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How software sends and receives WhatsApp messages on your business number through Meta's servers.
Meta's Cloud API lets software send from your registered number and receive replies as webhooks. Unlike the phone app, it has no inbox of its own.
Meta now calls it the WhatsApp Business Platform; most people still say "the API". It is a set of HTTP endpoints, hosted by Meta as the Cloud API, that let a business send messages from a registered phone number and receive customers' replies as webhooks.
It is a different product from the free WhatsApp Business app. The app runs on a phone and is operated by hand. The API has no inbox of its own: you connect it to software, such as a CRM, a support desk, an AI agent or a workflow in n8n, and that software is where your team works.
| Compared on | WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business API |
|---|---|---|
| Who sends | A person on a phone | Software, and staff through that software |
| Several agents on one number | Limited, through linked devices | Yes, through the software you connect |
| Automation | Greeting and away messages, quick replies | Anything you build: routing, bots, CRM updates |
| Messaging people who have not written recently | Normal messages | Approved templates only |
| Cost | Free app | Meta charges per template message; software and setup cost extra |
We compare the two in more depth in WhatsApp Business API vs app.
Inside 24 hours from the customer's last message you reply freely; outside, only approved templates.
When a customer messages you, a customer service window opens for 24 hours from their last message. Inside it you can reply with normal messages. Outside it you can only send an approved message template.
People must agree to hear from you before you message them first.
Meta's Business Messaging Policy requires that people have agreed to hear from you before you message them first.
Meta charges per delivered template by category and country; replies in the window are free.
Meta charges per delivered template message, at rates that depend on the template category and the recipient's country. Replies inside the customer service window are not charged. Current rates are on Meta's pricing page.
Many blocks or reports can lower your sending limits or restrict the number.
If many people block or report your messages, Meta can lower your sending limits or restrict the number. Relevance protects the number better than any setting.
In India and the Gulf many enquiries start on WhatsApp. The API turns those chats into CRM leads with an owner and a follow-up date.
In India and the Gulf many enquiries arrive on WhatsApp first. The API is what lets those chats become leads in a CRM with an owner and a follow-up date, instead of messages on one phone. Our WhatsApp Business API setup service handles the account, number, templates and webhooks; our WhatsApp CRM automation service builds the lead handling on top. We are not a Meta Business Partner; we work inside your own Meta business account.
Access to the Cloud API itself has no subscription fee from Meta, but Meta charges for template messages, and you need software to use it, which has its own cost. Replies within 24 hours of a customer's message are not charged by Meta.
Check Meta's current rules for your number before you move it. A number registered on the API is operated through software, so plan how your team will read and reply before you switch.
No. Businesses can connect to the Cloud API directly through Meta's developer tools, or through a provider that bundles an inbox and support. Either way the number and account should be in your own name.
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