Comparisons
Wati alternative: a WhatsApp shared inbox for Kenyan teams
10 November 2026 · 7 min read
The short answer
On 10 November 2026, Wati’s pricing page lists Pro at $79 (KES 10,264) a month for five users, with $24 (KES 3,118) for each extra user and per-message charges on top. SautiDesk Basic is KES 5,000 a month for five people, with the WhatsApp inbox, calls, SMS, email and web chat, and no SautiDesk charge per WhatsApp message.
A Wati alternative for a Kenyan team is a WhatsApp shared inbox that bills in shillings and puts the WhatsApp chats next to calls, SMS and email. Wati charges per plan, with a set number of users, and per message on top. SautiDesk Basic is KES 1,000 per person a month: five people are KES 5,000 against $79 (KES 10,264) for Wati Pro, and SautiDesk adds nothing per WhatsApp message.
Wati’s plans and prices
Wati prices in US dollars by plan, and each plan includes a set number of users. Wati’s pricing page shows its prices billed annually and lists no monthly price. The shilling figures use KES 129.93 to the dollar, so they move with the exchange rate.
| Plan | Price a month | Users included | Each extra user a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wati Growth | $39 (KES 5,067) | 3 | Not available |
| Wati Pro | $79 (KES 10,264) | 5 | $24 (KES 3,118) |
| Wati Business | $199 (KES 25,856) | 5 | $59 (KES 7,666) |
| SautiDesk Basic | KES 1,000 per person | As many as you add | KES 1,000 |
| SautiDesk Pro | KES 3,000 per person | As many as you add | KES 3,000 |
Wati Growth has three users and no way to add more, so a team of five starts at Pro. On SautiDesk every person is one price and there is no user limit to plan around.
What the plan price leaves out
- Per-message charges: Wati’s page says per-message charges vary for marketing, utility and authentication messages, and links a separate rate card to each plan. SautiDesk charges nothing per WhatsApp message.
- How you pay: Wati’s page says it accepts credit cards enabled for international online transactions, and bank transfer on annual plans. SautiDesk is paid in shillings by M-Pesa or card from a prepaid balance.
- Everything beyond WhatsApp: SautiDesk puts calls on a Kenyan number, SMS, email and web chat on the same ticket, with the plan price covering all of them.
A worked month for five people
Take a team of five answering one WhatsApp number. The table shows the plan prices before any message charges.
| Plan | Five people a month |
|---|---|
| Wati Pro | $79 (KES 10,264) |
| Wati Business | $199 (KES 25,856) |
| SautiDesk Basic | 5 × KES 1,000 = KES 5,000 |
| SautiDesk Basic with one phone number for calls | KES 5,000 + KES 500 = KES 5,500 |
| SautiDesk Pro | 5 × KES 3,000 = KES 15,000 |
On SautiDesk Basic the same KES 5,000 covers the WhatsApp inbox, calls, SMS, email and web chat. The phone number is KES 500 a month, incoming calls are free and outgoing calls are KES 0.05 per second. The pricing calculator works out the total for your own team.
What Meta charges for the messages
Whichever inbox you use, Meta charges for the template messages you send to Kenyan numbers, and it prices Kenya in its Rest of Africa market. The rates below are the ones in WhatsApp Business API pricing in Kenya.
| Category | What it is | Price per message |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing template | An approved template for an offer or announcement | $0.0225 (KES 2.92) |
| Utility template | An approved template for an order, payment or appointment update | $0.004 (KES 0.52) |
| Service message | A typed reply inside the 24-hour window | $0.004 (KES 0.52) after 1,000 free a month per number |
Messages that customers send to you are free. If a customer reaches you from a Click to WhatsApp ad, Meta charges nothing for your replies and templates for up to 7 days. Meta changes its rates on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October.
What a WhatsApp team inbox does on SautiDesk
A WhatsApp shared inbox moves the business number off one phone and onto every agent’s screen. Each chat has one owner, a colleague can take it over with the full history, and the conversations stay with the business when someone leaves. Customers can send photos and voice notes, and they appear in the ticket.
Each chat joins the customer’s ticket next to their calls, SMS, email and web chat, so the agent who picks up a call sees what the customer wrote on WhatsApp that morning. That is the help desk and ticketing side of SautiDesk. On Pro, chats from Click to WhatsApp ads can open leads with an owner and a next step once you switch WhatsApp to open leads in Settings, Sales, Channels. Turn each ad chat into a sales lead shows the steps.
How to move your WhatsApp number to SautiDesk
- Check the number. A number already used in the WhatsApp app must be deleted from the app before the API can use it, so pick a number your customers will not mind losing from the app.
- Get the display name approved. Meta reviews the name your customers see, and the number cannot be used until it is approved.
- Submit your templates. Meta reviews each template automatically, and in WhatsApp Manager a review can take up to 24 hours.
- Connect it to SautiDesk. You connect your WhatsApp Business number and we walk you through it during setup.
For running the shared number day to day, read how to run WhatsApp customer service as a team. If your team still shares one phone, see five signs you have outgrown the WhatsApp Business app.
Start on SautiDesk
- Pick Basic at KES 1,000 per person a month, or Pro at KES 3,000 if you want reports, the live floor view and campaigns.
- Add your people. Each person is one seat, billed by the month.
- Choose a Kenyan number for calls and SMS at KES 500 a month.
- Connect your WhatsApp Business number and your support email address.
- Top up your balance by M-Pesa or card, then answer your first chat in the browser.
Put your WhatsApp number on five screens for KES 5,000 a month. See every plan and rate on the pricing page.
Exchange rate used on this page, as of 10 November 2026: 1 US dollar = KES 129.93. Wati and Meta publish their prices in US dollars, so the shilling figures move with the rate.