Comparison · South Africa
WhatsApp API providers in South Africa compared: rand plans, Meta fees and white-label options
WhatsApp API options a South African business or reseller is likely to shortlist: rand plan prices where published, how Meta's charges are handled, trials, and who each suits.
By Broadchat teamPublished 8 min read
In short
South African WhatsApp API providers mostly charge a monthly platform fee in rand and keep Meta's charges separate: Sonar from R349, MWCOM from R999 (excl. VAT) and ReachMax from R2,000 a month, on their own sites as of 1 Nov 2026. GotBot prices by throughput from R6,980 a month, and Clickatell and Turn.io quote on request. Broadchat is different: partners brand it and set the price. If you want a local rand plan with Meta billed at cost, the local platforms fit; if you want to resell WhatsApp under your own brand, Broadchat is built for that.
Key takeaways
- MWCOM lists BIZ AI Starter at R999 a month excl. VAT with 3 users and 1 number, and says Meta bills message fees directly.
- ReachMax lists one platform plan at R2,000 a month for up to 15,000 messages, with chatbots and support tiers as add-ons and no markup on Meta's rates.
- Sonar by Whats-Hub lists plans from R349 a month, with WhatsApp's own charges paid separately.
- GotBot prices its platform by messages per second, from R6,980 a month for 40 MPS; Clickatell and Turn.io publish no WhatsApp plan prices.
- Broadchat publishes no end-customer price: partners set plan prices and messaging rates, and partner costs are quoted on request.
Information about other providers comes from their own public websites, checked on . Products and prices change; check the linked sources before you decide. Product names are trademarks of their owners, used only to identify them.
How we compared
We read each provider's own website on 1 November 2026 and quote only what it publishes there; where a site does not say something, the table says 'Not stated'. Prices change, some sites show different prices by region, and we checked from outside South Africa, so open the linked page before you decide. We do not repeat other providers' per-message rates, because most are conversions from Meta's dollar rate card and move with the exchange rate; compare them yourself against Meta's rates for South Africa. Directory listings and other vendors' 'top providers' articles were used only to build the shortlist, never for prices.
The shortlist
| MWCOM | ReachMax | Sonar (Whats-Hub) | GotBot | Clickatell | Turn.io | Broadchat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price on its site | R999 a month excl. VAT (BIZ AI Starter) | R2,000 a month (platform) | R349 a month (Starter) | R6,980 a month (40 MPS) | Contact sales; prepaid option for outgoing messages | Quote, priced per inbound user | Set by the partner |
| What the entry plan includes | 3 users (up to 9), 1 number, flow builder, inbox, CRM | Up to 15,000 messages a month, unlimited team members and contacts | 10,000 messages, 2 numbers, broadcasts, inbox, templates | Platform by throughput | Not stated | Base fee covers the first 1,000 inbound users | Set by the partner |
| Higher plans | Extra users R280 a month, extra numbers R50 a month | Chatbot R900 or R1,900 a month per channel; support R5,000 or R15,000 | R1,499, R4,399, R14,299; Enterprise from R24,999 | R13,980 (80 MPS) to R55,980 (320 MPS) | Connect, Interact and Transact tiers on request | Volume tiers on request | Set by the partner |
| Meta's charges | 'Meta bills WhatsApp message fees directly' | 'No markup' on Meta's rates | 'WhatsApp's own charge is separate' | Per-message rand prices on its page, which it says follow the exchange rate | Not stated | 'Passed through at cost'; it says the payment processor takes 5% | Prepaid wallet at rates the partner sets over Meta's base rate |
| Free trial | 14 days, R20 AI credit, no card | Not stated | 50 contacts and 250 messages, no card | Not stated | 'Try for free' on the prepaid option | Not stated | Partner's choice; built-in 3, 5 or 7-day free plan |
| White-label for resellers | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated; the agency behind it offers set-up | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes: brand, domain, rand prices, own payment collection |
MWCOM
MWCOM is a South African company. Its pricing page lists BIZ AI Starter (WhatsApp + CRM) at R999 a month excluding VAT, with three users included (up to nine, at R280 a month each), one number (R50 a month per extra number), a visual flow builder, a shared inbox, CRM, email and social-channel connections and API access. It says Meta bills WhatsApp message fees directly, with no bundles, offers a 14-day trial with R20 of AI credit and no card, and runs month to month.
Best for: an SME that wants WhatsApp, email and a CRM in one rand subscription with Meta's charges kept separate.
ReachMax
ReachMax is based in George in the Western Cape. Its rand pricing page lists one platform plan at R2,000 a month, with up to 15,000 messages a month, unlimited team members and contacts, a shared inbox, broadcasts, templates and analytics. Chatbots are add-ons per channel (R900 a month self-serve, R1,900 custom) and so is hands-on help (Pro Support R5,000, Enterprise R15,000 a month). It says Meta's rates are passed on with no markup.
Best for: a business with a busy inbox and many staff, where per-user pricing would get expensive, that is happy to pay extra for build work.
Sonar by Whats-Hub
Sonar is built by Whats-Hub, a Cape Town agency that its site says is owned by the Hout Bay United Football Community Trust, with profits going to youth football. It lists Starter at R349 a month (10,000 messages, two numbers), Plus at R1,499, Growth at R4,399 and Scale at R14,299, with Enterprise from R24,999, all billed monthly. It says WhatsApp's own charge is separate and that you can keep the WhatsApp Business app. The trial covers 50 contacts and 250 messages with no card.
Best for: small businesses that want the lowest rand entry price and keep using the WhatsApp Business app on the phone.
GotBot
GotBot is a South African chatbot company. Its WhatsApp pricing page charges a platform fee by throughput, from R6,980 a month for 40 messages per second up to R55,980 for 320, plus per-message charges it shows in rand and describes as subject to exchange-rate movements. It says it manages the verification application for clients and lists POPIA, GDPR and ISO 27001 compliance.
Best for: larger brands sending high volumes that want a managed chatbot service and compliance paperwork from a local supplier.
Clickatell
Clickatell is one of the best-known messaging companies to come out of South Africa. Its packages page lists four tiers: Prepaid (pay-as-you-go outgoing messages, with a 'Try for free' button), Connect (enterprise SMS), Interact (chat conversations) and Transact (payments in chat). Prices for the chat tiers are not published; you contact sales.
Best for: enterprises that want SMS and WhatsApp from one supplier, payments inside the chat, and a negotiated contract.
Turn.io
Turn.io presents its pricing for healthcare networks, clinics and patient-care providers. Its pricing page says it is priced per inbound user, with a base fee covering the first 1,000 inbound users and lower per-user rates at volume, discounts for six or twelve months' prepayment, and Meta's charges passed through at cost (it says the payment processor takes 5%). Prices are by quote.
Best for: clinic networks, NGOs and public-health programmes running large, two-way WhatsApp services.
Broadchat
Broadchat is a white-label platform on the official Cloud API, sold through partners such as agencies, bulk-SMS companies, ISPs and hosting companies, who set their own plan prices and messaging rates. A business gets campaigns, a shared inbox, a visual chatbot builder, CRM and Shopify or WooCommerce connections; a partner gets branding, its own domain, rand plans, its own payment collection and weekly settlement of its messaging margin. Partner costs are per client account and quoted on request, so there is no public rand price to show.
Where Broadchat is weaker: there is no public end-customer price list, the panel has no Afrikaans or isiZulu translation, built-in WhatsApp payment collection is not available in South Africa, data is processed outside South Africa, and messaging is prepaid through a wallet rather than billed by Meta in your own name. If those matter most, one of the providers above may suit you better.
Best for: South African agencies, SMS companies, ISPs and hosts that want to sell WhatsApp under their own brand, and the businesses they look after. See the white-label WhatsApp API for South Africa.
How to choose
- Decide who should receive Meta's bill. If you want Meta to charge your own card, shortlist providers that say Meta bills directly. If you want one rand invoice from one supplier, a wallet or bundled model is simpler, but ask about the exchange rate.
- Price a real month. Count your expected utility, marketing and service messages, price them at Meta's South African rates, convert at a cautious exchange rate, then add each plan.
- Count users, numbers and message allowances. Some plans charge per user, some cap messages, some charge per number. A busy claims or sales desk can outgrow a cheap plan quickly.
- Ask about POPIA. Where is message data stored, is there a data processing agreement, and how are opt-outs recorded?
- Test on a real number. Get one utility and one marketing template approved during the trial before you commit.
Whichever you choose, it should connect your number through Meta's Embedded Signup on the Cloud API. Anything that asks you to scan a WhatsApp Web QR code to send bulk messages is not the official API. The basics are on WhatsApp Business API in South Africa.
Other editions of this page
Sources
- MWCOM pricing (BIZ AI Starter) — MWCOM, checked 1 November 2026
- ReachMax pricing in rand — ReachMax, checked 1 November 2026
- Sonar WhatsApp API pricing — Whats-Hub, checked 1 November 2026
- GotBot WhatsApp Business API pricing — GotBot, checked 1 November 2026
- Clickatell packages — Clickatell, checked 1 November 2026
- Turn.io pricing — Turn.io, checked 1 November 2026
- Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (rate cards effective 1 Oct 2026) — Meta for Developers, checked 1 November 2026
Broadchat team · Product and partner success team
The people who build and support Broadchat, the white-label WhatsApp Business API platform. We write from what we see while onboarding partners and their clients on the official WhatsApp Cloud API, and we check every article against Meta's current documentation.
Last updated:
Frequently asked questions
Which is the cheapest WhatsApp API provider in South Africa?
On their own sites as of 1 Nov 2026, Sonar had the lowest rand entry plan (R349 a month) among those we checked, followed by MWCOM (R999 excl. VAT) and ReachMax (R2,000). Cheapest overall depends on your users, numbers and message volume, and Meta's charges come on top of every plan.
Is there a Clickatell alternative for small businesses?
Clickatell's chat tiers are priced through sales. Small businesses that want a published monthly price usually look at local platforms with rand plans, such as MWCOM, ReachMax or Sonar, or at a provider sold through their agency or hosting company.
Do South African providers mark up Meta's fees?
Practices differ. MWCOM says Meta bills you directly, ReachMax says it adds no markup, Sonar says WhatsApp's charge is separate, and Turn.io says it passes Meta's charges through at cost. On Broadchat the partner sets the messaging rate over Meta's base rate.
Can I switch providers without losing my number?
Usually yes. Your WhatsApp account and number belong to your own Meta business portfolio, and a new provider is given access to it; approved templates and the display name stay with the account. Plan the move outside a campaign week.