Softwr

Communication · head to head

Flock vs Gupshup

Flock logo

Flock

Communication

Organized team communication platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Gupshup logo

Gupshup

Communication

Conversational messaging and CPaaS with a flat platform fee stacked on top of Meta per-message rates

From
$0.001/message
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Flock has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Flock the Starter plan only makes the most recent 10,000 messages searchable and caps public channels at 10; Gupshup the Gupshup platform fee of about 0.001 dollars per message is negligible next to Meta pass-through rates, so comparing providers on their own fee is misleading, and the country and category mix of your traffic determines almost the entire bill.
  • They diverge on capability: Flock covers Team chat, Gupshup covers WhatsApp Business API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Flock and Gupshup actually diverge.

Attributes where Flock and Gupshup differ
AttributeFlockGupshup
Starting priceFree$0.001/message
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer message sent
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Windows, Macos, Ios, AndroidWeb, API
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Communication).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Flock

  • Team chat
  • Channels
  • Threads
  • File sharing
  • Polls
  • Integrations
  • Mobile apps
  • Slack

Only in Gupshup

  • WhatsApp Business API
  • Flat platform fee
  • RCS messaging
  • SMS and voice
  • Bot Studio
  • Agent inbox
  • Campaign manager
  • Emerging market reach

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Flock

  • Team messaging with channels, direct messages and file sharingnot Gupshup
  • Running polls, to-dos and reminders inside a chat workspacenot Gupshup
  • Video conferencing and screen sharing for small teamsnot Gupshup

Gupshup

  • An e-commerce brand sending order and delivery notifications over WhatsApp to customers across India and Southeast Asianot Flock
  • A bank or fintech running one-time passcodes and transactional alerts with fallback from WhatsApp to SMSnot Flock
  • A company deploying a WhatsApp chatbot for tier one support with handover to human agents for anything it cannot resolvenot Flock
  • A marketing team running WhatsApp template campaigns to opted-in lists in markets where email engagement is lownot Flock

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Flock

  • The Starter plan only makes the most recent 10,000 messages searchable and caps public channels at 10
  • Starter storage is 5 GB for the entire team, against 10 GB per member on Pro and 20 GB per member on Enterprise
  • Starter allows a single team admin and a single approved domain
  • Group video calls and screen sharing require the Pro plan; Starter is limited to 1-1 video calls
  • Group video calls are capped at 20 participants even on Enterprise
  • Single Sign-On and Active Directory sync are Enterprise only
  • Enterprise is quote only, with no published rate, and is positioned for organisations with 100 or more members
  • Unlimited auto-join and announcement channels require Enterprise; Starter and Pro get one of each

Gupshup

  • The Gupshup platform fee of about 0.001 dollars per message is negligible next to Meta pass-through rates, so comparing providers on their own fee is misleading, and the country and category mix of your traffic determines almost the entire bill.
  • Gupshup publishes no single flat rate for a full send, so accurate cost modelling requires you to build a country by country and category by category forecast before any provider comparison is meaningful.
  • Meta moved from conversation-based to per message billing in July 2025, which materially changed the economics of high-frequency messaging, and any budget or ROI model built on the old conversation pricing is now wrong.
  • Template approval sits with Meta rather than Gupshup, so rejections and category reclassifications can stall a campaign regardless of provider, and support quality on chasing them is a common complaint.
  • The product surface is broad, spanning CPaaS APIs, bot building and campaign tooling, and the non-API tools are less refined than dedicated conversational marketing platforms, so many buyers use Gupshup purely as a pipe.

Pricing, plan by plan

Flock

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited chats
    • Channels
    • File sharing
  • Pro$5/month
    • Everything in Free
    • Advanced search
    • API access

Gupshup

$0.001/message
  • Messaging$0.001/message
    • About 0.001 USD Gupshup platform fee per outgoing template message
    • Same fee on outgoing and incoming session messages
    • Meta per-message charges passed through on top, varying by country and category

Which should you pick?

Choose Flock if

  • You need team chat.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Macos, Ios, Android.
  • You also want channels.

Choose Gupshup if

  • You need whatsapp business api.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want flat platform fee.

Questions people ask

Is Flock or Gupshup better?
Neither clearly leads. Flock starts at Free and Gupshup at $0.001/message, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Flock or Gupshup?
Flock has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Flock and $0.001/message for Gupshup.
Does Flock or Gupshup run on more platforms?
Flock runs on Web, Windows, Macos, Ios, Android. Gupshup runs on Web, API.
Can I use Flock for free?
Yes. Flock has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gupshup starts at $0.001/message.
What is Flock best used for?
Flock is most often used for team messaging with channels, direct messages and file sharing, running polls, to-dos and reminders inside a chat workspace, video conferencing and screen sharing for small teams. Of those, team messaging with channels, direct messages and file sharing and running polls, to-dos and reminders inside a chat workspace are not what Gupshup is typically brought in for.
What can Flock do that Gupshup cannot?
Flock covers Team chat, Channels, Threads, File sharing. Gupshup covers WhatsApp Business API, Flat platform fee, RCS messaging, SMS and voice.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Flock: Does Flock offer a free plan?

Yes, Flock's Starter plan is free and supports teams with 1-20 members, including 10,000 searchable messages and 5 GB storage.

Source
Gupshup: What does Gupshup charge?

About 0.001 USD per outgoing template message and per session message in each direction, plus roughly 0.0001 USD per second on voice. Meta per-message charges are passed through on top.

Flock: What does Flock's Pro plan include?

The Pro plan supports teams with 20-100 members and offers unlimited messages, 10 GB per team member storage, and a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.

Source
Gupshup: Is Gupshup cheaper than other WhatsApp providers?

On its own platform fee it is competitive, but that fee is a small fraction of the total. Meta pass-through rates dominate, so provider choice rarely changes your bill much.

Flock: How does Flock charge for external guests?

External guests are free for 90 days from date of invitation. After 90 days, guests are charged at the same rate as other team members.

Source
Gupshup: Did WhatsApp pricing change?

Yes. Meta retired per 24-hour conversation pricing on 1 July 2025 and moved to per message billing, and Gupshup followed.

Gupshup: Is it only for India?

No, but its strongest carrier and operator reach is in India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

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