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Communication · head to head

Gupshup vs Viber

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
Viber logo

Viber

Communication

Messaging app with its strongest user base in Eastern Europe and the Philippines, owned by Japans Rakuten

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Viber 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.; Viber viber has limited relevance outside its strong regions, so building a communication strategy around it in North America or most of Western Europe reaches almost nobody.
  • They diverge on capability: Gupshup covers WhatsApp Business API, Viber covers End to end encryption.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gupshup and Viber actually diverge.

Attributes where Gupshup and Viber differ
AttributeGupshupViber
Starting price$0.001/messageFree
Pricing modelPer message sentFree to download, paid business messaging and out calls to landlines and mobiles
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIiOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web

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 Viber

  • End to end encryption
  • Communities
  • Viber Business Messages
  • Free calling
  • Self-destructing messages
  • Rakuten integration

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 Viber
  • A bank or fintech running one-time passcodes and transactional alerts with fallback from WhatsApp to SMSnot Viber
  • A company deploying a WhatsApp chatbot for tier one support with handover to human agents for anything it cannot resolvenot Viber
  • A marketing team running WhatsApp template campaigns to opted-in lists in markets where email engagement is lownot Viber

Viber

  • A business communicating with customers in Eastern Europe or the Philippines where Viber, not WhatsApp, is the default appnot Gupshup
  • An individual making cheap international calls to family in a Viber-strong market before switching entirely to data callingnot Gupshup
  • A brand running a Community channel to reach an established Viber audience in a specific countrynot Gupshup
  • Someone wanting end to end encrypted chat on by default without configuring anythingnot 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.

Viber

  • Viber has limited relevance outside its strong regions, so building a communication strategy around it in North America or most of Western Europe reaches almost nobody.
  • Ownership by Rakuten ties the app to a commerce and points ecosystem, and account data can be linked to Rakuten services in markets where that integration is active.
  • Business Messages pricing is metered per message, so a company sending high volumes of promotional content can find costs rise quickly compared with a flat fee model.
  • Viber has lost share even in some of its historically strong markets to Telegram and WhatsApp, so its regional dominance is not guaranteed to persist.
  • The desktop client depends on the phone app remaining active and connected, which is a limitation for anyone wanting a fully independent desktop messenger.

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

Viber

Free
  • ViberFree
    • Free messaging and calling between Viber users
    • Viber Out charges per minute for calls to non-Viber phone numbers
    • Business Messages priced per message sent to businesses on a metered basis

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 Viber if

  • You need end to end encryption.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web.
  • You also want communities.
Viber review

Questions people ask

Is Gupshup or Viber better?
Neither clearly leads. Gupshup starts at $0.001/message and Viber at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gupshup or Viber?
Viber has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.001/message for Gupshup and Free for Viber.
Does Gupshup or Viber run on more platforms?
Gupshup runs on Web, API. Viber runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Web.
Can I use Viber for free?
Yes. Viber 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 Viber is typically brought in for.
What can Gupshup do that Viber cannot?
Gupshup covers WhatsApp Business API, Flat platform fee, RCS messaging, SMS and voice. Viber covers End to end encryption, Communities, Viber Business Messages, Free calling.

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.

Viber: Is Viber end to end encrypted?

Yes, by default for one-to-one and group chats, unlike Telegram where it is opt-in for secret chats only.

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.

Viber: Is Viber popular in the United States?

No, it has a comparatively small footprint there. Its real strength is in specific markets including parts of Eastern Europe and the Philippines.

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.

Viber: Who owns Viber?

Rakuten Group, a Japanese e-commerce and internet services company, which bought Viber in 2014.

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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