Head to head · checked October 2026

Aivastark vs respond.io

respond.io and Aivastark both put AI on WhatsApp and the other messaging apps. respond.io is a conversation-management platform built around a team inbox, with AI Agents, broadcasts and workflows on its Growth plan and above; Aivastark is an AI agent that answers customers first and hands off to your team. Which fits depends on how much of the work you want the AI, rather than your team, to do.

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Free plan, no card · 7-day trial on paid plans

Choose respond.io if

Your sales team works every chat, call and email by hand
You send broadcasts and run workflows
You want HubSpot on the mid plan and Salesforce above it

Choose Aivastark if

You want AI answers first, in a flat monthly plan
You want a free plan for your website chatbot
You want Shopify and WooCommerce order answers built in

respond.io figures checked October 2026 on respond.io's own pages

Aivastark or respond.io: which should you choose?

Choose respond.io if your sales team works conversations by hand and wants one inbox for chats, email and calls: broadcasts and workflows from Growth, VoIP and WhatsApp Calling, HubSpot from Growth and Salesforce from Advanced, with Meta's WhatsApp fees passed through at cost. Choose Aivastark if you want the AI to answer first at a lower price: its $39 Starter plan includes 5,000 AI credits, a standard reply is 1 credit, and it has a free plan, while respond.io's AI Agents start on its Growth plan at $199 a month ($159 billed yearly) and use 2–5 credits per response.

a month: Aivastark Starter with 5,000 AI credits, against respond.io Growth, where its AI Agents start: $39 vs $199a month: Aivastark Starter with 5,000 AI credits, against respond.io Growth, where its AI Agents start
respond.io AI credits per AI Agent response; Aivastark's standard reply is 1 credit: 2–5respond.io AI credits per AI Agent response; Aivastark's standard reply is 1 credit
per 1,000 extra respond.io AI credits, with a hard cap at 200%: $15per 1,000 extra respond.io AI credits, with a hard cap at 200%
Aivastark's permanent free plan for a website chatbot; respond.io has no free plan: $0Aivastark's permanent free plan for a website chatbot; respond.io has no free plan

Side by side

Aivastark and respond.io, row by row

Aivastark and respond.io compared on pricing, channels, branding and features
Feature	Aivastark	respond.io
What it is built for	Answering customers with AI, then handing off to your team in a unified inbox	Conversation management for sales and support teams: a shared inbox for chats, email and calls, with AI Agents, broadcasts and workflows
Entry price	$0 permanent free plan (300 credits, website widget), then $12/month (Solo); messaging apps from $39 (Starter)	respond.io Starter is $99 a month ($79 billed yearly, $948 a year) for 5 users, without AI Agents, broadcasts or workflows; respond.io Growth $199 ($159 billed yearly); respond.io Advanced $349 ($279 billed yearly); no free plan
AI price	Included: 1,000–75,000 credits a month by plan (1 per standard reply); Starter ($39) has 5,000	AI credits by plan: 5,000 on respond.io Starter, 10,000 on Growth, 20,000 on Advanced; an AI Agent response uses 2–5 credits; extra credits $15 per 1,000, with a hard cap at 200%; AI Agents from Growth
WhatsApp message fees	Not resold: Meta bills its per-message fees to your own WhatsApp Business account	Passed through from Meta at cost, with no markup, from a WhatsApp credit balance you top up
Broadcasts and workflows	Not built: no broadcasts, template campaigns or bulk sends	Broadcasts and workflows from respond.io Growth
Channels	Website widget on every plan; WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram and email from Starter ($39)	WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, Telegram, Viber, LINE, WeChat, email, a website chat widget, SMS through your own Twilio, Vonage, Telnyx or MessageBird account, and calls
Stores and CRMs	Official Shopify app and WooCommerce tools: product answers, order lookups and confirmed actions such as address changes and returns	Shopify as a chat widget, with deeper automation through Make, n8n or Zapier; WooCommerce through Zapier; HubSpot from Growth; Salesforce from Advanced
Calls	No phone line; in-widget voice calling is a beta on Growth	VoIP, WhatsApp Calling and Messenger calls; voice AI agents from Advanced
UAE presence	No UAE office; data stored in AWS Tokyo; support in English by email	Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and says it has a strong presence in the Middle East; no UAE office or data region choice stated
Languages	80+, and the reply follows the language and script the customer writes in, Arabic and Arabizi included	AI Agents reply in the contact's language; Arabic is named among the voice AI's voices
Trial	Permanent free plan; 7-day trial on paid plans, card required	7-day free trial of Growth features for 5 users, without broadcasts

respond.io figures checked October 2026 on respond.io's own pages (sources below). Pricing moves, so check the vendor before you decide. Aivastark allowances are counted in credits: a standard reply is 1 credit and a gpt-4o reply 10; images, voice and tool steps add more.

In fairness

Where respond.io is the better choice

Stated plainly, because a comparison that wins every row is an advert.

A mature shared inbox for human sales and support teams, with email and calls in the same place.
WhatsApp Calling, VoIP and Messenger calls, and voice AI agents on Advanced. Aivastark has no phone line.
Broadcasts and workflows from Growth. Aivastark sends no broadcasts.
A clear policy on WhatsApp fees: passed through from Meta at cost, with no markup.
More channels, including TikTok, Viber, LINE, WeChat and SMS through your own provider.

Who answers first

respond.io is built for teams that work conversations themselves: a shared inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, email and calls, with workflows to route each chat and AI Agents that can qualify leads, answer FAQs and book appointments on its Growth plan and above.

Aivastark puts the AI first. It answers from your website, files and catalogue on every channel, captures and scores leads, books on Google Calendar or Cal.com, and hands the chat to a person when the customer asks for one or it can't help. It has no phone line and sends no broadcasts.

What you pay for AI answers

respond.io's AI Agents start on its Growth plan, $199 a month or $159 billed yearly, with 10,000 AI credits a month. An AI Agent response uses 2–5 credits, and extra credits cost $15 per 1,000 up to a hard cap at 200% of the allowance.

Aivastark's plans include the AI: $39 Starter has 5,000 credits, $129 Growth 25,000 and $319 Scale 75,000, and a standard reply is 1 credit. Past the allowance a paid plan bills overage instead of switching the agent off.

Cheapest plan with AI answering	Aivastark	respond.io
Monthly price	$39 (Starter)	$199 (Growth)
AI credits a month	5,000	10,000
Credits per AI reply	1 (standard reply)	2–5

WhatsApp fees

Meta has charged per message since July 2025, and its documentation says service messages, the replies inside the 24-hour window, are charged from 1 October 2026 at the utility rate after 1,000 free a month per number. That applies to every tool here.

Neither marks Meta's fees up. respond.io passes them through at cost from a balance you top up; Aivastark connects your own WhatsApp Business account, so Meta invoices you directly.

FAQ

Aivastark vs respond.io: questions

What is the best respond.io alternative for AI customer support?

If you want an AI to answer customers first on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, email and your website, Aivastark includes that in its $39 Starter plan with 5,000 credits, and the website chatbot is free. If your team works chats and calls by hand and sends broadcasts, respond.io fits better.

Is Aivastark cheaper than respond.io?

For AI answering, yes: Aivastark Starter is $39 a month with 5,000 AI credits at 1 credit per standard reply, while respond.io's AI Agents start on its Growth plan at $199 a month ($159 billed yearly) and use 2–5 credits per response. For broadcasts and calls there's no comparison, because Aivastark has neither.

Does respond.io charge a markup on WhatsApp messages?

No. respond.io says it passes Meta's WhatsApp fees through at cost, with no markup, from a balance you top up. Aivastark doesn't resell them either: it connects your own WhatsApp Business account, so Meta bills you directly.

Can Aivastark take calls like respond.io?

No. Aivastark has no phone line and doesn't answer calls; in-widget voice calling is a beta on Growth. respond.io supports VoIP, WhatsApp Calling and Messenger calls, with voice AI agents on its Advanced plan.

Which is better for a UAE business, respond.io or Aivastark?

For answering customers in Arabic and English with AI, Aivastark costs less and has a free plan; it stores data in Tokyo and has no UAE office. respond.io suits teams that handle chats and calls themselves; it says it has a strong presence in the Middle East but states no UAE office or data region.

Sources