Axonave vs respond.io
Messaging, with a helpdesk and a deals pipeline.
respond.io is a messaging-first team inbox, priced by the workspace with users included. Axonave puts the same WhatsApp and web chat next to tickets with SLA policies, a customer portal, surveys and a CRM with a deals pipeline. Below: what each plan includes, and what 10 people pay for a year, read on both pricing pages on 10 November 2026.
- In every Axonave plan
- Live chat
- Helpdesk
- CRM
The short answer
Which one fits your team?
Choose respond.io if…
A team inbox is all you need
For 10 people billed yearly, respond.io Starter is $1,668 and Growth $1,908. Axonave Basic is $1,920. If messaging is the whole job, respond.io costs less.
You send broadcasts
respond.io Growth lists broadcasts to your contacts. Broadcasts are Planned for Axonave, not built yet.
You connect tools with Zapier or Make
Growth lists Zapier and Make connections and a developer API. Axonave has an API and signed webhooks.
Choose Axonave if…
You need tickets with SLAs
Every Axonave plan has tickets with SLA policies, a customer portal and surveys. respond.io’s pricing page lists no ticketing, SLA policies or portal.
Sales works the same customer
Leads and a deals pipeline sit on the same record as the chat. respond.io lists lifecycle management for contacts, and no deal pipeline on its pricing page.
Your answers live in a help centre
Pro includes the knowledge base, a public help centre and an AI that cites the article it used. respond.io’s pricing page lists no knowledge base.
What each plan includes
Two Axonave plans next to respond.io Starter and Growth. respond.io’s cells say what its pricing page lists for that plan. “Not listed” means we couldn’t find it there, not that respond.io can’t do it.
WhatsApp
- Axonave Basic
- Included
- Axonave Pro
- Included
- respond.io Starter
- Included
- respond.io Growth
- Included
A shared team inbox
- Axonave Basic
- Included
- Axonave Pro
- Included
- respond.io Starter
- Included
- respond.io Growth
- Included
People included
- Axonave Basic
- 3 seats, up to 10
- Axonave Pro
- 5 seats, then by the seat
- respond.io Starter
- 5 users
- respond.io Growth
- 10 users
Chatbot or AI agent builder
- Axonave Basic
- Included
- Axonave Pro
- Included
- respond.io Starter
- Not listed
- respond.io Growth
- AI Agents, workflows
AI answers for customers
- Axonave Basic
- With an AI pack
- Axonave Pro
- 2,000,000 tokens a month
- respond.io Starter
- 5,000 AI credits
- respond.io Growth
- 10,000 AI credits
Broadcasts
- Axonave Basic
- Planned
- Axonave Pro
- Planned
- respond.io Starter
- Not listed
- respond.io Growth
- Included
Tickets with SLA policies
- Axonave Basic
- Included
- Axonave Pro
- Included
- respond.io Starter
- Not listed
- respond.io Growth
- Not listed
Customer portal
- Axonave Basic
- Included
- Axonave Pro
- Included
- respond.io Starter
- Not listed
- respond.io Growth
- Not listed
Surveys after a chat or ticket
- Axonave Basic
- Included
- Axonave Pro
- Included
- respond.io Starter
- Not listed
- respond.io Growth
- Not listed
Knowledge base and help centre
- Axonave Basic
- With an AI pack
- Axonave Pro
- Included
- respond.io Starter
- Not listed
- respond.io Growth
- Not listed
CRM: leads and a deals pipeline
- Axonave Basic
- Included
- Axonave Pro
- Included
- respond.io Starter
- Lifecycle, no pipeline listed
- respond.io Growth
- Lifecycle, no pipeline listed
Apps and integrations
- Axonave Basic
- API and webhooks
- Axonave Pro
- API and webhooks
- respond.io Starter
- Not listed
- respond.io Growth
- Zapier, Make and an API
Instagram and Facebook
- Axonave Basic
- Instagram and Messenger Planned
- Axonave Pro
- Instagram and Messenger Planned
- respond.io Starter
- Named on its page
- respond.io Growth
- Named on its page
Competitor information as of 10 November 2026, from their public pages: respond.io/pricing. Plans and prices change; check the vendor's site before you decide.
10 people, one year
What 10 people pay for a year.
List prices from both pricing pages on 10 November 2026, billed yearly, before tax, for the same 10 people. respond.io prices the workspace with users included, and extra users at a monthly price; we apply that price on both bases, as printed. Both respond.io lines come in under ours. Each line says what its price leaves out.
respond.io Starter
$948 a year for the workspace with 5 users, plus 5 users at $12 a month each.
A team inbox with AI Prompt and AI Assist. AI Agents, workflows and broadcasts are on Growth. The page doesn’t say whether yearly billing changes the extra-user price. No ticketing, SLA policies, portal or deal pipeline listed.
$1,668a year, billed yearlyor $159 a month, billed monthly
respond.io Growth
$1,908 a year for the workspace with 10 users, enough for the team.
Adds AI Agents, workflows automation and broadcasts. Contacts you talk to past the plan’s allowance cost $12 per 100. No ticketing, SLA policies, portal or deal pipeline listed.
$1,908a year, billed yearlyor $199 a month, billed monthly
Axonave Basic
$590 a year with 3 seats, plus 7 seats at $190 a year each.
CRM, helpdesk, live chat, WhatsApp and email on one login. No knowledge base or AI until you add an AI pack.
$1,920a year, billed yearlyor $192 a month, billed monthly
Axonave Pro
$1,990 a year with 5 seats, plus 5 seats at $350 a year each.
Everything in Basic, plus the knowledge base, the help centre and the AI, with 2,000,000 AI tokens a month.
$3,740a year, billed yearlyor $374 a month, billed monthly
- respond.io’s contacts: on Growth, each 100 contacts you talk to in a month past the plan’s allowance cost $12.
- respond.io’s AI: 5,000 credits on Starter and 10,000 on Growth. Its page says AI usage is included at no extra cost on Growth and up, with extra credits sold past the allowance.
- Axonave’s AI: Pro includes 2,000,000 tokens a month. More is a 1,000,000-token pack for $20 a month, on Basic too. No per-answer charge and no overage bill.
- As of November 2026: read on each pricing page on 10 November 2026. List prices before tax; they change, so check before you decide.
Helpdesk
Tickets with SLA policies, on Basic.
A WhatsApp chat, an email or the support form becomes a ticket with a category, a team and an SLA. Waiting on the customer pauses the clock. The person on it is warned before it breaches.
respond.io: Its pricing page lists no ticketing, SLA policies or customer portal.
- Policies by priority and channel
- Reply to tickets over WhatsApp
- The customer portal and support form included
An urgent ticket in our demo workspace with its SLA clock, its assignment and the conversation with the customer.
CRM
A deals pipeline behind the inbox.
A new WhatsApp or web chat contact becomes a lead, with the chat linked. Score it, give it an owner and move it to a deal on a board with your own stages.
respond.io: It lists lifecycle management for contacts. Its pricing page shows no deal pipeline.
- A score from 0 to 100 and a hot, warm or cold rating
- Several pipelines with a weighted forecast
- One activity timeline per customer
Leads in our demo workspace from live chat and WhatsApp, each with a score and a hot, warm or cold rating.
Knowledge
A help centre the AI answers from.
Write articles once. Customers search them in your public help centre, and the AI answers from the same articles and links the one it used.
respond.io: Growth lists AI Agents with 10,000 AI credits. Its pricing page lists no knowledge base or help centre.
- Internal and customer knowledge bases
- Import PDF, DOCX or your website
- Answers cite the article they came from
The public help centre in our demo workspace, built from the same knowledge base the AI answers from.
Email tickets from your own mailbox.
Connect Gmail, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or any IMAP mailbox. Customers’ mail becomes tickets beside the WhatsApp ones, and replies go out from your own address.
respond.io: Its pricing page shows email among its channels, with no ticketing listed.
- Replies stay in the customer’s thread
- A customer’s reply reopens the ticket
- Bounces and auto-replies dropped
Tickets in our demo workspace from WhatsApp, live chat, email and the support form, each showing where it came from.
Where respond.io is stronger
A compare page that only flatters us isn’t worth reading. Here’s where respond.io is the better buy.
A lower price for messaging only
For 10 people billed yearly, respond.io Starter is $1,668 and Growth $1,908, under Axonave Basic at $1,920. If a team inbox is all you need, respond.io costs less.
Broadcasts on Growth
respond.io Growth lists broadcasts to your contacts. Broadcasts are Planned for Axonave, not built yet. If campaigns to your contact list are the main job, respond.io has them today.
Moving from respond.io
There’s no one-click respond.io importer. You export your contacts as CSV files, bring them in, and connect your own mailboxes and number.
Import your contacts
CSV import takes contacts, leads, accounts, deals and tickets. You see a preview and any errors before anything is saved.
Connect WhatsApp
Connect your number from inside Axonave through Meta’s own sign-up. No developer needed.
Rebuild your bot
Start from one of six templates in the flow builder, then change the steps. Test it in the phone preview before it goes live.
Bring your articles
Import PDF, DOCX, TXT or Markdown files, or crawl your website, into draft articles you review and publish.
How switching worksChatbot builderKnowledge base and help centre
Axonave vs respond.io: questions
What do 10 people pay on each?
Billed yearly, from both pricing pages on 10 November 2026: respond.io Starter $1,668 and Growth $1,908 a year; Axonave Basic $1,920 and Pro $3,740. respond.io costs less for a team inbox. Axonave adds tickets with SLAs, a portal, surveys and a deals pipeline. Prices are before tax.
Does respond.io have a helpdesk?
Its pricing page lists no ticketing, SLA policies or customer portal. It’s built for messaging first. Every Axonave plan has tickets with SLA policies, a customer portal and surveys after a chat or ticket.
Does respond.io have a CRM?
It lists contacts with lifecycle management. Its pricing page shows no deal pipeline. Every Axonave plan has leads with a score and a deals pipeline with your own stages, on the same record as the chat.
How are contacts and AI priced on each?
respond.io bills contacts you talk to past the plan’s allowance ($12 per 100 on Growth) and includes AI credits by plan. Axonave prices by the seat, with a contact limit per plan: 2,000 on Basic, 50,000 on Pro. Pro includes 2,000,000 AI tokens a month, and a 1,000,000-token pack is $20 a month.
Can we move our respond.io contacts to Axonave?
Yes, by CSV. Export your contacts, then import them with a preview that shows any errors before anything is saved. There’s no one-click respond.io importer, and bot flows are rebuilt in our flow builder.
Where do these numbers come from?
respond.io’s own pricing page (respond.io/pricing) and our price list, both read on 10 November 2026. They’re list prices before tax, and Meta’s WhatsApp fees are on top on both. Check both pages before you decide.
Can we try Axonave first?
Yes. Try Pro free for 14 days. No card needed.
See it on your own chats.
We reply within one business day by email or WhatsApp.