Short answer: The WhatsApp Business catalogue is free, quick and good enough for a small range sold to everyone at one price. Look for a WhatsApp Business catalogue alternative when you need designed layouts, a PDF, prices hidden or on request for some buyers, a different catalogue for each buyer, an order inbox and an estimate. Many sellers use both: WhatsApp Business for the chat, a ScanPix link for the catalogue.
What the WhatsApp Business catalogue does well
If you sell on WhatsApp, the catalogue built into the WhatsApp Business app is the obvious place to start, and for many shops it is the right one. It costs nothing, it lives inside the app your customers already use, and setting it up takes an afternoon.
- It is native. Customers browse your products without leaving WhatsApp, and you can send a product or the whole catalogue into any chat or post it to your status.
- It has a cart. A customer can add items to a cart and send it to you as a message, so the order starts in the same chat as the conversation.
- It is simple. Each item has photos, a name, a price and a description. Nothing to design.
- It is free. There is no subscription and no extra tool to manage.
For a small, stable range sold at one price, that is often all you need.
Where it stops
The limits show up as the business grows: more products, more kinds of buyer, more orders to keep track of. Here is what a ScanPix catalogue does at each gap.
- Layouts. WhatsApp shows every business's products in the same grid. ScanPix has a range of designed layouts, from a Lookbook for jewellery to a dense Price List for wholesale, storefront styles, and your logo and cover page.
- A PDF. Some buyers want a document to print or forward to their own customers. ScanPix exports the same catalogue as a print-quality PDF; the WhatsApp catalogue stays inside the app.
- Price modes. In WhatsApp you can leave an item's price blank, but you cannot show different prices to different buyers. ScanPix sets prices per catalogue: shown, hidden, or "price on request", with quantity tiers where you use them. Hidden prices are removed before the page is sent, so a retail customer cannot find your trade rate in the link. See how price on request works.
- A different catalogue for each buyer. ScanPix lets you make as many catalogues and links as you like: one per dealer, one per category, one per season. A link can follow a category, so new products appear on it without sending it again.
- An order inbox. A WhatsApp cart arrives as a chat message and is tracked the way the chat is. A ScanPix order still opens in your WhatsApp, but it is also saved in an Orders inbox on the web and in the app, with a status you move from new to confirmed to completed, and the buyer gets a status page.
- Estimates. One tap turns a ScanPix order into an estimate PDF on your letterhead. WhatsApp has no estimate step. Neither tool raises GST invoices.
At a glance
- Cost. WhatsApp Business catalogue: free. ScanPix: free plan, paid plans per user. See pricing.
- Where the buyer browses. WhatsApp: inside the WhatsApp app. ScanPix: a link that opens in any phone browser, no app to install.
- Design. WhatsApp: one standard grid. ScanPix: designed layouts, storefront styles, your brand.
- Prices. WhatsApp: one price per item, or none, the same for everyone. ScanPix: shown, hidden or on request per catalogue, with quantity tiers.
- Several catalogues. WhatsApp: one catalogue per business account, grouped into collections. ScanPix: as many catalogues and links as you need.
- Orders. WhatsApp: a cart sent in chat. ScanPix: an order that opens in your WhatsApp and is saved in an Orders inbox with a status.
- Estimates and PDF. WhatsApp: not available. ScanPix: estimate PDF from any order, and a PDF of any catalogue.
Based on WhatsApp's public help pages and the WhatsApp Business app as of September 2026. Features change; check WhatsApp's help centre. ScanPix is not affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta.
Use both together
This is not either-or. Keep WhatsApp Business for the conversation and use ScanPix for the catalogue and the order record. The ScanPix order is a normal WhatsApp message to your own number, so the two fit together.
- Build the catalogue in ScanPix and copy its link.
- Send the link in chats and broadcasts, add it as the website link in your WhatsApp Business profile, or post it to your status.
- The buyer picks products and quantities and sends the order. It arrives in the same WhatsApp chat you already use, and a copy lands in your Orders inbox.
- Reply as usual, and send the estimate PDF when the buyer is ready.
The full walkthrough is in how to take orders on WhatsApp, and you can open a live demo catalogue to see what your buyers would see.
Which one should you choose?
Choose the WhatsApp Business catalogue if…
- Your range is small and changes rarely.
- Every buyer sees the same prices.
- You are happy to take orders as a chat and keep track of them yourself.
- You don't need a PDF or an estimate.
Choose a ScanPix catalogue if…
- You sell to different kinds of buyer and want each to see a different catalogue or price mode.
- You need wholesale prices hidden from the public link, or quantity tiers.
- You want orders tracked in one inbox and turned into estimates.
- Your catalogue should look like your brand, as a link and as a PDF.
Comparing more widely? See the best WhatsApp catalogue app buyer's guide and the WhatsApp catalogue feature page.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an alternative to the WhatsApp Business catalogue?
Yes. A ScanPix catalogue is a link you share in WhatsApp. It adds designed layouts, a PDF, prices that can be hidden or shown on request, a catalogue per buyer, an Orders inbox and one-tap estimates. The order still arrives in your WhatsApp.
Can I use ScanPix and the WhatsApp Business app together?
Yes, and most sellers do. Keep WhatsApp Business for the conversation and send the ScanPix catalogue link in your chats, broadcasts and status. Orders arrive as a normal WhatsApp message to your own number.
Do my buyers need an app to open a ScanPix catalogue?
No. The link opens in any phone browser. Buyers order with a name and phone number, and nothing is installed.
Can I hide prices from some buyers?
With ScanPix, yes. Each catalogue can show prices, hide them or mark them on request, so a dealer link and a retail link can show the same products with different price settings.
Does ScanPix connect to WhatsApp behind the scenes?
No. The order opens as a ready-written message in the buyer’s WhatsApp, addressed to your number. There is no bot, no integration and no middleman between you and your customer.
Keep the chat. Upgrade the catalogue.
Build a catalogue free and share it in your next WhatsApp chat.