Respond.io Pricing 2026
Respond.io is aI-powered omnichannel messaging platform for customer engagement. Best suited for sales-oriented teams needing AI agents, broadcast messaging, and CRM integrations for lead-to-customer conversion. Known for its aI Agents that handle complex conversations, qualify leads, and trigger workflow automations without human intervention.
Respond.io offers 4 pricing plans, ranging from $79/mo (annual) / $99/mo (monthly) to Custom. Respond.io uses usage-based pricing starting at $159/month for Growth (Annual billing at the 1,000-contact tier. 10 user seats. The pricing page reprices Growth as you move the contact selector up through 2,500 / 5,000 / 10,000 / >10,000, so $159 is the floor, not the plan price. MAC on-demand is $12 per 100 contacts; AI Credit on-demand $15 per 1,000; extra users +$20/mo each. Monthly billing is $199/mo.). Additional costs for add-ons and premium features may apply beyond the base plan price.
What features does Respond.io offer?
Respond.io's feature set is intentionally built around what its target customer base values most, which is also its biggest single differentiator against other platforms in the same product category. It uses a usage-based pricing model, starting at From $79/mo for the most relevant tier — a fundamentally different cost structure from a flat-rate alternative like Converge, which is $49/month for up to 15 agents with all channels and AI included. The feature grid below shows what matters most when evaluating Respond.io for a unified-inbox use case. The features typically split across four practical dimensions teams care about: channel coverage (WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Instagram, Discord, Zalo, live chat, email), automation depth (auto-routing, SLA tracking, quick replies, macros, triggers), AI tooling (reply suggestions, message translation), and team management (roles, internal notes, assignment rules, working hours).
What does each Respond.io plan include?
What each tier includes and costs
Respond.io offers 4 plans, starting at From $79/mo on a usage-based model. Each tier gates different features — higher tiers typically unlock advanced automation, premium support, integrations, and analytics. Pay close attention to which channels and capabilities are gated behind upgrade tiers or sold as paid add-ons — those gating decisions usually determine the costs that surprise teams after signup. The breakdown below lists features and monthly price for every tier.
How much does Respond.io cost by team size?
Estimated costs on Respond.io's Growth
Respond.io's pricing on the Growth plan stays flat regardless of how many agents are on the team because the platform uses tier-based pricing rather than per-seat pricing, which means the monthly cost is determined by which tier you select rather than by your current headcount. The detailed cost breakdown table directly below walks through the math at every common team-size milestone, from a tiny 3-agent shop through a fully-loaded 15-agent support organization, so you can find your team's actual monthly and annual cost at the row that matches your current headcount today. For comparison, Converge charges $49/month flat for up to 15 agents at every row in the table, regardless of team size or channel count.
Respond.io charges a flat rate per tier. Shown alongside a flat-rate alternative for context. Note: Annual billing at the 1,000-contact tier. 10 user seats. The pricing page reprices Growth as you move the contact selector up through 2,500 / 5,000 / 10,000 / >10,000, so $159 is the floor, not the plan price. MAC on-demand is $12 per 100 contacts; AI Credit on-demand $15 per 1,000; extra users +$20/mo each. Monthly billing is $199/mo..
What are Respond.io's hidden costs and additional fees?
What you may pay beyond the listed price
Hidden costs on Respond.io most often come from per-tier add-ons that gate specific features behind upgrade decisions, premium support tiers sold separately from the base plan, and feature-gated upgrades that activate only after switching to a higher subscription level. These additional costs are documented in Respond.io's public pricing pages plus aggregated real-world user reports from G2, Capterra, and our own customer-pipeline data, and they frequently catch teams by surprise during the first one or two quarters of active use under real production conditions. The detailed list directly below walks through the specific hidden-cost items reported, sorted by how often they actually show up in real production subscriptions today, so you can plan a realistic budget rather than relying on the listed starting price alone when estimating annual cost.
The base plan price is the starting point. These are documented additional costs and considerations reported by users and found in Respond.io's pricing details.
How does Respond.io's pricing model work?
How the pricing works
Respond.io uses a usage-based pricing model, which is the underlying structural decision that determines how the total subscription cost actually scales as your support team grows over time. Understanding the model is essential before committing, because the same listed starting price can produce wildly different total annual costs depending on which model the vendor chose and how your specific team uses the platform in production. The detailed implications grid directly below covers the four most important practical consequences of this specific pricing model for a typical small support team, drawn from our customer-pipeline data plus public pricing pages. In particular, monthly costs vary based on actual usage. For comparison, Converge sidesteps the model question entirely by charging $49/month flat for up to 15 agents regardless of team size, channel count, or usage volume.
Respond.io uses usage-based pricing, where costs are tied to volume metrics like conversations, messages, or API calls.
What this means in practice
- Monthly costs vary based on actual usage
- Overage fees apply when limits are exceeded
- Costs can spike during busy periods
- Budgeting requires forecasting usage volume
Annual billing at the 1,000-contact tier. 10 user seats. The pricing page reprices Growth as you move the contact selector up through 2,500 / 5,000 / 10,000 / >10,000, so $159 is the floor, not the plan price. MAC on-demand is $12 per 100 contacts; AI Credit on-demand $15 per 1,000; extra users +$20/mo each. Monthly billing is $199/mo.
How does Respond.io's pricing compare to alternatives?
How pricing compares in the same category
Respond.io starts at From $79/mo on a usage-based pricing model. Same-category direct alternatives — including Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom — use broadly similar pricing structures, meaning the underlying cost-scaling dynamics are essentially the same across the category and the differences between them are mostly about tier-level feature gating rather than fundamentally different commercial models. Converge sits at $49/month flat for up to 15 agents on a per-company rather than per-seat basis, which makes it the cheapest option at virtually any team size above one active agent on the platform today. The side-by-side comparison table directly below shows the starting price and underlying pricing model for each option in a single row so you can quickly evaluate the trade-offs in one place without having to cross-reference multiple vendor pricing pages.
Prices shown are starting prices. Actual costs vary based on team size, selected tier, and add-ons.
Is Respond.io worth the price?
An honest evaluation
Respond.io is worth the price if your team specifically needs whatever reviewers consistently single out as its standout capability and if your team profile sits within its target customer base. Once the total monthly cost crosses Converge's $49/month flat rate (which on a typical per-seat plan happens at around 2-3 active agents), most messaging-first support teams running under 15 agents end up doing better on a flat-rate alternative — the per-seat cost-scaling dynamic compounds quickly past that breakeven point and consumes budget that could otherwise fund premium features, AI tooling, or expanded channel coverage. The strengths and limitations breakdown directly below walks through where the platform actually delivers value today.
Respond.io's core strength is ai agents that handle complex conversations, qualify leads, and trigger workflow automations without human intervention. It is best suited for Sales-oriented teams needing AI agents, broadcast messaging, and CRM integrations for lead-to-customer conversion.
Strengths
- Powerful AI Agents for automated customer conversations
- Visual workflow automation builder with conditional logic
- Strong broadcast messaging for marketing campaigns
- Good CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, Make)
Drawbacks
- Two usage meters run at once — Monthly Active Contacts and AI Credits — and both climb with engagement
- The advertised $159 Growth price is the 1,000-contact tier only; the plan reprices as you move up the contact selector
- A failed outbound message still burns a Monthly Active Contact
- WhatsApp per-conversation fees add to base cost
Bottom line: Respond.io delivers strong value for teams that need sales teams needing lead qualification and broadcast messaging. For smaller teams (under 15 people) that primarily need messaging across WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and other channels, a flat-rate alternative like Converge ($49/month) may be more cost-effective.
Frequently Asked Questions
Respond.io pricing starts at From $79/mo. Plans range from Starter ($79/mo (annual) / $99/mo (monthly)) to Enterprise (Custom).
No, Respond.io does not offer a permanent free plan. The lowest paid tier starts at From $79/mo. Respond.io does offer a free trial for evaluation.
Respond.io's Starter plan includes: 5 user seats, Unlimited monthly active contacts, 5,000 AI Credits (fixed, does not scale), AI Assist and AI Prompt, Basic reports, Growth widgets. Note: No broadcasts, workflows, or AI Agents; WhatsApp per-conversation fees extra; extra users +$12/mo each. Higher tiers add more advanced features.
Yes, Respond.io's advertised prices typically require annual billing. Monthly billing is available at a higher rate.
Respond.io is best for Sales-oriented teams needing AI agents, broadcast messaging, and CRM integrations for lead-to-customer conversion. Strengths include: Powerful AI Agents for automated customer conversations; Visual workflow automation builder with conditional logic. Downsides: Two usage meters run at once — Monthly Active Contacts and AI Credits — and both climb with engagement; The advertised $159 Growth price is the 1,000-contact tier only; the plan reprices as you move up the contact selector. The value depends on your team size, required features, and budget.
Common additional costs include: No broadcasts, workflows, or AI Agents; WhatsApp per-conversation fees extra; extra users +$12/mo each. MAC on-demand $12 per 100 contacts, AI Credit on-demand $15 per 1,000, extra users +$20/mo each, WhatsApp API charges. Sales-assisted signup (no self-serve trial button); MAC on-demand $15 per 100 contacts, extra users +$24/mo each. Implementation fees, custom pricing negotiation.
Respond.io starts at From $79/mo with tiered pricing. Alternatives in the same category range from free tiers to $150+/agent/month. Flat-rate options like Converge ($49/month for up to 15 agents) can be more cost-effective for smaller teams.
Most Respond.io plans can be upgraded at any time. Downgrades and cancellations typically take effect at the end of the current billing cycle. Check Respond.io's terms of service for specific cancellation policies and whether mid-term changes are allowed.
Starter costs $79/month on annual billing or $99/month monthly, and includes 5 user seats plus unlimited monthly active contacts and a fixed 5,000 AI Credits that do not scale with usage (respond.io pricing page, 22 August 2026). The unlimited-contacts headline is real but narrower than it sounds: Starter excludes workflow automation, broadcast messaging and AI Agents, so you cannot reach those contacts proactively. Adding any of them means Growth at $159/month — which is also the plan that introduces the 1,000-contact meter and $12-per-100 overage. The upgrade that unlocks automation is the same upgrade that starts metering your contacts.
Respond.io charges Meta's WhatsApp per-conversation fees on top of every plan. There is no separate WhatsApp add-on fee — but conversation costs vary by country and type (service, utility, marketing, authentication). A team handling 500 service conversations per month in the US pays roughly $30-50 extra on top of the plan price.
Four plans: Starter ($79/month), Growth ($159/month), Advanced ($279/month) and Enterprise (custom). Those figures are annual billing at the 1,000-contact tier — monthly billing costs about 25% more ($99/$199/$349), and the contact selector on the pricing page reprices each plan as you move up through 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 monthly active contacts (respond.io pricing page, 22 August 2026). Starter includes 5 seats and unlimited contacts with a fixed 5,000 AI Credits, but no broadcasts, workflows or AI Agents. Growth and Advanced both include 10 seats. Advanced and Enterprise are sales-assisted rather than self-serve.
Because the sticker is a floor, not a price. Four things sit on top of it. First, the tier itself: the contact selector on respond.io's pricing page reprices Starter, Growth and Advanced as you move from 1,000 up through 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 monthly active contacts, so $79/$159/$279 are the figures shown at the lowest setting (respond.io pricing page, 22 August 2026). Second, MAC on-demand at $12 per 100 contacts on Growth and $15 per 100 on Advanced. Third, AI Credit on-demand at $15 per 1,000 credits, billed in whole blocks rounded up. Fourth, extra seats beyond the included 5 or 10, at $12 to $24 each per month. Meta's WhatsApp conversation fees apply on top of all of it. Both meters rise with engagement, so a campaign that performs well increases the bill on two fronts at once.
There is no separate AI subscription on Growth, Advanced or Enterprise, but AI runs on a metered credit pool that scales with your contact tier — 10x the contact limit on Growth, 20x on Advanced, 40x on Enterprise, so Growth at 1,000 contacts includes 10,000 credits (respond.io AI Credits documentation, 22 August 2026). Consumption varies enormously by feature: AI Assist, AI Translate and chat summaries cost 1 credit each, an AI Agent response costs 2 to 5 credits, and a Voice AI Agent costs roughly 70 credits per minute. That last figure is the one to check before relying on voice — about two and a half hours of Voice AI time consumes a Growth plan's entire monthly allowance. Past the allowance, on-demand bills automatically at $15 per 1,000 credits, rounded up per block, with a hard cap at 200% of the allowance after which AI features pause until the cycle resets. Text-only AI use rarely troubles the pool.
Yes. Respond.io's documentation states that outbound messages which fail to send still count as a Monthly Active Contact, with broadcasts as the only exception (respond.io Billing & Usage documentation, 22 August 2026). A Monthly Active Contact is any contact who sends or receives a message, or makes or receives a call, during the billing month. That means wrong numbers, unreachable contacts and bounced sends all consume meter capacity, and the count resets at the start of each billing cycle rather than rolling over. It is worth reading your last three billing periods under Billing & UsageMACDetails before comparing platforms: if the count is flat, the model is working in your favour, and if it steps up each month you are on a meter that grows with your business.
No. Respond.io has no permanent free plan — it offers a 7-day free trial on the Growth feature set (5 users and 1,000 monthly active contacts, broadcasts excluded), with no credit card required (respond.io pricing page, 22 August 2026). One behaviour to plan around: the trial ends early if the organization reaches 100% of its MAC limit, so importing a large contact list to stress-test the platform can terminate your own evaluation before the week is up (respond.io Billing & Usage documentation, 22 August 2026). After the trial you pick a paid plan starting at $79/month on Starter with annual billing. Note that Advanced and Enterprise are no longer self-serve — both route to a sales conversation rather than a signup button. Converge offers a 7-day free trial on its single $49/month flat plan for up to 15 agents with no contact caps.
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