Respond.io is a capable multi-channel AI inbox with its own workflow engine. Flowella keeps WhatsApp inside HubSpot: HubSpot Forms become WhatsApp Flows, and submissions return as native HubSpot form submission events.
"HubSpot Forms turned into WhatsApp Flows — submissions return as native form submissions."
"The multi-channel AI inbox that sits alongside HubSpot."
| CapabilityFor HubSpot users | HubSpot-native Flowella | AI customer conversation platform Respond.io |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Form to WhatsApp Flow conversionOne-click conversion of an existing HubSpot form into a structured in-chat form. |
✓
One-click conversion of a HubSpot Form into a Meta WhatsApp Flow. |
✕
Not supported. Respond.io documentation states: WhatsApp Flow creation is not supported in respond.io.5 |
| WhatsApp submissions as native HubSpot form submissionsFires the HubSpot workflows and reporting that already listen for that form. |
✓
Yes. Returns through HubSpot's standard form-submission pipeline. |
✕
No. Respond.io syncs Contact Properties and Owners only; the Marketplace Shared Data table lists no Form Submission object.6 |
| HubSpot workflow actionWhat action does your team drop into a HubSpot workflow? |
✓
Send WhatsApp via Flowella is a first-class HubSpot workflow action. |
✕
No native HubSpot workflow action. Customers route through Zapier, Make or Operations Hub webhooks; a public feature request is Under Review.7 |
| Branching on structured WhatsApp repliese.g. NPS score, dropdown choice, yes/no or qualification answer. |
✓
Yes, via HubSpot workflow branches reading the returned form-submission values. |
✓
Yes, via Respond.io Workflows Ask a Question plus Branch step. The branching happens inside Respond.io, not HubSpot. |
| Meta passthrough billing with no markupHow Meta conversation fees reach the customer. |
✓
Meta bills the customer's own Meta Business Account directly at Meta rates. |
✓
Respond.io passes Meta fees at cost, routed through a Respond.io top-up wallet rather than the customer's direct Meta invoice.8 |
| Team inbox with omnichannel routingMulti-agent assignment, lifecycle stages, mobile app and AI handoff. |
✕
Not by design. Flowella is WhatsApp-only and uses HubSpot's native Conversations Inbox. |
✓
Strong. Respond.io's own inbox at |
| Channels beyond WhatsAppInstagram DM, Messenger, Telegram, LINE, WeChat, Viber, TikTok, email, SMS, webchat and voice. |
✕
WhatsApp only by design. |
✓
Strong. Respond.io supports a broad channel mix including WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, LINE, WeChat, Viber, TikTok, email, SMS, webchat and voice.10 |
| AI agent with knowledge base RAGAI answer generation, knowledge sources and multilingual support. |
✕
Out of scope. Flowella defers to HubSpot Breeze and the customer's own AI stack. |
✓
Strong. Respond AI Agent supports knowledge sources and multilingual handling; documentation references GPT-4o mini.11 |
| Single workflow engineWhether HubSpot remains the only automation engine to maintain. |
✓
Yes. HubSpot workflows only; no parallel automation engine. |
✕
No. Teams run Respond.io Workflows for conversation routing and HubSpot Workflows for CRM automation. Respond.io warns against duplicate automation.12 |
| Pricing model for growing teamsFlat app fee vs Monthly Active Contact model. |
✓
Flat tiers. Starter $79/mo, Pro $159/mo. No per-user fee and no Monthly Active Contact gate. |
~
Tiered MAC model. Growth $159/mo annual-billed includes 1,000 MAC and 10 users; overage is $12 per 100 MAC.13 |
| HubSpot Marketplace maturitySignals from the public HubSpot app listing. |
★
Listed December 2025 through HubSpot's Early Build programme. |
~
Build app status, 700+ installs and 0 customer reviews as of 11 May 2026.14 |
Respond.io is a strong product. The trade-off is architectural: agents work in app.respond.io, automations run in Respond.io Workflows, and HubSpot is connected through an integration that Respond.io labels Beta. Flowella takes the opposite approach: HubSpot remains the inbox, workflow engine and contact database.
Built in Reading, UK by Discover Digital, a HubSpot Solutions Partner. Flowella converts HubSpot Forms into WhatsApp Flows and writes answers back as native form submissions.
Respond.io is an independent customer conversation platform headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was founded in 2017 as Rocketbots, later renamed Respond.io, and has raised approximately US$8.8m including a US$7m Series A led by Headline Asia.1
Respond.io is strongest when a team wants one shared inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, LINE, WeChat, Viber, TikTok Business Messaging, email, SMS, webchat and voice. Flowella is narrower by design: it adds WhatsApp Flows to HubSpot without asking agents to work in a second platform.
If your operation is HubSpot-centred, Flowella keeps WhatsApp native to HubSpot. If your team wants Respond.io to become the primary conversation workspace across many channels, Respond.io is a serious option.
You already use HubSpot Forms and Workflows. You want WhatsApp to capture clean, structured answers that trigger the workflows you've already built.
You have a team that lives in a shared WhatsApp inbox, runs broadcast campaigns, builds rule-based chatbots, and handles Instagram and Messenger too.
You want shared inbox replies and outbound templates from your HubSpot record, and don't need WhatsApp Flows, branching automation, or coexistence with the Business App.4
Four questions HubSpot teams ask when comparing a HubSpot-native WhatsApp layer with a separate customer conversation platform.
Yes, natively. A WhatsApp Flow built from a HubSpot Form returns its submission as a native HubSpot form submission event. Every existing HubSpot workflow that listens for that form fires automatically, including lead rotation, lifecycle changes, deal creation and Slack alerts.
Not natively in HubSpot. Respond.io does not write to HubSpot's Form Submissions object; the Marketplace Shared Data table lists only Contact Properties and Owners.6 A WhatsApp interaction can update a HubSpot contact property, which can trigger a property-change workflow, but that is not form-submission branching.
Yes. WhatsApp is delivered as part of HubSpot's native Conversations Inbox, and conversations appear on the contact timeline as native HubSpot engagements that contribute to standard HubSpot reporting.
No. Respond.io's help documentation describes agents working from Respond.io's Inbox module with HubSpot contact properties shown in the right-hand sidebar.15 Conversation logging back to the HubSpot timeline is not native; common workarounds use Zapier or Make, and a public roadmap request for activity logging remains open.17
No. Flowella supports WhatsApp Coexistence via Meta Embedded Signup, letting the WhatsApp Business App and the WhatsApp Business Platform API run on the same number.
No, the same applies. Respond.io is a direct Meta WhatsApp Business Solution Provider and supports Coexistence.18 The difference is downstream: with Respond.io, agents work in app.respond.io; with Flowella, agents continue inside HubSpot.
Flowella Pro is a flat US$159 per month for the platform, plus Meta's per-conversation fees billed directly to the customer's Meta account at cost. No per-agent licence fee and no Monthly Active Contact gate.
Respond.io Growth is US$159 per month at annual billing for 10 included users and 1,000 included Monthly Active Contacts. If the team grows beyond 1,000 active contacts per month, overage is US$12 per 100 additional MAC. Advanced is US$279 per month and keeps the same 1,000 MAC inclusion.13
Both products publish clear pricing. The difference is the model: Flowella is a flat HubSpot app subscription; Respond.io is a Monthly Active Contact model with included users and MAC overage.
Starter $79/mo, Growth $159/mo with 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts and 10 users, Advanced $279/mo with SSO, Salesforce, HTTP request workflow steps and AI Voice Agents. MAC overage is charged per additional 100 active contacts.13
Respond.io states there are no setup fees or markups on Meta delivery fees; customers pay what Meta charges via a Respond.io wallet/top-up route.
Growth includes 1,000 Monthly Active Contacts and 10 users. Overage is US$12 per 100 additional MAC; Advanced overage is US$15 per 100 MAC.
Advanced is needed for SSO, Salesforce, HTTP-request workflow steps and AI Voice Agents.
Flowella Pro is $159/month flat, with no per-user charge and Meta delivery billed directly through the customer's own Meta Business Account.
Only the recurring base subscription is shown. Meta delivery is paid on top, and that's where the markup matters.
Respond.io has strong third-party reviews outside HubSpot. The HubSpot Marketplace listing for the Respond.io WhatsApp app showed 700+ installs and 0 customer reviews as of 11 May 2026.
Respond.io's public reputation is strongest on G2 and other review sites, where buyers praise the inbox, automation and AI capabilities. For HubSpot-specific fit, the more useful public evidence is the Marketplace listing, Help Centre and Respond.io roadmap items cited below.
Exceptional engagement platform that transformed our student conversion with a 160% increase in same-day applications and 90% WhatsApp response rates.
Flowella's parent company Discover Digital is a Reading, UK-based HubSpot Solutions Partner.
Straight answers for HubSpot teams comparing Flowella and Respond.io.
Yes. Respond.io became a verified Meta WhatsApp Business Solution Provider in 2023 and operates on WhatsApp Cloud API directly. Flowella also uses official WhatsApp Business Platform access via Meta Embedded Signup.
No. Respond.io operates its own inbox at app.respond.io. HubSpot contact properties appear in the right sidebar of Respond.io's inbox; WhatsApp messages appearing in HubSpot Conversations is not part of the integration as documented in May 2026.
Send-only. WhatsApp Flow templates built inside Meta Business Portfolio can be synced into Respond.io and sent as message templates. Flow creation is not supported inside Respond.io.
No. Respond.io says it passes Meta's conversation fees through at cost. The difference versus Flowella is the billing route: Respond.io charges via a top-up wallet on its own platform; Flowella customers are billed by Meta on their own Meta Business Account.
A Monthly Active Contact is any contact who exchanges a non-broadcast message with the business during the billing cycle. Growth includes 1,000 MAC per month and charges US$12 per additional 100 MAC. Broadcasts do not count, but every contact who replies to a broadcast does.
Yes, both products support Coexistence so you do not need to give up the WhatsApp Business App on the same number. The downstream agent experience differs: with Respond.io agents work in app.respond.io; with Flowella agents continue inside HubSpot.
Not advertised publicly as of May 2026. Respond.io is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified and publishes a Data Processing Agreement and sub-processor list. UK buyers with strict data residency requirements should request a written commitment from Respond.io sales. Flowella's parent Discover Digital is UK based.
If your team needs a unified inbox for WhatsApp plus Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok Business Messaging, LINE, WeChat, Viber, email, SMS and webchat, with AI Agent handling included on Growth and above, Respond.io is a strong product. If your operation is HubSpot-centred and you want WhatsApp to live inside HubSpot rather than alongside it, Flowella is purpose-built for that scenario.
Free 14-day trial. Convert your first HubSpot Form into a WhatsApp Flow and send it from a HubSpot workflow without adding a second inbox or workflow engine.
respond.io/about; respond.io/blog/rocketbots-is-now-respond-io; respond.io/blog/respond-io-raises-7-million-in-series-a-funding; Tracxn; TechNode Global.respond.io/help/channels; respond.io/blog/google-business-messages.respond.io/ai-agents; respond.io/help/convert-leads/how-to-choose-the-best-knowledge-sources-for-ai-agents.respond.io/help/ai-agents/using-ai-agent-actions.respond.io/pricing.ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace/listing/respond-io-whatsapp.respond.io/help/integrations/hub-spot.respond.io/blog/hubspot-whatsapp-integration.respond.canny.io/feature-request.respond.io/blog/respondio-is-now-a-whatsapp-business-solution-provider.chatarmin.com/en/blog/respond-io-pricing.ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace/listing/respond-io-whatsapp.respond.io/blog/respondio-is-now-a-whatsapp-business-solution-provider.respond.io/integrations/hubspot; ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace/listing/respond-io-whatsapp.respond.io/help/whatsapp/whatsapp-message-templates.ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace/listing/respond-io-whatsapp.respond.canny.io/feature-request/p/hubspot-respondio-action-within-hubspot-workflows.respond.io/integrations/whatsapp; respond.io/whatsapp-pricing-calculator; Chatarmin pricing analysis.respond.io/help/integrations/hub-spot.