Comparisons
WhatsApp vs Email Marketing: Why Open Rates Don't Compare, and What Does
You will see huge WhatsApp “open rate” claims everywhere. Here is why WhatsApp reads and email opens measure different things — and how to compare the channels properly.
By the wbm.link teamUpdated 14 September 2026 4 min read
Search for WhatsApp versus email and you will find confident percentages: WhatsApp messages are opened by almost everyone, emails by a fraction. Most of these numbers come without a source, a date or a method. We are not going to add another one. Instead, this guide explains how each channel counts an “open”, why the two figures cannot be put side by side, and what each channel is genuinely good at — so you can measure your own results properly.
WhatsApp API vs email marketing: how open rates are measured
Email: a hidden image called a tracking pixel
Email platforms count an open when a tiny, invisible image in the email is downloaded from their server. That method has always been imperfect, in both directions:
- It under-counts when a mail app blocks images by default — the person reads the email, but the pixel never loads.
- It over-counts when something other than a person loads the images — security scanners in company mailboxes, for instance.
- Apple Mail Privacy Protection made this much worse. Since iOS 15, when a user turns it on, Apple downloads remote content privately in the background when the email arrives, not when it is viewed. To the sender's platform, that looks like an open — whether or not anyone read it.
The result is that an email “open rate” today is best treated as a rough signal, and many email marketers now judge campaigns by clicks, replies and sales instead.
WhatsApp: delivery and read receipts
The WhatsApp Business Platform reports a status for every message. Meta defines delivered as reaching the customer's device (two grey ticks) and read as the message being displayed in an open chat (two blue ticks). That is a far more direct signal than a pixel — but it is not perfect either:
- Customers can turn off read receipts in WhatsApp's privacy settings, so some genuine reads are never reported.
- “Read” means the chat was opened on screen, not that the person took in every word — the same caveat as any view metric.
- Read rates are counted on delivered messages. A campaign sent to numbers that are not on WhatsApp shows a good read rate on a small delivered base.
Side by side: what each channel is built for
| WhatsApp Business API | Email marketing | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Short, timely messages and conversations | Longer content, newsletters, documents, records |
| Permission | Opt-in to WhatsApp messages; approved templates | Consent and a one-click unsubscribe (required by Gmail for bulk senders) |
| Format | Text, image, video, document, buttons | Full layouts, many links, long text |
| Replies | Natural — customer replies in the same chat | Possible, but most marketing email is one-way |
| Engagement signal | Delivered and read receipts | Pixel opens (skewed by privacy features) and clicks |
| Cost model | Per delivered template, by category, plus platform fee | Usually by list size or send volume on an email platform |
| Sending rules | Meta's template approval, quality rating and daily messaging limits | SPF, DKIM, DMARC and spam-rate limits for bulk senders |
| Identity | Phone number and business profile | Email address, tied to a customer account |
What WhatsApp does better
- Time-sensitive messages — a delivery arriving today, an appointment in two hours, a flash sale ending tonight.
- Conversation. The customer replies “Can I change the size?” and your team answers in the same thread, from a shared inbox.
- Customers who do not live in their inbox — many Indian customers check WhatsApp constantly and email rarely.
- Short, visual offers with one clear button.
What email does better
- Long-form content — newsletters, guides, product stories, detailed terms.
- Records people search for later — invoices, statements, tickets, contracts.
- Low cost per send at large volume, especially for content that is nice to have rather than urgent.
- Reaching people without a phone number on file, such as B2B contacts and website sign-ups.
- Frequent sending. A weekly newsletter is normal by email; the same frequency on WhatsApp can feel intrusive and hurt your quality rating.
What it costs
Email is usually priced by your email platform according to list size or monthly sends, so the cost of one extra email is small. WhatsApp charges per delivered message: in India, Meta's rate card (effective 1 July 2026) lists ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ₹0.115 per utility message, before 18% GST, plus your provider's fee. A 5,000-customer WhatsApp offer costs 5,000 × ₹0.8631 = ₹4,315.50, or ₹5,092.29 with GST.
That is why the sensible question is not which is cheaper per send, but which earns more per rupee for a particular message. See WhatsApp Business API pricing in India for the full picture.
How to compare the channels fairly
- Pick an outcome, not an open. Orders, bookings, payments, form submissions or replies.
- Track clicks with separate links per channel. Use a different link for the WhatsApp and email versions of the same campaign — a short link makes this easy.
- Test the same offer to similar audiences at the same time, so the day of the week does not decide the winner.
- Count cost per result — the channel's cost for the campaign divided by the orders or bookings it produced.
- Watch the side effects. Unsubscribes on email; blocks and a falling quality rating on WhatsApp.
Run your next offer on WhatsApp
On wbm.link, send approved templates to labels or CSV contacts and handle every reply in one team inbox — ₹999 per connected number per month, unlimited team members.
See WhatsApp broadcastsThe practical answer: use both
For most Indian businesses the channels work best together. Send the order confirmation and invoice by email, and the “out for delivery” update on WhatsApp. Publish the monthly newsletter by email, and send the one offer that matters on WhatsApp to customers who opted in. Let email carry the record and WhatsApp carry the moment.