Skip to content
Book a demoStart free trial

Wati alternative: Haiya and Wati compared.

Stay with Wati if you answer customers on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or by phone call as well as WhatsApp, or need its HubSpot or Salesforce connectors. Pick Haiya if your team runs one WhatsApp number from their phones: the Haiya apps connect the number, invite the team and answer customers, on flat plans where Meta bills its message fees to you directly.

Start free trialBook a demo

3-day free trial on every plan, through the App Store or Google Play. Meta bills its message fees to you directly, with no Haiya markup.

By

Published Last updated

Haiya and Wati at a glance.

The questions that decide it.

Haiya and Wati at a glance
What you getHaiyaWati
Phone appsNative iPhone and Android apps that set up and run the teamConnect the number, invite the team and subscribe from the phone; automations and forms are built on the web; the iPhone app is not live yetA mobile app inbox on every plan
ChannelsWhatsApp onlyOne channel, done in depthWhatsApp, calling, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, web chat, RCS and more
Entry price$8 a month on Hobby, billed monthly$80 a year on yearly billing, after a 3-day store trial with a card49 US dollars a month billed monthly, or 39 a month billed yearly (Growth)With a 7-day free trial
Meta's message feesBilled to you by Meta, with no markup from HaiyaCharged at Wati's own rate cardThe Business plan gets 5% off the rate card
Team members2 on Hobby to 20 on Business, included in the plan3 users on Growth with no extra users; 5 on Pro and BusinessExtra users 24 US dollars a month on Pro and 59 on Business
Automation limits2 switched on at a time on Hobby, 10 on Professional and no limit on BusinessThe plan counts automations switched on, not how often they run; drafts never count1,000 automation triggers a month on Growth, 2,000 on Pro and 5,000 on BusinessMore triggers are sold as an add-on
AIAn AI agent that answers customers from your FAQs, files and web pages, on every planThe Team assistant is on Business and Custom, on your own AI provider; Haiya sells no AI creditsAstra AI agents and Wati AI credits: 1 agent and 2,000 credits a month on GrowthMore credits are sold as an add-on

Where Wati is the better choice

  • You answer on more than WhatsAppWati's plans put WhatsApp, calling, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, web chat and RCS in one inbox. Haiya is WhatsApp only.
  • You want to keep the WhatsApp Business app on your numberWati offers the Business app and Wati on the same number, and says it mirrors the last 6 months of chats into Wati.
  • Your sales team works in HubSpot or SalesforceWati lists HubSpot among its integrations on Pro and Salesforce on Business. Haiya connects other tools through its API and webhooks.
  • Your buyers ask for SOC 2 or ISO 27001Wati's trust centre lists SOC 2 and ISO 27001 as certified. Haiya holds no security certification yet.

Haiya and Wati, area by area.

Haiya and Wati compared by area
What you getHaiyaWati
Phone and channels
What the phone app doesConnect the number, invite the team, subscribe, answer customers, run the CRM and send broadcastsAutomations and WhatsApp forms are built on the web; the apps run and show themAccess to your Wati account on mobile: team inbox, broadcasts, quick replies and contacts
Phone apps by planEvery plan, on iPhone, Android, iPad and Android tabletsMobile app inbox included on Growth, Pro and Business
ChannelsWhatsApp onlyWhatsApp, calling, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, web chat, RCS and more
WhatsApp callsNot offeredWhatsApp Business Calling on every plan
Keeping the WhatsApp Business app on the numberAsk us whether it fits your numberOffered: the Business app and Wati on one numberWati says the last 6 months of chats are mirrored into Wati
Price and Meta's fees
Plans, billed monthlyHobby $8, Professional $39, Business $89 a monthGrowth 49, Pro 99, Business 249 US dollars a month
Plans, billed yearlyHobby $80, Professional $390, Business $890 a yearGrowth 39, Pro 79, Business 199 US dollars a month, billed yearly
More WhatsApp numbersIncluded up to the plan: 1 on Hobby to 10 on Business29 US dollars a month for each extra number
Message pricingMeta's own price per delivered message, by categoryHaiya adds no markupAs per Wati's rate cardTemplate messages are charged on top of the plan
Where message charges are paidOn Meta's bill to your business, through your own Meta payment methodFrom a wallet in your Wati account, as credits used for messages
Trial3 days through the App Store or Google Play, with a cardNo free plan7-day free trial
Automation and AI
Automations2 switched on at a time on Hobby, 10 on Professional and no limit on BusinessBuilt on the web; started, watched and retried from the apps1,000, 2,000 and 5,000 automation triggers a month on Growth, Pro and Business
AIAn AI agent on every plan, taught with your FAQs, files and web pagesThe Team assistant on Business and Custom runs on your own AI providerAstra AI agents: 1 on Growth, 2 on Pro, unlimited on Business, with monthly Wati AI credits
Connections and security
IntegrationsWooCommerce order lookup built in; Shopify, Zapier, Make and n8n through the API and webhooks2 commerce or CRM integrations on Growth, 5 including HubSpot on Pro, unlimited including Salesforce on Business
API and webhooksThe API and webhooks on every plan10k API calls a month and no webhooks on Growth; limited webhooks on Pro
Security certificationsNone held yetSOC 2 and ISO 27001 listed as certified on its trust centre

Competitor details are from their public websites, . Wati is a trademark of its owner; Haiya is not affiliated with it.

Wati pricing and Haiya pricing, side by side.

Plan prices as each company lists them, with the currency and the billing period.

Haiya

Flat plans, teammates included

  • HobbyA month$8
  • ProfessionalA month$39
  • BusinessA month$89
  • Hobby, a yearBilled once a year$80
See Haiya pricing

Wati

Wati plans

  • Growth3 users included, no extra users$49per month, billed monthly
  • Pro5 users included$99per month, billed monthly
  • Business5 users included$249per month, billed monthly
  • Growth$39per month, billed yearly
  • Pro$79per month, billed yearly
  • Business$199per month, billed yearly
Currency
USD
Billing period
month, billed monthly or yearly, as each line says

A worked example

Plan prices only, before Meta's message fees and before any add-ons.

What a team pays on Haiya and on Wati
TeamHaiyaWati
Three people answering one number, billed monthly$39 a monthProfessional49 US dollars a monthGrowth (3 users included)
Five people answering one number, billed monthly$39 a monthProfessional99 US dollars a monthPro (5 users included)

How Meta's message fees add up

A month's bill from Meta, worked out in four steps.

  1. Count the messages you expect to deliver in a month, by category: marketing, utility, authentication and service.
  2. Take away the monthly free tier of service messages for each business phone number. Only service messages above it are charged.
  3. Count every utility message, whether or not a customer service window is open.
  4. Multiply each count by Meta's rate for that category in the recipient's country. Meta bills the total to your own payment method; Haiya adds nothing.

Where Haiya is the better choice.

The Haiya app on a phone: a new chat from Amara Okafor arrives in the chats list, Daniel Mensah opens it, takes it and replies, and the reply is read.

Phone apps

Set up and run the team from the phone, not only the inbox.

Wati's App Store listing describes its app as a way to access your Wati account on mobile. The Haiya apps are the product: from an iPhone or an Android phone you connect your number through Meta's sign-up, invite the team, subscribe, answer customers, run the CRM and send broadcasts. Automations and WhatsApp forms are built on the web; the apps run and show them.

  • Native apps for iPhone and Android, plus iPad, Android tablets and the web; the iPhone app is not live yet
  • Sign-in codes by email, no passwords
See what the apps do
Colleagues in an office smiling at one phone, beside a Haiya chat with its owner and a team note: one shared WhatsApp inbox

Flat plans

The team is in the plan, and Meta bills its own fees.

Haiya's plans start at $8 a month and include their team members, from 2 on Hobby to 20 on Business, so adding a teammate never adds a seat charge. Message fees go on Meta's bill to your business, through your own Meta payment method, and Haiya adds no markup.

  • WhatsApp numbers included up to the plan, from 1 to 10
See Haiya's plans
Two support agents in headsets looking at one screen together, beside a WhatsApp help request and its assigned teammate

Customer ownership

Every customer has one owner.

When an owner or admin answers a customer nobody owns yet, that reply makes them the owner. Owners and admins can assign a customer to a teammate, or offer it for the teammate to accept or decline, and customers with no owner wait under one filter.

  • A customer's lead in the CRM has the same owner as their chat
See how leads follow the owner in the CRM
The Haiya app on a phone: a broadcast with the Weekend restock template is sent to Customers, 840 recipients, and the sent, delivered and read counts rise.

Broadcasts

Broadcasts sent and watched from the phone.

Send an approved template to all your contacts or a tagged group, now or scheduled, from the Haiya app, and see the delivered and read counts for each broadcast as they come in.

  • Up to 1,000 broadcast recipients a month on Hobby and 50,000 on Business
How broadcasts work

How to switch from Wati to Haiya.

  1. Your number stays in your own WhatsApp account

    Under Meta's new account model, generally available from 23 September 2026, the number sits in a WhatsApp account your business owns, and you share it with the providers you work with. Meta says you can add or change providers without migrating the number.

  2. The display name and quality rating stay with the number

    Meta lists display names, quality ratings and messaging limits as unchanged by the new model. When two providers serve one number, they share its messaging limit.

  3. Templates are written again in Haiya

    Templates belong to each provider's own messaging account and are not shared, and Meta gives Haiya its own messaging account when you connect. So the templates you use with Wati do not appear in Haiya: you write them again in Haiya and Meta reviews them.

  4. Your chats in Wati stay in Wati

    Conversations already in Wati's inbox are not copied into Haiya; Haiya has no import from other providers. New WhatsApp messages to the number arrive in Haiya once it is connected. If Wati stays on the number too, Meta's conversation routing decides which provider receives customer messages, and Haiya tells you on the number's page if they are going elsewhere.

  5. Connect the number from the Haiya app

    Meta's sign-up opens inside the Haiya app. You choose your business portfolio and the number, and Meta gives Haiya its own messaging account on it.

  6. Add your Meta payment method

    Each provider's messaging account has its own payment method on Meta. With Haiya, Meta bills your business directly.

What teams say after they switch.

  • At Zinen Technologies Ltd we use Haiya every day, and it has made team communication much easier. When a WhatsApp message comes in, we assign the lead to the right team member. From there, they can create a quote, send an invoice and even request payment through M-Pesa, all in one place. This has helped us a lot. We’re very satisfied and looking forward to more features.

    James MwangiDirector, Zinen Technologies, KenyaTrustpilot,

Questions and answers

What is a good Wati alternative for a small team?

It depends on the channels you use. If your customers reach you on WhatsApp and your team works from their phones, Haiya runs one WhatsApp inbox from native iPhone and Android apps, on flat plans with the team included. If you also answer on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or by phone call, Wati puts those in one inbox, and it may suit you better.

How does Haiya's price compare with Wati's?

Haiya's plans start at $8 a month with 2 team members. In November 2026, Wati's pricing page showed Growth at 49 US dollars a month billed monthly, or 39 a month billed yearly, with 3 users. For five people, Haiya's Professional plan is $39 a month and Wati's Pro plan was 99 US dollars a month billed monthly. Both sides then pay for WhatsApp messages.

Does Wati add a markup to Meta's message fees?

Wati's plan comparison says message pricing is as per Wati's rate card, and its help page shows those charges as credits in a wallet in your Wati account. With Haiya, Meta bills your business directly and Haiya adds no markup. Under Meta's rate card (November 2026), Meta charges per delivered message, by category, and each number has a monthly free tier of 1,000 service messages.

Can I move my WhatsApp number from Wati to Haiya?

Yes. Under Meta's new account model the number stays in a WhatsApp account your business owns, and Meta's page says you can add or change providers without migrating it; in Meta's sign-up inside Haiya you share that account with Haiya. Its display name, quality rating and messaging limit stay with the number. You connect it from the Haiya app through Meta's sign-up.

Do my templates and chats come with me?

Templates belong to each provider's messaging account, and Meta gives Haiya its own, so you write your templates again in Haiya and Meta reviews them. Conversations already in Wati's inbox stay in Wati; Haiya does not import them. New messages arrive in Haiya once the number is connected.

Does Haiya have a phone app like Wati?

Yes, and the apps are the product. Wati's App Store listing describes its app as access to your Wati account on mobile. From the Haiya app you connect your number, invite the team, subscribe, answer customers, run the CRM and send broadcasts; automations and WhatsApp forms are built on the web, and the apps run and show them.

Is there a free alternative to Wati?

Haiya has no free plan: it starts with a 3-day trial through the App Store or Google Play, with a card. If one person answering from one phone is enough, Meta's WhatsApp Business app is free to download; our comparison of the app and the API explains when it is the better choice.

Other comparisons.

About the author

Founder, Haiya

Edward Mwangi is the founder of Haiya and a software developer with more than 15 years of experience building custom applications. He is a co-founder of Quest Website Developers Ltd, the company behind Haiya, which offers web design and custom software solutions to clients around the world. On the Haiya blog he writes about running WhatsApp Business as a team from the phone.

More by Edward Mwangi

Try Haiya beside Wati.

Start in the iPhone or Android app with a 3-day trial through the store, with a card. Your customers keep messaging the same number.

Start free trialBook a demo
See what customers say on Trustpilot
  • Get it on Google Play