Compare WhatsApp API providers
Eight ways to send and receive messages from your software, side by side: what they cost, what you need before the first message, and what they can do. Every figure is read from the provider’s own pages, with the date.
Two kinds of providers
Official platform or independent API
Almost every difference in the table comes from this one split.
On Meta’s official platform
Meta’s Cloud API directly, or a provider building on it such as Twilio or Wati. You register a number with Meta, get message templates approved for anything outside the 24-hour window and pay per message by category and country — often plus the provider’s own fee or plan.
In return you get the official channel, and sending tiers that grow with business verification and volume.
Independent APIs
WaAPI, Green API, Whapi, UltraMsg, Maytapi: you link a number that already runs the app by scanning a QR code. No templates, no per-message fee, a flat price per number. Groups work the way they do on your phone; channel support differs from provider to provider.
The trade-off: it is not Meta’s official channel, and a number that automates can be restricted — so sending limits matter.
The official side in detail: Meta’s Cloud API vs. WaAPI.
Overview
Eight providers, seven questions
| Provider | Type | Price | Per-message fees | Approval and templates | Groups and channels | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WaAPI | Independent, own number by QR | $10 per number a month | None | None | Groups and channels | Free trial |
| Meta Cloud API | Official, direct from Meta | API access free | Per message, by category and country | Templates must be approved; limits rise after verification or volume | Groups limited (Official Business Accounts, 8 participants); no Channels API documented | – |
| Twilio | On Meta's platform | No base fee | $0.005 per message plus Meta's fee | Meta business verification before production; templates approved | Group messaging through Twilio Conversations | Trial account, sandbox |
| Wati | On Meta's platform | From €59 a month billed annually (shown in the EU, varies by region) | Charged in addition, by rate card | Templates must be approved | Groups on the Business plan only | 7-day trial |
| Green API | Independent, own number by QR | $12 per instance a month (Business) | None | None | Groups; no channel methods in the docs | Free Developer plan, 3 chats |
| Whapi | Independent, own number by QR | €26 to €33 per number a month, depending on billing (shown in the EU, varies by region) | None | None | Groups and channels | Free sandbox with limits |
| UltraMsg | Independent, own number by QR | $39 per instance a month | None | None | Groups; channels not mentioned | 3-day trial |
| Maytapi | Independent, own number by QR | $24 per phone a month (annual billing) | None | None | Groups and channels | Free sandbox, 3-day trial |
As of October 2026, read on each provider’s own pages. Sources: Meta pricing · Meta messaging limits · Meta groups · Twilio pricing · Wati pricing · Green API · Whapi pricing · UltraMsg · Maytapi pricing
Prices as each provider shows them, with currency; regional prices may differ.
How to choose
Four questions that decide it
- Do you want to use a number you already have?
- Independent APIs link a number that runs the app today. On the official platform, a number in use in the app has to be deleted there first — unless a solution partner connects a Business app number through coexistence.
- Who starts the conversation?
- If most of your messages answer people who wrote to you, the limits on new conversations barely matter. If you message thousands of people a day who never wrote to you, the official platform’s higher sending tiers are built for that.
- How many messages a month, to which countries?
- Per-message pricing is cheap at low volume and grows with every message; a flat rate costs the same at ten messages and at ten thousand. Where the two cross depends on the country — the Twilio page works it through.
- Do you need groups, channels or a team inbox?
- Groups and channels are where independent APIs are ahead. A shared inbox with campaigns and a chatbot builder for a non-technical team is what platforms like Wati sell.
Limits
Limits and sending safely
There is no cap on how many messages you send. What gets numbers restricted is contacting many people who never wrote to you — so send protection is on by default for every new number.
What counts as a new conversation: a person who has never written to your number and whom you have not messaged in the last 7 days. Replies to people who wrote to you first and messages to groups and channels never count, and a follow-up within those 7 days doesn’t count twice.
Need more? Spread new contacts across several numbers, or switch send protection off for a number after confirming the warning — at your own risk.
Flat rate, simple
Unlimited messages. Media, groups, channels, SDKs and MCP included. Cancel anytime.
- No per-message fees
- No per-user fees
- No setup fee
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Comparison FAQ
How the table was made and how to read it.
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From each provider’s own pricing and documentation pages, read on 2 October 2026 — not from comparison sites. The sources are linked under the table. Prices change; we check them again every quarter.
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The Cloud API is Meta’s own hosted API. Twilio and Wati build on Meta’s platform and add their own tools and pricing on top, so every message still costs extra — Meta’s fee at Twilio, Wati’s rate card at Wati — on top of the provider’s fee or plan.
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It depends on volume and country. At a few hundred messages a month per-message pricing can cost less; as volume grows, a flat rate per number wins. The Twilio comparison shows the break-even for four countries.
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They are not Meta’s official channel, and the platform can restrict numbers that automate. How you use any messaging API — consent, opt-outs, anti-spam law — is your responsibility on every provider.
Compare it on your own number
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