Softwr

Communication · head to head

Gupshup vs Textline

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
-
Full reviewWebsite
Textline logo

Textline

Communication

Business texting for teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Textline has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Textline enterprise plan requires custom quote and demo booking
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gupshup and Textline actually diverge.

Attributes where Gupshup and Textline differ
AttributeGupshupTextline
Starting price$0.001/messageFree
Pricing modelPer message sentfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb

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 Gupshup

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

Only in Textline

Nothing recorded that Gupshup does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Gupshup

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

Textline

  • Responding to customer support tickets via SMS from a unified inboxnot Gupshup
  • Sending appointment reminders and conducting follow-ups via text messagenot Gupshup
  • Coordinating field teams across job sites with time-sensitive text updatesnot Gupshup
  • Running SMS campaigns to promote sales and capture leads with high engagementnot Gupshup
  • Managing HIPAA-compliant texting for healthcare patient communicationsnot Gupshup

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Textline

  • Enterprise plan requires custom quote and demo booking
  • Additional message credits cost $0.03 each (purchased in advance)
  • Backup credits cost $0.04 each with minimum 250-credit purchase

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Textline

Free
  • EssentialsFree
    • 600 message credits per month
    • 3 agents included
    • 3 years conversation history
  • ProFree
    • 2000 message credits per month
    • 5 agents included
    • Unlimited conversation history
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Custom pricing
    • All Pro features
    • Flexible implementation

Which should you pick?

Choose Gupshup if

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

Choose Textline if

  • You want to start without paying.
Textline review

Questions people ask

Is Gupshup or Textline better?
Neither clearly leads. Gupshup starts at $0.001/message and Textline at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gupshup or Textline?
Textline has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.001/message for Gupshup and Free for Textline.
Does Gupshup or Textline run on more platforms?
Gupshup runs on Web, API. Textline runs on Web.
Can I use Textline for free?
Yes. Textline has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gupshup starts at $0.001/message.
What is Gupshup best used for?
Gupshup is most often used for an e-commerce brand sending order and delivery notifications over whatsapp to customers across india and southeast asia, a bank or fintech running one-time passcodes and transactional alerts with fallback from whatsapp to sms, a company deploying a whatsapp chatbot for tier one support with handover to human agents for anything it cannot resolve, a marketing team running whatsapp template campaigns to opted-in lists in markets where email engagement is low. Of those, an e-commerce brand sending order and delivery notifications over whatsapp to customers across india and southeast asia and a bank or fintech running one-time passcodes and transactional alerts with fallback from whatsapp to sms are not what Textline is typically brought in for.
What can Gupshup do that Textline cannot?
Gupshup covers WhatsApp Business API, Flat platform fee, RCS messaging, SMS and voice.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Textline: Can I use Textline for free?

Yes, Essentials and Pro tiers are free to get started, with no credit card required. Essentials includes 600 message credits and 3 agents monthly. Pro includes 2000 credits and 5 agents. Enterprise requires a custom quote.

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.

Textline: How much do extra message credits cost?

Additional message credits cost $0.03 per credit. Backup credits are available at $0.04 each with a minimum purchase of 250 credits.

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.

Textline: What are the costs for phone number registration?

10DLC registration costs $15 per campaign per month via The Campaign Registry. Toll-free numbers do not have a monthly registration fee.

Source
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.

Share

Related pages

More on Gupshup

More on Textline

Keep looking

Other head to heads