DC: WhatsApp Marketing + API Alternatives for Shopify in 2026

The top DC alternative is AeroChat. It answers from your Shopify store, sends a payment link and confirms the order inside the chat, and runs on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, TikTok Shop buyer chat, web chat and email at one plan price. Other options are Dondy, CW, Interakt, Wati, Commslayer and Gorgias. Each suits a different kind of business, and each is priced in a different way.

Why businesses look for a DC alternative

DC is DelightChat’s WhatsApp marketing and support app. Stores that compare it usually do so for these reasons, based on DelightChat’s own pricing page:

• Two counts. Plans are sized by support tickets and marketing contacts, with overage on each, as of November 2026.
• AI by tokens. The AI assistant includes 10,000 tokens a month, then US$1 per 100,000 tokens, which is hard to turn into a number of answers.
• Tickets for people. A ticket counts when a person replies. Stores want routine requests finished with no person needed.
• Payment and delivery. Stores want payment links, payment checks and delivery bookings inside the chat.

The alternatives

1. AeroChat

AeroChat is chat infrastructure that runs your customer service and sales workflows, Built for Shopify. It answers product, stock and order questions from your store on Shopify, WooCommerce or Wix, verifies the customer before sharing an order, sends an Airwallex payment link, detects the payment and confirms the order in the same conversation, and in Malaysia books the delivery with POS Malaysia. It runs on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, TikTok Shop buyer chat, web chat and email, and supports Shopee and Lazada. You describe a workflow in your own words, paste in the key of any system with a public API, and AeroChat builds it. Your WhatsApp number can stay on the WhatsApp Business app on your phone at the same time (how coexistence works).

• Suits: Shopify stores that want customers to ask, pay and get delivery updates in one chat, on every channel they use.
• Pricing model: flat monthly plans sized by AI responses, with no per-resolution fees. Your team’s replies use no credits, admin users are not limited, and your contact list does not change the plan. See the pricing page.
• Keep in mind: payment links start on the Growth plan, and AeroChat starts with a 7-day free trial.

2. Dondy: WhatsApp Marketing+Chat

A Shopify app for WhatsApp cart recovery, campaigns, COD and order messages, review requests and a WhatsApp chat button, with an AI chatbot on its top plan.

• Suits: stores that want WhatsApp marketing and order messages running from Shopify segments.
• Pricing model: a free tier with a WhatsApp button, then Pro, Power Automation and Elite plans. WhatsApp API messages are charged by use on top, as of November 2026. The App Store listing shows prices in your store’s currency.
• Limitation: the AI chatbot for sales and support is on the Elite plan, its top tier. See Dondy vs AeroChat.

3. CW: WhatsApp, SMS & AI Chatbot

A Shopify marketing and messaging app from Shipway, also branded ConvertWay, with automated journeys, campaigns and a unified inbox across WhatsApp, SMS, Instagram, Messenger and email, and RCS on higher plans.

• Suits: stores that run WhatsApp and SMS marketing journeys and campaigns to a subscriber list.
• Pricing model: by subscribers. Starter covers up to 3,000 subscribers, Growth up to 20,000 and Enterprise unlimited, with charges for notifications sent on top, as of November 2026. The App Store listing shows prices in your store’s currency.
• Limitation: its listing puts AI chatbots on web, WhatsApp and Instagram on the Enterprise plan only. See CW vs AeroChat.

4. Interakt

A WhatsApp and Instagram platform with campaigns, a shared inbox, catalogs, chatbots and Shopify flows such as order updates, abandoned checkout reminders and COD to prepaid.

• Suits: direct-to-consumer brands that sell through WhatsApp campaigns and catalogs.
• Pricing model: by plan. Growth is US$55 a month and Advanced US$69 a month, with WhatsApp AI Agents as a US$74.99 add-on and template messages charged by destination country, as of November 2026.
• Limitation: its plans cover WhatsApp and Instagram only. See Interakt vs AeroChat.

5. Wati

A WhatsApp-first platform with a team inbox, broadcasts, chatbots and the Astra AI agent, plus Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, web chat and calling.

• Suits: businesses whose customers are mostly on WhatsApp and who send a lot of broadcasts.
• Pricing model: plans billed annually with users and Wati AI credits included, 2,000 credits a month on Growth and 5,000 on Pro, as of November 2026. Its pricing page shows prices in local currency. The Shopify add-on is US$4.99 a month.
• Limitation: template message charges are added on top and vary by message type and country.

6. Commslayer: AI Helpdesk & Chat

A Shopify helpdesk and live chat app with an AI agent that resolves tickets, edits orders and drafts replies, covering live chat, email, WhatsApp and social DMs, plus moderation of Instagram, Facebook and TikTok comments.

• Suits: Shopify stores that want a ticket-based helpdesk with unlimited seats and AI that works on orders.
• Pricing model: by billable conversations and AI messages. Free covers 300 conversations, Plus starts at US$39 a month for 700, and Scale at US$299 for 4,500. Extra conversations are US$0.15 each and extra AI messages US$0.075, as of November 2026.
• Limitation: the bill moves with two counts, conversations and AI messages. See Commslayer vs AeroChat.

7. Gorgias

A helpdesk for ecommerce with an AI Agent added. Your team works tickets from email, chat and social channels in one place.

• Suits: stores with a large support team that works mostly in tickets.
• Pricing model: per ticket, plus per automated interaction for the AI Agent. The Starter plan is US$40 a month for 50 tickets and 30 AI interactions, as of November 2026.
• Limitation: two meters run at once. AeroChat is up to 5x more cost-efficient than Gorgias. See Gorgias vs AeroChat.

Comparison table

Prices and channels from each company’s own pricing page, website or Shopify App Store listing, checked 11 November 2026: DC, Dondy, CW, Interakt, Wati, Commslayer, Gorgias.

How to choose

• List the channels your customers use. If they message you on Instagram, Messenger or TikTok Shop as well as WhatsApp, a WhatsApp-only tool leaves part of the inbox to someone else.
• Separate marketing from service. Broadcasts bring replies. Decide which tool answers those replies, checks the order and takes the payment.
• Price your own month. Add the plan, any add-ons for chatbots or AI, and Meta’s message charges. Message fees apply on every platform.
• Check where the sale ends. Sending a link is one step. Detecting the payment and confirming the order in the same chat saves your team the follow-up.
• Test it on a real question. Ask about an order you shipped this week and see whether the answer comes from your store data.

Questions

What is the top alternative to DC?

AeroChat. It confirms cash on delivery orders, answers from your store, and takes the payment in the chat, with plans sized by AI responses.

Can I keep my WhatsApp number if I switch to AeroChat?

Yes. You connect the same number to AeroChat, and it can stay on the WhatsApp Business app on your phone at the same time. See how coexistence works.

Do these tools include WhatsApp message fees?

Meta’s charges for WhatsApp template messages apply whichever platform you use. See how WhatsApp pricing works. DelightChat says it passes Meta’s rates through with no markup, as of November 2026.

How is DC priced?

By tickets and marketing contacts, from Startup at US$29 a month to Growth at US$299, as of November 2026. See DC vs AeroChat.

Try the top DC alternative on your store

Install AeroChat, connect your store and a channel, and ask your own number about an order you shipped this week.

Install AeroChat on Shopify

7-day free trial.