The WhatsApp Business Platform, usually called the API, lets software send and receive WhatsApp messages for your business. Access is free; Meta charges per delivered message: templates always, and from 1 October 2026 also replies beyond 1,000 free ones a month.
What it is
WhatsApp has three products that are easy to confuse:
The Platform's current form is the Cloud API, hosted by Meta. The older self-hosted On-Premises API was retired on 23 October 2025, so guides that talk about hosting your own API client are out of date.
Who needs it
Support or sales teams where several named agents share one number, with assignment and reporting.
Shops and services that send order updates, booking reminders, delivery notices or one-time passcodes automatically.
If one or two people answer every chat by hand, the free Business app on WhatsApp Web is the right tool and the API is overkill.
How to get access
Pick a route. Either sign up with a software platform that works with Meta as a Solution Partner or Tech Provider (the usual route; many still call themselves a BSP), or create a Meta developer app and use the Cloud API directly.
Connect a number. Through the platform's signup you log in to Facebook, create or select a Meta Business portfolio and a WhatsApp Business Account, and verify a phone number by SMS or call. The number cannot be active in the regular WhatsApp app at the same time, unless you use a coexistence setup.
Set the display name, which Meta reviews against its naming rules.
Verify your business in Meta Business settings to lift the starting limits.
Create message templates for anything you will send first. Meta's review can take up to 24 hours and is usually much faster.
How pricing works
Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per delivered template message, not per conversation. The price depends on the template's category and the country code of the person receiving it.
Message type
What it is
Charged?
Service
Any free-form reply within 24 hours of the customer's last message
Free until 30 September 2026. From 1 October 2026: the first 1,000 a month per phone number are free, then the utility rate applies
Utility template
Order, payment, delivery and account updates the customer expects
Per message. Free inside an open 24-hour window until 30 September 2026, charged there too from 1 October 2026
Authentication template
One-time passcodes
Per message
Marketing template
Offers, announcements, anything promotional
Per message, the highest rate
Examples from Meta's rate card effective 1 July 2026, in US dollars per delivered message:
Recipient's market
Marketing
Utility
Authentication
North America (US and Canada)
$0.0250
$0.0034
$0.0034
United Kingdom
$0.0635
$0.0220
$0.0220
Germany
$0.1365
$0.0550
$0.0550
France
$0.0859
$0.0300
$0.0300
Netherlands
$0.1597
$0.0500
$0.0500
Australia and New Zealand (Rest of Asia Pacific)
$0.0732
$0.0113
$0.0113
India
$0.0118
$0.0014
$0.0014
Brazil
$0.0625
$0.0068
$0.0068
Older guides say replies are always free. That ends on 1 October 2026. Meta announced the change on 1 July 2026, and several vendor pricing pages had not caught up when we checked. Messages sent from the free WhatsApp Business app are not affected.
Two more things decide your real bill. When a customer reaches you from the WhatsApp phone app through a click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button and you answer within 24 hours, a 72-hour window opens in which your messages are free. And most software platforms add their own subscription, and some add a markup on each message on top of Meta's fee; the comparison lists which.
Rules you work within
Opt-in. You may only message people who opted in to messages from your business, and the opt-in must name your business clearly.
The 24-hour window. After a customer writes, you can answer freely for 24 hours. Outside it, only approved templates can be sent.
Template approval and categories. Meta reviews each template and decides whether it is marketing, utility or authentication.
Messaging limits. A new business can start conversations with 250 different people per 24 hours. The next levels are 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited, shared by all numbers of the business. Verifying the business lifts you to 2,000; after that the limit rises by itself when quality is high and you use at least half of it.
Quality rating. Templates are rated from customer feedback and read rates. Low-rated templates are slowed, paused and finally disabled, and repeated policy violations lead to blocks of days or weeks.
United States numbers. WhatsApp currently does not deliver marketing templates to United States numbers (+1 with a US area code). Utility and authentication templates and replies to US customers still work, and Canadian numbers are not affected.
AI assistants. Since 15 January 2026 Meta's terms do not allow general-purpose AI assistants to be offered over the Business Platform. A bot that handles your own customers' questions is still allowed; see WhatsApp chatbots.
Platform or direct?
Going direct to the Cloud API costs nothing beyond Meta's message fees, and needs a developer to build the inbox, templates screen and webhooks you would otherwise rent. A platform gives you those on day one for a monthly fee. For nearly every small and mid-sized business the platform is cheaper than the developer time.
Developer-first options
Twilio
Best for: Developers who want WhatsApp next to SMS and voice in one API
A communications API. There is no inbox and no bot builder: your developers build on it, and you pay per message with no subscription.
Starts at
No subscription; $0.005 per WhatsApp message, sent or received
Free trial
Free trial, no credit card
Message fees
Meta's fees passed through, plus Twilio's $0.005 per message
Good at
Pay only for what you send
One API and one bill for WhatsApp, SMS, voice and email
Excellent documentation
Check before you pay
You build everything yourself, including the agent inbox
The per-message fee also applies to messages you receive
Prices read on Twilio's own pricing page on 18 September 2026. Vendors change prices often; the vendor's page is the one that counts.
360dialog
Best for: Plain API access at a fixed monthly price, without a message markup
A Meta partner that sells access to the WhatsApp Business Platform per phone number. Many other tools use it under the hood; you can also connect it to your own software.
Starts at
Regular €49 per number a month
Free trial
Not published
Message fees
Meta's fees with zero markup (vendor's statement)
Meta status
States it is an official Meta Partner
Good at
Fixed fee and no markup, so costs are predictable at volume
Works with many third-party inboxes and CRMs
Check before you pay
The Regular plan is API access only; inbox and campaign tools start at Premium (€99)
Access itself is free: Meta does not charge a licence or monthly fee for the Cloud API. Meta charges per delivered message, by category and by the recipient's country. Templates are always charged; replies inside the 24-hour customer service window were free until the end of September 2026, and from 1 October 2026 the first 1,000 a month per phone number are free and the rest cost the utility rate. The software you use on top usually has its own subscription.
What is the difference between the WhatsApp Business app and the API?
The app is a free phone app for one small business, used by hand, with a few linked devices. The API (WhatsApp Business Platform) has no app: software connects to it, which allows many agents, automation, chatbots and integrations, with per-message fees for business-initiated templates.
Can I keep my existing WhatsApp Business number?
Yes. A number can be moved to the Business Platform. Meta also offers a coexistence option through partners, where the same number keeps working in the Business app while it is connected to the API. It has limits: broadcast lists are switched off, and the Windows app cannot be one of the linked devices. Ask the vendor whether they support it before you migrate.
Do I need a developer to use the WhatsApp API?
No. Most businesses never touch the API directly. They sign up with a platform that handles the connection, number registration and templates, and work in its inbox. Developers who want full control can use Meta's Cloud API directly.
How long does it take to get access?
Connecting a number through a platform's embedded signup usually takes well under an hour. Business verification by Meta, which lifts the initial messaging limits, can take a few days depending on your documents.