WhatsApp ordering tools in India, compared
There’s no single best tool for taking orders on WhatsApp; there are five kinds, each built for a different business. The free WhatsApp Business app suits a few orders a day answered by hand. Store builders such as Shopify and Dukaan suit businesses that want a website. Messaging platforms such as Interakt, WATI and AiSensy suit businesses that message many customers. Order book apps keep a record while you chat by hand. Order desks like Sellly take the order, the payment and the updates inside the chat.
The five kinds of tool
| Kind | Examples | What it does | Who takes the order | Payment | Cost | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The WhatsApp Business app | Meta’s free app | A profile, a catalogue with a cart, quick replies, and Business AI in India | By you, in the chat | You send a UPI ID or QR code and check it yourself | Free | A few orders a day, answered by you |
| A store builder with a WhatsApp button | Shopify, Dukaan | A website store; WhatsApp to chat, or for order updates through apps | On your website | A payment gateway on the website, or cash on delivery | A monthly plan; some add a fee on sales | Customers who buy on a website |
| A WhatsApp messaging platform | Interakt, WATI, AiSensy | Broadcasts, a shared team inbox, a chatbot builder, store connections | By a bot you design, or an agent | Payment links through integrations | A monthly or quarterly plan, plus Meta’s message charges | Messaging many customers, and teams that share chats |
| An order book app | Apps for noting down orders from chats | A record of the orders you type in, with their payments | By you, copied from the chat | Recorded by you | Free to a monthly plan | Keeping a record without changing how you chat |
| An order desk on WhatsApp | Sellly | Orders, bookings, quotes and plans that run in the chat and arrive complete | By the customer, in the chat | UPI checked against the money, or online through your own gateway | A monthly plan, plus Meta’s message charges | Daily orders, bookings or custom work that start in chats |
Four questions that decide it
- Where do your customers decide to buy? If they browse and check out on their own, a website store fits. If they message you to ask and order, the order belongs in the chat.
- How many orders a day? Up to a few, the free app and a notebook are enough. Past that, typing totals and checking payments by hand is where orders get lost.
- Do you sell more than ready products? Custom orders, bookings and plans need steps a cart doesn’t have: a request to price, a free time, a renewal.
- Do you need to message many customers at once? Campaigns and offers are what messaging platforms are built for; order desks usually don’t send them.
Check these before you pay for any tool
- Your number. Can you keep your current WhatsApp number, and the WhatsApp Business app on it?
- Your money. Do customers pay you directly, or does the tool collect and pay you later, with a fee?
- WhatsApp’s charges. Does Meta bill your own account, or does the tool resell messages with a margin?
- Your customers. Can you export your customers and orders whenever you like?
- A preview. Can you try the whole journey as a customer before anyone real sees it?
- Limits. Is there a cap on orders, products or team members?
Where Sellly fits
Sellly is the fifth kind: an order desk on WhatsApp. Customers order, book, ask for a price or start a plan in your own chat, and each one reaches you complete, with its payment checked. It isn’t a website builder, it doesn’t send broadcasts, and it doesn’t hold your money. For the details against the others: Sellly vs Shopify and Sellly vs Interakt, WATI and AiSensy.
How we wrote this
We compared what each product does and costs from its own pages, checked on 2 Oct 2026, and wrote what the others do well in their own terms. We make Sellly, so we know it best; if anything here about another product is wrong or out of date, tell us and we’ll correct it.
Sources
- Business AI on WhatsApp in India, announced 7 May 2026 (Meta Newsroom)
- Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (Meta for Developers)
- Shopify pricing (India) (Shopify)
- Dukaan pricing (Dukaan)
- AiSensy pricing (AiSensy)
- Interakt pricing (Interakt)
- WATI pricing (WATI)