# Circles vs Blueticks: two hosted WhatsApp MCPs, built for different jobs > Blueticks grew out of a WhatsApp Web Chrome extension for scheduling and campaigns, and added a hosted MCP connector. Circles was built for one thing: giving your agent the chats you choose, ready to use. Both work with a personal number. **Choose Blueticks** if you schedule and send WhatsApp messages and campaigns, like a Chrome extension, or want a lower paid entry price ($7 a month billed annually, or a free plan with five MCP requests per six hours, as of October 2026). **Choose Circles** if you want your agent to understand your chats, with voice notes as text, files on request, per-chat permissions and always-on hosting, on Free, Starter $9.90 or Pro $29 a month. Source: https://usecircles.app/en/compare/blueticks · Updated 2026-10-27 ## Blueticks and Circles at a glance As of October 2026. Facts about Blueticks come from the sources listed at the end of this page. | | Blueticks | Circles | | --- | --- | --- | | Setup | About 3 steps: link your number to a Blueticks engine with a QR, add the connector address, approve the login | Link your number from your phone (a code or a QR), then connect your agent with a tap, an address or a token | | Your personal number | Yes | Yes, your existing number as a linked device. No WhatsApp Business, no second number. | | Hosted | Always-on cloud on the Pro plan. Basic and Standard rely on the Chrome extension, so the browser must be open. | Yes, always on. Nothing to install, no computer that must stay awake. | | MCP and sign-in | Remote address with an OAuth login, or `npx` with an API key | Remote MCP at `https://app.usecircles.app/api/mcp`: OAuth 2.1 (paste one address and approve) or a token | | Per-chat permissions | No per-chat scoping described. Reading and sending are separate tool families you approve. | Per chat: hidden, read, or read and send. Hidden chats do not exist for agents. | | Voice notes | Not stated on its pages | Transcribed automatically, Hebrew and English, inline as text and searchable | | Photos and files | Not stated on its pages | Photos, PDFs, documents and video handed over on request, up to 50 MB each. The agent reads them itself. | | Sending controls | Approval by tool family. Built for scheduling, campaigns and audiences. | On Pro. Off until you open a chat for it. Daily cap across all agents (default 5), never retried automatically, every request logged. | | Price (October 2026) | Per user: Basic $7, Standard $20, Pro $45 a month billed annually ($9, $25, $50 monthly). MCP on every paid plan. Free plan: five MCP or API requests per six-hour slot. | Free; Starter $9.90 a month; Pro $29 a month (₪99 in Israel), 14 days of Pro free | ## Where Blueticks is the better choice - **A lower paid entry price.** $7 a month billed annually, against Circles Starter at $9.90, or free for light use, as of October 2026. - **Scheduling and campaigns.** Scheduled messages, campaigns, audiences and per-contact variables. Circles has none of these, on purpose. - **A Chrome extension.** If you live in WhatsApp Web, Blueticks adds its tools right there. - **A large library of guides** for connecting WhatsApp to Claude, ChatGPT and Claude Code. ## Where Circles is the better choice - **Agent-ready data.** Voice notes arrive as text, Hebrew and English, and photos and PDFs are handed over on request. Blueticks' pages do not say either way, as of October 2026. - **Per-chat permissions.** Hide a chat and it does not exist for agents; open another for reading only; allow sending in just one. Blueticks describes approval per tool family. - **Always on at the one price.** Circles is hosted on every account. On Blueticks, working with the computer off needs the Pro plan. - **Sending stays rare.** Off until you allow it per chat, capped per day, never broadcast. On a personal number that is the point. - **Full history**, searchable, plus `activity` for a cheap "what did I miss?". Same terms for both. Circles, like every tool that reads a personal number, connects as an unofficial linked device, which is outside WhatsApp's terms. No one can promise WhatsApp will never disconnect a device. What Circles offers is careful defaults: reading by default, sending off until you allow it, a daily cap, no broadcast, and a dedicated IP address shared with no other customer. It makes no claim to a safer protocol. [How Circles handles your chats](https://usecircles.app/en/security). ## Switching, or using both They can sit side by side: each is its own linked device, and WhatsApp allows up to four. Some people would keep Blueticks for scheduled messages and use Circles so Claude or ChatGPT can read and search their chats. If you switch, unlink the old device under *Linked devices* in WhatsApp and remove the old connector from your agent. ## Questions and answers ### Is Circles cheaper than Blueticks? Not at the paid entry level: Blueticks Basic is $7 a month billed annually, against Circles Starter at $9.90, as of October 2026. Both have a free plan. Circles Pro is $29 a month, always on, with voice transcription, files and per-chat permissions in every plan. ### Does Blueticks transcribe voice notes? Its pages did not say either way on 27 October 2026. Circles transcribes voice notes automatically, in Hebrew and English, and delivers the text inside the message. ### Do I need to keep my browser open? With Blueticks Basic and Standard, the Chrome extension does the work, so yes; Pro runs in the cloud. Circles is always hosted, on every account. ### Can I limit which chats the agent sees? In Circles, yes: each chat is hidden, read, or read and send. Blueticks describes approval by tool family. ### Which one can send campaigns? Blueticks: scheduling and campaigns are its core. Circles never broadcasts, keeps sending off until you allow it per chat, and caps sends per day. ## Sources Competitor facts as seen on 27 October 2026 unless another date is given. Prices change often in this category: check the vendor's own page before you buy. - [blueticks.co/pricing](https://blueticks.co/pricing) - [blueticks.co/blog/best-whatsapp-mcp-servers](https://blueticks.co/blog/best-whatsapp-mcp-servers) - [blueticks.co/blog/connect-whatsapp-to-claude-mcp-integration](https://blueticks.co/blog/connect-whatsapp-to-claude-mcp-integration) ## Keep reading - [Best WhatsApp MCP servers](https://usecircles.app/en/compare/best-whatsapp-mcp-servers): Every hosted and open-source option, side by side. - [Voice notes your agent can read](https://usecircles.app/en/use-cases/voice-note-transcription): Transcribed automatically, Hebrew and English. - [What your agents can see](https://usecircles.app/en/security): Hidden, read, or read and send, per chat. --- 14 days free. Link your number, pick the chats, then connect Instinct with one tap or Claude, ChatGPT and Codex with one address. Start: https://usecircles.app/start?lang=en