Ctx: WhatsApp Chat + Marketing Alternatives for Shopify in 2026

The top Ctx 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, DC, CW, Interakt, Wati and Chaty. Each suits a different kind of business, and each is priced in a different way.

Why businesses look for a Ctx alternative

Ctx’s Shopify App Store reviews are mostly positive. Stores that compare it usually do so for these reasons, based on its App Store listing:

• Manual or paid automation. Order confirmation and COD verification are manual on Advanced. Automated messages and the WhatsApp Business API are on Premium, charged by use, as of November 2026.
• No AI agent described. The listing covers buttons, FAQs and messages. It does not describe an AI that answers customer questions.
• One channel. Ctx is built around WhatsApp. Stores whose customers use Instagram, Messenger or TikTok Shop want those answered too.
• Finishing the sale in the chat. Stores want the payment taken and the order confirmed in the conversation.

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. DC: WhatsApp Marketing + API

DelightChat’s Shopify app, a shared inbox and WhatsApp marketing tool on the WhatsApp Business API, with cart recovery, COD verification, broadcasts, a chatbot and an AI assistant, covering WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, email and live chat.

• Suits: Shopify stores that want WhatsApp marketing and a support inbox in one app.
• Pricing model: by support tickets and marketing contacts. Startup is US$29 a month for 500 tickets and 2,500 contacts, Scale US$99 for 2,000 and 10,000, and Growth US$299 for 6,000 and 30,000. The AI assistant includes 10,000 tokens a month, then US$1 per 100,000 tokens, as of November 2026.
• Limitation: tickets and contacts above the plan are billed per block of 100 tickets or 1,000 contacts. See DC vs AeroChat.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Chaty Chat Buttons & WhatsApp

A floating chat button from Premio that lets visitors open a conversation in WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, Instagram, Viber, LINE, WeChat, SMS, email or phone.

• Suits: stores that want a click-to-chat button for many messaging apps, with page and country targeting.
• Pricing model: by website visitors a month. A free tier covers 500 visitors, and paid plans cover 10,000, 50,000 and 150,000 visitors, as of November 2026. The App Store listing shows prices in your store’s currency.
• Limitation: it opens the conversation in the visitor’s messaging app. Answering the message is left to your team or another tool. See Chaty vs AeroChat.

Comparison table

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

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 Ctx?

AeroChat. It confirms cash on delivery orders in the chat, answers questions from your store data, and takes payment, on WhatsApp and six more channels.

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.

How is Ctx priced?

A free tier, then Advanced and Premium plans, with automated WhatsApp messages charged by use, as of November 2026. See Ctx vs AeroChat.

Try the top Ctx alternative on your store

Install AeroChat, connect your store and WhatsApp, and place a cash on delivery test order. Then see it confirmed in the chat.

Install AeroChat on Shopify

7-day free trial.