Whatsable
Short answer: The best WhatsApp shared inbox depends on the job. Pick WhatsAble when you want a WhatsApp-first desk with roles, chat assignment, and native push only for chats assigned to you. Pick respond.io or Trengo when you need broader omnichannel. Pick WATI or Zoko when WhatsApp-first SMB or Shopify commerce is the center. Pick TimelinesAI when CRM sync and per-seat WhatsApp views matter most.
Publisher disclosure: WhatsAble publishes this guide. We rank by the criteria below, not vanity. Where a competitor wins a criterion, we say so. Competitor prices are date-stamped — verify on their sites before you buy.
| Rank | Tool | Best for | Starting price (research) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WhatsAble | Assignment-first WhatsApp teams + assigned-only push | Pro from $49/mo @500 unique contacts (as of 2026-09-24; pricing) |
| 2 | respond.io | Omnichannel mid-market desks | Starter $79/mo annual (as of 2026-09-24; verify on their site) |
| 3 | WATI | WhatsApp-first SMB entry | Growth / Pro / Business — base $ VERIFY NEEDED on wati.io/pricing; extra users $24–$69 (as of 2026-09-24) |
| 4 | Trengo | EU omnichannel inbox + WhatsApp | Boost €299/mo annual (as of 2026-09-24; verify on trengo.com/prices) |
| 5 | TimelinesAI | CRM sync + per-seat WhatsApp | Shared Inbox $40/seat (as of 2026-09-24; verify on their site) |
| 6 | Zoko | Shopify WhatsApp commerce + shared agents | Starter $49.99/mo (as of 2026-09-24; verify on zoko.io/pricing) |
How we ranked
- Official WhatsApp Business API / Cloud API path (not shady multi-login)
- Shared inbox quality — history, handoff, search
- Roles & permissions
- Assignment (human + automation / partner-flow)
- Notification model — can you avoid pinging the whole desk? (WhatsAble unique: assigned-only push)
- Automation — Make / Zapier / n8n / webhooks
- Pricing clarity — seats vs contacts vs MAC; Meta fees separate
- Fit for mid-market teams and agencies
Linked Devices on the native WhatsApp Business app is not a shared inbox. We cover it briefly at the end and point to the Linked Devices vs team inbox hub when you only have a tiny desk.
#1 WhatsAble — best for assignment-first teams
Best for: support and sales teams that want one WhatsApp Business number, clear ownership, and a phone that only buzzes for their chats.
Why it ranks #1 on our criteria: WhatsAble’s unique trio is roles + chat assignment + assigned-only native push on iOS and Android. You get notified for chats assigned to you — not every desk chat. That is push discipline. It is not “the app hides unassigned chats.”
- Shared team inbox on Pro / Agency (Bulk Message is broadcast-only — no seats, no shared inbox)
- Assign in the inbox; also via Zapier / Make / n8n / API, keywords, or AI by content
- Labels as conversation source of truth across inbox, AI, and partners
- Unique-contacts billing; $12 per extra 100 unique contacts; Meta fees at 0% markup
- Extra seats $12/seat/mo
- Coexistence available (Business app + API on the same number when Meta allows it)
Pricing (as of 2026-09-24; cite whatsable.app/pricing): Bulk Message from $19/mo @500 unique contacts; Pro from $49/mo @500; Agency from $53.90/mo @500 (Agency billed per number). Agency multi-number setups are separate accounts with a manual tier split at setup — there is no unified multi-number shared inbox yet.
Trade-off: WhatsAble is WhatsApp-first. If you need a heavy omnichannel suite (email + IG + live chat + voice in one vendor UI), respond.io or Trengo may win that criterion.
Soft CTA: if roles, assignment, and assigned-only push are the job, start a Pro trial and compare plans on pricing. Ops playbook: team inbox guide.
#2 respond.io — best for omnichannel mid-market
Best for: teams that live across WhatsApp plus other messaging channels and want workflows, broadcasts, and a mature mid-market inbox.
Where it wins: omnichannel breadth and workflow depth. On our criteria list, respond.io beats a WhatsApp-only tool when “one inbox for many channels” is the primary job.
Pricing (as of 2026-09-24; verify on respond.io/pricing): Starter $79/mo, Growth $159/mo, Advanced $279/mo when billed annually (monthly list higher: $99 / $199 / $349). Growth and Advanced start around 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts (MAC); on-demand MAC overage $12 per 100 on Growth and $15 per 100 on Advanced. Extra users listed from $12–$24/mo depending on plan. WhatsApp / Meta fees are separate.
Trade-off: heavier and pricier than a WhatsApp-first SMB desk. Notification models vary by product settings — do not assume assigned-only mobile push like WhatsAble’s native apps.
#3 WATI — best for WhatsApp-first SMB entry
Best for: small and mid teams that want an approachable WhatsApp API inbox, broadcasts, and chatbots without jumping straight to enterprise omnichannel.
Where it wins: WhatsApp-first simplicity and a familiar Growth / Pro / Business ladder for SMBs.
Pricing (as of 2026-09-24; verify on wati.io/en/pricing): Live page confirms Growth (3 users, no additional users), Pro (5 users; additional users @ $24/user/mo), Business (5 users; additional users @ $69/user/mo). Exact Growth / Pro / Business base monthly dollars were not reliably exposed in our static fetch — mark VERIFY NEEDED on their pricing page before you publish a dollar in a sales deck. Meta message fees and WATI rate-card usage apply on top.
Trade-off: watch seat math and any markup on Meta fees. Growth’s hard user ceiling pushes many teams to Pro earlier than expected.
#4 Trengo — best for EU omnichannel desks
Best for: European teams that want WhatsApp inside a broader omnichannel inbox (email, social, live chat) with conversation allowances and clear user packs.
Where it wins: omnichannel packaging aimed at EU mid-market support orgs. On “channels beyond WhatsApp,” Trengo can outrank a WhatsApp-only product.
Pricing (as of 2026-09-24; verify on trengo.com/prices): Boost €299/mo billed annually (€349 month-to-month) with 10 users and 6,000 conversations/year; Pro €499/mo annual (€599 month-to-month) with 20 users and 18,000 conversations/year; Enterprise custom. WhatsApp / voice / SMS usage billed separately per their rate notes.
Trade-off: conversation allowances and euro packaging may not fit WhatsApp-only SMBs that want unique-contact style billing.
#5 TimelinesAI — best for CRM sync + per-seat WhatsApp
Best for: sales teams that want WhatsApp conversations mirrored into HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce, Zoho, monday.com, and similar CRMs, with clear per-seat pricing.
Where it wins: CRM integration depth and frank per-seat math. Assignment and labels exist; shared inbox starts on the Shared Inbox (Chat View) tier.
Pricing (as of 2026-09-24; verify on timelines.ai/timelinesai-pricing): CRM Integration $25/seat; Shared Inbox (Chat View) $40/seat; Mass Messaging $60/seat. Each connected number generally needs a seat. TimelinesAI documents QR code, official WhatsApp Business API, and Coexistence paths — describe carefully; do not invent a WhatsAble QR companion mode.
Trade-off: per-seat cost scales linearly. QR vs official API paths are different risk/compliance stories — confirm which connection your compliance team wants.
#6 Zoko — best for Shopify WhatsApp commerce
Best for: Shopify brands that want WhatsApp for support, broadcasts, catalogs, and cart recovery with multi-agent access.
Where it wins: commerce playbooks and Shopify-shaped packaging. Auto-distribute chats and agent packs fit store ops better than a generic mid-market CCaaS.
Pricing (as of 2026-09-24; verify on zoko.io/pricing): Starter $49.99/mo; Plus $79.99/mo; Elite $139.99/mo; Max $499.99/mo. Conversation inclusions and overages differ by plan (Starter shows markup on conversations; higher plans advertise no markup on included conversation buckets). Extra agents $15 / $12 / $9 depending on Plus / Elite / Max. Instagram listed at $9.99/mo. Meta WhatsApp rate card still applies.
Trade-off: Shopify-centric. If you are not a commerce brand, a general team inbox may fit better.
Also: Linked Devices (tiny desks only)
Native WhatsApp Business + Linked Devices is fine for 1–2 people with low handoff. Meta documents up to 4 linked devices (up to 10 with eligible Meta Verified / Meta One multi-agent) and a ~14-day primary-phone rule. It is still not a real shared team inbox. Full compare: WhatsApp Business Multiple Users: Linked Devices vs Real Team Inbox (2026) (GTM-399 hub when live) and the team inbox guide.
Compare matrix
| Tool | Roles | Assignment | Push / notify model | Automations | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WhatsAble | Yes (Pro / Agency) | UI + Zapier / Make / n8n / API + keywords + AI by content | Assigned-only native iOS/Android push | Pro / Agency integrations | Unique contacts; seats $12; 0% Meta markup |
| respond.io | Team / custom inboxes | Team inbox assignment + workflows | Mobile app; desk-wide settings (not WhatsAble’s assigned-only claim) | Workflows; Zapier / Make / n8n on higher plans | MAC + seats; Meta fees separate |
| WATI | Teams / roles on higher plans | Assign, auto routing (Business: round-robin) | Operator-style inbox alerts | Chatbots, triggers, integrations | Plan + users; message / rate-card usage |
| Trengo | Plan user packs | Omnichannel assignment | Omnichannel notify (product-dependent) | Automation + AI add-ons | Euro plans + conversation allowances |
| TimelinesAI | Permissions & roles | Assign responsible | Shared inbox views; not assigned-only WhatsAble push | Zapier / Make / Workflow Builder / MCP | Per seat ($25–$60) |
| Zoko | Agents as seats | Auto distribute chats | Agent inbox (commerce ops) | Flows / playbooks / API | Plan + conversations + agents |
No invented feature matrices beyond what public pages and this research pass support. If a cell is thin for your RFP, open a trial and click through — do not trust a listicle alone for procurement.
FAQ
What is a WhatsApp shared inbox?
A shared inbox puts multiple teammates on one WhatsApp Business number with shared history, ownership, and (ideally) roles. It usually runs on the official WhatsApp Business Platform API — not a pile of unofficial multi-login tricks.
What is the best shared inbox for small teams vs agencies?
Small WhatsApp-first teams often shortlist WhatsAble Pro, WATI, or Zoko (if Shopify). Agencies that need omnichannel breadth look at respond.io or Trengo. WhatsAble Agency adds agency/workspace packaging; extra numbers are separate accounts with a manual tier split — no unified multi-number shared inbox yet.
Shared inbox vs Linked Devices?
Linked Devices are companion sessions on the WhatsApp Business app (Meta: up to 4 devices; up to 10 with eligible multi-agent). A shared inbox is a Cloud API desk with seats, roles, and assignment. See the Linked Devices vs team inbox hub (GTM-399).
Does WhatsAble charge per seat?
Yes on Pro / Agency: extra seats are $12/seat/mo. Platform billing is unique contacts (with $12 per extra 100 overage). Bulk Message has no team seats. Cite pricing.
Does WhatsAble hide unassigned chats?
No. The unique is assigned-only push — your phone notifies you for chats assigned to you. Visibility still follows roles and assignment rules.
Soft next step
Shortlist two tools against the criteria table — not against a fake #1 trophy. If your job is roles, assignment, and assigned-only push on WhatsApp, try WhatsAble Pro and read the team inbox guide. Compare Bulk Message / Pro / Agency on pricing. Re-check every competitor dollar on their live pricing page before you sign.
