WhatsApp Business API, untangled: Cloud API, BSPs and inboxes

If your business runs on WhatsApp, sooner or later someone will tell you that you need “the API.” That word covers three different things: Meta's API, the providers that give you access to it and the platforms that put an inbox on top. This guide separates them so you can decide which one you actually need.

The app and the API are not the same thing

WhatsApp Business is the app you install on your phone. It works while one or two people answer from their phones.

The API is something else: a connection that lets your own software send and receive messages. It has no screen and no inbox. With it, several people can answer the same number from one platform, a bot can reply, and your systems can send order updates or verification codes.

What the Cloud API is

The WhatsApp Cloud API is the version of the API that Meta hosts. You don't install or maintain servers: you register a number, verify your business and receive messages through a webhook.

Using the API is free. What you pay for are messages, and the rules are worth understanding before you run the numbers:

• Since July 2025, Meta charges per delivered template. It used to charge per 24-hour conversation.
• Marketing templates are always charged.
• Utility and authentication templates are only charged outside the 24-hour window that opens when a customer messages you.
• Replying inside that window is free.
• Chats that start from a Click to WhatsApp ad are free for 72 hours.
• Rates depend on the recipient's country, with volume discounts for utility and authentication.

Templates are messages Meta approves before you send them, and you need each contact's consent. Meta has changed this model several times, so check its pricing page before you budget.

The Cloud API is the direct route if you have developers: there's no middleman fee. If you don't, you'll need something on top.

What a BSP does

A BSP (Business Solution Provider) is a company Meta authorizes to provide API access. They all rely on the same official API; what changes is how they bill and what they add.

360dialog charges a flat license per number, around €49 a month, and passes Meta's rates through with no markup. It's built for developers, agencies and software companies that offer WhatsApp to their own customers.

Twilio bills by usage and adds its own per-message fee on top of Meta's. In return, the same account lets you send SMS, make calls and verify users in many countries.

Gupshup and Infobip follow a similar model and focus on mid-size and large companies. API access usually doesn't come with an inbox ready for your team: 360dialog adds one on its Premium plan, and with Twilio you build it yourself or connect another tool.

When to use an omnichannel inbox

An inbox is the screen where your team reads and replies. You need one when more than one person answers, when you want to assign chats or when WhatsApp sits alongside Instagram, Messenger or email.

There are three routes, depending on your team and your budget.

No code, WhatsApp first. Wati is designed so a team without developers can use the API: guided sign-up, template campaigns, chatbots and a shared inbox. It only offers a 7-day trial, and Meta's fees are billed separately.

Several channels plus an AI agent. Respond.io brings WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and email into one history per customer, with AI agents that reply and hand off to a person. It starts around US$79 a month.

Open source on your own server. Chatwoot is an open-source inbox you connect to the Cloud API, 360dialog or Twilio. In their cloud it's free for 2 agents; self-hosted there's no license fee, but maintenance is on you.

How to decide

1. If one or two people answer from their phones, stay on the app.
2. If you have developers and want to pay only Meta, use the Cloud API directly.
3. If you offer WhatsApp to your own clients, look at a BSP like 360dialog.
4. If your team needs an inbox and doesn't code, pick a platform with the API built in, like Wati or Respond.io.
5. If you want the inbox on your own server, run Chatwoot on top of the Cloud API.

Whatever you choose, Meta's fees come on top of the plan. Prices in this guide are approximate: confirm them on each provider's website.