Send Rich Media Messages to Millions via RCS at just 1/6th of WhatsApp's Cost

RCS stands for Rich Communication Services. Think of it as an upgraded version of SMS that lets businesses send images, videos, PDFs, and documents directly to a customer's default messaging inbox. It delivers the rich experience of WhatsApp but at roughly one-sixth of the cost.

RCS works over mobile data or Wi-Fi, similar to apps like WhatsApp. It does not work over a traditional cellular voice/SMS network. Both the sender's platform and the recipient's phone need to support RCS for messages to be delivered in rich format.

SMS uses a generic 6-digit sender ID with no way to verify who is actually sending the message. It also only supports plain text. RCS messages are sent from a verified brand profile that includes your business name, logo, verified tick, and contact details. You can also send images, videos, and interactive call-to-action buttons.

Both offer similar rich messaging features. The key difference is cost. Sending a promotional campaign on WhatsApp costs approximately Rs. 0.90 per message. On RCS, the same message can be sent for approximately Rs. 0.15 per message at decent volumes. For businesses running large-scale campaigns, this difference is significant.

There are three content formats:
A basic text message is plain text, similar to a regular SMS but with verified branding. A rich card combines an image or video with text and a call-to-action button in a single message. A carousel is a series of rich cards displayed side by side, letting customers swipe through multiple offers or products in one message.

Not immediately. Registering your business messaging profile (called an "Agent" or "Assistant") with Google takes approximately two weeks. Once approved, you can start sending campaigns right away through the WhatsRCS platform.

Yes. WhatsRCS is an authorised Google RBM (Rich Business Messaging) partner and also works with JBM (Jio Business Messaging), giving businesses access to RCS network in India

There are three categories. Promotional messages are used for offers, announcements, and marketing campaigns. Transactional messages cover appointment reminders, delivery updates, and greetings. OTP messages handle account logins and password resets.

Promotional messages are marketing-focused, meant to drive awareness and sales. Transactional messages are service-related updates that a customer expects to receive as part of an ongoing interaction. OTP messages are time-sensitive security codes for verifying identity. Each category has different use cases and, importantly, different messaging limits.

For promotional messages, limits are governed by a Reputation Score system managed by Google. There are three tiers:
Low Tier allows up to 2 messages per customer per month and a reach of up to 1 million unique users per month. Medium Tier allows up to 4 messages per customer per month and up to 25 million unique users per month. High Tier allows up to 8 messages per customer per month and up to 300 million unique users per month.
Transactional and OTP messages have no such limits.

Google evaluates your messaging agent daily based on how recipients respond to your messages. Positive signals such as message reads and replies help move your account to a higher tier. Negative signals such as spam reports or users blocking your messages push your account to a lower tier.

You get delivery reports covering sent status, delivered status, and read status. You also get data on which call-to-action button a customer clicked. This gives a clear picture of campaign performance so you can optimise future messaging.

For warm audiences (people already familiar with your brand), delivery rates currently sit between 40% and 60%, with open rates between 60% and 70%. For cold audiences with no prior brand familiarity, both rates will be lower. As more phones come with RCS enabled by default, delivery rates are expected to improve further.

On Android, RCS is widely supported and comes enabled by default on most modern devices. On iPhone, RCS support was introduced with iOS 18, so adoption among iPhone users is still growing. For now, RCS campaigns are most effective when targeting Android users, though iPhone reach will increase over time.

WhatsRCS is built on top of Google and Jio's messaging infrastructure. It provides a simple web portal where businesses can create text, rich card, or carousel messages, upload their customer contact list, and send campaigns without any technical setup. It removes the complexity of working directly with the underlying APIs.

Fill in your contact details on the WhatsRCS website. A representative will reach out within 24 hours on most occasions to collect the information needed to register your messaging agent. Once registration is complete (approximately two weeks), you can start sending RCS campaigns immediately.