The WhatsApp Business API lets a business send and receive WhatsApp messages from software instead of a phone: chatbots, shared inboxes, CRM integrations, order updates. Meta now calls it the WhatsApp Business Platform, and the API itself the Cloud API. Meta hosts it, access is free, and you pay for the messages you send.
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Who runs it | Meta, in the cloud. The self-hosted On-Premises API was retired in October 2025. |
| Access | Free from Meta. Providers may charge for their own software. |
| Messages | Charged per delivered message, by type and country |
| People you can message first | 250 a day for a new business, rising to unlimited |
| Phone numbers | 2 to start, 20 once your business is verified |
| Speed | 80 messages a second per number, up to 1,000 |
WhatsApp Business app or Business API?
| What | WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business API |
|---|---|---|
| How you use it | An app on your phone, plus linked devices | No app of its own: you connect software to it |
| Who answers | You and a few devices | Any number of team members and bots |
| Automation | Greeting and away messages, quick replies | Chatbots, flows, AI and CRM integrations |
| Messaging people first | Broadcast lists and paid business broadcasts | Approved templates, to people who opted in |
| Cost | Free app; business broadcasts are paid | Free access; paid per message |
For a small shop that answers by hand, the app is enough: see WhatsApp auto replies and WhatsApp broadcast lists. The API is for businesses that get more messages than one phone can handle, want replies to go out automatically, or need WhatsApp connected to other tools.
How to get access
- Through a provider, the usual route: a tool like MuChat opens Meta's own sign-up window, where you log in with Facebook, choose your business, add a phone number and a display name. No code needed. With MuChat, Meta bills you directly for messages.
- Directly from Meta: a developer creates a Meta app, registers your number and builds the integration on the Cloud API. Meta allows this only for your own business.
Either way, you need:
- 01A Meta business portfolio (free; the sign-up window can create one).
- 02A phone number you own that can receive a text or a call. Short codes don't work, and a number with a WhatsApp account on it has to have that account deleted first, unless you connect it from the Business app as below.
- 03A display name that matches your business. Meta reviews it, and it shows in chats once approved.
- 04A payment method on your account, so Meta can charge for messages.
Keep using the WhatsApp Business app on the same number
Through a provider, Meta lets you connect a number that's already on the WhatsApp Business app and keep using the app alongside the API. Chats from the last 180 days come with it, and messages you send from the app stay free. Some app features switch off: broadcast lists become read-only, and greeting and away messages, quick replies, labels and the catalog stop working. Open the app at least every 14 days, or the connection can drop.
Limits for new accounts
Replying to people who messaged you has no daily cap. Messaging people first, with templates, does: the limit counts how many different people your business messages outside a conversation in a rolling 24 hours, across all its numbers.
- 250 people a day for a new business.
- 2,000 once Meta verifies your business, or after 2,000 template messages within 30 days are delivered with a high quality rating.
- Then 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited, raised automatically while your messages stay high quality and you use at least half your limit.
Business verification, done in Meta's business settings with documents about your business, also raises your phone numbers from 2 to 20 and your templates from 250 to 6,000. After 30 days on the platform, a verified business with two-step verification and an approved display name can request the blue checkmark, Meta's Official Business Account. Meta Verified is a different, paid badge for the WhatsApp Business app.
What the WhatsApp Business API costs
Access from Meta is free. Meta charges for each message it delivers, at a rate set by the message type (marketing, utility, authentication or service) and the country of the person's number. Messages people send you are free, so are the first 1,000 service messages a month on each number, and so is everything you send in the free window after someone messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad. See the rates for every country with WhatsApp API pricing calculator.
The rules you work within
- The 24-hour window: after someone messages you, you can reply with anything for 24 hours. Each new message from them restarts the clock.
- Templates: outside that window, only message templates Meta has approved get through. See WhatsApp message templates.
- Opt-in: you can only message people who agreed to hear from your business, and the opt-in has to name you.
What you can build
- Reply buttons (up to 3) and lists (up to 10 options), so people tap instead of type.
- Product messages from your catalog, with a cart people send back to you.
- WhatsApp Flows: forms inside the chat for bookings, sign-ups and surveys (for verified businesses).
- Calls: people can call you on WhatsApp for free. Calling people first needs their permission, and isn't available in some countries, including the US and Canada.
- AI replies, from Meta Business Agent (Meta's own AI) or from the tool you connect.
Using the WhatsApp Business API with MuChat
MuChat connects your number through Meta's sign-up window in a few minutes, and keeps the WhatsApp Business app working on it when Meta allows. Keyword replies and flows answer people straight away, your team handles the rest in one inbox with Instagram and Messenger, and template broadcasts reach the people who opted in. MuChat adds nothing to Meta's message prices. See WhatsApp automation.
Answer every WhatsApp message
MuChat replies to WhatsApp messages straight away and sends template broadcasts to the people who opted in. The Free plan needs no card.