake quality.
8. Gupshup - another Indian messaging giant
At the Gupshup demo day, Gupshup's sales lead Urvashi Singh did a very productive job of introducing us to Gupshup. The UI/UX was pleasant and simple. Verloop excels with very good English SEO and a large number of case studies on bot deflection and chatbot automation.
It is important to note that Gupshup is not a specialized WhatsApp marketing provider, but has focused on the customer support use case. Gupshup's multi-messenger features are pleasant, and any number of support agents can be added.
The advantages of WhatsApp marketing provider Gupshup:
affordable and transparent pricing
B2B focus and service for sensitive industries such as health, public and government bodies and institutions
support and service for every customer
extensive chatbot functions and logics
AI development and artificial intelligence for translation and speech recognition
many showcase customers, testimonials, reviews and case studies
good chatbot functions and support analytics
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider Gupshup:
Time difference to India and Southeast Asia, so no real-time service and support
Language barrier with customer support due to difficult-to-understand English with a strong accent
Unprofessional or uninformed sales teams with low-quality advice
Very limited or non-existent API connections with standard tech stacks of DACH eCommerce such as Shopify , Shopware, Klaviyo or Omnisend
Focus on the Asian region, no contact persons or teams for German customers
No focus on the needs of companies from the DACH region, neither in support nor in product development
Cost of the software
Costs are not published.
Gupshup is not suitable as a WhatsApp marketing tool, but it is very suitable as a customer support suite for companies that do not place a high value on German-language customer support.
9. Messengerpeople / Sinch Engage - the German multi-messenger startup Dino
“Sinch Engage” - widely known as Messengerpeople - is one of the most established (multi-messenger) startups in the DACH startup scene and is certainly a serious WhatsApp marketing provider. The two problems that Messengerpeople has in our opinion are:
The outdated UI/UX in our opinion and the high pricing.
Since the recent exit to Sinch and the associated rebranding to “Sinch Engage”, product development and design of the product seems to have been discontinued.
The advantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider “Sinch Engage” / ex Messengerpeople:
Operational flexibility of the tool
Operation in sensitive industries such as health, public and state bodies and institutions
Support and service for every customer at a high level
Extensive chat bot functions and logics
AI development and artificial intelligence for translation and speech recognition as well as automated creation of campaigns
Many showcase customers, testimonials, reviews and case studies
Annual bot report and extensive analysis of the chatbot market and its development
API connections with Shopify and Shopware
Multi-messenger solutions for all relevant messaging channels
Established, tangible company from Bavaria
Good chatbot features and support analytics
Trustworthiness through the long existence of the startup and a successful exit to the tech giant “Sinch”
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider “Sinch Engage” / ex Messengerpeople:
Expensive pricing that quickly becomes even more expensive.
No specialization in a vertical, very flexible solution that wants to meet the needs of all industries, but will not focus on your niche case with your individual requirements
Very limited or non-existent API connections with standard tech stacks of DACH eCommerce, especially in CRMs such as Klaviyo, emarsys, Activecampaign or Omnisend
Cost of the software
From €199.00 per month
We can only recommend Sinch Engage or Messengerpeople to large or institutional companies that want to orient themselves towards the wide range of use cases from Messengerpeople's testimonial landscape, or simply want to cover the customer support use case in a multi-messenger manner.
10. Hello-charles - cool hype from Berlin with an expensive but great product
It was one of the most hyped startups in the DACH start-up scene in 2021 and 2022. The hype around WhatsApp marketing is still great and is directly associated with the name of a young Berlin-based company: hello-charles. Or, in its short version, just “charles”.
The Berlin team, which now consists of over 120 smart minds, has delivered and, in our opinion, has created a respectable product.
The advantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider hello-charles:
Operational flexibility of the tool
Focus on the “vertical” eCommerce, thus a high product focus on lookalike customers and the clear “ideal customer profile” D2C brand with an eight-digit annual turnover
Support and service for every customer at a high level
Extensive chatbot functions and logics
A unique number of impressive showcase customers, testimonials, reviews and case studies from German showcase D2C brands
API connections with Shopify and Shopware
Multi-messenger solutions for all relevant messaging channels
Berlin-based startup with high funding volume and at least 18 months runway since the last financing round
Extremely smart founding team
Incredibly good branding, marketing and sales
Good chatbot functions and support analytics
Trustworthiness through the accessibility of the (founding) team at all relevant events, trade fairs and networking
The disadvantages of the WhatsApp marketing provider hello-charles:
Expensive pricing that can quickly become more expensive
Fluctuation and “burning” of the image of WhatsApp as an eCommerce marketing channel due to the high costs
No CTO/technical co-founder, which, as far as we can understand, results in static and slow product development
Cost of the software (as of 30.05.2024)
hello-charles is really expensive. You pay at least €250.00 per month to this WhatsApp marketing provider, and there may be additional conversation costs.
It's definitely cool to be in “Team hello-charles”, attend their networking events or be amused by the legion of hello-charles employees on LinkedIn.
We can really recommend the colleagues from Berlin if you are willing to pay higher fees for all this.
WhatsApp Marketing Tool: An Overview of the Best WhatsApp Marketing Providers - The Conclusion
None of the tools mentioned above is right for every company. Each WhatsApp marketing tool has its strengths and weaknesses, it's up to you to find out what they are and what you need.
This blog post tries to present the pros and cons of individual solutions so that you can make your decision on the right WhatsApp marketing tool for you.
Please also bear in mind that we are trying to bring objective transparency to the still very young WhatsApp marketing market. However, as a B2B SaaS, we have never quite managed to do that. We are too in love with our own product, our own value proposition, and our Klivio and Shopify integration.
Please feel free to contact us to understand which WhatsApp marketing tool is right for your business. Book your 25-minute WhatsApp sparring session here:
