Respond.io
AI-powered platform unifying customer chats, calls, and campaigns across WhatsApp, social media, and more in a team inbox for B2C businesses.
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What is Respond.io?
Respond.io is a customer conversation management platform built for mid-market B2C businesses that rely on chat and calls to drive revenue. It brings omnichannel conversations into one shared workspace so teams can manage WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, email, live chat, voice calls, and more from a single inbox.
The platform is designed to keep customer context intact across channels. Conversations, contact history, CRM data, and assignment details stay available in one place, which helps teams respond faster and avoid fragmented handoffs when customers switch from one channel to another.
A major part of the product is automation. Respond.io includes AI Agents for handling common conversations end to end, plus Workflows for routing, follow-ups, escalations, and other repeatable tasks. It also supports broadcasts for targeted messaging and lifecycle tracking for monitoring where contacts are in the sales or support process.
It is built for teams that want to scale sales, marketing, and support through messaging. The website positions it as especially useful for B2C businesses with high conversation volume, and it includes CRM integrations, mobile access, analytics, and enterprise-grade reliability and security.
Respond.io pricing
Pricing model: Paid
Starter begins at $79 per month and includes 5 users, Team & Custom Inboxes, Mobile App, AI Prompt, AI Assist, Basic Reports, Two-Factor Authentication, and Growth Widgets. The platform offers a free 7-day trial with no credit card required, and the trial provides access to Growth-plan features for 5 users and 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts, except broadcasts. Growth, Advanced, and Enterprise are available above Starter. Growth adds automation and AI for growth-oriented teams, Advanced adds advanced integrations, multiple workspaces, and enhanced security, and Enterprise adds unlimited users, more workspaces, and higher API rate limits. Additional users are priced separately on paid tiers, WhatsApp fees are not included, and AI usage is included at no extra cost on self-service Growth, Advanced, and Enterprise plans. The pricing page also states that Monthly Active Contacts are the billing basis for conversation usage, with on-demand overage billing if limits are exceeded. The site mentions a 28-day guided onboarding program and volume discounts for higher usage customers, and says calls may be an add-on depending on plan.
Respond.io pros
- Unified inbox for many channels
- Supports WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, email
- Handles voice calls in the same workspace
- Keeps full contact history across channels
- CRM integrations with HubSpot and Salesforce
- AI Agents for end-to-end conversation handling
- Workflows for routing and follow-up automation
- Broadcasts for targeted messaging campaigns
- Lifecycle tracking for sales pipeline visibility
- Mobile app for managing chats on the go
- Team collaboration in shared inboxes
- Custom inbox setup
- Basic reporting included on Starter
- Two-factor authentication available
- No credit card required for free trial
- AI usage included on self-service plans
- High uptime claim for enterprise reliability
- Built for mid-market B2C use cases
Respond.io cons
- Pricing is not fully transparent on the marketing pages
- WhatsApp fees are extra and billed by Meta
- Broadcasts are excluded from the free trial
- Calls are an add-on on some plans
- Monthly Active Contact limits may add extra charges
- Advanced features require higher-tier plans
- Some integrations may need setup and configuration
- Best fit is B2C revenue conversations, not every business type
Frequently asked questions about Respond.io
What is respond.io used for?
Respond.io is used to manage customer conversations across multiple channels in one shared workspace. Businesses use it to capture leads, reply to customers, automate repeat tasks, coordinate team handoffs, and connect conversation data with CRM records so sales and support teams can work from the same context.
Which channels does respond.io support?
The platform supports omnichannel messaging and calls, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, email, live chat, WhatsApp Business Calls, Messenger Calls, and VoIP. The website emphasizes that these channels can be managed in one inbox so a customer’s history is not broken up across separate tools.
Does respond.io include AI features?
Yes. Respond.io includes AI Agents for handling conversations end to end, along with AI Prompt and AI Assist on the Starter plan. The website says AI can greet contacts, answer questions, book appointments, route conversations, and help teams handle higher volume without adding headcount.
Can respond.io automate workflows?
Yes. Workflows are a core feature and are used to automate routing, assignment, follow-ups, and escalations. The platform presents workflows as the way to handle repeatable conversation tasks automatically so human agents can focus on cases that need direct attention.
Does respond.io integrate with CRMs?
Yes. The website highlights CRM integrations, including HubSpot and Salesforce. These integrations help keep contact records, deal stages, and conversation history synchronized so teams can personalize replies and avoid switching between systems.
Is there a mobile app?
Yes. Respond.io offers a mobile app so teams can manage conversations from anywhere. The website includes the app as part of the product experience, and it is listed in the Starter plan features.
What is included in the free trial?
Respond.io offers a free 7-day trial with no credit card required. The trial includes access to all Growth plan features for 5 users and 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts, but broadcasts are excluded, and some features like topping up WhatsApp Business Account credit still require a subscription.
How does respond.io charge for usage?
The pricing model is based on plans plus Monthly Active Contacts. A Monthly Active Contact is someone you interact with by chat or call during the billing month, and if you exceed your limit the platform says operations continue while extra contacts are billed on demand in increments of 100.
Are WhatsApp fees included in the subscription?
No. The pricing page says WhatsApp fees are not included in any respond.io subscription because Meta charges those fees separately based on usage. The platform also says you can top up WhatsApp credit on respond.io for WhatsApp calls or messages.
Who is respond.io best for?
Respond.io is positioned for mid-market B2C businesses that drive revenue from customer conversations. It is especially suited to teams that manage a lot of inbound chats, want to automate lead handling, and need one workspace for sales, support, and marketing conversations.