{
 "schema_version": "1.0",
 "id": "respond-io",
 "name": "respond.io",
 "research_status": "researched",
 "vendor_domain": "respond.io",
 "category": "Communication & Voice",
 "task": "WhatsApp, SMS & social messaging",
 "summary": "Shared inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS, email and live chat, with workflow automation, broadcasts and AI agents on top. The catch is where the line sits: automation, broadcasts, AI agents and the API all start at Growth, so the entry plan is the inbox without the engine.",
 "best_for": "a small team that already lives in WhatsApp and Instagram DMs and has outgrown a shared phone — retail, clinics, travel, local services. Per-contact pricing suits you if headcount grows faster than conversation volume, and the seven-day trial without a card lets you check that before committing",
 "skip_if": "you only need one channel: a plain shared inbox or a helpdesk will cost less than an omnichannel platform you use a fifth of. Skip the Starter plan specifically if automation is the reason you are looking — you will be on Growth within a month. And if your monthly active contacts run into the tens of thousands, get the number in writing first, because that is the meter and the published ladder stops being informative",
 "honest_knock": "The entry plan is the inbox without the engine. At $79 you get shared inboxes across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS and live chat, and that alone solves the “five people answering from one phone” problem. But workflow automation, broadcasts, AI Agents and the API — the things most people picture when they read “omnichannel platform” — begin at $159, so the real entry price for an automated setup is double the headline. Work out which side of that line you sit on before comparing it with anything else. And note the meter: you pay per active contact per month, so cost follows how many people message you, not how many staff you add. That is kinder than per-seat pricing for a small team fielding a lot of chats, and harsher if you have a big list you talk to often.",
 "pricing": {
  "status": "public",
  "entry_price": "$79",
  "entry_price_terms": "Starter · per month",
  "from_price_usd_month": 79.0,
  "plans": [
   {
    "name": "Starter",
    "price": "$79/month yearly billing or $99/month monthly billing",
    "includes": "Team/custom inboxes, mobile app, AI Prompt, AI Assist, basic reports, 2FA; unlimited contacts, 5 users"
   },
   {
    "name": "Growth",
    "price": "$159/month yearly billing or $199/month monthly billing",
    "includes": "Adds workflows automation, broadcasts, AI Agents, advanced reports, API, Zapier/Make; 10 users, starts at 1,000 contacts"
   },
   {
    "name": "Advanced",
    "price": "$279/month yearly billing or $349/month monthly billing",
    "includes": "Adds multiple workspaces, SSO, webhooks, HTTP requests, phone-number masking; 10 users, starts at 1,000 contacts"
   },
   {
    "name": "Enterprise",
    "price": "no published price",
    "includes": "On quote; button says “Talk to Sales”"
   }
  ],
  "plans_source": "summarised from pricing.notes; every plan name and amount appears verbatim in those notes",
  "notes": "(2026-08-13, read off respond.io/pricing) Four tiers, billed on monthly active contacts rather than seats: Starter $79/month, Growth $159, Advanced $279, and Enterprise on quote. Paying yearly takes roughly 20% off — $948, $1,908 and $3,348 a year against $1,188, $2,388 and $4,188 monthly. The trial is 7 days and takes no card. What separates the tiers is not volume but capability, and the line matters: Starter buys team and custom inboxes, the mobile app, AI Prompt, AI Assist, basic reports and 2FA. **Workflows automation, broadcasts, AI Agents, advanced reports, the developer API and the Zapier and Make integrations all start at Growth.** Advanced adds multiple workspaces, SSO, webhooks, HTTP requests in workflows and phone-number masking, and although a figure is shown its button says “Talk to Sales”. One thing we could not pin down. The page carries a selector for 1,000 / 2,500 / 5,000 / 10,000 / more than 10,000 monthly active contacts under the heading “pay only for the contacts you talk to”, but the prices we read did not move between those settings. Ask what your contact volume actually costs before you sign — that is the meter you are buying. Re-verified 11 October 2026 on respond.io/pricing: the yearly totals ($948, $1,908, $3,348) and the monthly totals ($1,188, $2,388, $4,188) are unchanged. Read them carefully: the $79, $159 and $279 shown per month are the yearly rates, and the page data gives $99, $199 and $349 for month-to-month billing. The plan comparison now lists users per tier — 5 on Starter, 10 on Growth and Advanced, extra users at $12, $20 and $24 a month on yearly billing ($15, $25 and $30 monthly) — plus AI Credits of 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 40,000. In that same table Starter shows unlimited monthly active contacts, while Growth and Advanced 'start with 1,000', so the contact meter applies from Growth up. The trial gives Growth features for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, without broadcasts.",
  "verified_at": "2026-10-11",
  "source_url": null,
  "schema_offer": {
   "price": 79.0,
   "currency": "USD",
   "description": "Starter, per month; automation, broadcasts and the API only start on the $159 Growth plan. Read on the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-08-29.",
   "page": "https://zerotouchsupport.com/respond-io-review.html"
  },
  "source_quotes": null
 },
 "free_plan": false,
 "free_plan_evidence": null,
 "cost_traps": [
  {
   "id": "usage_metered",
   "label": "Usage-metered",
   "evidence": "The plan comparison now lists users per tier — 5 on Starter, 10 on Growth and Advanced, extra users at $12, $20 and $24 a month on yearly billing ($15, $25 and $30 monthly) — plus AI Credits of 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 40,000.",
   "verified_at": "2026-10-11",
   "source_url": null
  }
 ],
 "compare_with": {
  "name": "Wati",
  "why": "the comparison most WhatsApp-first teams will make, and one we have already researched. Both put a shared team inbox on top of the WhatsApp Business API; the practical difference is how the meter runs and where automation starts. respond.io reaches wider across channels — Instagram, Messenger, SMS, live chat and email in the same inbox — which is worth paying for only if you genuinely answer on more than one"
 },
 "links": {
  "record": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/api/v1/products/respond-io.json",
  "review": "https://zerotouchsupport.com/respond-io-review.html",
  "marketplace": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/marketplace/respond-io/",
  "vendor_site": "https://respond.io"
 },
 "purchase": {
  "seller": "the vendor",
  "how": "AIBuilder Marketplace does not sell this software. Sign up, start a trial or buy on the vendor's site.",
  "handoff_url": "https://get.respond.io/59337pcu4fh7",
  "affiliate": true,
  "disclosure": "Where purchase.affiliate is true, purchase.handoff_url is an affiliate link: AIBuilder Marketplace may earn a commission at no extra cost to the buyer. Commission never changes what a record says, and products are not ranked by commission. Where it is false the link is the vendor's plain site."
 },
 "provenance": {
  "research": "hand-researched dossier, read on the vendor's own pages",
  "researched_since": "2026-07",
  "method": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/how-we-review/",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0. Credit 'AIBuilder Marketplace' with a link to https://aibuildermarketplace.com/atlas/.",
  "note": "A rebuild is not a new measurement: pricing.verified_at is the date that matters."
 },
 "cost": {
  "status": "available",
  "engine": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/agents/#cost",
  "rules": {
   "currency": "USD",
   "unit": "user",
   "axis": "users",
   "plans": [
    {
     "id": "starter",
     "name": "Starter",
     "model": "flat",
     "included_units": 5,
     "annual_month": 79,
     "monthly": 99,
     "extra_unit": {
      "annual_month": 12,
      "monthly": 15
     },
     "evidence": "the $79, $159 and $279 shown per month are the yearly rates, and the page data gives $99, $199 and $349 for month-to-month billing. The plan comparison now lists users per tier — 5 on Starter, 10 on Growth and Advanced, extra users at $12, $20 and $24 a month on yearly billing ($15, $25 and $30 monthly)"
    },
    {
     "id": "growth",
     "name": "Growth",
     "model": "flat",
     "included_units": 10,
     "annual_month": 159,
     "monthly": 199,
     "extra_unit": {
      "annual_month": 20,
      "monthly": 25
     },
     "evidence": "the $79, $159 and $279 shown per month are the yearly rates, and the page data gives $99, $199 and $349 for month-to-month billing. The plan comparison now lists users per tier — 5 on Starter, 10 on Growth and Advanced, extra users at $12, $20 and $24 a month on yearly billing ($15, $25 and $30 monthly)"
    },
    {
     "id": "advanced",
     "name": "Advanced",
     "model": "flat",
     "included_units": 10,
     "annual_month": 279,
     "monthly": 349,
     "extra_unit": {
      "annual_month": 24,
      "monthly": 30
     },
     "evidence": "the $79, $159 and $279 shown per month are the yearly rates, and the page data gives $99, $199 and $349 for month-to-month billing. The plan comparison now lists users per tier — 5 on Starter, 10 on Growth and Advanced, extra users at $12, $20 and $24 a month on yearly billing ($15, $25 and $30 monthly)"
    },
    {
     "id": "enterprise",
     "name": "Enterprise",
     "model": "quote",
     "evidence": "Enterprise on quote"
    }
   ],
   "notes": [
    "Advanced shows a price but its button says 'Talk to Sales'.",
    "Starter shows unlimited monthly active contacts; Growth and Advanced 'start with 1,000', so a contact meter applies from Growth up and its price per step is not in our notes."
   ],
   "not_computable": [
    "Monthly active contacts above 1,000 on Growth and Advanced: the selector exists but the prices we read did not move with it."
   ],
   "rules_verified_at": "2026-10-13"
  },
  "growth": {
   "annual": {
    "product_id": "respond-io",
    "currency": "USD",
    "axis": "users",
    "unit": "user",
    "billing": "annual",
    "rows": [
     {
      "units": 1,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 79.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 948.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 79.0,
       "growth": 159.0,
       "advanced": 279.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 2,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 79.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 948.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 79.0,
       "growth": 159.0,
       "advanced": 279.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 3,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 79.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 948.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 79.0,
       "growth": 159.0,
       "advanced": 279.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 5,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 79.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 948.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 79.0,
       "growth": 159.0,
       "advanced": 279.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 10,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 139.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 1668.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 139.0,
       "growth": 159.0,
       "advanced": 279.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 15,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 199.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 2388.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 199.0,
       "growth": 259.0,
       "advanced": 399.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 20,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 259.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 3108.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 259.0,
       "growth": 359.0,
       "advanced": 519.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 25,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 319.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 3828.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 319.0,
       "growth": 459.0,
       "advanced": 639.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 50,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 619.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 7428.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 619.0,
       "growth": 959.0,
       "advanced": 1239.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 100,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 1219.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 14628.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 1219.0,
       "growth": 1959.0,
       "advanced": 2439.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     }
    ],
    "switch_points": [],
    "conflicts": [],
    "unknowns": [
     "Monthly active contacts above 1,000 on Growth and Advanced: the selector exists but the prices we read did not move with it."
    ]
   },
   "monthly": {
    "product_id": "respond-io",
    "currency": "USD",
    "axis": "users",
    "unit": "user",
    "billing": "monthly",
    "rows": [
     {
      "units": 1,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 99.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 99.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 99.0,
       "growth": 199.0,
       "advanced": 349.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 2,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 99.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 99.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 99.0,
       "growth": 199.0,
       "advanced": 349.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 3,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 99.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 99.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 99.0,
       "growth": 199.0,
       "advanced": 349.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 5,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 99.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 99.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 99.0,
       "growth": 199.0,
       "advanced": 349.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 10,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 174.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 174.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 174.0,
       "growth": 199.0,
       "advanced": 349.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 15,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 249.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 249.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 249.0,
       "growth": 324.0,
       "advanced": 499.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 20,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 324.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 324.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 324.0,
       "growth": 449.0,
       "advanced": 649.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 25,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 399.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 399.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 399.0,
       "growth": 574.0,
       "advanced": 799.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 50,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 774.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 774.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 774.0,
       "growth": 1199.0,
       "advanced": 1549.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 100,
      "cheapest_plan": "starter",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Starter",
      "total_month": 1524.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 1524.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "starter": 1524.0,
       "growth": 2449.0,
       "advanced": 3049.0,
       "enterprise": "quote"
      }
     }
    ],
    "switch_points": [],
    "conflicts": [],
    "unknowns": [
     "Monthly active contacts above 1,000 on Growth and Advanced: the selector exists but the prices we read did not move with it."
    ]
   }
  }
 },
 "unknowns": [
  "Contract terms (cancellation, data export, data location, minimum seats) are not researched as separate fields; pricing.notes mentions them only where the vendor's pricing page does.",
  "Being verified: free trial and refund terms are not yet matched to a verbatim line on the vendor's own pages. Not matched does not mean there is none.",
  "Not tested hands-on by us: what the product does comes from the vendor's pages and our reading of them."
 ],
 "verification": {
  "price": "read",
  "free_trial": "being_verified",
  "refund": "being_verified"
 },
 "task_evidence": null,
 "open_questions": [
  {
   "question_id": "respond-io:cancellation_terms",
   "key": "cancellation_terms",
   "question": "Can a customer cancel at any time, and what happens to an annual plan that is cancelled mid-term?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "respond-io:data_export",
   "key": "data_export",
   "question": "Which data can a customer export, in which formats, on which plans?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "respond-io:data_location",
   "key": "data_location",
   "question": "Where is customer data stored, and can a customer choose the region?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "respond-io:pricing_gap_1",
   "key": "pricing_gap_1",
   "question": "Our price check could not put a number on this part of the cost: Monthly active contacts above 1,000 on Growth and Advanced: the selector exists but the prices we read did not move with it. Can you publish the price or the rule?",
   "status": "open"
  }
 ],
 "vendor_answers": [],
 "agent_channels": {
  "vendor_mcp": {
   "what": "Server run locally over stdio or as an HTTP service, published as an npm package: retrieve, create and update contacts, send messages, WhatsApp templates and email, assign and close conversations, and manage custom fields, tags and internal comments.",
   "plan": "Not stated. You need a Developer API access token from your workspace settings; their page says nothing about which plan includes one.",
   "status": "Live",
   "source": "https://developers.respond.io/docs/respond-io-mcp/f18d9ea3ad235-overview",
   "checked": "2026-07-28",
   "note": "The vendor's own MCP server, from our MCP research; it works with your own account at the vendor."
  },
  "agent_checkout": {
   "status": "not_found",
   "detail": "No explicit support for purchases by AI agents on the vendor's own pages.",
   "checked_at": "2026-10-07",
   "method": "homepage, /pricing and the pricing page we cite, read as plain HTML (no JavaScript) and searched for explicit support of purchases by AI agents: Agentic Commerce Protocol, Instant Checkout, Agent Payments Protocol, buy in ChatGPT, agentic checkout"
  }
 }
}