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WhatsApp Cloud API

Meta's own API for sending and receiving WhatsApp messages from your app, hosted by Meta and billed per delivered message.

WhatsApp and SMS
Website Official pricing
Price
Per delivered message to US numbers: $0.0034 for utility, authentication and service, $0.025 for marketing.
Free plan
Yes
Setup
Needs a developer
Up and running
A first test message in an afternoon; plan 1 to 2 weeks for business verification and approved templates before real customers.

What WhatsApp Cloud API is for

It lets your app send and receive WhatsApp messages on a business number, straight from Meta with no middleman. You use it for login codes, payment reminders and support replies, and you pay Meta per delivered message instead of a monthly fee.

How it plugs into your product

  1. 1Create a Meta business portfolio and a developer app, add a phone number and confirm it by SMS or call.
  2. 2Submit your business for Meta verification; until it passes, the number can only start conversations with 250 people a day.
  3. 3Write each message your app starts (code, reminder, promo) as a template and wait for approval, which can take up to 24 hours.
  4. 4Call the API from your server with a permanent token and set up a webhook to receive replies and delivery status.

Does it fit your idea?

It fits if

  • A SaaS that sends login codes and billing reminders on WhatsApp and wants Meta's own rate with no extra fee per message.
  • A clinic or school booking app where the customer writes first and most replies fall inside the free 24-hour window.
  • You have a developer who can keep a server and webhook running, and WhatsApp is a core channel you can't risk losing.

Look elsewhere if

  • You need a shared inbox where several people answer customers: put Chatwoot or Crisp on top of this API instead of building one.
  • You also need SMS or voice in the same integration: Twilio or Zenvia put them behind one API.
  • Your plan is to blast promotions to a bought list: marketing templates cost $0.025 each to US numbers, more in most of Europe, and spam reports hurt the number.

What people only find out after building

Read this before you build on it. Each item links to the official page that says so.

Price

Per delivered message to US numbers: $0.0034 for utility, authentication and service, $0.025 for marketing.

No monthly fee; 1,000 free service messages per number each month, then you pay per message.

Price per message
$0.0034 (utility) to $0.025 (marketing), US
Official WhatsApp API
Yes, it's Meta's own
Channels
WhatsApp only

Checked on Oct 28, 2026 · official pricing

What it costs in practice

SaaS with 500 US customers: 4 billing reminders each is 2,000 utility messages × $0.0034 = $6.80. Plus 1,500 support replies: 1,000 free, 500 × $0.0034 = $1.70. About $8.50/month, estimated.

Estimate from the official price. Check it before you decide.

At a glance

  • Free plan: yes
  • Open source: no

“Not stated” means the official site doesn’t say.

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