This article covers everything you, as a business owner, must know about WhatsApp Cloud API, Meta’s latest offering.
What is WhatsApp Cloud API?
What is the difference between WhatsApp Business greece mobile phone number list API and WhatsApp Cloud API?
What are the features of WhatsApp Cloud API?
What about WhatsApp Cloud API pricing?
How to get WhatsApp Cloud API?
What are the limitations of WhatsApp Cloud API?
Grow your business using WhatsApp API via DelightChat
What is WhatsApp Cloud API?
WhatsApp Cloud API is the cloud-hosted variant of WhatsApp API or WhatsApp Business Cloud API.
Until now, WhatsApp had three variants, including WhatsApp (for non-commercial purposes), WhatsApp Business (for small businesses), and WhatsApp API or WhatsApp Business API for companies wanting to benefit from WhatsApp’s advanced features like CRM integration, sending unlimited messages, automations, etc.
While WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business were both free to download, install, and use, WhatsApp API required businesses to apply through a WhatsApp Partner or WhatsApp Business Solutions Provider (BSP) and gain approval to use WhatsApp API.
Now, WhatsApp Cloud API is the fourth addition to the list that removes the costs associated with applying for WhatsApp API or WhatsApp Business API through intermediaries like Gupshup and Twilio, including the costs associated with them.
So, WhatsApp Cloud API functions like WhatsApp Business API, but it is hosted in the cloud on Meta’s servers instead of a WhatsApp Business Solutions Provider (BSP)’s servers or data centers.
Unlike WhatsApp API or WhatsApp Business API, WhatsApp Cloud API does not require businesses to approach a WhatsApp Business Solutions Provider (BSP) to register their application to use WhatsApp API service.
This removes the time and hassle of having to apply for API access through a WhatsApp BSP as well as any costs associated with them.
What is the difference between WhatsApp Business API and WhatsApp Cloud API?
Several features are identical between WhatsApp Business API (or WhatsApp API) and WhatsApp Cloud API or WhatsApp Business Cloud API, but there are some differences, too.
We hope this neat table helps you get a better understanding of the differences between WhatsApp's Cloud API and Business API.
What are the features of WhatsApp Cloud API?
WhatsApp Cloud API includes all the features present in WhatsApp Business API. Some of the features of WhatsApp Cloud API are –
Zero hosting costs (Meta hosts the WhatsApp Cloud API)
Up to 80 messages per second combined sending and receiving (including text and media messages); from July 2022, this will be increased to 250 messages per second (by request)
Free API software upgrades by Meta
End-to-end encryption
Seamless integration of WhatsApp’s messaging facilities with third-party applications (such as for CRM or analytics)
Bulk messaging and broadcasting capabilities
Direct access (no need to apply via WhatsApp partners or Business Solutions Partners) to qualify
Schedule WhatsApp messages at scale
99.9% Uptime SLA guaranteed by Meta
24/7 support for critical issues with continuous follow-up till resolution
Chatbot integration and chat automation via third-party apps
What about WhatsApp Cloud API pricing?
WhatsApp Cloud API is free to access, but users are billed on the basis of conversations. A conversation includes all messages exchanged between the user and the business within 24 hours of initiation. Conversations on WhatsApp fall into one of the two categories:
User-initiated: when a user messages the business and the latter reverts within 24 hours, the exchange is termed as a user-initiated conversation.
Business-initiated: when a business messages a user after the 24 hours of user-initiated conversation has passed, it is termed as a business-initiated conversation.
In user-initiated conversations, businesses can send free-form messages, but business-initiated conversations require message templates to communicate with users.
Businesses using WhatsApp Cloud API can have 1,000 conversations (inclusive of user-initiated and business-initiated) every month for free. Beyond this limit, a credit card must be mandatorily added to your account.
Businesses are not charged for a conversation when a user messages a business through the latter’s call-to-action (CTA) buttons on their ads (that click to their WhatsApp profile or Facebook page). However, subsequent conversations with the said user are charged as conversations usually would be.
Note that while the entry point for users clicking on the ads to message the business is free, the ad itself is not.
We've previously written about how WhatsApp API pricing works. Cloud API pricing is exactly the same. To know more about Meta’s WhatsApp Cloud API pricing rates, go here.
How to get WhatsApp Cloud API?
If you are a developer or business owner, you can get the WhatsApp Cloud API for free. To do so, follow the steps below –
1. Log on to www.developer.facebook.com and click on “Create app”
2. Click on ‘Business’ from the ‘Select an app type’ and click ‘Next’
3. Type a name for your app and the associated contact email address for the same; if you have a Facebook Business Account, then select that as well. Click ‘Create app’.
